Decision Making Processes

The various decision making processes discussed in Chapter 12 provide interesting insight into how their structure affects the outcome of decisions. It also discusses advantages and disadvantages to structuring decision making processes more effectively, and how a different might be produced depending on who is involved, the amount of time required, and the information being analyzed. Depending on how many people are involved, the work situation, and the importance of the issue, it is up to a manager to determine the best way to make decisions in the company. If a group is involved, how long will it take? Is the issue relevant to everybody who participates, or can the people involved in making the decision be used more effectively? Who should make the decisions and when is it appropriate to delegate?

All these questions must be asked when in a corporate environment or most organizations of any kind, especially when in a leadership role. A person's ability to lead may be greatly affected by the effectiveness of decision making processes and involving certain people. If too many people are involved in the decision making process, the change which is made tends to be slow, although it is most likely better planned. Leadership can be seen as ineffective when decisions take a long time to be made. At the same time, if decisions are made quickly by very few people, transparency and lack of information become an issue. The more people involved in a decision, the higher the flow of information, and this means that the best decision can be made according to all the information available. It is up to the leader to distinguish who should make decisions, when to step in and be directive, and when to step back and facilitate the decision making process.

Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.

Komives, Susan R. Et al. Exploring Leadership. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.