Applying Decision Making Techniques to Identify Solutions How will the South Pacific Logistics and Transportation Company establish a greater and profitable presence on the Island of Kava? Considering all the physical, environmental and socio-economical issues previously discussed, how can a decision be made that will provide the best solution for both the corporation, its stakeholders and the community in which they operate? There are several tools and techniques available to guide decision makers during the analysis and evaluation process in order to reach the best possible decisions. One of this tools or techniques available during the decision making process is brainstorming. This technique can be used to produce a list of possible solutions and alternatives to the problem. During brainstorming “it is useful to have experienced people to help with this part of the (decision making) process, but new people, even complete rookies can bring an insight to creating alternatives that might be missed by others who are steeped in the tradition of how they do things now” (Langdon, K. 2001,p.33). Brainstorming can be followed by multi-voting which can be used to reduce a long list of ideas and assign priorities quickly, with a high degree of team agreement in order to identify the most important items on a list. This technique is also known as importance weighting. This group technique or group think could be used for a more detailed approach to generate, clarify, and evaluate a long list of ideas, problems, or issues in order to effectively prioritize the items on this list. The South Pacific Logistics and Transportation Company can also use this consensus style decision making so that the entire group ca... ... middle of paper ... ...measure the amount and levels of involvement and communication necessary to implement the decisions taken. Moreover, all stakeholders concern must be taken into account. These actions will help ensure that implementation actually occurs. (Langdon, K., 2001). References Emstthal, H. (2002, March). Deciding how to decide. Association Management. 54(3), p.42 (4). Retrieved on 05 May, 2009 form ProQuest database. E-Library, University of Phoenix. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=4&vinst=PROD Langdon, K. (2001). Chapter 3: Creating options. Smart Things to Know About Decision Making, 1e. John Wiley & Sons, p. 42. Retrieved on 05 May, 2009 from eBook Library, University of Phoenix, eResource, MGT/350, Critical Thinking: Strategies In Decision Making. http://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content
2. Alterative Solutions – Before this class when faced with a problem I would usually go with the first solution that seemed to fix the situation. However, establishing specific evaluation criteria is essential when valuing the merits of a potential solution. If a solution does not fit the criteria, it will not be successful. Judging alternatives through the same criteria allows you to produces the optimal solution and eliminate awful ones. When facing a strategic problem this process will be fundamental in making a
Proactive management of the decision-making process can minimize the threat of groupthink compromising the quality of decisions. Managers can place importance of having a wide variety of options and idea brought to the table. Encouraging employees to thoroughly analyze all aspects of the options, from the moral and ethical implications, to the response they can expect from their opposition. With each decision appoint one or more group member to play devil’s advocate to the suggested options, ask that person to analyze and make a case against each of the suggestions (Sims & Sauser, 2013). Rotate this position throughout the group so that one person is not refuting the groups ideas consistently. Continually encouraging and rewarding contrasting views can hedge the complacency groups fall into after working together for periods of time. Management should be active listeners in the decision-making process being careful to not assert their preference towards a certain option to avoid the group conforming to the preferences of their superiors before the options are fully analyzed (Rose, 2011). Finally, after a decision has been made and the analysis has been completed before implementing or going public with the idea reconvene and go through the choose plan of action one last time to ensure that new information has not become available and
Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Strickland III, A. J., & Jain, A. K. (2008). Crafting &
A sequence of steps must be following in the decision-making process (Dunn, 2010). These include defining the problem, analyzing the problem, developing alternatives, evaluating the alternative and choosing the best, and finally taking action and following up (Dunn, 2010). According to Dunn (2010), the problem cannot be addressed until the true root of the problem has been defined. Once the source has been defined the next step is to gather
Negotiations and decisions are a part of everyday business. In order to make a successful decision, it is necessary to understand how to make rational and sound decisions. Decisions that are rash, made on snap judgments, and past experiences can prove detrimental to a business. A deficit in basic thinking and decision making is felt at all levels of an organization (Gary, 1997). Decisions can have long term and short term impacts on organizations and their world in which they exist (Turner & Dean, 2008). In order to understand the process of making a sound and good decision, it is necessary to define and understand several decision-making models. These models help to make clear the issues to be addressed and the goals that need to be obtained before a final decision is made. This paper will discuss the zero sum game, win-win, satisfying solutions, and the fixed pie models.
