Decision-Making Process and Improving Managerial Skills

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the decision-making process from a managerial point of view. It outlines the key steps involved in effective decision-making, including problem identification, information gathering, solution brainstorming, alternative evaluation, selection, implementation, and outcome evaluation. The report also explores ways to improve decision-making skills, such as honesty, risk awareness, and seeking external perspectives, while also addressing the reasons why managers sometimes make wrong decisions. Furthermore, it suggests how managers can refine their decision-making by evolving the steps and integrating integrity. The report concludes with recommendations for managers to enhance their decision-making practices and includes references and appendices illustrating the decision-making process and improvement strategies.

Running Head: DECISION-MAKING 0
Decision-Making Report
Introduction of Management
(Student details :)
2/15/2019

Decision-Making 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Decision-Making (DM) process from a managerial point of view............................................3
What is DM and how are the decision made..........................................................................3
DM process from a manager’s viewpoint..............................................................................3
Step-I: Find Problems Demanding Decisions....................................................................3
Step-II: Seek Info to Clarify Alternatives..........................................................................4
Step-III: Brainstorm possible solutions..............................................................................4
Step-IV: Weigh the alternatives.........................................................................................4
Step-V: select an alternative...............................................................................................4
Step-VI: implement plan....................................................................................................4
Step-VII: evaluate outcomes..............................................................................................5
The ways to improve DM skills of managers........................................................................5
Reasons why managers make wrong decisions.....................................................................7
How managers could have made better decisions by evolving steps of DM.........................7
Conclusion and recommendations.............................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..................................................................................................................................10
Appendix-I: Seven key steps of decision-making process...................................................10
Appendix-II: Seven key steps of decision-making process.................................................11

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Introduction
In today’s contemporary business era, usually managers have to make as well as
implement key decisions as an essential part of their role in the organizations (Management
Study Guide, 2018). In this way, this report aims to provide an effective decision-making
methodology for the students those are the future managers of the modern business
environment (Becker, Kugeler, & Rosemann, 2013). This paper will help students to make
important decisions for resolving critical management issues within the given timelines
which they are going to face during their future career. Besides, we will discuss the decision-
making procedure from a manager’s point of view by utilising a real-world management-
associated issues and examples. In addition, important ways to improve decision-making
skills will be discussed along with the reasons why managers have to make wrong decisions
sometimes. With the help of identifying better decision-making approaches the report will
suggest how the managers can improve their decision-makings with detailed steps of the
process (Saaty, 2008).
Source: (Luhmann, 2018)

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Decision-Making (DM) process from a managerial point of view
What is DM and how are the decision made
In human psychology, DM is referred as the cognitive procedure resulting in the
suitable selection of a course of action amid various alternative possibilities (Greco, Figueira,
& Ehrgott, 2016). Hence, all decision-making processes produce a closing choice that may or
may not apt actions. In order to know the right DM process, first we need to know how these
decisions are made in real-time within the organizations. In this context, most of the decisions
made throughout an organization are often based on underlying info and data. This info and
data might be internal or acquired from a third party source as well as it may reside in
multiple systems or one system (Management Study Guide, 2018). Thus, all decision-makers
must consider the reliability of the underlying info or data before taking any action in their
workplace (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
DM process from a manager’s viewpoint
DM is the key process of making choices through recognizing a good decision,
collecting info as well as assessing all possible alternative resolutions (Management Study
Guide, 2018). Thus in modern organizations, small business owners as well as managers have
to make decisions on a regular basis, managing each and everything from daily operational
issues to those extensive-range strategic planning. Hence, decision-making procedure of a
manager can be further split into seven key steps (Greco, Figueira, & Ehrgott, 2016).
Managers often go through all of the DM steps rapidly while making decisions at the
workplace. This is the reason that this report is narrating different good decision-making
practices on account for understanding the procedure of managerial DM will improve DM
effectiveness of managers (Luhmann, 2018).
Thus, by using step-by-step DM processes managers can make more deliberate, as
well as thoughtful decisions while organizing relevant info and essential alternatives (Ingram,
2019). In this way, seven essential steps of managerial DM are as follows:
Step-I: Find Problems Demanding Decisions
This is the main step of any DM process which is to identify there is a key decision to
be made. For an example, when a supervisor of a retail shop realized that the store is having
too many employees compared to the daily current sales volume then he or she will require

Decision-Making 4
making a decision for keeping company costs under control (Becker, Kugeler, & Rosemann,
2013).
Step-II: Seek Info to Clarify Alternatives
A manager should seek out a range of info to clarify the available alternatives after
they have identified a problem which involves a decision. Managers need to determine causes
of an issue, the people as well as processes involved in that managerial issue along with the
constraints placed on the chosen DM process (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
Step-III: Brainstorm possible solutions
During this step of DM process managers need to make a list of possible solutions. In
this way, third step of DM process can involve any time duration from a few seconds of to
that of a few months for more formal collaborative planning, as depending upon the nature of
the chosen decision (Ingram, 2019).
Step-IV: Weigh the alternatives
After completing three essential steps of DM in management organizations, managers
need to weigh the available options. As we know that there are alternatives which are
available for making decision on an issue. Hence, compile the list of merits and de-merits of
each alternative which will assist to have the best info available prior moving forward to the
DM phase (Luhmann, 2018).
Step-V: select an alternative
Post weighing the alternatives from the pros and cons perspectives of all possible
solutions, seek extra info if needed and then managers need to choose the alternative they
think has the best chances of success at the minimum cost and input resources (Management
Study Guide, 2018).
Step-VI: implement plan
After selecting the best alternative to imply for the DM, managers need to put their
decision into action. The best way of implying this sixth stage of DM is that managers should
call all of their employees to put the decision into action with verdict. In addition, a
managerial decision can also be changed after its enactment as few savvy managers put
company’s monitoring systems in order to evaluate the possible outcomes of their own
managerial decisions (Pettigrew, 2014).

