Basics
of Decision Making
According to Oxford Advanced
Learner’s dictionary International Students Edition
(2015), decision making
is described as the process of deciding about something important,
especially in a group
of people or in an organization. The basics of decision making lie in
both instinct and analysis
which brings up to the question, “on which way should we follow?”
The answer depends on
the situation.
Jonah Lehrer in his book “How We
Decide (2009)” states that, “ever since the ancient
Greeks, these
assumptions have revolved around a single theme: humans are rational”. When
making decisions one is supposed to deliberate
and analyse other probable advantages and
disadvantages. Human
beings are known to be conscious and analytical creatures. However
our intellect does not
always help us to make the best decisions as most of the times we find
ourselves choosing the
wrong ones. When we are faced with choices to make, we look at
other situations we
have encountered before, and most of us make decisions based on our
prior experiences on what worked for us or
didn’t. William Joseph
Slim (1891 –1970)
believes that “When
you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of
action you should take
– choose the bolder.”
When one realizes that a decision has to
be made, they have to identify ways to collect
information to aid them
in making the right choices. Information can be gathered from
friends, prior
experiences, books and many more sources. It’s good to note that, previous
failures play a big
role in deciding on what options to adopt.
Look for alternatives and if
possible list them
down. Weigh the pro and cons of each alternative identified and scale down
to the ones you feel
are closer to the answers you need. Prioritize them by the help of
your intuition, narrow
down and choose the alternative you feel will serve the purpose; this is
the most difficult part in the whole process. Remember
if one chooses not to make a decision
it is also a decision
by itself and may have explicit consequences. According to Robert
K.
Greenleaf, the author
of the essay “Servant as Leader (1970)”he believes that: “On an
important decision one
rarely has 100% of the information needed for a good decision no
matter how much one spends or how long one
waits. And, if one waits too long, he has a
different problem and
has to start all over. This is the terrible dilemma of the hesitant
decision maker.” So, no
matter the circumstances, one must make choices and wait for the
results.
Implement the alternatives you have chosen
and wait to evaluate the results of your
decisions. If your need
is not met, you might be required to re-evaluate certain steps and do it
all over again.
And according to Theodore Roosevelt
(American President 1858-1919): “In any moment
of decision, the best
thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing,
and the worst thing you
can do is nothing”. We all come to one agreement that, making
decisions either good
or bad is inevitable.
