Backlog on Courts of California due to Delays in Litigants Cases

In California, courts have been faced with a backlog due to delays in litigant cases for more than one month. As such, those who have filed lawsuits are forced to wait for months before their cases are considered. Studies also show that the underlying cause of delays results from mistakes done by lawyers, judges, and event litigants themselves. Such delays pose a problem to the litigants since justice is mostly delayed and they also end up spending much income on one case. Some of them even end up giving up and withdrawing cases from the courts.

According to me, ignoring this problem will have some consequences both on the side of the judiciary and the public. Firstly, the judiciary, including lawyers and judges will continue experiencing a backlog, and this will affect their daily plans. Secondly, the public will lose trust in the judiciary system of California due to delayed services. On the other hand, solving the problem will be a promotion of human rights since justice will be assured for the litigants at the right time. Besides, the rate of criminal activities in California will reduce due to the timely judgment of lawbreakers. Therefore, ways to prevent delays in reacting to litigants’ lawsuits should to be researched and be implemented to avoid the negative consequences.

A.Decision-Making Analysis

Having researched on the organizational problem, I came up with a solution which was to come up with a common day where all the cases can be heard. In this regard, the court will be able to follow a systematic approach in solving the cases in that all the delayed cases will be solved before embarking to the new ones. As a result, the backlog will be reduced and also litigants will be satisfied with the court’s action.

Bazerman and Moore Decision-Making Model

            To reach my decision of establishing a community day to hear all cases on one day, I applied Bazerman and Moore’s Decision-making model. The model involves six steps which when followed clearly can lead to a reliable decision(Bazerman, & Moore, 2012). Firstly, I wrote down the problem which is a backlog in California which has resulted in delayed cases for more than a month. Besides, I included the reasons why the problem should be resolved. The second step involved noting down the goals that I needed to achieve by solving the problem. In this regard, the major goals for solving the problem was to ensure that justice prevails to the individuals who had filed and to reduce the backlog in courts.

Thirdly, I ranked the goals based on priority and importance. Thus, I put much priority on ensuring justice for those who had filed cases and had waited for more than a month with responding to their cases. Reducing the backlog was the second priority since its importance was less. At the fourth step, I listed the possible courses of action that could be taken to solve the problem. Among them was setting a community day to hear all cases on one day, making changes in the judiciary system, and establishing the exact number of days that will take for each case to be heard

After listing the alternative courses of action, I rated them separately to determine the one with a higher possibility of bringing change. Among the three alternatives, setting a community day to hear all cases on one day was my favorite since it could help reduce the backlog and bring justice to the individuals in just one day. Therefore, I awarded it 10 points. The other two alternatives were not my favorites, and I gave them 5 points each. Lastly, I selected the best alternative based on the awarded points. Thus the alternative with most points which was setting a community day to hear all cases on one day became my final solution.

I selected this model because it involved a step-by-step approach in finding the solution, and so a reliable solution can be made. The only shortcoming accompanying it is that cognitive bias can be applied while selecting alternatives.

Plan for mitigating the Impact of biases on objective decision-making

             Although coming up with a community day to hear all delays was my decision of choice, there were other alternatives which could have included making changes in the judiciary system and establishing the exact number of days that will take for each case to be heard. The alternative decisions were could also result in a reliable solution since they could have taken a short time to be implemented. Still, there are barriers that may affect the ability to make good decisions. Firstly, cognitive bias may affect the ability to make good decisions. In this case, biases in how people think greatly affect decision outcomes. For example, overconfidence while making important decisions can make a person or a group of people to overestimate their judgments, and this may result in poor choices.

Another bias barrier in group decision making is group conflict which results due to differences in opinions, social behaviors, and other personal factors. Due to the differences, each member of the group come up with different decisions which leave them without a stand. As a result, a conflict develops in the group, and they end up making less progress in solving the existing problems. Lastly, time pressure is another bias barrier that can affect decision making. In this case, a person or group may fail to make strong and long-lasting solutions due to time constraints or the urgency of the decisions. For example, the problem of delayed hearing of cases in courts in California is an issue that needs immediate action. As such, the organization has to make a decision in a short time so as to solve it. In the process, they end up making biased and unreliable decisions.

