Decision Making in Management

Decision Making 1
Running Head: Decision Making
Management Decision making
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Decision Making 2
Management Decision making
Management is all about effective decision making. Decision making is one of the vital
aspects of the functions of a manager in an organization. Along with the other roles like monitor,
figure head and leader, an efficient manager is expected to take right decisions at suitable time
with minimum resources. Borcherding et al (2000) presents that the collecting, monitoring,
classifying, analyzing, and reporting relevant information to concerned departments is the core
managerial job. In these rapidly changing scenarios of latest technology and fastest
communication, prompt decisions in business are needed to survive in immense completion.
Management decision making skill, based on knowledge and experience, is vital to come up with
correct decisions in difficult situations.
The core functions of a manager are to plan, organize, lead, and control at three levels of
the business. These levels are corporate, business, and operational; depend on the size and nature
of the organization. Top management is making strategic decisions at corporate levels, middle
management take short term tactical decisions, and line managers are responsible for day to day
operational decisions. Nutt (1984) put forward another important aspect in decision making,
‘centralization and decentralization’. The authority and application of decisions are largely
dependent on the type of organization (445).
Decision making always involve an inherent risk of time, output, resources, and capital.
We cannot eliminate them but can be reduced them by using an effective decision making
system. According to Pennings (1996), a ‘systematic decision making approach’ should be used
to make effective decisions quickly. This process involved the following stages:
Decision Making 3
 Set the priorities, objectives, and structure for the organization.
 Identify the issue/s at hand to analyze.
 Gather data to identify all possible causes of the problem.
 Search and classify the list of possible alternatives.
 Select the best possible alternative available.
 Efficiently implement the chosen outcome.
 Feed back collection and analyses to measure the effectiveness of decision made.
All the above listed steps are interconnected and follow a specific management
philosophy, to achieve the desired goal by utilizing minimum resources effectively. Rodrigues,
(2001) argued the implications of this process in large organizations, and demands horizontal
hierarchies with decentralized decision making for more proactive and dynamic organizations.
Some vital consideration should be kept in mind in following these steps. In general, Lilien et
al (2002) supposed that managers need to consider right selections in making decisions, like
clear understanding of the problem to be solved demands a clear context of the issue with the
desired goal of decision. Also, efficient information collection should be through proper
research and reliable sources. Personal biases and other inclinations need to be avoided in
selecting alternatives. Huff (1990) explained that innate or ‘investigative cognitive preference’
helps in this regard. Implementation and feedback receiving too require great care and
visionary approaches from managers.
Finally, it is evident that decision making is an important task and a necessary skill to
achieve personal and organizational goals. These decisions vary from day to day issues to long
term corporate decisions, but their approach always remain of sensitive nature, as the affect the
Decision Making 4
present and past of an organization. Sometimes, there is not enough time to follow a systematic
approach, so intuitive decision making supports the process. A successful manager always
equipped with latest tools, visionary approach, and an effective intuition to survive in complex
business world.
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References
Borcherding, K., Larichev, O. I., & Messick, D. M. (Ed.). (2000). Contemporary Issues in
Decision Making. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Huff, A. S. (Ed.). (1990). Mapping Strategic Thought. Chicester: John Wiley & Sons.
Lilien, G. L., Kotler, P., & Moorthy, K. S. (2002). Marketing Models (5th ed.). New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall.
Nutt, P. (1984). Types of Organizational Decision Processes. Administrative Science Quarterly,
29(3), 414-50.
Pennings, J. M. (Ed.). (1996). Decision Making: An Organizational Behavior Approach. New
York: Markus Wiener Publishing.
Rodrigues, C. A. (2001). Improving decision making processes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Decision Making 1

Running Head: Decision Making

Management Decision making

Management Decision making

communication, prompt decisions in business are needed to survive in immense completion.

correct decisions in difficult situations.

dependent on the type of organization (445).

 Set the priorities, objectives, and structure for the organization.

 Identify the issue/s at hand to analyze.

 Gather data to identify all possible causes of the problem.

 Search and classify the list of possible alternatives.

 Select the best possible alternative available.

 Efficiently implement the chosen outcome.

visionary approaches from managers.

Borcherding, K., Larichev, O. I., & Messick, D. M. (Ed.). (2000). Contemporary Issues in

Decision Making. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

Huff, A. S. (Ed.). (1990). Mapping Strategic Thought. Chicester: John Wiley & Sons.

Nutt, P. (1984). Types of Organizational Decision Processes. Administrative Science Quarterly,

Pennings, J. M. (Ed.). (1996). Decision Making: An Organizational Behavior Approach. New

York: Markus Wiener Publishing.

Rodrigues, C. A. (2001). Improving decision making processes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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