"What's likely going on is that you haven't taken into account the decision's social space," says UMT professor, Dr. J. Davidson Frame, author of Framing Decisions: Decision Making that Accounts for Irrationality, People, and Constraints. According to Frame, all decisions – big and little, simple and complex – have their social space, and ignoring the social space can lead to nasty surprises. For example, there are multiple stakeholders who must be recognized, individuals whose needs and wants will be affected by the decision. These people don't sit passively as they see you making decisions that work against their interests. You also have multiple decision makers, each with a different perspective, and multiple decision implementers, who when implementing decisions may follow a course of action that diverges from the intent of the decision makers.
The key players in a decision's social space seldom hold a homogeneous outlook. They have their personal predilections that color their decision preferences. "Whenever I hear people say, 'This is what management has decided,' I chuckle to myself," says Frame. "In the real world, even with non-controversial decisions, there is a wide range of opinions on how an issue should be handled. While management may post a directive that announces 'This is our decision,' there is no assurance that all – or even most – managers fully support the final decision. It is even possible that unhappy losers will work to derail its implementation."
"When I think about the practice of decision making," Frame says, "one thing is clear: Because decisions are made by people for people, people should stand at the center of our understanding of decision making. That's why it is important to get a handle on a decision's social space. Identify the players and their interests. Frame your decisions to accommodate their differing perspectives. Ignore the social space at your peril."
SOURCE University of Management and Technology
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