11/27/2016 DecisionMakingProcess

DecisionMakingProcess
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Introduction
Decisionmakingisadailyactivityforanyhumanbeing.Thereisnoexceptionaboutthat.Whenitcomestobusinessorganizations,decision

makingisahabitandaprocessaswell.

Effective and successful decisions make profit to the company and unsuccessful ones make losses. Therefore, corporate decision making
processisthemostcriticalprocessinanyorganization.

Inthedecisionmakingprocess,wechooseonecourseofactionfromafewpossiblealternatives.Intheprocessofdecisionmaking,wemay
usemanytools,techniquesandperceptions.

Inaddition,wemaymakeourownprivatedecisionsormaypreferacollectivedecision.

Usually,decisionmakingishard.Majorityofcorporatedecisionsinvolvesomelevelofdissatisfactionorconflictwithanotherparty.

Let'shavealookatthedecisionmakingprocessindetail.

StepsofDecisionMakingProcess
Followingaretheimportantstepsofthedecisionmakingprocess.Eachstepmaybesupportedbydifferenttoolsandtechniques.

Step1:Identificationofthepurposeofthedecision
Inthisstep,theproblemisthoroughlyanalysed.Thereareacoupleofquestionsoneshouldaskwhenitcomestoidentifyingthepurposeof
thedecision.

Whatexactlyistheproblem?

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Whytheproblemshouldbesolved?

Whoaretheaffectedpartiesoftheproblem?

Doestheproblemhaveadeadlineoraspecifictimeline?

Step2:Informationgathering
Aproblemofanorganizationwillhavemanystakeholders.Inaddition,therecanbedozensoffactorsinvolvedandaffectedbytheproblem.

Intheprocessofsolvingtheproblem,youwillhavetogatherasmuchasinformationrelatedtothefactorsandstakeholdersinvolvedinthe
problem.Fortheprocessofinformationgathering,toolssuchas'CheckSheets'canbeeffectivelyused.

Step3:Principlesforjudgingthealternatives
Inthisstep,thebaselinecriteriaforjudgingthealternativesshouldbesetup.Whenitcomestodefiningthecriteria,organizationalgoalsas
wellasthecorporatecultureshouldbetakenintoconsideration.

Asanexample,profitisoneofthemainconcernsineverydecisionmakingprocess.Companiesusuallydonotmakedecisionsthatreduce
profits,unlessitisanexceptionalcase.Likewise,baselineprinciplesshouldbeidentifiedrelatedtotheprobleminhand.

Step4:Brainstormandanalysethedifferentchoices
Forthisstep,brainstormingtolistdownalltheideasisthebestoption.Beforetheideagenerationstep,itisvitaltounderstandthecausesof
theproblemandprioritizationofcauses.

Forthis,youcanmakeuseofCauseandEffectdiagramsandParetoCharttool.CauseandEffectdiagramhelpsyoutoidentifyallpossible
causesoftheproblemandParetocharthelpsyoutoprioritizeandidentifythecauseswithhighesteffect.

Then,youcanmoveongeneratingallpossiblesolutions(alternatives)fortheprobleminhand.

Step5:Evaluationofalternatives
Use your judgement principles and decisionmaking criteria to evaluate each alternative. In this step, experience and effectiveness of the
judgementprinciplescomeintoplay.Youneedtocompareeachalternativefortheirpositivesandnegatives.

Step6:Selectthebestalternative
OnceyougothroughfromStep1toStep5,thisstepiseasy.Inaddition,theselectionofthebestalternativeisaninformeddecisionsince
youhavealreadyfollowedamethodologytoderiveandselectthebestalternative.

Step7:Executethedecision
Convertyourdecisionintoaplanorasequenceofactivities.Executeyourplanbyyourselforwiththehelpofsubordinates.

Step8:Evaluatetheresults
Evaluatetheoutcomeofyourdecision.Seewhetherthereisanythingyoushouldlearnandthencorrectinfuturedecisionmaking.Thisisone
ofthebestpracticesthatwillimproveyourdecisionmakingskills.

Conclusion
Whenitcomestomakingdecisions,oneshouldalwaysweighthepositiveandnegativebusinessconsequencesandshouldfavourthepositive
outcomes.

Thisavoidsthepossiblelossestotheorganizationandkeepsthecompanyrunningwithasustainedgrowth.Sometimes,avoidingdecision
makingseemseasierespecially,whenyougetintoalotofconfrontationaftermakingthetoughdecision.

But,makingthedecisionsandacceptingitsconsequencesistheonlywaytostayincontrolofyourcorporatelifeandtime.

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