Do Jae-sang - Making the Right Decisions

Making a decision can be a matter of choosing between alternative paths, or it can be a matter of deciding how to proceed with a decision. Neither of these are easy. Sometimes very difficult decisions are made. For example, deciding to reduce staff, or deciding to use a procedure that people are sure will be popular.

As a manager, it is extremely important to be able to make effective decisions. Only then will you be able to stay in the job. The success of an organization depends almost entirely on the quality of the decision-making process.

This chapter explains what decisions are and the steps involved in making a decision. It also presents different types of decisions, which will help you evaluate how effective decisions are.

What is decision-making?

Most of our decisions are made within a split second of making a decision and taking action. Sometimes it happens so quickly that it is difficult to notice. However, it is important to examine how things happened and to improve the decision-making process. The decisions you make are important because they help you achieve your goals and objectives. In addition, the method you use to make decisions determines the degree to which those responsible for the decisions will be held accountable for the decisions you make.

The decision to choose a path among the many options is like a person at a crossroads choosing which path to take. There may be two paths to choose from, but there may also be more than two. There are often constraints on the choices. For example,

• Current situation
• The state you want to reach in the future
• Availability of resources
• What others will accept
• Various ways to make it happen
• Time-related reasons

Identifying these limiting factors is considered to be a crucial part of making a good decision.

Problem? Decision?

Before examining decisions, it is important to briefly review the differences between problem solving and decision making. Although these two activities are very closely related, they have different meanings. #

• Inconsequential decisions, such as deciding what to eat for breakfast, are usually not particularly problematic.
• Almost all problems involve decision-making. It is more about solving the problem than choosing the right solution.

In the daily and weekly routines, we face a variety of problems. For example, there are problems with safety, interpersonal conflicts, low productivity, low morale, absenteeism, and insufficient resources.

How a problem is handled depends on how urgent or important it is. In an emergency, such as a sudden equipment failure that stops work or an accident, decisions are made quickly. If the problem is important but does not require immediate action, others are consulted before deciding what to do. Over time, the problem may become urgent but less important. Therefore, it is important to deal with important problems immediately, and if not dealt with, it can lead to serious problems.

Having to choose between two or more options is a decision. The problem is difficult to solve or to work through. Often, problems are solved by making a decision.

What decisions are made?

As a manager, you have to make all sorts of decisions. If you think about it, some are day-to-day decisions, some are long-term decisions, and some are strategic decisions.

Operational decisions

In business operations, the organization is organized into marketing departments, production departments, finance departments, etc., and their functions are different. However, they all contribute to the strategic plan.

The goal of making operational decisions is to ensure that customers get what they want, when they want it.

Below are examples of common operational decisions.

• How does the department or job benefit the organization's long-term goals?
• How to allocate tasks and resources to achieve desired goals?
• How to solve problems? How to improve the work process?
• How will the workload be shared when an employee takes an extended leave of absence?
• How should I handle a complaint if a customer is not satisfied?