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A matter of decision (View Comments)
Unnati Narang
Posted On Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 11:38:48 AM
Making decisions is not an easy task. So, does the mere involvement of more than one individual in the process render individual autonomy an elusive myth?
Given the uncertain world we are in, solutions to decision making problems cannot be based on a purely black box approach. Though routine and mundane decisions can be easily delegated and even quantified more often than not, truly intellectual judgment comes only from knowing that you’re independent to decide and can use your tools and resources as felicitously as an author would choose his words.
Flexibility in Decision Making
What kind of companies encourages such flexibility is another question that has befuddled researchers in the past. As one questions the superstructures upon which decision making models are built, Gill Eapen, founder and managing principal, Decision Options, LLC explains the underlying principles of an organisation conducive to such flexibility. He explains, “Companies, today, have to move away from traditional structures that follow prescriptive decision processes (based on rules and regulations) and design flat organisations with complete delegation of decision authority. Since one cannot reasonably predict the future, any decision-process based on fixed expectations of future or extrapolations of the past are bound to fail. With flat organisations with complete delegation, companies can increase flexibility and thus become able to manage uncertainty rather than design actions for set expectations, driven by a few at the top.”
Practical Approach
Clearly, one cannot negate autonomy as a myth and must seek to build teams with substantial power to perform with maximum degree of independence, possible. Practically, an organisation cannot function on centralized decisions any longer because the scope and potential in the global economy is immense.
“Though decision making autonomy is tough to realise, it is not impossible. In every business, the mangers have to take similar decisions. But in order to increase the scale of operations, a good manager decentralizes decision making as much as possible, of course with due checks and balances. Keeping all the decisions to you limits your scope and delays results, due to distance from the information centre. A manger should effectively build teams, monitor their decisions and maximize satisfaction. Every chain has a loose link, so will a team. That is where management action steps in!,” explains Anil Agarwal, owner, Alps Corporation.
From Headquarters to Transnational
For global organisations of today, a national subsidiary can function properly and take decisions as per the localised and other information available only when such rights have been made available to it. In this respect, Dr. YV Verma, Director, HR&MS, LG Electronics, explains, “One of the relatively recent shifts in the International Business Environment is the transfer from HQ perspective to transnational network perspective whereby the role and function of MNC subsidiaries have been widely recognized. This results in autonomy of the subsidiaries in a way that makes them independent to take their own decisions to achieve Global goals. LG Electronics India a subsidiary of LG Elec. Owing to the autonomy within the organisation not only have we become self sufficient but also all set to become the export hub for the HQ. The durable major has become the leading brand owing to its commitment to the consumer and also the autonomy given by the HQ to develop products suitable for the Indian Market. The flat & flexible structure at LG has resulted in fast execution.”
Clearly, the complexities of decentralizing decision making authority can be handled within a broad set of systematic principles while allowing flexible roles and scope for unpredictable challenges. Dinesh Divekar, Independent Human Resources Professional, felicitously sums up the case as, “The need of the hour is a manager’s ability to generate Alternatives, training on Analytical and Problem solving tools, usage of operations research techniques and an index of decisiveness of the managers.”
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