Prepared by Sandor Schuman,
Executive Decision Services LLC
Many
of these projects were conducted by the Decision Techtronics Group, a precursor
of Executive Decision Services.
Association of Retarded Citizens
Retrenchment Tradeoffs
The Day Treatment Program provided by the Association of Retarded Citizens
serves developmentally disabled persons according to their individualized
needs. In 1982 available program
funding was drastically reduced. Twelve
professional staff members were brought together at a decision conference to
define priorities and determine budget allocations. The participants were able to achieve consensus and enhance their
team management in spite of these ominous constraints.
AT&T
Consolidating Offices Regionally
Partly because of divestiture, AT&T decided to investigate the
feasibility of cutting back from 33 account centers across the country to
perhaps six. The individuals charged
with the investigation gathered an enormous amount of information, but as their
deadline approached, requested assistance in its integration and analysis. A decision conference was conducted the next
day. A series of models was constructed
to analyze multiple objectives and alternatives. As a result, a framework for making decisions about office
locations was established.
Civil Service Employees Association
Establishing Curriculum Priorities
The Advanced Human Resources Development Program was initiated under the
direction of the Governor's Office of Employee Relations and the Civil Service
Employees Association to provide advanced training for interested members of
the state workforce. During the
development stage of the program a decision conference was used to establish
curriculum priorities for each of eight training courses.
College at Cobleskill
Campus Priorities with Reduced Funding
Faced with an imminent budget crisis, administrators of the State
University College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill reassessed
campus-wide priorities and developed a strategic plan that could enable the
College to absorb potential funding cuts while protecting the college's
future. The College vice-presidents and
deans identified items in all areas of campus operation that could be reduced,
as well as items that deserved greater funding. By exploring the benefits and costs of all proposed increases and
decreases, they identified the combination of reductions and investments of
greatest strategic advantage to the future of the campus. The conference resulted in a list of
investment priorities that would enable the College to adjust to a 3, 5, or 10%
cut in funding.
College at Purchase
Mission Statement and Strategic Planning Process
As a campus with diverse programs the College at Purchase has struggled
arduously over its mission. The decision
conference was convened to write a consensus mission statement and develop a
campus-wide strategic planning and budgeting process. Forty members of the campus community collaboratively wrote the
mission statement using computer projected software managed by a group
facilitator. Cognizant of the consensus mission, a number of planning and
budgeting processes were then proposed and evaluated against twenty-one
criteria. A refined proposal was
developed for submission to the college senate.
Community General Hospital of Greater Syracuse
Information System Transition Choices
The expansion of the hospital's information systems required the
acquisition of one or more new computers.
To complicate the decision, however, the vendor supplying the hospital's
database language announced that it would cease to support it and would only
support a new product that could only run on certain manufacturers'
computers. Physicians and
administrators also wanted a more advanced language that would enable them to
do their own data analysis. Discussions
dragged on over several months threatening the planned installation of new
nursing station terminals for lack of sufficient computers. In a series of half-day sessions physicians,
administrators and computer staff constructed a multiattribute utility model to
sort out the issues and options and developed a long term plan.
Community Maternity Services
Developing a Research and Evaluation Program
Community Maternity Services (CMS) addresses the needs of unmarried
mothers. As a maturing organization,
CMS used a decision conference to re-establish major goals and priorities for
programs, services, and continuing organizational development. One of these goals, the development of a
research and evaluation component within the agency, was the subject of a
second decision conference.
Department of Environmental Conservation
Issues and Recommendations for Recycling
The Recycling Forum involved a series of meetings of over 50 experts
representing commercial recyclers, industrial users of recycled materials,
environmentalists, and local governments.
These participants identified issues and developed policy
recommendations that would lead to increased recycling activity in the state.
Department of Environmental Conservation
Finalizing the Solid Waste Management Plan
In response to new priorities and funding availability division staff held
a one day meeting to determine how they could produce a state Solid Waste
Management Plan under severe time constraints.
