Decision making in business - Scholarship Essay Example

Such studies indicated that successful organisations exhibited all of Indeed, as Drucker (2003) contends, decision-making is of such unique importance to organisations that the performance of managers and executive is largely, although not exclusively, evaluated in accordance with their decision-making capacities and abilities. While not intending to obscure the many other responsibilities assigned to managers or undermine the importance of any, the aforementioned is intended to highlight the fact that decision-making is, by far, one of the most important of the many managerial responsibilities.

The significance of managerial decision-making stems from the fact that decisions ultimately influence and alter both management itself and the organisational as a whole. Accordingly, managerial decision-making functions as the criteria for the evaluation of management performance and for the determination of the likelihood of an organisation are satisfying its strategic objectives (Agarwal & Malloy, 2000; Lippitt, 2003). In order to further clarify this, and in so doing, defend and support the contention that decision-making is the most important of the managerial/leadership responsibilities, the componential and definitional elements of decision making shall now be analysed.

The decision-making process consists of six primary elements that are the functions of decision making in implementing manage. A set cycle is completed once the objective that initiates this cycle is attained. Searching for alternatives is the second primary element. Searching consists of scanning both internal and external environment for pertinent information that to identify and develop a set of options for the likelihood of fulfilling the objective. Third is comparing and evaluating alternatives by using applicable techniques and criteria relevant to the objectives.

The fourth primary element is the act of choice, in which a selection is made by the decision maker for a specific course of action from the various options and scenarios compared. Implementing the decision is the fifth primary element. In this element, a transformation of the decision from an abstract conceptual framework to operational reality occurs. Finally, the sixth primary element is follow-up and control, which ensures that the outcome of the implemented decision is compatible and in balance with the managerial objective starting the whole process.

Figure 1: Managerial Decision-Making ProcessSeveral critical areas comprise the dimensions of management decision making (Harrison & Pelletier, 2000): organization, level, significance, rationality, strategy, outcome, and uncertainty. Some experts included intuition as an additional dimension featured in the decision-making process (Miller & Ireland, 2005). Each separate dimension and all dimensions combined affect how managers assume decision making responsibility and also how others assess whether a manager is being responsible.

All dimensions have equal importance and significance in their contribution to the evolving and continual managerial decision-making process. Figure 2 highlights the