Endowment Chair: Team Decision-Making Process

Endowed Chair
Student’s Name
Institution
Endowed Chair
Overview
Decision-making is a complex process, particularly when the alternatives are competing. Our team was tasked with selecting the best candidate to fill the endowed chair position. The final three candidates for the position are serious contenders and this further made the decision-making process complex. Our team was comprised of five members from all the departments in the School of Business except Accounting and Information Systems Department. I represented the Finance Department, Gabriel represented Management and Strategy Department, Ellene represented Managerial Economics and Decisions Department, Jennifer represented Marketing department, and finally, Vu represented Organizational Behavior Department. While it significant to have members from other departments, working with them in the decision-making process is more challenging compared to working with members from my department. However, this did not stop the team from selecting the best candidate for the position. The team examined the qualifications of the three candidates and settled on Pat Stone. This was not an easy undertaking and this paper explains how the team arrived at the decision.
Team Decision-Making Process
The task for the team was to select the best candidate from the three to fill the endowed chair position. The inclusion of members from other departments meant that different skills and experience in the School of Business were brought together. As such, with members from the different departments, we were in a better position to select the best candidate to meet the interests of the school. Understanding the key task for the team was essential in order for the members to be on the same page. The group used the combination of both advocacy and inquiry in the decision-making process. Inquiry may seem like an accurate and ideal method of arriving at decisions, however, it was difficult for team members to discuss the issue at hand without voicing their opinions and trying to convince others why a certain candidate is better compared to another. As such, a combination of both inquiry and advocacy helped the group in arriving at the decision. In this section, I elaborate on how the team came to settle on Pat Stone as the best candidate for the position.
After we were acquainted with one another, we began by sharing the information. While each one of us had information about the three candidates, the information was different. Therefore, sharing the information by each person was a significant first step towards selecting the candidate that would meet the interests of the school. As such, one by one everyone shared the information they had on the candidates. This was an engaging process and at the end of it all, we had made major progress towards selecting the candidate for the position. We had begun feeling comfortable in the team. As informed by Kouzes & Posner (2012), when members feel part of the team, the quality of the decision-making process and the quality and accuracy of communication are increased. After sharing the information we had, we were more acquainted with one another and this was good for the team as it helped towards moving to the next activity.
We used inquiry to examine the qualifications and experience of the candidates in order to find the candidate that is best suited for the position. In this regard, we resorted to creating a chart in order to compare the candidates and how they fit the position. Before the creation of the chart, we revisited the key considerations that would guide the process. The considerations were teaching ability, scholarly excellence, and administrative experience. The chart would help in coming with an unbiased comparison of the candidates because we had the information we needed about the candidates. At this stage, inquiry was instrumental in coming up with an accurate comparison of the candidates. I was tasked with filling the chart and it was not a complicated process given that we had the necessary information.
After filling out the chart, it was time to seek the opinion of other group members. This was a necessary step as it ensured no one was left out of the decision-making process. This is consistent with “Enable Others To Act” practice as it fosters collaboration among members (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Collaboration was essential if we were to select a candidate that would meet the interests of the school. In this case, therefore, the opinion of members about the chart was integral in the decision-making process. The opinion helped in adding some information that we had left out. This further shows the significance of using teams in arriving at a decision.
It is also through the seeking of opinion that advocacy came to play. Members were divided between Chriss Pepper and Pat Stone and as such, advocacy was integral in solving this conflict. While some members found the flawed interaction of Pat Stone with Ph.D. students unwelcome, others thought it was a problem that Pepper did not have a connection with the faculty. As such, through advocacy, the members persuaded others through emphasizing the strengths of a candidate while downplaying their weaknesses. This was a healthy engagement and finally Stone emerged as the ideal candidate for the position. As seen, we used both inquiry and advocacy and balancing between the two was important in the process.
The use of both advocacy and inquiry help to a great extent the ability of the team to uncover unique information about the candidates. After the members had shared the information they had about the candidateS, the use of inquiry was critical in evaluating it. As mentioned earlier, we used a chart to compare the information about the candidates and after filling it, each member had to provide their input. This facilitated the uncovering unique information known only to each member that was left out or not heard well during the sharing stage. Advocacy, on the other hand, was useful in resolving the conflict of whom between Pepper and Stone was better suited for...