5.8 Key Terms

Active listening creates a real-time relationship between the Sender and the Receiver by paying full attention to what other people are saying without interrupting, reflecting on the message and asking questions to ensure understanding.

Analysis paralysis  where more and more time is spent on gathering information and thinking about it, but no decisions actually get made.

Anchoring refers to the tendency for individuals to rely too heavily on a single piece of information.

Biased language consists of words or phrases that may stereotype, offend, exclude or disrespect an individual or group based on age, ethnicity, sexual preference, or political beliefs personal or group affiliation.

Bounded rationality model of decision making limits options to a manageable set from which to choose the best alternative without conducting an exhaustive search for alternatives.

Brainstorming is a group process of generating ideas that follows a set of guidelines including no criticism of ideas, no idea is too wild, and the process of building or piggybacking on other ideas.

Communication is the exchange of information.

Consensus is decision making where the entire group must agree on the idea or plan of action.

Creativity is the generation of new, imaginative ideas.

Crucial conversations are communications involving personal risk and high stress due to participants’ differing opinions and strong emotions.

Decision making refers to making choices among alternative courses of action—which may also include inaction.

Decision rule is the automated response we use to make programmed decisions.

Decision trees are diagrams in which answers to yes or no questions lead decision makers to address additional questions until they reach the end of the tree.

Delphi Technique is a group decision making process using written responses to a series of questionnaires instead of physically bringing individuals together to make a decision.

Differences in meaning occur because different words mean different things to different people; age, education, and cultural background are all factors that influence how a person interprets words.

Emotional disconnects happen when the Sender or the Receiver is upset, whether about the subject at hand or about some unrelated incident. An emotionally upset Receiver tends to ignore or distort what the Sender is saying. A Sender who is emotionally upset may be unable to present ideas or feelings effectively.

Escalation of commitment occurs when individuals continue on a failing course of action because they are already invested in it, even after information reveals this may be a poor path to follow.

Filtering is the distortion or withholding of information to manage a person’s reactions.

Flexibility refers to how different the ideas are from one another in the creative decision making process.

Fluency refers to the number of ideas a person is able to generate in the creative decision making process.

Framing bias refers to the tendency of decision makers to be influenced by the way that a situation or problem is presented.

Gendered language words, phrases, or titles that are linked to either males or females, for example chairman versus chair.

Grapevine involves unofficial communication amongst colleagues where information is shared that may or may not be accurate (including gossip).

Group decision support systems (GDSS) are interactive computer-based systems that combine communication and decision technologies to help groups make better decisions.

Groupthink the tendency to avoid critically evaluating ideas that the group favors.

Hindsight bias occurs when looking backward in time where mistakes made seem obvious after they have already occurred.

Idea quotas determine the number of ideas a group must generate.

Illumination is the decision making step also known as the insight moment, when the solution to the problem becomes apparent to the person – often when it is least expected.

Immersion is the decision making step involving information gathering and conscious thought about the problem.

Incubation is the decision making step that allows the brain to work on the problem unconsciously while the individual sets the problem aside and does not focus on it.

Information overload a state of imbalance when we are receiving more information than we can take in.

Jargon is the language of specialized terms used by a group or profession.

Lack of source familiarity or credibility occurs when the Sender and the Receiver lack common context,  are unfamiliar with one another so misinterpret messages, or when the Sender lacks credibility or is untrustworthy.

Majority rule refers to decision making where each member of the group is given a single vote, and the option that receives the greatest number of votes is selected.

Medium/channel is the manner by which information is exchanged – this can be oral, written (text, email, advertisement, etc.), or non-verbal.

Noise is anything that interferes with or distorts the Message being exchanged.

Nominal Group Technique (NGT) ensures that all members participate fully in group decision making through four steps:  (1) each member records ideas independently, (2) the group shares their ideas, (3) discussion, clarification, and evaluation of ideas occurs, and (4) individuals vote for their favorite ideas by using either ranking or rating techniques.

Nonprogrammed decisions are unique and important, requiring conscious thinking, information gathering, and careful consideration of alternatives.

Operational decisions are shorter term decisions that employees make to run an organization on a day to day basis.

Originality refers to the uniqueness of ideas in the creative decision making process.

Overconfidence bias occurs when individuals overestimate their abilities.

Political correctness includes using language in a non-gendered unbiased way to defuse the volatile nature of words and avoid stereotyping.

Problem identification is the first step in decision making where the root cause of the issue is determined.

Programmed decisions are decisions that occur frequently enough that we develop an automated response to them.

Rational decision-making model describes a series of steps that decision makers should consider if their goal is to maximize the quality of their outcomes.

Receiver is the person who receives the Message. The Receiver decodes the Message by assigning meaning to the words or nonverbal communication.

Satisfice refers to accepting the first alternative that meets your minimum criteria.

Selective perception refers to filtering what we see and hear, often unconsciously, to suit our own needs.

Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. Words and phrases can mean different things to different people, or they might not mean anything to another person.

Sender the originator of the information to be exchanged who encodes a message by translating an idea into words.

Social loafing the tendency of some members to put forth less effort while working within a group.

Storytelling is communication through the use of stories to help construct common meanings and provide clarity.

Strategic decisions are long term decisions that set the course of an organization.

Tactical decisions are more detailed mid term decisions including action plans to achieve an organization’s overall strategy.

The intuitive decision-making model is based on intuition or experience rather than following a formal process.

Verbal communication takes place via phone, web based calls or conferences, through media, or in person.

Verification and application is the final decision making step where the decision maker consciously verifies the feasibility of the solution and implements the decision.

Wildstorming occurs when a group focuses on generating seemingly impossible ideas then determine ways to make the impossible possible.

Written business communications are printed messages.