M.S.

RAMAIAH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

BANGALORE-54
(Autonomous Institute, Affiliated to VTU)
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

BOOK REVIEW REPORT

NAME OF THE STUDENT

USN

: 1MS14MBA

TITLE OF THE BOOK

: EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING

AUTHOR

: JOHN ADAIR

About the Author

Adair was born in Luton and educated at St Paul's School before undertaking his
National Service as a second lieutenant in the Scots Guards from 1953 to 1955.
Unusually, he served as adjutant of a Bedouin regiment in the Arab Legion and was
briefly in command of the garrison of Jerusalem in the front line. He also studied at
Hull Nautical College (where he qualified as an Arctic trawler deckhand in 1955)
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959. He later
obtained a doctorate from King's College London in 1966 and a B.Litt. degree from
Jesus College, Oxford in 1971. He became a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
in 1966.

After working as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst from
1961 to 1967, he later worked for the Industrial Society before becoming Professor
of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey in 1979, a post he held until 1984.
He was a visiting professor at the University of Exeter from 1990 to 2000. He is
currently an Emeritus Fellow of the Windsor Leadership Trust where he regularly
speaks on Leadership development programmes.

Since 2006, he has been Honorary Professor of Leadership at the China Executive
Leadership Academy in Pudong. In 2009 he was appointed Chair of Leadership
Studies United Nations System Staff College in Turin.
John Adair is a leading authority on leadership and leadership development. He
advises many organizations in business, government, education, health and the
voluntary sector. Over a million managers worldwide have taken part in the Action-

Centered Leadership programs he pioneered. Adair is the author of over 50 books,

including the leadership classic Not Bosses but Leaders, (Kogan Page), and he
continue to write and teach throughout the world.

John Adair is now widely regarded as the worlds leading authority on leadership
and leadership development. The author of 30 books on the subject, he has been
named as one of the 40 people worldwide who have contributed most to the
development of management thought and practice. Educated at St Pauls School,
John Adair has enjoyed a varied and colorful career. He served as adjutant in a
Bedouin regiment in the Arab Legion, worked as a deckhand on an Arctic trawler
and had a spell as an orderly in a hospital operating theatre.
After attending Cambridge University he became Senior Lecturer in Military
History and Leadership Training Adviser at the Royal Military Academy,
Sandhurst, before becoming the first Director of Studies at St Georges House in
Windsor Castle and then Associate Director of the Industrial Society.
Later he became the worlds first Professor in Leadership Studies at the University
of Surrey. He also helped to found Europes first Centre for Leadership Studies at
the University of Exeter. John Adair now acts as a national and international
adviser on leadership development. His recent books, published by Kogan Page,
include Not Bosses but Leaders, The Inspirational Leader, How to Grow Leaders
and Leadership and Motivation.

Theme of the BOOK

Managers judge the effectiveness of decision in terms of quality, timeliness,
acceptance, and ethical appropriateness. The decision-making process is improved
though creative problem solving and brainstorming. They way managers frame
problems significantly affect the outcome. The effectiveness of a decision depends
on cognitive biases and organizational barriers. Effective leader communicate well
and motivate others. Managers match a leadership style with a preferred style for
the situation. They develop a range of leadership styles and adapt to different
situations. Quality, timeliness, acceptance, and appropriateness are components of
decision-making. Transformational leaders have vision that guides and motivates
them to higher goals. They motivate other to a higher level. Super leaders go a
step further by helping others realize and maximize their abilities. Charismatic
leaders motivate followers to make significant changes.

Content of the book

1. Your mind at work
Is your brain working now?
The functions of the mind.
Introducing the Depth Mind principle.
2. The art of effective decision making
Define the objective.
Collect relevant information.
Generate feasible options.
Make the decision.
Implement and evaluate.
3. Sharing decisions with others
Your role as leader
Task need
Team maintenance need
Individual needs
The three circles interact
The functions of leadership

