Decision-making generally takes place in one of two ways. The two ways are the reflective system and the reactive system. The reflective system is the analytical way of making decisions and is often characterized as methodical and logical. Although the thought process is carefully laid out when using the reflective system, the downside is that reflecting is much slower than reacting. Therefore although often viewed as superior, the reflective system is not always the optimal choice.

Two Systems

The reactive system is intuitive and relies more on emotions when compared to the reflective system. Although much faster than the reflective system, the reactive system is much less accurate and or careful. As such, the benefit of reactive is when spending is needed, and the complexity of the problem is not significant. Children tend to rely more on the reactive system as they lack the cognitive ability and experience to ponder reflectively.

The system that people use often depends on their emotional states. When people are calm, and at peace, they are more likely to use the reflective system. However, if people are angry, sad, happy, etc., they may use the reactive system. We have all been in situations where our emotions control us when dealing with students. This may be an example of the reactive system taking over reasonably. The choice of which system is also associated with personality as some prefer one style over another regardless of their emotional state.

Different decisions can rely on different systems. If a teacher faces a routine decision, they may choose to use the reactive system to make a fast decision. If the situation is novel and unusual, the teacher may adopt a reflective approach. This is one reason why experienced teachers can work faster. The speed is based on using prior knowledge to make a quick, insightful decision that reactively while a new teacher has to reflect on every single experience because they are all so novel.

Types of Decisions

Decisions that are repeated frequently and based on rules are called programmed decisions. These can include things such as when to take a break, how much time to give for a test, etc. The ability to autopilot these decisions comes from experience.

Non-programmed decisions are decisions in a context in which clear criteria are not available. Examples of non-programmed decisions in the classroom may include equipment breakdowns, accepting new students, etc. This implies that reflection will be necessary to decide in this unclear situation.

Conclusion

The point here was not to try and make a case that one form of decision-making is superior to the other. Each system has its pros and cons and what really determines what’s best is the context in which the decision needs to be made. There is little time for reflecting if there is a fire in the class. In addition, it is equally harmful to determine students’ grades reactively.

Henry Mintzberg (1973) researched what business managers do within companies. His results indicated that managers have three primary roles, which are…

• Interpersonal
• Informational
• Decisional

We will examine each of these roles within the context of a teacher as a classroom manager.

Interpersonal Roles

The interpersonal role of a manager involves dealing with many people during a given day. Managers serve as figureheads, and this involves such tasks as greeting guests, participating in various ceremonies/formal activities, and being the general face of whatever they are in charge of. Teachers are frequently involved in figurehead-type roles as classroom managers. For example, teachers are often responsible for flag ceremonies in the morning, participating in graduation, responding to guess who comes to the classroom, etc. As such, teachers have a lot in common with business managers in the role of figurehead.

A second interpersonal role for managers is that of liaison. The liaison role involves maintaining connections outside of the group or unit that the manager is in charge of. It also involves connecting people within the organization with those outside and keeping track of information gained through external and internal relationships. For teachers, serving as a liaison is not as common in my experience. Often the student has access to the same people like the teacher. One exception may be if a teacher helps a student obtain a job or get into a college by providing connections to such opportunities.

A final interpersonal role of managers as a leader. The leader role involves training, motivating, and communicating with subordinates. When most people think of managers, this may be the first thing that comes to mind. This is also a primary function for teachers as they are expected to lead the classroom and communicate expectations with students.

Informational Roles

The informational role defines itself and involves obtaining pertaining data relating to the goals of the manager’s team. One role that falls under this category is that of a monitor. The manager is supposed to gather information from various sources to improve decision-making, among other things. Teachers also have to play this role as one of their primary functions is communicating what they have learned with their students. Teachers and managers who like knowledge or expertise will generally struggle with their role as a manager.

A second informational role is that of a disseminator of information. As mentioned with the teacher, the manager gathers information to share it. There are various lines of communication such as telephone, email, chat, etc. Whatever channel(s) is chosen is just how the manager shares information. We have already discussed how teachers spend the majority of their time sharing information, so we do not need to add much but to mention that it is important to consider how the information is shared in that do the students understand.

Lastly, managers serve as spokespersons, which means sharing information with people outside the unit or team. Sharing information like this can involve speaking with superiors, members of the community, etc. For teachers, the role of spokesperson may involve sharing concerns of their students with administration or with other teachers. Students sometimes like to raise concerns about things that the teacher can speak about because the teacher has a higher status. Thus the spokesperson role may be an advocacy position for a classroom teacher.

Decisional ROles

The final collection of roles of managers involves decisions. A manager is also an entrepreneur, which involves taking the initiative in projects and delegating responsibilities. Teachers are often implementing new ideas and teaching approaches in their classroom, and when possible, they will delegate responsibilities to students.

Managers also must handle conflicts and other emergencies. These conflicts can be among coworkers, with people outside the team, and even with the manager themself. As such, diplomatic skills are an important aspect of a manager’s skill set. Teachers may deal with even more conflicts than managers, given the age of the students. Both managers and teachers have in common the must know how to handle conflict and surprises.

Managers are also resource allocators, and this involves sharing not necessarily information but tangibles things such as budget resources, determining schedules, and setting wages. Teachers also serve as resource allocators as they determine who gets to use the computers, when it’s time to play, what rewards students get for good behavior, and much more. Care must be given to resource allocation as hints of unfairness and favoritism can lead to conflict.

The final role of a manager is that of a negotiator. This role is often paired with many of the other roles already mentioned. For example, the manager may negotiate as a spokesperson for their team, negotiate a conflict between subordinates, etc. For teachers, the same ideas apply. Teachers have to negotiate for themselves, their students, and with parents as just some examples.

Conclusion

From the examples presented here, we can see that teachers as classroom managers have a lot in common with managers in the business world. Both teachers and manger need to perform roles that involve interpersonal skills, informational skills, and decision-making skills. As such, a knowledge of management in the context of business could help teachers in their classrooms.