03/ 23/ 2007
by Charles R. McConnell
We all make numerous decisions every day. Many are small and automatic, but some made on the job are significant and require considerable conscious effort. We make the small decisions with little serious thought, while the significant decisions usually receive our complete attention. Yet little or big, every decision encompasses the same elements of the basic decisionmaking process.
The elements of the process include:gathering information; analyzing information and creating alternatives; choosing an alternative; implementing the alternative; and following up on implementation. These five elements should always be present; the first four, although not especially visible in small decisions, are always there, but the final element--following up on implementation--is often overlooked.
Two factors determine the prominence of the steps in any particular decision. One is the relative experience of the decisionmaker, and the other is the potential consequences of an incorrect decision. If it's something you've decided many times, you can more readily make the decision the next time the need arises. And if the consequences of a wrong decision are minor, again it's more readily decided. In simple decisions, the steps aren't especially noticeable because the decisionmaker has been programmed by experience. But when you face a kind of decision not often encountered, the steps become visible, especially if you know there's something of value at stake if you make the wrong decision. Thus the forces of experience and potential consequences determine the amount of effort applied to any particular decision.
The first step in the process is gathering the information on which to base the decision. This step can be troublesome because never will our information be perfect; there will always be room for some "what if?" questions.
Analyzing information and forming alternatives overlaps the information-collecting preceding phase. The amount of time and effort you put into analyzing information and creating alternatives should be consistent with the importance or potential consequences of the decision.
If the foregoing steps have been thorough, at this point you may discover that the best alternative stands out. However, you must temper what seems best with knowledge of what'spossible.At this stage, constraints enter the picture.
Common constraints limiting some decision alternatives consist of a number of factors the most significant of which are time, money, and quality. Some constraints are absolute, presenting rigid barriers that can't be passed. But most constraints are flexible in that there's room for trade-offs. For example, if turnaround time is critical in a particular situation, we'll make a choice that costs more for the sake of meeting the time constraint.
Money is usually the most common constraint. In business, financial constraints are well understood because most people can personally relate to the way limited funds make some alternatives unaffordable.
Also, an acceptable level of quality is often a constraint. You can do many tasks cheaply and more leisurely if you don't care about the resulting quality, but quality requirements can dictate how much time and money have to go into the task.
Implementation is action, putting the chosen alternative work. We might also say that implementation is everything; the best decision will amount to nothing unless it's implemented.
Follow-up is the weakest and most neglected part of the decisionmaking process, the stage during which good ideas die for lack of attention. Without follow-up on a procedural change, for example, conditions can drift back to the former method soon after implementation. Also, a revised process can contain flaws or inadequacies, so proper follow-up is required to correct such weaknesses.
Because perfect information doesn't exist, and you never know all that the near future will bring, there are always elements of risk and uncertainty in any decision situation. Risk is present because something may be lost if the decision is wrong. Uncertainty is also there; you have no guarantee that the near future will prove your choice to be correct.
A major objective of the decisionmaking process is to minimize risk and uncertainty. But risk and uncertainty are always present, so there's always the need for judgment in decisionmaking. Many decisions will be right or wrong because of human judgment regardless of the quantitative information involved. Judgment can never be completely eliminated from decisionmaking; rather, judgment must be refined by learning as much about the alternatives as is practical.
Although decisions may range from mostly objective to highly subjective, any particular decision can be influenced by the conditions under which it's made. The single circumstance that usually has the greatest effect on the decisionmaking process is the imposition of pressure. Pressure is often experienced as limitations on the time available for investigating properly and rendering a rational decision. This is something for every manager to consider in assigning work to employees; reasonable deadlines make for better decisions.
