Decision Making in Business

This assignment delves into the critical aspects of decision-making within a business context. It examines various decision-making models, analyzes influential factors shaping decisions, and discusses the inherent challenges businesses face in making sound strategic choices. The text provides insights from academic literature and real-world examples to illustrate the complexities and nuances of this crucial business function.

Business decision-making

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1.1................................................................................................................................................1
1.2................................................................................................................................................3
1.3................................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
2.1................................................................................................................................................6
2.2..............................................................................................................................................13
2.3..............................................................................................................................................14
2.4..............................................................................................................................................15
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................15
3.1..............................................................................................................................................15
3.2..............................................................................................................................................18
3.3 Covered in PPT ..................................................................................................................19
3.4..............................................................................................................................................19
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................20
4.1..............................................................................................................................................20
4.2..............................................................................................................................................22
4.3..............................................................................................................................................23
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................24
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................25

INTRODUCTION
In the changing world there are various aspects in relation to which different decisions
will be made and this process is known as business decision making (Ariely and Berns, 2010).
With the help of this the college will be able to improve its performance and growth will be
attained. In UKCBC a report is to be submitted to QAA with the help of which it will be
evaluating the workings and corrective steps will be taken. In this report the survey will be
required to conducted with the use of questionnaire by which the relevant information will be
collected and a plan will also be made in this respect. In this the sample will be taken and for this
different methods are specified. The data will be interpreted and conclusion will be made which
will be done with the help of graphs and charts (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2011). There
are various proposals which are present in the business and the best among them will be selected
and for this various investment appraisal techniques will have to be used that are discussed in the
below presented report.
1.1
As a student representative a report will be made on students experiences and satisfaction. For
that some steps will be used to collect information. Following is the plan:
Planning: A plan will be made to collect info about scholars regarding experience and their
reviews. For making a plan all factors will be included that how data will be collected and to
whom responsibilities will be given.
Select methods for collecting data: There are many methods to collect data. It also depends on
type of information. It can be quantitative as well as qualitative. Required data will be collected
through primary sources or through secondary sources. Questionnaires will be made, face to face
interviews will be taken, a survey is needed to be done. There will be need to collect data by
observing them. Students who are not regular, they will be asked over the telephone. These all
are included in primary sources (Chang, Van Witteloostuijn and Eden, 2010). There will be need
to interact with students and then identify their problems.
Collection of data: Selected methods such as series of written questions, surveys, interviews,
observations will be implemented and response of students will be recorded accordingly. Person
who is accountable to acquire data will know how he will do so (Zsambok and Klein, 2014). It
will be decided that when the data will be collected and what will be cost of doing this activity.
1

From which portions of college and from which students, the relevant information will be
collected.
Storage of data: Collected information by different persons will be accumulated and will be
stored in a appropriate manner. This info will be recorded in report and all the relevant data will
be kept safe. Person who has data will inform representative of students and that will be
discussed in report.
There are 2 types of data collection sources and those are primary and secondary. These are
discussed as follows:
Primary sources: In this method of acquiring information experiments, interviews,
questionnaires, surveys and observations are made regarding subject matter. This in a technique
that is used as collecting data by using own specific methods. This data is collected from original
sources. A series of questions, and interacting with other party face to face from whom info in
being acquired, in case of absence use telephone to connect with other party etc. are included in
this method.
Secondary sources: Data is acquired through already published articles, any written documents,
magazines, newspapers, books, journals or through internet. It is a method that is used to use
information already collected by someone else (Gigerenzer and Gaissmaier, 2011). These are
mainly used for quantitative information. The data that is being reused is called secondary data.
In this source after selecting subject for which information is required the available ways such as
books, magazines, articles are used to make research on matter.
Data is categorised in 2 parts. First is quantitative and second is qualitative. information that is
used as statics is called quantitative. But qualitative is a interpretative information. Anything
that can be expressed in numericals is quantitative and other data is known as qualitative.
Primary sources are normally used for descriptive info. Secondary sources are use for numeric
facts and details.
1.2
To make accurate decisions survey method is most commonly used. It is one of the best
and effective method to collect details. This technique is mostly used by upcoming generation
because it provides high satisfaction while acquiring evidences. Many enquiry programmes are
to be done to make any report in a adequate manner and with relevant information. There are a
2