For me to come up with a reliable decision, I will have to avoid the bias barriers. First of all, the bias of barriers of cognitive thinking can be mitigated by ensuring that the mind is fresh while making objective decisions. A fresh mind is free of stressors and is focused on a particular goal. Secondly, the barrier of group conflict can be solved by promoting unity within the organization and ensuring that conflicts are solved immediately before they affect group decisions. Finally, I can solve the problem with time by rearranging the time schedule so that decision making can have adequate time since well-made decisions are essential for the good progress of an organization.

Plan for identifying motivation/emotion and commitment

First of all, there are tendencies in personal framing and preference reversals that prevent effective generation of ideas during decision making. Different people have different ways of framing similar problems, and this can affect the final decisions. Besides, personal framing can result in imperfect perceptions during decision making, and this as well affects the final decisions. On the other hand, one tendency on preference reversals includes the extent of emotional expression depicted during decision making. Sometimes people tend to make decisions based on their feelings, and this results in bad decisions. However, it is possible to self-manage motivation and emotional decision making. Such strategies include regulating self-emotions by limiting personal feelings during decision making. Also, a person making decisions should avoid overreacting to any presenting issues, especially during group decision making. Besides, strategies for escalating commitment so as to avoid making negative decisions include doing enough research about the decisions made to determine their reliability. Also, trying the chosen decision before implementing it helps an individual or an organization to avoid making negative decisions.

1. Decision Implementation Plan

            The solution reached, in this case, is to come up with a community day whereby all the impending cases will be heard on one specific day. To implement this, Kotter’s 8 step change model will be used. The first step will involve creating a sense of urgency among the staff involved in hearing and responding to cases so that they can be aware of the necessity of incorporating the new decision into action. Secondly, a project team will be established to push for the move of implementing the new solution. The team will consist of the judiciary members concerned with litigants’ cases. The third step will involve creating a vision for change which will guide the judiciary towards achieving the implemented solution. Having created the vision, the project team will then communicate it to the team to the organization.

Furthermore, the project team will remove obstacles hindering the implementation of the new decision. Common obstacles in organizations include other employees resisting change. Therefore, vivid explanations about the new decision will be availed to the judiciary members resisting the change so that they come in agreement. After removing obstacles, the team can then start working on short-term goals. For example, they can fix the dates for the hearing of cases and stick on it. Such a move will provoke other members to join the movement. After that, the improvement can then be consolidated. In this case, the cases will be heard on the scheduled, and the improvement will be documented(Kotter, & Cohen, 2012). Finally, the anchoring of the change in the organization will follow. The new solution can be made permanent by incorporating it in the organization permanently. Therefore, the judiciary will start hearing all cases on specific days to avoid backlogs.

The chart below shows Kotter’s 8 step model;

1. Decision Evaluation

             A reliable decision should sign with the organizational mission, vision, values, and goals. In this regard, the decision to come up with a day to hear all delayed cases will depict the mission, vision, values, and goals of the judiciary in California. First of all, the mission of the judiciary is to promote justice. Thus, timely hearing of cases presented by litigants will be a way of being just to them. Secondly, the vision of the judiciary is to be in a position to respond to the needs the surrounding community and responding to their lawsuits in time will be a way of fulfilling their needs as it will help to maintain peace in California. By adhering to the mission and vision, the court will be practicing its values. As a result, it will achieve its goal of preventing further backlogs. Lastly, the repercussion of the decision align with the organizational brand since the organization aims at serving each individual in time.

1. Ethical and Spiritual Analysis

  Ethical Considerations

            The decision-making process involves several steps which when adhered to can lead to a reliable solution. In this case, the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Modelhas been used to come up with the solution. According to me, the decision making process is fair since if applied appropriately it can bring justice to the litigants by giving way for them to hear their cases. Lastly, the decision of coming up with a day to hear cases has repercussions to the individuals, the organization, and society. Firstly, individuals who filed the lawsuits will taste justice since their cases will be heard. Secondly, the organization will experience reduced backlog after hearing most of the cases on the scheduled day. Besides, society will gain trust in the judiciary due to the timely hearing of cases.

Faith Integration 

The decision I made was based on an analysis of self-factors including ethical values and personal faith. Firstly, my decision was aimed at promoting justice to the litigants whose cases had been delayed. Besides, attending to all cases in one day could relieve the organization of the workload, and this could make subsequent functions efficient. As such, I believe that my decision could improve the ethics of the organizational workers and as well bring justice to the individuals.

Reference

Bazerman, M., & Moore, D. (2012). Judgment in managerial decision making (8th ed.). Hoboken: WILEY.

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2012). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Harvard Business Press.

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