decision making is best approached within the context of a corporate culture that supports empowerment of employees and encourages them to be creative and innovative.
Sager and Gastil (1999) described consensus as a group decision rule achieved through the establishment of procedures for the group and as the result of ongoing negotiation between group members. Further, according to DeFillippi (2002), in a knowledge-based business entity, the elimination of rigid organizational routines and authoritarian leadership will free workers for effective team participation and decision making. Team decision-making is seen by DeFillippi (2002) as most viable in settings wherein skilled "knowledge workers" are able to function in a self-directed and self-organized manner รป a practice identified by this researcher as likely to be found in new economy entities that exploit information technology and knowledge to good advantage.
Individual decision-making styles have long been a focus of both organizational theory and empirical research. Vroom (2000) discussed the so-called Vroom-Yetton model of management decision making and noted that it is important to recognize three classes of outcomes that bear on the ultimate effectiveness of decisions. These are:
The quality or rationality of the decision
The acceptance or commitment on the part of subordinates to execute the decision effectively
The amount of time required to make the decision.
Vroom (2000) maintains that there are several different types of management decision styles ranging from the fully autocratic/individual approach to obtaining input from subordinates and others, to group evaluation of alternative options and the achievement of some degree of consensus on a solution. Vroom (2000) also claims that a decision tree model of decision making is ideal because such a model does not obviate the authority or responsibility of a manager or supervisor, but also create...