Key issues were identified and scored to decide which would be covered
in the first year plan and which would have to be postponed for later
updates. Staff were assigned to ensure
the timely completion of all tasks.
Department of Environmental Conservation
Local Government Concerns in Solid Waste Management
Representatives of local governments were brought together to identify
their concerns regarding solid waste.
From an initial list of over 40 issues five top priorities were
identified and detailed recommendations were developed for each.
Department of Environmental Conservation
Strategic Plan for the Great Lakes
Charged with developing a strategic plan for the Great Lakes, the
Department of Environmental Conservation assembled a diverse group of 35
representatives including citizen members of the Great Lakes Advisory Council
and state agency officials. The
participants identified a series of assumptions to undergird the strategic
plan, developed a conceptual framework for addressing coastal and natural
resource issues and agreed in principle to adopt a sustainable economic
development and an ecosystem approach to planning.
Department of Labor
Office Leasing Policies and Site Evaluation
To deliver employment and related services the New York State Department of
Labor (DOL) leases office space in 200 locations throughout the state at an
annual cost of over 20 million dollars.
As leases expire, officials at DOL must decide whether the office should
be continued in that vicinity, and if so, whether it should be maintained at
the current site or relocated to a more cost-effective alternative. In a series of decision conferences, DOL
executives examined the relationship between physical location and program
effectiveness, developed a decision model for evaluating alternative sites, and
determined office space requirements for Job Service Offices.
Department of Motor Vehicles
Strategic Planning
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles provides services in three
major areas: highway safety, licensing and registration, and consumer
protection. At a decision conference,
executives clarified the department's role, mission, and priorities, and
developed a strategic plan for balancing services and meeting goals.
Department of Transportation
A State Policy for Railroad Bridge Underclearances
The Railroad Bridge Underclearance Committee was formed within the New York
State Department of Transportation to recommend a standard for highway bridge
vertical clearances over railroad lines.
The decision was complicated by uncertainty about the clearance needs of
future rail technology, the pending actions of other states, the high cost of
raising bridges in densely populated areas, and other factors. At a decision conference, the Committee
established criteria that should be considered in setting the standard,
examined the relative costs and benefits of various clearance heights, and
selected a specific height to recommend for the major railroad lines.
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council
Staffing Priorities for Effective Program Implementation
After developing their first program implementation plan, staff were told
by their board of directors that their plan was too ambitious. At a decision conference the staff
systematically evaluated the program proposals and identified their
priorities. The revised plan was more
realistic in making use of limited staff resources.
Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Redesigning the Service Delivery System
The New York State Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse initiated a
series of conferences to comprehensively redesign their service delivery
system. New types of services were
identified, accompanied by decision criteria to distinguish the appropriate type
of service for various clients. A dynamic
simulation model was constructed to examine the flow of clients into and out of
the system over a period of several years.
Key population data were identified and incorporated in a judgment model
to allow estimation of the population with alcohol-related problems in a
particular county. The service delivery
system model will allow the appropriate mix of services to be developed to meet
emerging regional needs.
Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Developing a Five Year Plan
The New York State Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse asked for
assistance in establishing budget and program priorities for its mandated
Five-year Plan. Participants
representing every major element in the organizational structure, as well as
outside interest groups, examined managerial and policy functions, and program
initiatives. Construction of a computer
model enabled the participants to view all the possible activities in an
integrated framework, enabling them to assess priorities and select the most
salient possibilities for inclusion the in Five-year Plan.
Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Ensuring Access to Alcoholism Treatment
An important mission of the Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is to
ensure treatment for all those in need of alcoholism services. This decision conference focused on
increasing the availability of private sector services to under-served
populations. The Division invited 26
representatives from a wide spectrum of groups in the field of alcoholism
treatment to propose and evaluate policy options. By the end of the two day session the group reached consensus on
four policy recommendations that would combat the problem of insufficient
access to alcoholism treatment.
Economic Development Council
State Economic Development Priorities
The executive board of the State Economic Development Council had only
three hours at its annual conference to develop recommendations to the New York
State Department of Economic Development.
