Decision Making Process - Essay Example

Decision Making Process of Executive Summary The paper is a critical study of a decision making problem, where the process is carefully explained through a case study of an organization. The problem within this paper is about high attrition rates of employees within a specific department of branch level banking unit and prime reason behind it is identified as lack of proper induction system, job definition, role clarity and work training. The employees feel frustrated with dissatisfaction at work and leave the job. The project chooses to hire a new operations head in order to provide training and guidance to staff from the industry. It is believed that external head shall also provide required motivation and energy to the staff members. Introduction – Overview of Decision Problem Problem statement The company is a small branch of a banking concern located in a sound locality with a good track record. The branch was fully functional and operated under central supervision located within the city limits. The problem associated with this branch was high level of employee attrition. It was observed that employees left within 6 months of joining at different posts. The problem was critical for the post of operations manager of the bank. The bank branch had department strength of 6 operation managers, where the highest official had at most 12 months of experience with the branch. The event was triggered by retirement of the key operations head of the bank who had been in the position for over 25 years; and by a simultaneous change of department structure within the branch, which required a larger operations team. It was found that the employees were regular at their work for initial few weeks and their work quality was high during this time. After about four weeks on an average, the employee absenteeism started to reflect and their work quality also suffered. The relationship between different members of the department and ultimate head of the department was generally cordial. It was also seen that operations staff shared happy times with other staff of the bank as well as the branch manager. The underlying rationale behind this attrition is improper induction training provided to the incumbent and the lack of proper guidance at work. This resulted in poor work quality and less rewards (Tillman & Cassone, 2012). This had also entailed lack of job satisfaction, leading to attrition from work. The problem is more acute because most of the staff has been trained by less experienced members and the department majorly lacks in terms of knowledge pertaining to functioning of the banking process. The objective of this paper is to identify possible solution to the stated problem of high levels of employee attrition. The alternative shall look at deployment of a special training officer for the operations department. The expected consequence of such a decision shall be to hire an operations team of higher quality and greater experience with the banking concern by reducing their attrition and increasing their banking knowledge. The key uncertainties associated with the problem are related to effectiveness of training process and training material. Objectives The stakeholders of this problem are: The branch manager who is responsible for proper functioning of each of the department and is answerable for high level of attrition to his region head. The customer who want their issues to be addressed by experienced and knowledgeable officials. The branch staff that have to interact with the operations department for each and every transaction so that their dealings are safe and correct. The decision taken shall aim to reduce the attrition rate of employees so as to house more experienced staff within the organization. Additionally, the decision shall also seek to attain a minimum level of knowledge about staff of the operations department for the purpose of managing departmental functions smoothly and effectively. The decision shall aim to have a proper system of induction and training for new staff so that job clarity and job responsibilities are taken into account and the incumbent is well aware of his tasks (Adair, 2013). Such a training system shall have a positive impact on rest of the departments, where success in attainment of a specific training procedure shall trickle down and be implemented to all other departments. It is expected that with job clarity and proper functioning of the operations department, turnover would increase for the operations department as well as the bank in totality. Summary of key objectives: Fundamental Objectives Means Objectives Objective 1 The need to train and educate staff over operations functions and critical case requirement of the banking business Means Objective A Deployment of a training official for training all operations employees Means Objective B Use of standard industry training material by branch manager to train existing staff Means Objective C To have case based training through industry examples and way of handling situations over online training portal of the bank. Objective 2 To ensure that new incumbents in the operations department are properly trained and are well aware of job tasks and responsibilities well in time. Means Objective A Organization of a proper induction process that has a standard operating procedure Means Objective B Preparation of a training manual for the assistance of the trainers Means Objective C Preparation of training material for the use of branch operations trainer in future. Objective 3 To retain employees with proper job definition and work clarity Means Objective A To have a proper grievance redressal system for all grievance and issues that the staff might face at the workplace, related to his work Means Objective B To have a monthly review of the staff progress in the operations department and to monitor and balance key goals of the division. Means Objective C To have online training and test sessions. Alternatives The different alternatives to the situation can be training of staff by external operations manager of the bank, training and management being provided to all staff by the branch manager and appointment of a special training officer. Description of alternatives: Alternative Description of Alternatives Alternative 1 The bank could hire an external officer who has rich experience in the banking sector through a systematic transfer between bank branches or hiring an outside officer from within the industry who can share his experience and offer needed guidance over operational procedures of banking. Hiring of such an official shall be beneficial in motivating the staff to work for a higher purpose. Alternative 2 The bank could alternatively look at issuance of a part time