number of methodologies and samplings that are to be used by an organisation to collect data and
all evidences:
 Survey methodology: to collect information from nearby environment, investigation is
made by help of this technique. Questionnaire can be taken as a technique of survey in
which many question are there which are to be responded by people of that surrounding.
It is a written format of collecting info (Ho, Xu and Dey, 2010). It provides accurate
answers because people themselves explain their situations in a questionnaire. In this
method the answer that is most appropriate is selected from given questions. By this
method information can be collected from different people of different locations. Random
sampling is also one of the appropriate method in which some random people are picked
up for collecting information. These people are observed and on that basis data for that
whole segment is prepared. 40 respondents are taken to acquire the whole data.
 Rational of study: these are legal evidences those are of mandatory nature and are used
for researches. It explains the objective of research that is made. It is a critical analysis of
situation. Professional growth can be achieved by rationality of study.
 Sampling framework: this means a complete list of population that is to be studied. A
large number of people is covered by sample frame. It represents details of students those
are studied in a concise way. It is used to identify that from where information is to be
collected. All descriptions of students are included in this framework department wise.
There are 4 types of sampling framework:
1. Area
2. list
3. multi stage
4. series of surveys.
Area and list sampling framework is used for receiving data from students. Under these methods
list of different scholars and departments from where information is to be collected are included
and explained.
Under this report, questionnaire is used in order to collect the data so that reliable
decisions could be framed. The framed questionnaire is distributed among the 60 respondents in
order to collect the data from them on behalf of total number of students. The questionnaire is
3

implemented by using face to face technique for collection of data. The survey is completed
within two weeks and collection of data is gathered within 5 weeks.
There are two kinds of sampling methods which are used while collecting the survey. Probability
and non-probablity sampling methods.
1.3
4

Questionnaire
Under this research, the researcher use random sampling methods in order to collect the data.
This will help out to make the business decisions in an effective manner. There are 40
respondents selected who are ready to address questions (Kahneman, Lovallo and Sibony,
2011). The students representative need to make the survey accordingly and under this so many
things are need to included. The duration of the survey is 5 weeks. The survey is basically
conduced on the cited college's three campuses. Which are namely: Crickwood campus, WTH
campus, Park royal campus. Under which students and the staff are going to participate.
Q.1 What is your age group?
a). Above 18
b). 20-30
c). 30-40
d). 40-50
Q.2 What is your shift timing?
a). Morning
b). Evening
Q.3 What is your course ?
a).Health & social care
b). business management
c). accountancy
d). finance
Q.4 Do you have any problem with environment of institute?
a). Yes
b). No
Q.5 Do you have any issues relating to security in college premise?
a). Yes
5

b). No
Q.6 What was your academic year in college?
a). 2014-15
b). 2015-16
c). 2016-17
Q.7 Are you satisfied with staff of college?
a). Yes
b). No
Q.8 Are you okay with environment of college?
a). Strongly satisfied
b). Satisfied
c). Not satisfied
Q.9 How is your experience in college?
a). Fantastic
b). Average
c). Not good
Q. 10 Does UKCBC college provides value for money?
a). Yes
b). No
c). Can't say
Q. 11 What changes can enhance the performance of UKCBC?
Ans: …....................................................................................
6

TASK 2
2.1
Q.1 What is your age group?
a). above 18 45
b). 20-30 25
c). 30-40 10
d). 40-50 10
Mean 22.5
Median 17.5
Mode 5
a). above 18 b). 20-30 c). 30-40 d). 40-50
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
45
25
10 10
Q.2 What is your shift timing?
a). Morning 75
b). Evening 25
7

