BE A GOOD DECISION MAKER

 

The decision can be either personal or public; however both required the same decision-making process. The field of decision-making is growing as a measuring tool and process for helping people to make good decisions. However, there are many tools that either fail to properly integrate, or simply lack an analysis of showing how emotions help or hinder decision making and the role of creative and critical thinking together with working out what values are at issue in making decisions.

The main question is how the decision process must be carried out? The answer is the realization of the fact that decision-making is the heart of being human and requires a multidisciplinary approach.

One must explore the skills and knowledge necessary to facilitate a decision making process. There are four categories of insights and methods, which we have learnt to be of key significance to decision-making.

In large organizations a decision maker becomes valuable only as he recognizes the relation of his/her decision to that of all other decision makers within the organization because he/she may make more or less, or little difference to the organization, or may even be replaced. However, in small businesses the decision-maker can make, break, or prove to be very difficult to replace. The following are some practical and useful for your strategic thinking while you are practicing applied side of decision science:

Identification of the Problem: Although this is the first stage of decision making this may be where morality can have the greatest impact. This is often the most difficult stage for all the leaders. From an ethical perspective the first question of importance may be – is this really a problem at all? It sounds simple but in reality the process of considering all the potential is not common.

Understanding the situation and decision: The decision-maker needs to understand the decision being faced, and the situation it is located in, as accurately, open-mindedly and fully as is reasonable.

Understanding what matters: the decision-maker needs to understand what really his/her ultimate objective is. What values are at stake?. The important values are the target, so without an awareness of what matters the decision-maker does not know what they are aiming at, and have no criterion on which to make the decision.

Searching for options: Even if the decision-maker understands the situation and appreciate what matters, they still need to be aware of the possible options. If they mistakenly think they are limited to two options, when a third option, not thought of, and actually would fulfill more of what matters, then they would not have made as wise decision a decision as they could have.

Choosing the best option: Each option needs to be assessed in a logical manner, choosing that option which, given a sound understanding of the situation, satisfies as much as possible of what matters. If we lack the critical powers to assess these options, then we will still fail to make wise decisions.

Implementing the decision: Finally, the decision-maker prepares for implementing the decision and follow-up activities to check on the implementation. Once the decision-maker has made a selection of the best option, they need to make a final check on it, and work out how to implement and monitor it.

Now you can explore in turn the ways in which the emotions, creative and critical thinking and ethics can be used to help wise decision-making.