Basics for Decision Making 1

Basics for Decision Making

Every day in our lives, we are faced with situations which require us to make decisions.

Decision making is something that happens throughout our lives but with varying degrees of

urgency, importance and consequential outcomes. The decisions we make every day in our social

lives affects us one way or another and also affect our relation with others. Decisions we make in

our careers as managers affect the success or failure of a project. Depending on the end-product,

the decisions we make may also involve or affect the lives of other users. All in all, success

mostly comes from robustness of application or implementation as well as quality of the decision

itself. Farrington (2005) concludes that, “the most important essentials or basics for decision

making are 1) understanding the real objectives, 2) Knowing the situation, 3) remaining in

control, 4) Carrying out analysis using appropriate tools, 5) presenting findings logically 6)

selecting an option and 7) making the decision” (p. 90).

Understanding the real objectives of making a decision simply requires the person faced

with the responsibility to ask him or herself what the desired goals of the whole decision making

process are or what he or she aims to achieve. For example, during the current financial hard

times, most businesses are being faced with situations which require them to minimize operation

costs and at the same time maintain or increase revenues. Managers are therefore faced with

situations where they have to decide what action to take in order to achieve this. It therefore

becomes important for them to understand the real objectives and then make decisions based on

them. Knowing the situation involved in any circumstance is also a crucial factor in decision

making. “When making decisions, it is crucial to have sufficient knowledge to assess the

situation and understand the risks involved” (Udo, 2004, p. 45). By knowing the situation, a

manager is for example required to understand who will be affected by the decision, how it will
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affect the company image and work place environment. Understanding the potential risks,

obstacles and any other outcomes the decisions made may bring is also very important.

Remaining in control simply requires the person faced with the situation to be aware of all the

developments, remain confident and stay focused throughout the process of decision making.

Udo (2004) states that, “a manager should not allow his emotions and the subordinates to

influence or eclipse his or her better judgment’ (p. 34).

After understanding the real objectives and practicing full control, a manager should

carry out complete analysis of the situation using the appropriate tools applicable to the specific

situation. This involves fact finding, analyzing the situation and weighing the potential risks and

benefits involved. After completing the analysis, he or she should then present the findings

logically and then weigh all the options applicable to the situation and finally decide which

option best fits the situation or which option will deliver the best results and then make his or her

decision.

Effective decision making process results in decisions which are inclusive, defensible,

optimal, sensible, implementable and value adding. By inclusive, the process takes into account

the wellbeing of all parties affected. By been defensible, the decision is made based on taking

into account the relevant values and weighing the key points. The decision is optimal if it results

in addressing the problem and is sensible if it is understandable to all interested parties.

Farrington (2005) states that “a decision is implementable if it differentiates between rational and

non-rational as well as rationalized and is value adding if it brings better results for the

organization or individuals” (p. 56). It is also important to make decisions quickly once all the

deliberations are finished to avoid change of circumstances or momentum loss. It is also not wise

to sacrifice long term benefits for short term ones and to understand the difference between
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urgent and important decisions. Finally it is good to remember that people will usually support

decisions that they participated in making and it is wise to seek help when needed.

The main purpose of the decision making procedure is to evaluate or weigh up all the

factors and then make a decision on the appropriate course of action. The true trick of making

excellent objective decisions is to take ourselves out of the decision making loop emotionally.

The basics of decision making simply serve as general guidelines which should be followed in

helping us make the best decisions possible.

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References

Farrington, J. (2005). The essentials of decision making. London. London Publishers.

Udo, N. (2004). Making wise managerial decisions: A model for managers. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.