Mean 50
Median 50
Mode 0
a). Morning b). Evening
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 75
25
Series1
Q.3 What is your course department?
a). Social care 64
b). Business management 22
c). Accountancy 16
d). Finance
Mean 34
Median 22
Mode 40
8

a). Social care b). Business
management
c). Accountancy
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70 64
22
16
Series1
Q.4 Do you have any problem with environment of institute?
a). Yes 65
b). No 35
Mean 50
Median 50
Mode 30
9

a). Yes b). No
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70 65
35
Series1
Series2
Series3
Series4
Series5
Q.5 Do you have any issues relating to security in college premise?
a). Yes 68
b). No 32
Mean 50
Median 50
Mode 4
10

a). Yes b). No
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
68
32
Series1
Series2
Series3
Series4
Series5
Series6
Q.6 What was your academic year in college?
a). 2014-15 45
b). 2015-16 25
c). 2016-17 30
Mean
33.3333333
333
Median 30
Mode 15
a). 2014-15 b). 2015-16 c). 2016-17
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
45
25
30
11

Q.7 Are you satisfied with staff of college?
a). Yes 56
b). No 44
Mean 50
Median 50
Mode 12
Q.8 Are you okay with environment of college?
a). Strongly satisfied 73
b). Satisfied 7
c). Not satisfied 30
Mean
36.6666666
667
Median 30
Mode 13
12

a). Strongly satisfied b). Satisfied c). Not satisfied
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Q.9 How is your experience in college?
a). Fantastic 56
b). Average 23
c). Not good 21
Mean
33.3333333
333
Median 23
Mode 14
13

a). Fantastic b). Average c). Not good
0
10
20
30
40
50
60 56
23 21
Series1
Series2
Q. 10 Does
UKCBC college
provides value
for money?
a). Yes 45
b). No 45
c). Can't say 10
Mean
33.3333333
333
Median 45
Mode 5
14

a). Yes b). No c). Can't say
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
45 45
10
Q. 11 What changes can enhance the performance of UKCBC?
Ans: …....................................................................................
2.2
Year No. of Students
Satisfied
students
2009 27470 20602.5
2010 29560 22170
2011 31370 23527.5
2012 35720 26790
2013 36230 27172.5
2014 37230 27922.5
2015 37690 28267.5
2016 37630 28222.5
2017 37570 28177.5
No. of students Satisfied students
Mean 34496.66666666 25872.5
15

67
Median 36230 27172.5
Mode 27470 20602.5
Measures of central tendency:
These measures are used to evaluate average of any data. It is used to find out the middle
value or the central value. It is used for quantitative terms. It means a single value arrived from a
set of many values (Li, 2010). This is commonly used to present overall scenario of series. It
provides a concise form of performance of whole group hence it is very useful and relevant for
making decisions. While taking decisions a large number of population and Data is summarised
by selecting the average or the middle point of distribution.
Mean: It is the most common central tendency measure. It can be utilised as as both continuous
and discrete data. It is arrived by total of all values contained in information and divided by
number of values. It is used to to minimise errors in forecasting and any value from set of
information. Mean of above given statics are as follows:
Mean of number of students: 34497
Mean of students those are satisfied: 25873
Median: This is also called as positional average. It is so because its value is calculated in
reference to its position in the series. It is a middle value in any distribution given. It divides the
distribution in 2 separate parts those are equal (McGrath, 2010). For calculating median all the
data is organised in sequence in order of size. Then the midpoint is fixed. In above given case:
median of number of students: 36230
median of satisfied students: 27173
Mode: Mode is a value that frequently occurs in a distribution. The value that is being repeated
again and again is taken as mode. It represents highest bar in a chart. Is is the most popular
option among all.
Mode for total number of students: 27470
Mode for satisfied students: 20603
2.3
Year No. of Students
Satisfied
students
16

2009 27470 20602.5
2010 29560 22170
2011 31370 23527.5
2012 35720 26790
2013 36230 27172.5
2014 37230 27922.5
2015 37690 28267.5
2016 37630 28222.5
2017 37570 28177.5
No. of students Satisfied students
Standard deviation
3952.110195832
1 2964.0826468741
Lower range 27470 27172.5
Maximum range 37690 20602.5
Inter- quartile range
7135 5351
Measure of Dispersion: This will help to provides information about how much deviation there
is in the data, covering the range, inter quartile range and the standard deviation.
Range: This is basically divided into two major parts (Milovic and Milovic, 2012). These are
minimum and maximum in the data set. The minimum data reflects the minimum value in the
given data set. The maximum value in the given data set. Range= max-min. Lower range of the
given data set are 27470 and 27172.5. the minimum range of the data set are 37690 and 20602.5
respectively.
Inter-quartile range: The Inter-quartile range provides so many information about how the
observation values of a data set are dispersed. This represents the range of the middle 50% of the
observations. Inter- Quartile range
Standard deviation: Standard deviation shows the average distance between an observation
value, and the mean of a data set. In this manner, this reflects how well the mean reflects the
values in a data set (Zikmund and et., al. 2013). Like the mean, this is adequate to implement at
17

