دانلود رایگان مقاله غلبه بر موانع تصمیم گیری متقابل کارکردی

Many managers today are spending more and more time working cross-functionally. For example, a recent Corporate Executive Board survey of over 20,000 employees found that 60—70% reported working in groups that involve individuals from other internal functional areas or other external stakeholders. Similarly, a Best Companies for Leadership survey, jointly sponsored by Businessweek.com and the Hay Group, found that more than 96% of managers in the top 20 performing global companies agreed with the statement, ‘‘My organization operatesin a highly matrixed structure,’’ where one of the main goals behind matrix structures is to pull together representatives from different functional groups to make decisions. This increasing cross-functional and lateral flow of information requires a substantially different management approach designed to leverage this knowledge in order to make the best decision for the enterprise. Yet, if managers are not careful, they will unwittingly put in place several obstacles to this process which virtually ensure that the diversity of knowledge resident in these groups and teams will not be effectively utilized.

CONCLUSIONS

Two words of wisdom go virtually unquestioned. The first is that leaders should never allow subordinates to bring them problems; instead, they should bring recommendations, opinions, and solutions. The second is that in order to make really good decisions — particularly complex decisions that cut across lateral functions — ensure that various perspectives are sought out. In other words, complex decisions require a diversity of perspectives and stakeholders. These two words of wisdom, however, are often at odds with each other. The purpose of bringing diverse perspectives togetheristo gain a more complete and well-informed view of the problem. Yet, if layered over this complexity and diversity is a culture that expects opinions, recommendations, and argumentsforfavored courses of action — a culture thatseems to be widely present in many if not most organizations — then this diversity will not be sufficiently leveraged. Complex, lateral, and cross-functional decisions require a different process that can better leverage this diversity. At first glance it seems as though leveraging this diversity would require less active leadership. The leader simply needs to ask a diverse group of individuals what they think we ought to do? Right? Wrong, because asking this question coupled with the culture of opinions and recommendations actually incites the exact thing that should be avoided early in the process; namely, the formation of sides and the advocacybased competition that ensues.