BOOK SUMMARY
Line managers and leaders of all levels need to ensure that problems are solved in
the optimal way and that the ideas and innovations for tomorrow's business flow
freely. Decision Making and Problem Solving helps them master the processes of

practical thinking which lie behind effective decision making, problem solving,
and creative thinking. Using checklists, exercises and case studies, it explains key
concepts such as: principles of effective thinking, how to develop a framework for
decision making, how to use a simple model for making decisions and solving
problems, how to sharpen up creative thinking skills, and how to develop thinking
skills in the future.
Managers and leaders of all levels need to ensure that problems are solved in the
optimal way and that the ideas and innovations for tomorrow's business flow
freely.
Decision Making and Problem Solving Strategies helps readers master the
processes of practical thinking which lie behind effective decision making,
problem solving, and creative thinking. Using checklists, exercises and case
studies, it explains key concepts such as: principles of effective thinking, how to
develop a framework for decision making, how to use a simple model for making
decisions and solving problems, how to sharpen up creative thinking skills, and
how to develop thinking skills in the future.

Decision-Making Skills
The effectiveness of a decision depends on factors such as the characteristics of
the decision maker, various cognitive biases, and organizational barriers. In

decision-making, managers vary in the amount or information, skills, or experience

they have. They use different styles in making decision. Some focus on the details
of a situation and compile them into a sensible decision. Others rely on their
intuitive sense about a situation or focus on the big picture.

Due to the

complexity and uncertainty inherent in certain situations, managers face enormous

challenges in making effective decisions. Diagnosing the factors that influence
decision makers can improve effectiveness as managers and workers have a better
understanding of the way the decision-making process unfolds.
There are three types of decision-making skills. Technical or task skills refer to
the individuals knowledge of the content area of the decision. An individual
making crucial decisions may consult outside resources and incorporate knowledge
of experts in the area. For example, during the winter business must deal with
inclement weather. A manger is faced with making a decision on whether workers
must come to work during a snowstorm. The manager may consult the local news
or various weather channels in order to make the best decision.
Interpersonal or leadership skills relate to the way individuals lead,
communicate with, motivate, and influence others.

These skills affect the

acceptance of a decision. The key decision maker in a business must communicate

well with his superiors and subordinates to ensure that the correct decision is made
and implemented. Decision-making skills refer to the basic abilities to perform the
components of the rational decision-making process.

It includes situational

analysis, objective setting, and generation, evaluation, and selection of alternatives.

A persons personality can also influence the decision-making process.
Managers who can identify a persons style have a better chance at matching work

assignments to this style. Personal style characterizes a person in terms of how

well he tolerates ambiguity and whether he values task (technical) concerns or
people (social) concerns. Combining these two dimensions results in fours styles
analytical, conceptual, directive, and behavioral, or decision makers who solve
problems, see the big picture, expect results, and need affiliation, respectively.

Brainstorming
Managers use a variety of approaches for improving decision making.
Individuals or groups use brainstorming to generate numerous ideas or alternatives
without evaluating their merits. A group will list as many options as possible
before pursuing a limited number of them. Listing alternatives without evaluating
them encourages people to generate ideas rather than defending or eliminating
existing ones. In brainstorming sessions, managers should list and record all ideas,
encourage creativity; offer ideas related to those already listed, and ask each
participant to offer a specific number of new ideas.
Ideas are not evaluated during the initial stages. Mangers should also set a time
limit for brainstorming.
Brainstorming helps decision makers think of unexpected and potentially useful
possibilities for addressing a problem. When specialized knowledge is required, it
is limited since it sacrifices the quality of an idea for a quantity of ideas.
Brainstorming can result in many shallow and useless ideas. However, it can also
push members to offer new ideas and usually increases the overall creativity of
individuals and work groups.

Managers can use software to encourage

brainstorming by generating and applying an assortment of potential solutions.

Managers can also encourage brainstorming by creating the proper environment

for it.

For example, affinity diagrams offer a special way of structuring

brainstorming. This technique allows groups of workers to organize ideas, show

their interrelationships, and develop action steps. Managers commonly use affinity
diagrams as part of continuous improvement efforts.

