***PLEASE SEE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS FILE UPLOADED***Write a PhD academic level research paper (1,200-1,350 words) discussing the selection of a theoretical approach to decision making, the amount and timeliness of data required to implement the approach, and the role the leader plays in implementing that approach from a strategic perspective. Include the following: (1) A research-based discussion of how to analyze the social, cultural, and political conditions and trends in an organization in order to make a reasoned selection of a theoretical approach to decision making. (Benchmarks C6.2: Identify and analyze prevailing social, cultural, and political conditions and trends within organizations.). (2) A research-based description of and rational for a preferred theoretical approach to decision making in an organization. (Benchmarks C6.3: Assess behavioral theories and their application to organizational development.). (3) A research-supported discussion of the balance a leader must attain between timeliness of the decision and the amount of information needed to assure the quality of the decision. (4) An analysis of the role of the leader in strategically implementing the approach described above within an organization.// PLEASE REVIEW full assignment instructions attached in uploaded document ASSIGNMENT-INSTRUCTIONS.pdf // ***NOTE*** Please use at least 10 reference sources provided in the uploaded articles ***********
Abstract
The role of a leader in decision making is undeniably crucial. Leaders can implement several approaches to improve the position of the organization and guarantee overall success. Such decisions are dependent on various organizational factors, such as culture. Companies whose leaders are capable of making quick decisions to deal with extreme pressures are likely to take a different approach than one lacking such capabilities. The communication structure of the company also determines the type of approach to decision making. The diligence – approach seems most suitable for organizations in the current business environment. The rationale for selecting the approach is based on the personality of the leaders, which influences their perception of company problems and how to solve them. This strategy requires a balance between the amount of information and the timeliness of the decision. The balance can be achieved by implementing the performative model, which identifies the role of actors in gathering and sharing information to ensure continuity of knowledge. Most importantly, leaders can participate in the implementation of the strategy through implementing management by objective or relationship-based management style, to influence the behavior of subordinates towards supporting the approach.
Keywords: strategic management, diligence approach
Leadership Strategy Decision Making
Introduction
Leaders play an important role in strategic decision-making processes by taking part in the process of evaluating, planning, and implementing strategies to improve and maintain a competitive advantage. The process of decision making is crucial since it affects the entire organization, including employees and other stakeholders. It is, therefore, necessary for leaders to conduct an assessment of the company’s social, political, and cultural conditions to guide in the decision-making process. Several theoretical approaches have also been developed to guide leaders in the process as well. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss the rationale for selecting a theoretical approach to decision making, the importance of timeliness of knowledge, and the role of leaders in implementing the approach.
Organizational Climate
The climate in which a business operates plays a crucial role in influencing the strategic decisions made within the organization. An important aspect is how managers react under conditions of extreme pressures. The ability of a company to react to pressure affects their decision-making approach. According to Netz, Svensson, and Brundin (2019), companies that have well-trained managers who are capable of reacting quickly to extreme conditions can apply fast strategic decision-making approaches. Such environments also require an effective communication structure to facilitate information gathering and sharing across the business to make fast decisions. Urbig, Muehlfeld, Procher, and Witteloostuijin (2020), emphasize the importance of communication in the organization. Communication is a crucial aspect of any company’s culture since it facilitates the transfer of information, and the type of decision-making approach is dependent on how the organization processes and comprehends the information. As such, Urbig, Muehlfeld, Procher and Witteloostuijin (2020), explain that the type of language used within the company affects the level of comprehension with a decrease in comprehension resulting in problems in thinking which affect decision making as well. Therefore, companies that use language that is understandable by most individuals make it easier for managers and stakeholders to understand and therefore select an appropriate approach to decision making. The level of uncertainty also affects the choice of decision-making approach. The selection of a decision-making approach is also dependent on the shared beliefs of organizational culture. Yee, Tan, and Ramayah (2017) states that organizational culture affects how information is shared, which then influences the decision-making process. Organizational cultures that are knowledge friendly also encourage information sharing, which results in the development of knowledge throughout the company, thus shaping how managers think and react. Dynamic capabilities also influence decision making approaches. These capabilities determine how a company can identify, and seize opportunities, manage threats, and restructure its operations to maintain growth (Pitelis & Wagner, 2019). Organizations that foster an environment where leaders have dynamic capabilities are aligned with organizational capabilities are better positioned to take advantage of opportunities.
