DECISION MAKING

Management and the Decision Making Process

Management and the Decision Making Process

Introduction

In modern day management, there are various aspects that are considered essential for survival. One of these is the decision making power and skill of employees as well as employers. It is a primary function of management and requires analysis and sound and rational mind. Decisions are fundamental to the assignment of organizational as well as managerial duties and represent a well-balanced argument and judgment leading to a commitment to act. Not only this, decision making in managerial positions is a continuous process that requires a sharp eye on all aspects of a business. Those managers who are able to provide clear assessments of situations under pressure are often found to have good decision making skills. They do not let the impact of outside factors affect the behavior expected in decision making that is generally for the betterment of the organization as a whole. There are certain steps that are taken to ensure the continuity of a decision making process, and will be discussed further on in this paper.

Discussion

As is widely believed, means and ends are interlinked, and when it comes to decision making, a definite conclusion cannot be reached as follow-up actions are often needed. A manager always has to go through some form of a decision making process before making a plan leading to execution. Manager's abilities as leaders are also often judged by the quality and aptness of their decisions, so it is adamant to their position that they thoroughly examine any given situation to their best resources in order to reach a decision.

Decision making implies that a choice be made among different options, thus making it a process of selection and elimination, out of solutions available. The various alternatives presented are analyzed in a critical manner so as to learn any weaknesses in them. It is a dynamic process that pervades all organization and sets a standard for managers t come up with clear and precise decisions in the future. The process include the following steps:

Definition of the issue - Is the problem important enough to warrant examination?

Assembling facts and figures, or other information that could assist in making the decision

Brainstorming of ideas and possible solutions

Finding out the pros and cons of each solution, in order to reach the best possible outcome.

Select the best option out of the solutions gathered. Clarity and ...