Working on an affinity

diagram helps promote teamwork, break down communication barriers, increases

understanding in a group. It can aid in gaining a consensus among people with
different viewpoints.
Team members generate ideas related to a theme. They then group and regroup
these ideas until they have about five to 10 groupings. They attach a priority to
each grouping and then write a summary sentence. The process allows team
members to identify causes of problems and possible solutions. It highlights
important interdependencies that need to be considered in addressing the problem.
It focuses team members on areas of agreement, so that the process reduces
potential conflict over causes of problems and potential solutions. It also gives
team members an equal voice in specifying the key issues.
The nominal group technique (NGT) describes a structured group meeting in
which individuals brainstorm and then rank-order a series of ideas as a way of
resolving differences in the groups opinion. This group reviews a problem, and
each member individually offers alternative solutions in writing. The group then
lists and shares the solutions as in brainstorming. They discuss and clarify the
ideas before ranking and voting their preferences. If the group does not agree, they
repeat the ranking and voting procedure until the group reaches some agreement.
An improved nominal group technique offers a number of advantages over the
standard nominal group technique. It requires members to anonymously offer their

input to the list of solutions and then vote secretly. Each group meeting has a
clearly focused agenda that limits discussion to a single aspect of the decision.
This technique delays evaluation of ideas until all inputs are displayed. It also
ensures that participants have opportunities to discuss displayed items before
voting. Discussion of items focuses solely on the advantages and disadvantages of
various alternatives
As a group increases in size and diversity of expertise, the NGT becomes more
useful. NGT gives individuals time to think about the key issues before offering
solutions and provides a mechanism for reaching a decision expediently through
the ranking-voting procedure. It fosters creativity by allowing extensive individual
input into the process. Strong personality types will less often dominate the group
because the NGT provides all group members with an opportunity for systematic
input. NGT encourages innovation, limits conflict, emphasizes equal participation
by all members, helps generate consensus, and incorporates the preferences of
individuals in decision-making choices.
The Delphi technique refers to a structured group decision-making technique
that uses repeated administration of rating scales to obtain opinions about a
decision. It begins with unfocused ideas. Then, through exploration of these ideas,
it focuses them until a decision is reached. Group members first explore the
subject individually. In the conventional Delphi technique, a small group of these
people designs a questionnaire and then polls a larger group. It tabulates and
returns results for discussion. The process repeats until group members reach
agreement and develop a common view of the issues.

The Delphi technique works well when face-to-face conversation is not possible
but the input of many people is valuable.

It provides a systematic way for

considering all ideas that is particularly useful in the case of significant

disagreements. It also protects individual anonymity. The Delphi technique also
helps managers who cannot apply precise analytical techniques to solving the
problem, but prefer to use subjective judgments on a collective basis. It can
increase the effectiveness of group meetings when they occur and reduce the
likelihood of the group developing a sense of invulnerability and infallibility. If
the individuals involved failed to communicate effectively in the past, the Delphi
procedures offer a systematic method for ensuring that their opinions are presented.

Elements in an Effective Decision

Quality, timeliness, acceptance, and ethical appropriateness are elements in
effective decision-making.

Quality refers to the content or substance of the

decision being made. A good-quality decision results in desired outcomes while

meeting a series of specified criteria or constraints.

For example, a staffing

decision has a high quality if the employees hired accomplish their work in a
timely fashion and their salaries fall within a specified budget. The decision to
launch a new product has high quality of it results in increasing the reputation,
profits, or market share of the company. A high-quality decision helps accomplish
strategic goals.
performance.

It can result in higher profits, better service, and improved

A high-quality decision also meets the needs of employees,

executives, stockholders, customers, and suppliers. It can improve the working

conditions of employees, increase the stock value for stockholders, or advance the
professional goals of a manager. High-quality decisions do not equate to optimal

decisions. A satisfactory or acceptable decision may be adequate, given time,

financial, and staffing constraints. For example, a sales decision may limit the
number of customers but increases overall sales. It may have the same financial
results as doubling the number of customers.
Timely decision for managers is critical for a firms success in the competitive
global environment. Failure to make timely decisions results in inefficient use of
resources, unhappy workers, and an inability to compete effectively in the
marketplace. Even the best decision loses value when make too late. Managers
need to develop a reasonable timetable for making both major and minor decisions.
They must understand the interrelationships of the various decisions and who is
responsible for making and implementing them.
Good decisions result when those affected by the decision understand it, accept
it, and can implement it.

