You are responsible for convening a major event in which sen

You are responsible for convening a major event in which senior officials from several state governments will try to come to an agreement on environmental issues. It is well known that some officials posture so that they appear superior, whereas others are highly motivated to solve the environmental problems that cross adjacent states. What team decision-making problems are likely to be apparent in this government forum and what actions can you take to minimize these problems?

Solution

I would consider the following team decision -making problems in this example:

1. Not fully aware about the current situation : State the current situtation and enlist the gravity of the current issues being faced by several state governments: This is important to then arive at a common goal or analyze the impact of various issues on the individual state governements and the center, This should be the starting point for all state Governements considering that all of them will be acing several environmental issues with difference and variability in severeity. For eg: Noise Pollution, Ozone depletion, impact of radiation, Air and Sea Pollution, Diesease due to environmental issues. Actions that I would take to minimize this problem: Ensure that the state governments have complete facts and data and inputs of environmentalists, citizen groups on the current situation and have it documented.

2. Goals are unclear : Each State must agree on the actions items to be achieved by setting CLEAR goals. If the group begins to work on a solution before fully comprehending their goals, the final result may not be the best fit for them. Actions that I would take to minimize this problem: Each State can have a sub-goal with one common goal for the center. This will ensure that there is enough motivation for each state to implement the agreed action items.

3: Absence of Complete and correct information: Another important aspect of team decision making is having correct information about the given situation. Not only should all of the information presented to the group be factually correct, but it should also be time relevant. If the team attempts to arrive at a decision with too little or incorrect information, the final result will likely result in an error and cost the governments time and money.Actions that I would take to minimize this problem: Validate the information presented by the states and ensure that it is pre-validated by neutral organisations.

4. Incorrect information about Data Available: The State Governments needs to involve environmentalists and statisticians to interpret the data that is available to complete the study of the current situation. As mentioned previously, it is essential that a team have all of the correct information before attempting to come to a decision. However, even if the group has all of the correct information the end result can still have flaws. Group members need to carefully interpret and understand all of the data that they have to work with in order to arrive at a logical and satisfactory decision. Actions that I would take to minimize this problem:Validate the information presented for a common understanting and 100% correct inputs at the time of team decision-making.

5. Unaware about the alternative choices available: What are the other alternatives available and its cost and environmental impact. What change will it bring - pros and cons of all possible alternatives: If a group makes a hasty decision without first examining all of the positive and negative aspects of other choices, then the best possible decision for the center / state may be overlooked. Different ideas from members of the team should all be individually examined before the final choice is decided upon.Actions that I would take to minimize this problem: This is a very crucial step and cost and other implications of possible alternatives need to well documented to arrive at any decision.