One of the most valuable skills in group decision making is the ability to make trustworthy judgments about group performance. It follows from the "inferential model" of social cognition (Pavitt, 1989; Pavitt & Hight, 1986), that there are three types of judgments relevant to the group context: (1) behavioral (what the group did);…

Three critical factors in the Terrence E. Deal model for examining organizational climate and culture are values, rites and rituals, and communication networks, and these were assessed in a study of 80 graduate students to determine their perceptions of these elements in a university graduate program in Administration and Policy Studies (APS). The…

Defining "participation" as subordinate involvement with decision making in the work process, a study examined how a group of subordinates interpreted or made sense of participation, and the role the leader played in the sense-making process. Interviews and observation techniques were used to capture the sense-making of individuals in…

Research has shown that among the obstacles to success in implementing shared decision making is finding ways to negotiate the inherent power differentials and traditional role expectations among the various stakeholders. This paper describes the methods developed by district-level planning teams to "even the playing field" and to promote…

This study explores the relationship between demographic diversity among members of school leadership councils and the nature and quality of their decision-making processes. A survey was mailed to all members of the leadership councils at 156 Los Angeles (California) Unified School District schools--of which 78 were involved in the shared…

This paper discusses the concept of a dual cultural and political perspective for analyzing interaction. It also illustrates how this dual perspective can explain how senior management teams (SMTs) operate in English secondary schools, in which senior faculty profess commitment to teamwork. Methodology included: (1) case studies of six secondary…

Research indicates that the role of information can be ambiguous in the decision-making process. Because relevance can be a problem with respect to information used in decision making, organizations should strive to achieve a linkage between flows of information and the making of specific decisions. Information flow between organizations and their…

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of problem-solving groups, a study developed a model of group problem-solving behavior, and applied the resulting conceptual framework to 16 actual evaluations of quality circle programs (defined as a group of 3-15 persons from the same work area who meet for problem-solving). The model divides each of the…

Is the work of democracy too hard for schools to implement? This paper presents findings of a study that examined the dialectical relationship between the espoused values of democracy in schools and the actual practice of equity and inclusion in site-based decision making. Specifically, it examines the lived experience of the people inside schools…

Despite the recent attention to shared decision making, there has been little research investigating the process. This paper presents and compares three case studies describing the leadership and decision making of three shared-decision-making teams over 4 years. The teams--from one primary, one middle, and one high school--were set in one school…

Quality circles, small groups of employees working voluntarily toward performance improvement, have become a popular business strategy in the past decade. When effective, the quality circle may be linked directly to the increased productivity of the work group. The quality circle process may be divided into four components: identification and…

Quality circles have proliferated in organizations throughout the 1980s, but their success depends on careful planning and monitoring, and on an awareness of social psychology and group dynamics. This presentation accordingly evaluates some of the assumptions of the literature on quality circles and suggests ways in which social psychology…

Quality circles may be regarded as a form of organizational intervention strategy to enhance productivity and product quality through employee participation. Operationally, small groups of individual employees voluntarily meet regularly to (1) identify problems relating to productivity and product quality, (2) discuss them, (3) identify and…

In recent years, Japanese management techniques have been proclaimed by many as the salvation of American business. It would be dangerous, however, to apply these techniques to American business situations without critically examining them. Whereas Americans regard responsible individuality as a virtue and view lack of autonomy as a constraint,…

This paper presents findings of a case study that explored the micropolitical strategies used by a principal to influence teachers in a school-based decision making context. The selected suburban school was located in the south-central area of Texas and had utilized school-based management for five months. The principal was recommended as…