the time when the data set is not skewed or covering outliers. Standard deviation of the number
of students and the number of satisfied students are 3952 and 2964 respectively.
2.4
No. of students Satisfied students
1st Quartile 30465 22848.5
2nd Quartile 36230 27172
3rd Quartile 37600 28200
TASK 3
3.1
Bar graph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000
27470
29560
31370
35720
36230
37230
37690
37630
37570
20602.5
22170
23527.5
26790
27172.5
27922.5
28267.5
28222.5
28177.5
Satisfied students
No. of Students
Year
Bar graph is the chart in which various data are represented in forms of bars and the same is
presented above (Muindi, 2011). In this it can be seen that the number of students in the college
are increasing at a rapid rate and so is the number of those who are satisfied with the
performance of the college.
Pie Chart
18

20602.5
22170
23527.5
26790
27172.5
27922.5
28267.5
28222.5
28177.5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
pie chart is the representation of the data in the circular chart in which the whole part is
divided in the proportion by the amount of data hold by each part (Nielsen and Nielsen, 2011). In
the above presented chart the total number of students who are satisfied has been represented and
it can be seen that it is improving.
Line chart:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
27470
29560 31370
35720 36230 37230 37690 37630 37570
20602.5 22170 23527.5
26790 27172.527922.528267.528222.528177.5
Year
No. of Students
Satisfied students
19

With the help of this line diagram it can be seen that the total number of students is
increasing and this has been represented by the line chart (Pettigrew, 2014). In this the orange
line represent the total number of students in the college and the number of students who are
satisfied is represented by yellow line.
3.2
Trend line:
In the conduction of business for a specified period of time there is a manner that is
required to be followed or it can be said that it establishes by itself which is know as trend. With
the help of this it can be ascertained that what will be required to be achieved in the future
(Schaltegger and Burritt, 2010). Then the steps will be taken so that it can be achieved and for
this the work will have to be performed in the most appropriate manner and the growth will be
achieved.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
274702956031370
357203623037230376903763037570
20602.5
22170
23527.5
2679027172.527922.528267.528222.528177.5
Year
No. of Students
Linear (No. of Students)
Satisfied students
Linear (Satisfied students )
Above is presented the trend line in respect of the total students in the college and the
number of students who are satisfied from them (Smith, Binns and Tushman, 2010). It can be
concluded from chart that both the trend lines are moving in upward direction which shows that
both the figures are increasing. It can be said that the facilities of the college are very good and
most of the students are satisfied with them which shows that performance of the college is very
good.
20

3.3 Covered in PPT
3.4
To,
Quality Assurance Agency
22nd July, 2017
Introduction: this report is designed to understand the satisfaction and experience of students
regarding to quality maintained by management of UKCBC institution. Given report consists of
reviews and feedbacks of students those are from cited institute regarding standard maintained
by management in the college premises. In order to resolve any issues it is necessary for the
management to the exact areas where there is need of improvement. So that corrective steps can
be taken. An agency for assurance of quality is being presented which will provide assistant to
the department so that corrective measures can be applied effectively against drawbacks to
solve issues.
Objectives and drawbacks: main objects of this study is to collect the relevant information
from the scholars of this institutes from different academic years. After this management will be
able to reach to conclusions that what changes are to be made in institute to make it better.
These observations further be used by quality assurance team to modify the conditions for next
academic years so that same problems are not face by the new admissions and other staff
members.
Drawbacks are that if any respondent has not given the real data regarding subject matter due to
his personal reasons or any other reasons then they will not be of any use. Whenever survey is
conducted it is necessary to collect accurate information that can be used by the researcher.
Content: in order to achieve conclusion, observations will be needed that is provided by the
enrolled students about their experiences and satisfaction. Same data is collected by different
ways such as primary or secondary method which provides adequate description to QAA.
Summary and suggestions: above study gives conclusion that presented agency is very
21