A computer/facilitated meeting enabled twenty attendees to contribute
their ideas and order their priorities.
Empire State College
Streamlining Academic Procedures
In response to long-standing concerns, administrators of the Empire State
College convened a decision conference to streamline academic and administrative
procedures. From an original list of 77
proposals, participants selected 32 with sufficient merit to be developed and
evaluated in detail. The 35
participants, representing all regions of the state, estimated the strategic
benefits and costs of each proposed change and agreed on their relative
priority. Detailed action plans,
including follow-up responsibilities for each individual, were developed to
ensure the implementation of the selected changes.
Insurance Department
Preventing a Security Fund Crisis
Insurance company insolvencies increasingly threaten the stability of the
Property and Casualty Insurance Security Fund.
The Insurance Department, in its dual but sometimes conflicting roles as
liquidator of insurance company estates and trustee of the Security Fund, used
a decision conference to focus on three key issues: what scope and level of
coverage should the Security Fund provide, how can the Fund gain quicker access
to the assets of estates, and what method should be used to assess insurance
companies for payments to the Fund. In
the course of completing the multiple-criteria decision model for "scope
and level of coverage" a fourth issue, controlling insolvencies, emerged. On the second day sub-groups addressed each
of the remaining issues to explore the details of the problem and create policy
options.
Insurance Department
Policy Options for Medical Malpractice Insurance
The crisis in medical malpractice insurance was temporarily eased by
interim legislation due to expire within a few months. The State Insurance Department was charged
with developing recommendations for a long term solution. At a series of decision conferences the long
term effects of various policy options were examined using a system dynamics
model. A multiattribute utility model
was also developed to evaluate policy options and develop new options that
built on identified strengths.
Insurance Department
Information Systems and the Liability Insurance Crisis
Faced with a liability insurance crisis, needs for more intensive
regulation, and increasing demands on EDP resources, the New York State
Insurance Department clearly recognized the need to develop an integrated
database to serve agency-wide decision-making needs. In a series of decision conferences policy makers identified the
emerging issues, decisions they would have to face, and their related
information needs. Participants
identified their information needs comprehensively and assessed their
priorities by evaluating the costs and benefits of making the information
available through a new integrated information system.
Medical Waste Policy Committee
Recommendations to Address Medical Waste
The Medical Waste Policy Committee convened a diverse group of 30 technical
experts to review a draft report of findings and recommendations dealing with
medical waste problems. A
computer/facilitated meeting was used to gather their comments, annotating the
current draft on a large computer projection screen. Research needs were also identified and prioritized by the group.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan 2020: Natural Resources
and Environmental Leadership Institute
Improving the quality of life in Michigan for the year 2020 was the focus
for this decision conference. The
Leadership Institute identified four topical areas (Resource Management and
Recreation, Environmental Protection, Land Use, and Economy and Infrastructure)
and developed a series of initiatives in each.
By estimating the strategic advantage regarding the "Michigan
2020" goal and the five year costs for each initiative, a resource
allocation model clearly identified a set of affordable initiatives for the
institute to target.
National Association of Social Workers
Analyzing Membership Dues Needs
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional
organization with four primary functions: providing professional development
opportunities for members, creating and maintaining professional standards for
social work practice, advancing sound public social policies and programs, and
rendering membership services. To
continue funding these activities, NASW had to determine the necessity and
viability of increasing membership dues.
At a decision conference conducted by the Decision Techtronics Group, a
strategic forecasting model was developed to aid in fiscal policy making. Results of the conference were reported at
the Association's annual meeting. Members
subsequently approved the dues increase.
New York State Assembly
The Future of Fire Protection
Fire protection is provided by various local government entities, by
voluntary and paid fire fighters, and under various organizational
structures. Many legislative proposals
have been offered that might improve fire protection. However, the system is so complex that better communication among
the parties in conflict is required to understand all of the issues and make
more coherent reforms. At the
Conference on the Future of Fire Protection legislators met with
representatives of municipal and fire protection organizations in six separate
workshops to identify and prioritize the issues and create policy alternatives.
