Analytical Thinking and Decision Making

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Analytical Thinking and Decision Making

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Decision Making........................................................................................................................3
Importance of Decision Making.............................................................................................4
Heuristics in Decision Making...............................................................................................5
Role Of Decision Making......................................................................................................5
Application Of Decision Making...........................................................................................6
Analysis of Decision Making Through SMART technique.......................................................6
Value Tree Analysis...............................................................................................................7
Direct Ranking of the Attributes............................................................................................7
Value scale for development costs.....................................................................................7
Value scale for employment costs......................................................................................8
Value scale for functional ability and scalability...............................................................9
Value scale for usability...................................................................................................10
Weightage of Techniques.....................................................................................................11
Trading against benefits.......................................................................................................12
Strengths And Limitations Of Decision Making.....................................................................13
Strengths...............................................................................................................................13
Limitations...........................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
Reference List..........................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Decisions are a very important part of any organisation. According to Shayand Lafata,
(2015), the way an organisation takes a decisions and the kind of decisions taken by the
organisation determines the outcome of the organisational operations. Thus decision making
is such a process which needs attention and close evaluation. In this paper, the focus will be
on decision making which can be affecting the future of the organisation, predict their
sustainability and also determine their profit or loss. In this case the organisation taken under
consideration is Jacobi Consulting which takes some decisions for their organisation’s
benefits. The firm analyses the prospects of attaining the best waste management technique
for improving the management processes of the firm and creating less harm to the
environment (Zimmerman and Yahya-Zadeh, 2011). However there are positive and negative
aspects of this decision which is made. The paper further analyses the decision making
technique and its boons as well as limitations.
Decision Making
Every organisation which is functional has to take decisions which they cannot evade. Not
only for organisations but as individuals as well we all need to take many decisions in our
life, some of which are minor and some are major. In business there are many significant
decisions taken while operating on a regular basis (De Groot et al., 2010). The minor
decisions could be like what would be the timings for the workers to come and work at the
factory or important decisions like whether to accept the demands of the labour unions, etc.
There are many strategic decisions which are taken by the organisations. They could
strategically study the actions and decisions taken by their rival firms and then decide what is
right for them to do (Ho, Xu, and Dey, 2010). The customer targeting, market segmentation,
branding, etc. are some other important areas of decision making by the organisation.No
matter what decision it is the decision needs critical analysis and further evaluation.
Pettigrew, (2014) defines the term decision making as a process in which the uncertainties are
considered and some assumptions are made to make a choice about the suitable action. The
alternative options are considered and the present situation is analysed to see which would be
the right move for the organisation. There could be errors in the process of decision making
and there could also be bias involved. There are some instances when the data is distorted by
the decision makers. Thus decision making is a critical as well as a complex process. There
are many choices available among which the best alternative has to be chosen (Hohlerand

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FAAN, 2017). The organisations, no matter of which type, come into their field of operation
with the intention of sustaining in their field. Thus to sustain and survive in the field of work,
they need to take the decisions for their organisation. The right decision can make them
competitive and successful while a wrong decision can be self-ruining for the organisation.
There are so many big organisations which have failed and have been swiped off from the
face of business due to a wrong decision. The wrong and impulsive decisions can be costing
an organisation its existence. The decision which an organisation takes is a close reflection of
its furture. The big brands have been trying different strategies to be successful but many of
them have failed. Thus one cannot predict how effective the results can be after the decision
is implemented (Zsambok and Klein, eds., 2014). Thus decision makers need to be very far
sighted.
Importance of Decision Making
There are many alternative options among which the decision makers takes the best
alternative as the solution option. Thus decision making is a process which facilitates making
the right choice about the most appropriate action to take up.There could be many options
which are not chosen as they are not apt for the particular situation.There is also a need for
decision analysis so that the best alternative can be analysed and chosen. The decision
making is a process in which the decision makers try to study all the aspects of the
environment in which the organisation is operating. There could be different ways of decision
making. The decision can be taken by one person who is at the authoritative head or by a
group or committee of some people who debate, discuss and critically decide what should be
done. It is better to make a decision which is taken collectively because all the pros and cons
of the decision is analysed and evaluated (Hohlerand FAAN, 2017). The weakness of a
decision can be highlighted when the person is discussing his ideas with many more people.
There could be many alternatives coming up during this discussion and debate sessions
among the committee or panel of decision makers. The strategies which one considers to be
right may not be appropriate according to the other decision makers. All the aspects of a
decision can be analysed when more people are involved and everyone’s opinions are heard.
Though the future is always very unpredictable yet the decision making helps in analysing the
future perspectives and prospects and taking a decision which could cater to the situation in
the best possible way. There could always be errors and last minute changes in the decision
making process. However, the decision taken in advance helps to get a better sight of the