effective in taking corrective steps about quality assurance in UKCBC institute. It is capable
enough to collect all the necessary information and can be used for making changes for a better
future.
Task 4
4.1
information processing is a method used to change any information in any other way. this
process is needed by every modern organisation to analyse an information. Various levels of an
organisation of decision making are in need of different info processing systems:
Transaction processing system: this is mostly used at operational level of a business (Sosna,
Trevinyo-Rodríguez and Velamuri, 2010). This system is used for business transactions
consisting collection, alteration for improvements and recovery of the transactional data.
Continuity, relevancy and performances are the qualities of TPS. It is also known as real time
process. Operational department uses this method with the help of inputs and outputs for
decision making. It maintains accounting data also in an organisation. This system can be used to
gather different sources of information that is related to personal monetary transactions such as
cost, purchase and sales etc. this technique can also be used in higher management levels also.
Management information system: this technique is generally used by the middle management
that is tactical level. People at this level are considered as more qualified and responsible as
compared to operation level of decision making. MIS includes many parts that work together to
attain certain operations to reach a specific goal (Turban, Sharda and Delen, 2011). It is a
computer based system which provides details regarding how to make decisions and filer an
entity. This is a database process which collects the information of an organisation. It reports on
inputs, outputs, sales ledgers and credit financial areas. This system provides online methods.
This is consisting of 3 words those are management, information and systems. Management
includes administration of activities of an entity. Functional level controls the lower departments.
Information means data that is useful in designing and functions. Data is being processed such as
recorded, scrutinised and compared within style of management information system report.
System is based on inputs, processing and feedbacks.
22

Decision support system: this is also a computer based method that help management in
decision making. It supports business and structural activities. It is a very user friendly method
and properly formed decision support system (Tzeng and Huang, 2011). It assists managers and
collects info from a mix of data, personal information and business modals to resolve problems
and make conclusions. It also provide outsider's information. Marketing staff uses this system in
programmes and corporate events such as entertainment planning.
Executive information systems: this a extensive method of MIS which helps the top level
management of an organisation. It helps in making non routine decision which are effective to
entire organisation (Vercellis, 2011). In comparison with decision support system this offers
more general calculative capabilities, better telecommunication options. Advanced graphic
software are used to display critical data in the form of graphs and charts. It helps strategic
management to solve many problems. for making effective decisions it also uses scrutinised
internal data of MIS and DSS. it also support senior level to assess type of business, position of
competitors in same business etc.
Expert systems: it is related to decision support system that helps users to take benefit from
information and knowledge of experts. It provides very important information to strategic,
tactical and the operational management. This is a computer system that fosters the ability of
making decisions of human experts. This system in further divided in 2 parts and those are
interface engine and knowledge base. It can be used at different levels with varieties. Following
areas are there in which this system can be used such as banking, law and personal tax. Expert
system is used to forecast customer demands and the market behaviour.
23

4.2
24

Critical path is the path that should be followed by the organisation so that the project
that will be undertaken can be completed in the minimum time duration (Wu and Pagell, 2011).
It can be said that with the help of the network diagram that has been made above the shortest
path will be determined and then it will be used by the college. In a proposal various activities
are performed and their sequence will be specified so that they can be conducted in the required
manner and best results can be obtained. The critical path in the given case will be determined in
the following manner.
Path A : 1+2+5+6+8 = 22 Days
Path B : 1+2+3+7+8 = 21 Days
Path C : 1+4+7+8 = 20 Days
So from the above calculation it can be determined that the shortest path is the C in which
project will be completed in 20 days so this will be taken into consideration by college.
4.3
YEARS Cash flow PV@10% PV
0 -15000 1 -15000
1 8000 0.909 7272.727
2 10000 0.826 8264.462
3 5000 0.751 3756.574
4 5000 0.683 3415.067
25