Decision making is the core of management. It’s what managers strive to do best (or try to avoid). However, not only managers are faced with the challenges of determining what is right and what is wrong; we make up our minds and subconsciously make decisions all the time, starting from picking which toothpaste to purchase at the drugstore to choosing an item from a menu, where to go on the next holiday, or even selecting a prospective career.
And since we are primarily judged based on the consequences of our decisions, we try to make smart choices to ensure safe and desirable results that will meet our ambitions and hopefully eliminate all traces of possible doubt.
Now, although decision making is typically described as choosing among alternatives, that view is too simplistic.
Why?
Because it’s an entire process and not as easy as counting to one, two, three, as we might think.
Even for something as straightforward as deciding on what to eat from a restaurant, we do more than merely choose the type of food. Granted, we don’t always spend a lot of time contemplating whether to have chicken or beef for lunch, but we still go through the entire process when faced with options.
So, what exactly is this decision-making, and how do we implement it to get the best out of everything in our daily lives? I thought you’d never ask.
Basically, the process consists of seven steps that are as relevant to personal decisions as they are to corporate decisions. Let’s use the lunch example to illustrate the steps in the process.
Step 1: Identifying a Problem
Every decision starts with a problem, an obstacle that makes achieving a desired goal difficult.
Ahmed is an employee working for an advertising company. At 11:30 PM, his lunch break, which lasts for exactly 40 minutes, starts and he’s left with trying to decide what and where to eat, keeping in mind that he’s feeling very hungry and won’t get out of work earlier than 6 pm that day. Therefore, he definitely needs something to give him enough energy and keep him full for quite some time. Ahmed has a decision to make.
In the real world, most problems do not come with neon signs flashing “problem”. So, it’s quite a challenge to subjectively spot trouble, especially that what one manager or person considers a problem might not be considered a problem by another. In addition, a manager who resolves the wrong problem perfectly is just as bad as a manager who does not even recognize a problem and does nothing.
Step 2: Identifying Decision Criteria
Once we’ve identified a problem, we must identify the decision criteria which define what’s important or relevant in resolving the problem.
In our example, Ahmed decided after careful consideration that ordering a meal that’s healthy, doesn’t take long to serve, satisfying, and within his budget are the relevant criteria in his decision.
Step 3: Allocating Weights to the Criteria
If the relevant criteria are not equally important, the decision-maker must weigh or rate the items to give them the correct priority in the decision. A simple way is to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, or numbering them from most to least important.
According to Ahmed’s needs and situation, he listed his criteria in this exact order:
- Doesn’t take long to serve.
- Healthy
- Satisfying/filling
- Within his budget
Step 4: Developing Alternatives
The fourth step in the decision-making process requires the decision-maker to list the alternatives that could work to solve the problem and reach his goal. This is the step where a decision-maker needs to be creative.
Ahmed identifies the following as possible choices:
- Pasta
- Granola Bar
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Tuna Sandwich
- Tomato Soup
Step 5: Selecting an Alternative
Once the alternatives are clear, the next step is choosing the one best alternative out of all.
In our example, Ahmed would choose the Chicken Caesar Salad because it meets his wanted criteria, and it’s what he thinks is the most suitable one.
Step 6: Implementing the Alternative
In step 6, we put the decision into action by communicating it to those affected and getting their commitment to it.
In Ahmed’s case, implementing the alternative would be to go to a particular restaurant, order the salad, and pay for it.
Note that choosing to pay cash or with a credit card is another decision that Ahmed will have to make and will require him to consider the process from the beginning to be able to make up his mind. Of course, as previously mentioned, the decision-making process won’t take him more than a few seconds to go through, but nevertheless, he will still use it.
Step 7: Evaluating Decision Effectiveness
The last step involves evaluating the outcome of the decision to see if the problem was solved.
Was the meal delicious and hearty? Was Ahmed able to consume it within the 40 minutes of his break, or did it cause him to be late going back to work? Was he still hungry even after finishing it?
If the evaluation shows that the problem still exists, then the decision-maker will need to assess what went wrong, and to distinguish the errors and analyze them. The answers might lead to redoing an earlier step or might require starting the whole process over to reach the wanted target.
Now after you became familiar with how the decision-making process works, you’re just as ready as Ahmed (or maybe more) to rationally and confidently make decisions like a true manager. Just remember not to overlook any biases or errors, and to subjectively and patiently look at the problem at hand, and you should be good to go.
Happy decision-making!
By: Menna Mahdy
Reference: Pearson – Management (Arab World Edition)
Photography: Mohamed Sherif El Dib
Instagram: @mohamedeldib
EDITOR: Sarah Shalaby