Office for the Aging
Cutback Resource Management
The New York State Office for the Aging (SOFA) serves elderly New Yorkers
in a variety of capacities. Faced with
budget reductions, SOFA had limited resources to fund staff for all its
functions and objectives. The executive
team assembled at a decision conference to conduct cost-benefit analyses,
addressing the issue of cutback resource management.
Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
Strategic Initiatives and Staff Priorities
As a small but vital organization, the Office for the Prevention of
Domestic Violence has responsibility for a multitude of programmatic initiatives. To meet these responsibilities more
efficiently, the entire staff met at a decision conference to develop a
strategic plan for allocating staff efforts over the next year. Using the resource allocation model the
group first identified increasing levels of staff time that could be devoted to
each existing and proposed programmatic activity. The benefit from each level of effort, and the relative of
importance of the different programs, was assessed. A subset of activities was identified that would provide the
greatest strategic benefit with the available staff time.
Office of Mental Health
Staffing Requirements under Budgetary Constraints
With over 30,000 employees staffing state mental health facilities, the New
York State Office of Mental Health allocates its personnel resources
carefully. A series of decision
conferences was conducted to examine staff responsibilities and staff-to-client
ratios in light of budget constraints.
A set of staff allocation models was developed to analyze needs for all
categories of staff in the various psychiatric settings.
Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Identifying Executive Information Needs
Executives at the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities were concerned that existing reports provided too
much data in some areas and too little information in others. At a decision conference the executives
identified their management and strategic information needs as the basis for a
new reporting system. An implementation
plan for ensuring that the new reports were developed was adopted. Within six months nearly all the new reports
were in place.
Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
A Marketing Plan for State Parks
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
had commissioned a marketing study which showed that public awareness of agency
services was not strong and that potential for improvement existed. A decision conference involving executive
and regional staff was held to develop a strategic marketing plan to improve
the agency's public image.
Ohio University College of Business Administration
The Future of Business Education
Responding to the national wave of criticism regarding the effectiveness of
business education, the dean of the College of Business Administration
initiated a year long congress to evaluate and restructure business
education. At the kick-off conference,
attended by 75 business administration and other university faculty, six
subgroups worked with facilitators to identify issues and options, and agree on
a task force structure to develop recommendations.
Public Employees Federation
Curriculum Design
The Public Service Training Program is sponsored jointly by the New York State
Governor's Office of Employee Relations and the Public Employees
Federation. In the development phase of
the program, an expert panel was assembled at a decision conference to
establish curriculum priorities. The
experts reached consensus on the essential components of the training program
and developed a time allocation plan for the foundation courses.
Public Employment Relations Board
Mediating Labor and Management Impasse
A demonstration involving the New York State Public Employment Relations Board
(PERB) had been successful in illustrating the use of decision conference
techniques in the mediation process.
The real test occurred when the labor and management negotiating teams
in a school district declared an impasse.
With modifications of general procedures to accommodate the mediation
setting, the bargaining positions of the negotiating teams were clarified
analytically. In consultation with the
PERB mediator, the potential settlements that best fulfilled the needs of both
parties were offered. Although
settlement did not occur until after factfinding, both parties concluded that
the analytical mediation was critical to the settlement.
Rhode Island Department of Human Services
Comprehensive Goals and Priorities
The Division of Economic and Social Services within the Rhode Island
Department of Human Services exists to ensure that the social and economic
needs of the citizens of Rhode Island are met.
The Division has a large and varied clientele competing for available
resources. The Decision Techtronics
Group hosted an decision conference which established goals, objectives, and
priorities for the Division's programs and services.
Rhode Island Department of Human Services
New Directions for Family and Adult Services
Declining federal funds have focused attention on the role of the Family
Services Social Worker in the overall staffing arrangement in the Division of
Economic and Social Services.