The rationale for Selecting a Theoretical Approach
According to the diligence-based strategy, the process of managing and formulating strategy is determined by how managers can drive business success by taking advantage of the available capabilities and technology. Regarding the strategy, Powell (2017), explains that the current leaders have shifted their attention from the traditionally big strategies to more fundamental activities that guarantee success such as managing culture, customer service, and supply chain management. This diligence-based approach indicates that managers’ decisions are more reliant on data, behavioral perseverance, and measurement (Powell, 2017). The type of decision-making approach is also determined by the leader’s personality. Based on personality theory, an individual’s behavior affects the way they perceive their environment (Remenova & Jankelova, 2019). A variety of personal factors affect the process of decision-making, including values, intuition, and emotional intelligence. These factors make up the characteristics of the decision-maker, which guides their way of thinking about problems as well as the approaches needed to be taken to solve the issues in the organization. These personality traits also influence individual rationality, which then affects how leaders engage in decision making. As explained by Scott and Thomas (2017), the decision for a leader to allocate funding, time, and company resources to the collaborative process is determined by their purpose and personal interests. The perception of leaders is also influenced by factors such as existing regulations and incentives. Since personality traits guide decision making, leaders apply intuitive logic to manage their intuition and assumptions and form shared and new interpretive frames which are necessary to improve decision making. The intuitive logical scenario approach is therefore useful for leaders to widen their strategic perspectives and gain insight on the state of uncertainty, which is important in predicting how the approach to decision making might eventually affect the organization (Wayland, 2019).
Information Management and Timeliness of the Decision
The balance between the timeliness of the decision and the amount of information required to guarantee the success of the diligence-based strategy is crucial. According to Yee, Tan, and Ramayah (2017), incorporating knowledge into the daily decision-making processes of a company is critical since the degree of knowledge integration implemented in the company influences the success of projects. To balance knowledge and timeliness of decision making, the authors suggest the use of a performative decision-making model. The model includes three levels, mainly actors, tools, and effects. Actors work collaboratively to determine the allocation of resources; tools represent new organizational processes, whereas the effect is the company’s strategic environment, which produces new innovations and knowledge in the firm (Yee, Tan, & Ramayah, 2017). Leaders can achieve balance by ensuring knowledge is continuously transferred between actors to understand routines that are necessary for encouraging the development of new knowledge.
Further, leaders can achieve balance through knowledge management. This process involves using methodical steps to obtain, design, manage, and distribute knowledge in the company for better performance (Abubakar, Elrehail, Alatailat, & Elci, 2017). Through this approach, leaders can identify, capture, share, and store useful information that will then be applied in the future, thus ensuring that the company has sufficient information needed to make decisions.
The Role of The Leader
Leaders play a crucial role in implementing the diligence-based approach. The majority of human resource capabilities are presented by managers. Managers can ensure the successful implementation of the diligence-based strategy by helping the organization to effectively utilize its resources and take full advantage of its capabilities, especially in terms of knowledge management. According to Cao, Duan, and Cadden (2019), managers are capable of understanding the mechanisms for maximizing the strategic value of information processing. This is exemplified by the different styles that leaders can use to influence organizational culture, and foster an environment that encourages proper knowledge management to ensure the diligence-based strategy is effective. Leaders can also support the diligence-based strategy by employing management styles that support the approach. As stated by Azeska, Starc, and Keverski (2017), leaders can employ two types of management styles, management by objective and relationship-oriented. With the former mainly focusing on achieving goals while the latter is focused on building relationships with juniors. The choice of management style is dependent on the personality of the leader, meaning that leaders who integrate personality traits into their management styles are capable of guaranteeing success. Therefore, the success of the diligence-based approach is dependent on the leader’s ability to incorporate their personality traits into their management style, which affects the overall organizational behavior and culture.
Conclusion
Concisely, the organizational environment plays an important role in determining the approach to decision making taken by the leaders. Specifically, an environment where leaders can quickly react to extreme pressures has a different approach to decision making compared to environments whose managers lack such capabilities. The communication structure also affects the approach to decision making with a highly effective structure guaranteeing equal sharing and comprehension of information, thus ensuring the decision making is uniform. Considering the high dependency on innovations and technology to stay competitive, the diligence-based approach is effective in utilizing technology in decision making. Nevertheless, personal traits also affect the decision to implement the approach. The performative decision-making model can be utilized to ensure a balance between knowledge and timeliness. Knowledge management can also be implemented to capture and store useful information for use during decision making. Nevertheless, the success of the approach is dependent on the role of the leader. The leader can implement the relationship-oriented or management by objective style to influence organizational behavior that will guarantee the success of the approach.
References
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