Decision Support Models 2021/2022

Instituto Superior Técnico. Lisbon, Portugal

Laura Daniela Parra Gómez

Ist1104411

Biomedical Engineering Department

May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the way people interact and
in decision-making

Decision-making implies that there are various alternatives to consider and choose the one
that best suits our desires, values, objectives, among others [1]. Decision making can be done both
individually and collectively. In recent years, decision-making has changed from being carried out
through face-to-face meetings, between different stakeholders, to virtual and online meetings; using
some of tools including, but not limited to Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams [2,3]. This shift
is due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has thrown the world into crisis and triggered a
universal experience shared by millions of people: the modification from traveling to workplaces and
interacting in proximity in the outside world, to suddenly work remotely from home and interact barely
through the internet [2]. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these tools were probably only known in the
business world as a reference to the software used to run occasional remote meetings. Today, it has
become a necessity, correspond to the current method of interacting, learning and, sometimes,
earning living [2]. Studies have shown that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many
employees easily got used to remote work [4]. It is important to highlight that before the pandemic,
many companies around the world were in some stages of adopting and adapting to computational
tools that would allow them to restructure their way of working to obtain more efficient results [2]. And,
even with the recent return to the office, there are several companies around the world that have
continued to embrace the work-from-home model. Nonetheless, online and virtual settings
significantly altered people’s movements and patterns of work and made difficult the process of
decision-making.

The pandemic has provided an opportunity to experiment with work-from-home productivity,

making it easier for people to organize and save time and space. To exemplify the above, in a report
Quiggin [5], determined that, before the pandemic, approximately, people spent an hour going and
then returning from their homes to their workplace. From this, it is suggested that this time saved in
transport could add a significant gain in productivity when working remotely [5]. Similarly, proponents
of this idea state that virtuality has allowed meetings to be reformed, it is no longer necessary to be
in person to make simple decisions, as flexible meetings can be held, that is, doing meetings from
anywhere and that do not take a long time. Tools such as Zoom facilitate this organization and
promote people to be more efficient and more connected, since this software allow several meetings
to be held at the same time, using the “breakout rooms” option. These changes have modified the
way people interact with each other, however, this organization and productivity does not necessarily
imply favoring the decision-making process, since, as will be explained later, there are other factors
that influence the effectiveness of this process.

Virtual meetings allow to increase the number of participants in a meeting. However, this can
make it difficult for all members to actively participate, and for group decisions to be made by a group
that represents the minority. In the same way, superficial discussions may occur, so it is necessary
that, as far as possible, all individuals can express their point of view and that it be considered.
Otherwise, bias could arise in decision-making. Another aspect to consider is the use of the camera
Decision Support Models 2021/2022
Instituto Superior Técnico. Lisbon, Portugal

in virtual meetings, in [3] it is highlighted that there is discomfort in some people when seeing their
own image on a computer screen, an aspect that does not occur naturally in communication face-to-
face, generating distractions. However, having all the participants with the camera turned off is not
an option, because when this happens, communication between the different individuals is
complicated, it is more difficult to analyze body language and it prevents everyone from being involved
in the meeting.

Having said that, some people argue that one of the main problems that prevents achieving
high efficiency in virtual teams is the decision-making process. In [1] it is stated that a work team is
likely to fail on average 8 times before making an optimal decision, since the members hide
information and there is not enough trust between them. Although it is true that virtual decision-making
is complex, since it requires the negotiation of opinions and ideas between team members, trust and
language play an important role in facilitating this process. In addition to maintaining a good
relationship between the members of a team, trust affects the decision-making processes of virtual
teams; by motivating people to give their opinion and ideas without worrying about being judged [1].
Additionally, the lack of trust coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic generates uncertainty in decision-
making, mainly moral decisions, since there is no certainty as to how others may be affected [6]. On
the other hand, language can also cause complications in communication between individuals in a
team. Differences in language not only are detrimental to the understanding between team members,
but also introduce social categorization, all of which might cause misunderstandings that can directly
affect decision-making processes.

A study carried out by Blanchard [7] explains that face-to-face decision-making processes
are similar to those carried out virtually. However, one difference is that the latter are delayed more
frequently, due to the fact that are exchanged fewer non-verbal communication signals. For example,
humor and sarcasm are much easier to detect in face-to-face communication; where there is constant
interaction and, in some cases, greater trust between individuals, than in virtual meetings. Computing
softwares like Microsoft Teams, allow for quick and easy short text messages between a team,
nonetheless, they are not a replacement for the face-to-face interaction and conversations that came
naturally in an office environment. Even, on some occasions instant messaging, tend to feel cold,
direct, and insensitive. And as mentioned above, all this can lead to communication problems that
affect and reduce the effectiveness of decision-making.

To conclude, the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantines with the orders to stay at home, have
caused significant changes in the way people work and interact with others. One of these changes
involves a greater use of video conferencing tools as a means of communication or holding work
meetings, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, among others. When these meetings are
well constructed, they can provide a forum for discussion, information sharing, problem solving, and
decision making. However, when poorly structured, meetings can lead to problems and complications
among employees, as well as inconveniences in interaction and decision making. This presents a
significant problem, because a primary reason for implementing team decision making is to use each
member's knowledge to its full potential. Current evidence shows that online and virtual settings
significantly altered people's movements and patterns of work and made the process of decision-
making difficult. For this reason, it is important to rethink on some occasions the structure and way in
which these tools are used, in order to achieve more efficient results in decision-making.
Decision Support Models 2021/2022
Instituto Superior Técnico. Lisbon, Portugal

References:

[1] V. Davidaviciene, K. Majzoub and I. Meidute-Kavaliauskiene, "Factors Affecting Decision-Making Processes

in Virtual Teams in the UAE", Information, vol. 11, no. 10, p. 490, 2020. Available: 10.3390/info11100490
[Accessed 19 May 2022].

[2] N. Mualam, "How COVID Affects Decision Making in Planning? The Use of ICT in Planning Boards’
Hearings", Real Corp, pp. 387-392, 2021. [Accessed 19 May 2022].

[3] T. O’Neill, S. Hancock, K. Zivkov, N. Larson and S. Law, "Team Decision Making in Virtual and Face-to-Face
Environments", Group Decision and Negotiation, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 995-1020, 2015. Available:
10.1007/s10726-015-9465-3 [Accessed 19 May 2022].

[4] J. Fitzgerald, "Silos That Work: How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Collaborate", HBS Working
Knowledge, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/silos-that-work-how-the-pandemic-
changed-the-way-we-collaborate. [Accessed: 19- May- 2022].

[5] J. Quiggin, "Have we just stumbled upon the biggest productivity increase of the century?", Abc.net.au,
2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-07/working-from-home-coronavirus-big-
productivity-increase/12628764. [Accessed: 19- May- 2022].

[6] J. Bavel et al., "Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response", Nature
Human Behaviour, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 460-471, 2020. Available: 10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z [Accessed 19 May
2022].

[7] A. Blanchard, "The effects of COVID-19 on virtual working within online groups", Group Processes &
Intergroup Relations, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 290-296, 2021. Available: 10.1177/1368430220983446 [Accessed 19
May 2022].