Rather, the goal of action research is that in involving all stake holders affected by the problem a situation appropriate solution can be implemented. Involving all stakeholders is essential in action research because it empowers participants to be active contributors to the improvement of their lives.(Stringer, 2014) Stringer (2014) explains that if there is no change as a result of action research then it should be considered unsuccessful. Thus, action research can become a continuous cycle of researching, implementing solutions and researching again based on the results. (Stringer,
Ensure that effective measurements and monitoring mechanisms are in place to determine whether implemented solutions have yielded predicted benefits and to drive continuous process improvement.
Make the decision through the integration of ideas and data, and negotiation and prioritization of ideas
2.)Identify the best decision making model. To identify the most appropriate approach to solving the issue facing Vail Health it is important to identify the factors surrounding the issue to include the time available, the importance of the desired outcome and the alternatives
Group decision making has many benefits for the individuals involved and the organization itself. In order for group decision making to be efficient, it is important for a creative environment to exist. “Creativity is the mental and social process used to generate ideas, concepts and associations that lead to the exploration of new ideas (May, 2011, para.3). This allows each employee to explore ideas and feel comfortable to share them without fear of rejection.
The concept of potential problem analysis, which is also known as potential opportunity analysis, is one of the stages in the Kepner-Tregoe approach for the problem-solving process. This concept was introduced to help in analyzing the consequences of a decision in order to identify what could potentially go wrong and to create initiatives that could address the problems or issues once they actually emerge. Generally, the potential problem analysis technique is developed to offer a comprehensive evaluation of a created idea or action so as to predict any probability for something going wrong. Therefore, this concept or procedure helps an individual to expected problems before they take place and to develop necessary measures that could be implemented to prevent the probable problem from taking place or lessen its effect.
When it comes to the reasoning and problem solving of any issue there are various ways to come to a decision; thinking is the mental process that allows the people in the world to deal with it effectively, according to set goals, plans, ideas, and desires. Thinking involves the gathering of information that forms concepts and engages in problem solving, reasoning, and making precise decisions for the benefit of whom is concerned. Thinking according to Kirby and Goodpaster (2007),"is an internal mental process that uses information as input, integrates that information into previous learned material and the result may be knowledge or may be nothing". Creative thinking, logical thinking, and persuasive thinking are three types of thinking. Each of these types of thinking affects the critical thinking process in various ways. The three thinking types will be compared and contrasted, as well as applied to affects they have in the critical thinking process. Every person has a primary style of thinking that is used most to help in his or her decisions. Finally, critical thinking will be applied to the decision making process by using workplace examples.
Thinking critically and making decisions are important parts of today’s business environment. It is important to understand how the decision making process works and the steps involved. The nine steps of the decision making process are: identifying the problem, defining criteria, setting goals and objectives, evaluating the effect of the problem, identifying the causes of the problem, framing alternatives, evaluating impacts of the alternatives, making the decision, implementing the decision, and measuring the impacts. (Decision, 2007.) By using various methods and tools to assist in making important business decisions an individual can ensure the decisions they make will be as successful as possible. In this paper it will be examined how the decision making process can be followed using various tools and techniques to make successful business decisions by using these same tools and techniques during a thinking critically business scenario. The paper will also discuss how different tools and techniques could have been used to make different, yet still successful decisions.
“Decision making is a process of first diverging to explore the possibilities and then converging on a solution(s). The Latin root of the word decision means "to cut off from all alternatives". This is what you should do when you decide.” (Kotelnikov, 2008). In fact, the decision making process helps reduce doubt and uncertainty about alternative choices to allow individual to choose the best reasonable choice. In addition, the decision making process can make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful organization. Consequently, management tries to use the best techniques and tools possible to make the best decision. Nowadays, most organizations seem to think that they have the most effective and efficient decision making process. So what are the different styles of decision making processes have organizations implemented? In order to answer this question, the team members will investigate and observe the decision-making processes most prevalent in their organization. As a result, these papers will first compare and contrast the problem identification and formulation styles in the team members’ organizations. Then the most favorable aspects of each style will be discussed to describe a process by which a problem can be identified and described to stakeholders in a manner that is sensitive to their perspective.
Problem solving and decision-making are fundamental in all managerial activities. Although these defining characteristics of management can be used interchangeably, current literature makes a comprehensible delineation between the two. Problem solving can be defined as a mental process and is part of a larger process that begins with identifying the problem and ends by assessing the efficiency of the solution. Decision-making is also considered a mental process and identifies several alternative scenarios before making a final selection. For the purpose of this analysis, I will discuss the similarities and differences of problem solving and decision-making. I will also explain the steps of the decision-making process and discuss the different decision-making approaches.