Organizational Decision-Making, Elements and Types

Introduction

Decision making is an important aspect in the running and day to day operations of an individual or an organization. In the current society, a combination of economic, social and technological developments has produced a situation where people have to make important decisions about their relationships and family (Bell & Raiffa 1988). In actual sense, business and financial institutions are ever faced with daily decisions about investment, research and development, and deployment of resources in a complex and seemingly uncertain environment. This has, in turn, brought to the fore the importance of making decisions based on facts and evidence in order to avoid confusion.

Elements involved in decision making

There are crucial elements which are used in organizational decision making. These elements include the state of nature, which comprise those aspects of the decision maker’s environment that affect his or her choice; (2) the decision-maker, in this case, it can be the individual or a group; (3) the goals or ends which are supposed to be served, that is, the objectives which the decision-maker seeks to achieve; (4) the relevant alternatives and the set of actions from which a choice will be made; (5) a relation that produces a preference ordering of alternatives; and (6) the choice itself, the selection of one or some combination of the available alternatives (Zhiang & Kathleen 2003; Bell & Raiffa 1988).

Types of decision making

The decisions which are made in organizations vary from one type to another. These types can generally be categorized based on decision occurrence, decision information, decision structure, or decision method. With regard to decision occurrence, there are (1) one-shot decision making, this implies the process of making a decision for one problem at a go; (2) repeated decision making, this refers to making decisions for similar and or multiple problems which are prevailing at a given point in time; (3) quasi – repetitive decision making, this refers to decisions for multiple problems which are of the same type but which have got some variations (Russo & Schoemaker 1990).

Decision making and stability of organizations. Organizations cannot thrive in an atmosphere which does not have a solid structure which ensures that the nature of decisions promotes the objectives of the organization (Zhiang & Kathleen 2003). It is in this regard that one has to ensure that the approaches which are taken when making decisions address the presenting issues at a given point in time (Russo & Schoemaker 1990). In essence, the task of the management team is to ensure that the nature and the quality of the decisions which are made address the needs and the expectations which are outlined in the vision of organizations.

It is worth noting the fact that for organizations to surge in the right direction, one has to embrace the changes which have been taking place in the globe (Vroom & Yetton 1973). There has been an increase in technological complexity which has redefined the nature of carrying out operations in many sectors (Wood et al. 2010). This, in turn, has influenced a great deal nature and the perspectives which need to be addressed and which are in line with the business operations.

Therefore, for an organization to thrive and ensure that the decision-making approaches are in line with the objectives which are laid out, there is the need to ensure that the decision-making model is open. In this case, this model should incorporate the dynamic, interactive, or learning features that give room to progress (March & Chip 1994). The decision model that an organization should embrace should be within the limits of flexibility in order to give room for any changes which may be encountered.

Reference

List Bell, D & Raiffa, H 1988, Decision Making:Descriptive, Normative, and Prescriptive Interactions, illustrated, reprint edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

March, & Chip, H 1994, A Primer on Decision Making:How Decisions Happen, illustrated, reprint edn, Simon and Schuster, New York.

Russo, JE & Schoemaker, PH 1990, Decision traps:ten barriers to brilliant decision making and how to overcome them, reprint edn, Simon & Schuster, New York.

Vroom, V & Yetton, P 1973, Leadership and Decision-Making, illustrated, reprint edn, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.

Wood, J,Z, Fromholtz, M, Wiesner, R & Creed, A 2010, Organisational Behaviour: Core Concepts and Applications, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Brisbane.

Zhiang, L & Kathleen, MC 2003, Designing Stress Resistant Organizations:Computational Theorizing and Crisis Applications, illustrated edn,Springer, New York.