DECISION MAKING

Decision making is an important job of a manager. Everyday he has to decide about doing or not doing a particular thing. A decision is the selection from among alternatives. It is the selection of one course of action from two or more alternative courses of action.

According to George Terry, Decision making is the selection based on some crieteria from two or more possible alternative

DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Defining The Problem. Analysis Of The Problem. Alternative Course Of Action. Evaluation Of Alternatives. Experience. Experimentation. Taking Decision And Following Up.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

The first step in decision making is to find out the correct problem. It is not easy to define the problem. It should be seen what is causing the problem and what will be its possible solutions. No problem presents itself in a manner that an immediate decision is taken. If the problem is not correctly defined then the efforts and money spent on a wrong decision will go waste. Moreover, a wrong problem may create fresh difficulties instead of solving them.

ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM

After defining the problem, the manager should analyse it. He should collect all possible information about the problem and then decide whether it will be sufficient to take a decision or not. Generally, the manager complain that they seldom get sufficient information which they would have liked to have. Sometimes, it may be costly to have additional information or further information may not be possible.

ALTERNATIVE COUSE OF ACTION

Every problem has a number of solutions. If there is only one solution then there is no need for decision making. A manager must try to find out various alternatives in order to get satisfactory results of a decision. Having more alternatives is not a guarantee against wrong decisions. It should be kept in mind that alternative solutions are no guarantee of wisdom or of the right decision. But atleast they prevent one making wrong decision.

EVALUTION OF ALTERNATIVES
After developing various alternatives, the next step is to evaluate them and select the right one. The pros and cons of different proposals should be foreseen. The desirable and undesirable consequences of adopting each consequence should be tested. This exercise will enable the manager to see the risk involved In each course of action.

EXPERIENCE
The oftenly repeated proverbs like history repeats itself or experience is the best teacher provide help in decision making. The past experience acts as a guide. The difficulties faced and problems encountered earlier can be well judged and corrective measures can be taken in advance. The past experience should not blindly be relied upon. In case, the situations in the past and at present are similar then earlier alternative may be selected. But there may be a change in the situation and the old decision may not hold good in future.

EXPERIMENTATION
Experimentation is used in scientific enquiry. The alternatives are put to actual practice and the one giving better results is selected. Experimentation , however, is not possible in management. It will be costly to put every alternative to practice. However, it may be used in a limited way. For example, when a new product is put in the market, it can be marketed in a limited area to see the reaction of consumers. It will always be better to take decision on the basis of facts, study, analysis of results etc.

TAKING DECISION AND FOLLOWING UP

When various alternatives are properly evaluated, then a final decision is taken. The decision is communicated to the concerned persons for action. The implementation of a decision will require the cooperation of subordinates. They should be properly briefed about various aspects of the decision. It is not enough to take a decision, it should also be seen weather it is properly implemented or not.