Decision Making

DECISION MAKING

‘’Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.’’ - Napoleon Bonaparte.

Decision making can be defined as;

‘’The process of choosing between alternative courses of action. Decision making may take place at an individual or organizational level. The process may involve establishing objectives, gathering relevant information, identifying alternatives, setting criteria for the decision, and selecting the best option.’’

‘OR’

‘’Decision making is the process of selecting from several choices or ideas and taking actions.’’

Decision making is an integral part of human life. One has to take decisions in one’s day-to-day life. In business organizations, managers have always to decide. This is at the core of planning and managers sometime see it as their central job because they constantly choose what is to be done, who is to do it, when, where and how to do it.

‘’Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.’’ - Peter Drucker.

Decision process includes the selection of the best possible alternative course of action. Best course is one that involves reasonable amount of risk, time, effort, and cost. Right decision in the right time opens the venue for success.

‘’Right action in the right time brings more fruits.’’

The thought process to select a logical choice from among the available options. When making a good decision, a person must weight the positives and negatives of each option, and consider all the alternatives. For effective decision making, a person must be able to forecast the outcome of each option as well, and based on all these items, determine which option is the best for that particular situation.

‘’An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgments simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.’’ -Edward de Bono.