training official who shall conduct formal training sessions within the bank over different operational aspects and also provide a case based study for analysis of typical situations. This training shall extend for a specific time period after which officials are expected to be well equipped to carry out daily activities of the operations department on their own. Alternative 3 The third alternative that can be explored is the training and guidance to banking operations team being provided by the branch manager. The branch manager can play a critical role in handling live cases at the bank and helping the staff to realize the critical aspects of daily banking transactions. (Source: Teale, 2003) Selection The alternative that is recommended is deployment of an industry expert, which would require the branch to hire an external operations manager. This shall ensure that the best knowledge is acquired and employees also feel motivated and responsible for their work with a new leader. The report contains the problem defined in detail, along with key objectives of the issue highlighted. Among the alternatives presented within this paper, the alternative chosen seems to best fit the purpose and hence, it is chosen for seeking resolution. Consequence table with original values: relevance is measured as high, moderate and low Alternatives Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C Objective 1 High Low Moderate Objective 2 High High Moderate Objective 3 High Low Moderate Ranking alternatives: ranked out of 3 Alternatives Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C Objective 1 1 3 2 Objective 2 2 1 3 Objective 3 2 3 1 Scoring model: scored on a scale of 10 Alternatives Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C Objective 1 9 4 5 Objective 2 7 7 5 Objective 3 8 3 5 TOTAL 24 14 15 Legend: The scores have been assigned with relative importance perceived of the objective and the alternative. Weighted scoring model: criticality of objective is measured as weights assigned Alternatives Weight Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C Objective 1 40% 37% 28% 33% Objective 2 30% 30% 50% 33% Objective 3 30% 33% 22% 34% TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% Legend: The scores assigned have been presented as a percentage in the above table. After eliminating dominant alternatives, the analysis chooses alternative 1 to address the three objectives in best possible manner. Consequences The values assigned to each objective-alternative combination were based on personal opinion and view of the issue. It was believed that for all objectives, the common need of guidance was best provided by the first alternative. Moreover, use of an external training officer shall be apt for induction purpose; but in order to educate, motivate and retain existing staff, experienced professional would work well (Grünig, et al., 2013). Again, the branch manager would devolve additional time in training activities, where he could perform more critical banking activities. Thus, the first alternative was the preferred choice. The forecasts were based on best fit assumptions by the decision maker. The decisions taken here are more or less reliable because justifications presented are real and practical. The practice of hiring an expert is common in the industry and associated benefits have been highlighted and presented in the paper. It is 80% probable that the decision will be taken. Risk profile: title Uncertainty: Uncertainty 1 Outcome: Chance Consequences: The hired official lacks training experience and might not prove fruitful for the purpose. Low The training shall be based on case experiences and not formal procedures Uncertainty: Uncertainty 2 Outcome: Chance Consequences: The present operations head of the branch opposes the decision of having another reporting leader Low The present operations head has very little experience in the branch and if the branch seeks permission from the center, former’s denial shall have no impact. Implementation, Monitoring and Control The decision shall first seek approval from the central banking office. Once approval is sought, the decision maker will invite applications for the post through a public announcement. From the applications received as well as among the bank employees who qualify for the post and from industry set, the most appropriate profiles shall be chosen and subsequently called for the written examination. The branch manager shall set the examination paper and conduct the interview because the post is highly critical and needs his attention (Chelst & Canbolat, 2011). After the recruitment, the operations manager has to attend to various training requirements and also help the staff in a case based presentation system. The monitoring mechanism shall look into retention and output of the operations team as a measurement tool. Timeline: Month/Timeframe Implementation Plan 10 Days Approval for hiring new operations manager and outlining the position requirements 1 month Making public announcement for posts and inviting applications 1 month Screening for best suited applications for the position 15 Days Written Test 15 Days Interview 7 Days Selection and intimation 30 Days Induction by branch manager 6 months Training and Guidance by new Operations Head Summary The key problem associated with the company was high attrition levels of staff due to improper job induction and training. Also, proper guidance was absent due to low experience level of the operations head. The resolution sought was to hire a new operations manager who has rich experience in the industry and will be able provide training to existing employees, prepare training programs for new incumbents and also offer case based guidance to the team. It is recommended that recruitment procedure of the operations head is based on industry wide selection process and not restricted to employees within the company alone. In order to ensure success of the decision, the company must establish an appropriate level of acceptance for new head among the operations staff. References Adair, J. (2013). Decision Making and Problem Solving. London: Kogan Page. Chelst, K. & Canbolat, Y. B. (2011). Value-Added Decision Making for Managers. Florida: CRC Press. Grünig, R., Kühn, R., Clark, A., ODea, C. & Montani, M. (2013). Successful Decision-Making: A Systematic Approach to Complex Problems. Berlin: Sprnger. Teale, M. (2003). Management Decision-making: Towards an Integrated Approach. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Tillman, F. A. & Cassone, D. T. (2012). A Professionals Guide to Decision Science and Problem Solving: An Integrated Approach for Assessing Issues, Finding Solutions and Reaching Corporate Objectives. 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