Individuals representing the various professional staff roles and
regions in the state gathered at a decision conference and proposed new
missions, goals, and staffing strategies for both Family Services and Adult
Services in light of constrained funds and new policy directions.
Rockefeller Institute of Government
Executive Leadership Transition
As the new director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government took office
radical changes were being imposed that required a critical reexamination of
the Institute budget. Not yet
knowledgeable of the Institute's scope of activities or the detail of its
operations, the new director had to rely on others to rapidly gain an
understanding of current operations and future needs. The director used a decision conference to bring all the staff
together and comprehensively redefine program priorities.
State Library
Reorganizing the Division of Library Development
To enhance organizational performance, the director of the Division of
Library Development believed that a structural reorganization was
appropriate. The entire staff of the
Division participated in a decision conference convened to develop a new
organizational structure. Participants
initially generated a list of Division functions and then organized them into
three alternative organizational structures.
Evaluations of the proposed structures were made according to
twenty-five criteria developed by the group.
A final organizational structure, drawing on elements from all three of
the original alternatives, was designed.
State Library
The Research Environment of the Future
The Library's Panel on the Research Environment of the Future, composed of
experts from the areas of publishing, electronic databases, and research,
developed a comprehensive outline for its final report, "Preparing for the
Research Environment of the Future."
State Library
Strengthening Library Systems
The future of libraries increasingly relies on interdependencies among the
various library systems. At a
conference on intersystem library coordination, representatives of the state's
nine regions worked in concurrent sessions, each with its own facilitator, to
produce its own regional action plan.
Computer aids enabled the participants to leave with a printout of the
plan they developed for their region.
Temporary State Commission on Returnable Beverage Containers
Impact of the Bottle Bill
On September 12, 1983, New York became the ninth state to require mandatory
deposits for most beverage containers.
The Temporary State Commission on Returnable Beverage Containers was
created by the legislature to study the impact of the law after its first
year. A decision conference was held to
assist the Commission in preparing its final recommendations to the New York
State legislature. Thirteen issue areas
were identified, and alternative recommendations were examined for each. The Commission conducted its own
deliberations on those issues where consensus was problematic.
Texas Department of Human Services
Child Abuse Hotline
With the continual increase in child abuse reports, the Protective Services
for Abused and Neglected Children Program within the Texas Department of Human
Resources began a project to streamline service delivery and make better use of
automation in services to clients. A
decision conference, involving policy specialists and field staff, was held to
develop a formal policy and implementation worksheet for immediate assessment
of the urgency of incoming child abuse reports.
University at Albany
Discretionary Budget Allocations
Every year key administrators of the University at Albany, State University
of New York, meet to establish program priorities for the University's
discretionary budget. The allocation of
money to satisfy various needs is analyzed in terms of relative costs and
benefits. Prior to the decision
conference, each administrator is assisted in developing a computer-aided model
for his or her area of concern. At the
decision conference the administrators review each other's models, combine them
into a single model, and reach consensus on resource allocations.
University at Albany Information Science Program Committee
Ph.D. Program Requirements
After months of preparatory negotiations the Information Science Program
Committee met to define the core curriculum requirements for the proposed Ph.D.
program in Information Science. Aided
by a facilitator using computer projection technology the group finished its
work in a one day meeting.
University at Albany Office of Residential Life
Meeting Student Needs
The Office of Residential Life is responsible for meeting the needs of
students living on-campus at the University at Albany, including counseling,
career planning, and academic development.
Faced with insufficient resources to adequately cover all its
operations, the Office of Residential Life sought to reallocate staff time at a
decision conference. The proceedings
resulted in a reorganization of the Office, aided by a cost-benefit analysis
model developed during the conference.
University at Albany Presidential Task Force on Computing
Computer System Acquisition Planning
The President of the University at Albany established a Commission on
Computing to investigate the role computing would likely play on campus
throughout the 1980's. The Commission
addressed computer needs in instruction, research, administration, and public
service. At a decision conference the
Commission developed a coherent proposal for a variety of major computer
acquisitions.
