Decision Making
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Decision Making is often thought of as one person giving Authorization for action. Actually Decision Making is a process beginning with a particular Action or Event, then Assessment which can be more or less explicit, then the development of Recommendations and finally Authorization.
Consensus Voting
As a FAITH COMMUNITY we want to test our desires and choices in such a way that each person is respected and our decisions are based on values.
Decisions are often made by the Political Method (majority/minority vote) or the Compromise Method (through negotiation). The Faith Communities of the Archdiocese have been using the Consensus Method which respects each individual, provides ways of discovering the values a person is trying to preserve and gives the final decision maker a sense of the commitment for a particular recommendation.
Once a recommendation is formulated each person is asked to vote using a scale of +3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3. When more than one recommendation is developed, having a group vote on each recommendation helps the final decision maker or authorizer understand the strength of the group's commitment. A +1.5 or higher score is a strong indicator that the group is committed to a particular course of action.
+3 means I am very committed to this course of action. If the group does not agree with my course of action, I want to speak to it so that all will understand the values that I cherish. Perhaps through dialogue my values can be clarified and I can move to a
+2. If after dialogue I feel my values are still not respected, I may well have to leave the group. +2 means I strongly support this course of action. I would be extremely disappointed if the group were to choose another course of action, but I would live with it.
+1 means I favor this course of action. I could live with another course of action rather easily.
0 means I don't have enough information, am not prepared to vote, or could live with whatever the rest of the group would decide.
-1 means I do not favor this course of action. I could, however, live with this course of action rather easily.
-2 means I am strongly against this course of action. I would be extremely disappointed if the group were to choose this course of action, but I would live with it.
-3 means I am very strongly against this course of action. If the group does not agree with my position, I want to speak to it so that all will understand the values that I cherish. Perhaps through dialogue my values can be clarified and I can move to agreement, at least –2. If after dialogue I feel my values are still not respected, I may well have to leave the group.