For example, an e-commerce company decides to

redesign their Web site. Workers resistant to this decision may fail to respond to
requests for information for the Web site. In contrast, worker support for the
redesign may increase the speed and responsiveness of providing information.
Support from workers at all levels is critical when implementing significant
decisions.
Managers and decision makers must also evaluate a decision according to its
ethical justness. Ethical dilemmas result when there are conflicting stakeholders,
interests, values, and ambiguous laws. Although ethical considerations receive the
highest priority in many organizations, some managers still disregard them in
making decisions. For example, many people in the financial market industry have
been cited for using insider information for personal gain.

Some have been

prosecuted for violating SEC laws, but others have conducted unethical business
unnoticed. Many firms now implement extensive training in ethical decisionmaking. Tough standards of ethical behavior are now common in the United
States.

Code of Conduct and ethics classes is not only common but also

mandatory in many firms. In some industries, the government mandates them.

Managers who operate in cross-cultural situations must deal with variations in
personal and societal definitions of ethical or moral behavior. In these situations,
they need to determine their own and their companys ethical standards and use
them as guidelines for making decisions. Managers and employees should apply
personal moral or societal codes of values in evaluating decisions. They should
review the harmful consequences of behaviors to certain constituencies.

The

effectiveness of a decision depends on factors such as the characteristics of the

decision maker, various cognitive biases, and organizational barriers.

Transformational Leadership and Super Leadership

Transformational leaders are often charismatic. They have developed a vision
for their organization, cause, or work group. This vision guides them in attaining
quality, performance, and productivity. They motivate others by focusing on
higher goals. Their behavior contrasts with transactional leaders who focus more
on compliance with existing organizational rules and trade rewards for agreement
with the leaders wishes. A transformational leader helps employees see a need to
revitalize their organization.
Employee visits to other organizations can also motivate change. Transformational
leaders involve employees in planning for and creating a new vision. The leader

helps workers or other managers reframe the way they think about the
organization. Transformational leaders motivate others to do better than they
expected by raising their consciousness about the importance of certain outcomes
such as high productivity or efficiency. They show the value of what benefits their
work team rather than on their personal interest.

In addition, they raise the

workers need levels so that they value challenges, responsibility, and growth.

Super leadership
Super leaders go beyond the transformational leader by helping followers
discover, use, and maximize their abilities. They empower followers to contribute
fully to organizations.

They transform employees into self-leaders who take

responsibility for motivating and directing their personal behaviors. A leader

becomes a super leader by becoming a self-leader. He uses an array of behavioral
and cognitive strategies that include personal goal setting, practice, rewards, or
punishments to oneself. He makes sure activities result in a sense of competence,
purpose, and self-control. A super leader models self-leadership. He displays selfleadership behaviors and encourages others to rehearse and practice them.

He

encourages employees to create self-set goals. The leader trains and supports
others in setting accepted, challenging, and attainable goals. A super leader creates
positive thought patterns by continuously observing, evaluating, and changing his
assumptions, beliefs, mental images, and thinking. He rewards self-leadership
behaviors and constructively criticizes other behaviors. The leader uses natural
rewards that stem from the task, such as a sense of competence, increased
responsibility, and self-administered rewards, such as self-recognition, self-praise,
and self-congratulations. A super leader uses teamwork to promote self-leadership.
He relies on teams to reinforce principles of self-leadership and provide a context

for responsibility and goal setting. This leader also creates a culture of selfleadership. The super leader extends self-leadership throughout the organization.
In addition to characteristics of the decision maker, characteristics of the
organization can influence decision-making and its effectiveness.

Structural

factors can determine who can legitimately make decisions. The extent of the
organizations hierarchy and its chain of command may legitimize certain decision
makers. For example, managers and employees in a state government often look to
their supervisors for approving decisions and handling exceptions. In contrast,
many dot-com companies give their employees freedom and flexibility in making
decisions. Flattening the organization by reducing the hierarchy also gives more
decision-making responsibility to lower-level managers and employees. Some
companies limit decision-making responsibilities to those with extensive expertise
by emphasizing specialization of functions.

Such expertise can be valuable,

however insisting on it in all situations can slow down routine decisions.