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Step-VII: evaluate outcomes
This is the DM step where the experienced business managers can learn from their
own mistakes. This is a step through which managers monitor the outcomes of strategic
decisions they have made being a business owner. In this way, through evaluating outcomes
decisions can be adapted as necessary, or can be switched to other potential solution if
possible (Luhmann, 2018). Thus, a pictorial presentation of seven steps of managerial DM
process are given in appendix-I.
Source: (Ingram, 2019)
The ways to improve DM skills of managers
When managers manage a business, they are supposed to constantly making decisions
under pressure. Hence, to make the top possible decisions, while knowing what impact they
will have on their company's future they should refer some important concepts of effective
managerial DM. These concepts or tips are those strategies which can be used by managers to
avoid most common pitfalls as well as hone their own DM skills (Business Development
Bank of Canada, 2018). In addition, making faster, better decisions will help managers to
take benefit of business opportunities by avoiding pitfalls. Managers need to be effectively
decisive as they are responsible for the effective as well as smooth running of any

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organization. They can use some intelligent tips which are some important ways through
which managers can improve their DM skills as follows:
 Always be honest
 Let go of previous mistakes
 Develop an insight for risks
 Always try to get an external perspective
 Challenge status quo
 Try to make evidence-based workplace decisions
 Whenever stuck then reframe the problem (Business Development Bank of Canada,
2018).
Apart from above tips of improving DM skills of managers, some important ways to
improve the DM skills are presented in the appendix-II in the later section of the report.
Source: (Pettigrew, 2014)

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Reasons why managers make wrong decisions
The reason behind why leadership is not everyone’s cup of tea is that leaders make
wrong decisions which make organization and their employees suffer (Llopis, 2013). In order
to know why managers fall into the trap of taking wrong decisions, there are some
behavioural patterns which are listed below:
 The managers rely too much on their previous experiences while taking decisions
within the organizational context
 The managers take wrong decisions when they get addicted to corporate politics to a
large extent.
 The managers make wrong decisions due to lack clarity of purposes
 Sometimes, an ineffective use as well as understanding of the resources restricts
managers to be good decision makers
 Sometimes, when management leaders are not able to see the opportunities they make
wrong decisions
 Moreover, managers take wrong decisions when do not trust themselves to lead the
position which they own (Pettigrew, 2014).
How managers could have made better decisions by evolving steps of DM
These are the ways how managers can take effective decisions through evolving DM
steps as follows:
 Managers should ensure that their decision-making is resolving an issue to a business
event.
 The managers should consider those enablers who can effectively imply taken
decisions.
 The managers should anticipate all negative consequences as well as objectives so
that effective outcomes can be gained.
 The managers must consider as well as accept the fact that not always everyone is
happy with the decisions taken and the decision-maker.
 By evolving integrity into their DM processes managers can improve decisions
because decision taken with integrity offer three major elements include coherent,
whole and transparent for an organization success (Zimmerman & Yahya-Zadeh,
2011).

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Conclusion and recommendations
In conclusion, the paper has analysed decision-making processes from the managerial
point of view. The concept of DM along with the essential steps of DM for the managers of
the organizations has been discussed successfully. The decision-making report has presented
useful concepts, tips and suggestions for the students being future managers of this modern
business environment. How these managers can improve their DM skills while taking bad
decisions at their workplace is addressed with the help of this report. Apart from this, the
paper has also presented some additions in those original steps of DM so that decision-
making can be made more effective for the future managers. Finally, the writer of this paper
provides recommendations for the modern era’s managers as follows:
 The managers should reflect upon their past experiences and extract the key learning
from them for the future decision-makings.
 The managers in any organization should learn from the iconic leaders and mangers
as well as reflect those learning into day-to-day decision practices.
 The managers should always become a part or victim of organizational politics while
taking key decisions at the workplace.
References
Becker, J., Kugeler, M., & Rosemann, M. (2013). Process management: a guide for the
design of business processes. London: Springer Science & Business Media.
Business Development Bank of Canada. (2018). Top 7 decision-making tips for managers.
Retrieved from Business Development Bank of Canada:
https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneurial-skills/be-effective-leader/pages/
7-decision-making-tips-managers.aspx
Goetsch, D., & Davis, S. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. New
Jersey: Pearson.
Greco, S., Figueira, J., & Ehrgott, M. (2016). Multiple criteria decision analysis. New York:
Springer.
Ingram, D. (2019, 02 05). What Are the Steps in the Decision-Making Process of a Manager?
Retrieved from Chron: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/steps-decisionmaking-
process-manager-10601.html

Decision-Making 9
Llopis, G. (2013, 05 28). 6 Reasons Leaders Make Bad Decisions. Retrieved from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/05/28/6-reasons-leaders-make-bad-
decisions/#57430b2b2b9f
Luhmann, N. (2018). Organization and decision. London: Cambridge University Press.
Management Study Guide. (2018). Decision Making in an Organizational Context. Retrieved
01 03, 2019, from https://www.managementstudyguide.com/decision-making-in-
organizational-context.htm
Pettigrew, A. (2014). The politics of organizational decision-making. London: Routledge.
Saaty, T. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. International Journal
of services sciences, 1(1), 83-98.
Zimmerman, J., & Yahya-Zadeh, M. (2011). Accounting for decision making and control.
Issues in Accounting Education, 26(1), 258-259.

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Appendix
Appendix-I: Seven key steps of decision-making process
Source: (Greco, Figueira, & Ehrgott, 2016)

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Appendix-II: Seven key steps of decision-making process
Source: (Management Study Guide, 2018)