A company can influence decision-making through its reward system.
Companies can reward the quality or quantity of decisions made. Frequently they
reward one type of behavior while desiring a different type. For example, they
might reward employees work attendance; however, they actually desire highquality effort and performance. Companies can encourage worker initiative in
reaching good decisions by rewarding creativity, effort, and outcomes. They can
provide the tools workers need to get the information required for high quality
decision-making.

There are three forms of applied thinking that everyone needs: decision
making, problem solving, and creative thinking. Decision Making and Problem
Solving will help readers master the processes of practical thinking that lie behind
effective decision making, problem solving, and creative thinking. Using
checklists, exercises, and case studies, this book enables anyone to understand key
concepts such as: how the mind works, the principles of effective thinking, how to
develop a framework for decision making, how to use a simple model for making
decisions and solving problems, how to sharpen up creative thinking skills, and
how to develop your thinking skills in the future. An expert on management
thinking, John Adair will help managers and leaders of all levels ensure that the
best decisions are taken, that problems are solved in the optimum way, and that the
creative ideas and innovations so necessary for tomorrow's business flow freely.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR STYLE

The book is a mainly targeted for Management people. The language used is
slightly complex I assume the intention was to improve the thinking and language
capabilities of the reader to a professional level.

John Adair is a sophisticated writer but still skillful enough to convey the
information and make it understandable through case studies.
The book is structured and sequenced starting from simple skills to the tough ones
which requires art and practice.
All chapters have the same pattern that is theory that explains the skill and a case
study to make understand its practical application.
The author has tried to keep the book standards both complicated and simple at the
same time.
The author style is definitely unique in its own way. But this approach is
acceptable.
The book explains every content with specific critical case study and also the key
facts in solving them which provides a lot of clarity for the reader.

POINTS I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK

John Adair has provided a reliable book on Decision making. He starts off
with an introduction saying the reason behind the naming of the book and

also the importance of structuring sentences during problem encounters in

conversations.
I have to mention a specific line in the book, an old saying which the author
has included in the book there is a reason we have two ears and one mouth
by which he means to say we have to listen twice as much before we open
our mouth to speak.
Every chapter was read with interest and I was more eager on each case
study and the tactics and communication skill used to resolve potential
conflicts.
The situations and case studies on sensitive issues were enlightening.
The contents of the book indirectly teach values and ethics on human
relations and also tactics on winning an encounter, basically to develop and
control a win-win situation.
If you never worked in an office, and had no social skills, this book might
get you through the first week of a new job.

The subjects deal in this book, i like it since the beginning though the end, because
has modern ideas, concepts on decision making i do not know, from my point of
view, the idea of leadershiping seem to me wonderful and appreciate and his no
mathematical approach.

Mr. Adair appears to be very knowledgeable in this area, but I found this book to
be a too elementary. The strategies he suggests were very broad concepts that you
could find in any book on this subject. What I liked about it was the section that he
added to the end of each chapter titled "Key Concepts"; these helped me
understand his important points.

POINTS I HATED ABOUT THE BOOK

I cannot say I hated anything about the book, but would like to mention few
of my personal opinions as drawbacks of this book.

 The author has use complicated British English in writing the book which is
quite challenging and also annoying at the same time, for me as a reader
used to Indian English
The book could have been smaller in volume not because I was lazy to read
it but because I felt the content was exaggerated and elaborated.
The last chapter contained full of rules, not that it is irrelevant to the book
but a sudden change in the style and no case studies makes it a little dry to
turn pages.
It covers a huge amount of material. In the end the coverage is ridiculously
elementary. This might have been a great book for the high schooled
considering a career in business, except that it only addresses executives.

LEARNINGS FROM THE BOOK

My learning from the book is stated as below:
1. A certain amount of stress is essential for life.

A certain amount of stress is essential for human life as if there is no stress at

all; human behavior tends to be lazy.
2. Identifying stress is important.
Identification of problems is important as the awareness itself wins the half
of the battle. So we should be aware of the problems affecting our lives and
only after that, we can formulate plans to manage it.
4.

Decision Making should be made a part of the life.

5.

Decision Making is a part of the life.

In my reading, I found that Decision Making is a part of our life.