An organization usually run and operate through decision making. The management control, lead, staff, organize and plan the team by executing decisions. Subsequently, the quality and effectiveness of the decisions will significantly determine the levels of success. Whenever a problem presents itself, the managers are called upon to make decisions. Problem-solving and decision making are closely related and help enable a business to realize its objectives or goals. Decision making is a detailed process that can be long term or instantaneous. It starts with an analysis of the situation consideration of alternatives and making choices, then finally implementing the decisions (Buhler, 2001).
Strategic decisions have usually pointed out the company in the right direction and are generally long term. The top management decides without considering the input of the low-level employees. These decisions cover the “why” and the “what” of the organization. The approach concerns itself with both internal and external factors that affect a business. Operational decisions on the hand are more concerned with putting plans into action. They get down to the specifics of how things get accomplished. Due to that, they predominantly lean towards the short term. An example of a strategic decision is when a company decides to enter a new market. Such a decision qualify to be in this category since it is long term and is predominantly left to the top-level management. Examples of operational planning include scheduling employees and allocating resources on the departmental level (Kourdi, 2011). Such decisions are usually short or medium term.
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Programmed decisions are related to structured situations in circumstances where the issue is repetitive and more or less a routine. An excellent example of such a problem that I have witnessed is a disagreement involving leave policies. Year in year out employees go for leave. Apart from the organization having rules to guide such matters, the business has handled these situations long enough and can easily handle any dispute that may arise. Non-programmed decisions involve complex and ill-defined problems that are taken in unstructured cases. These problems are exceptional in nature and non-recurring. Since they have never taken place previously, handling them require extensive brainstorming. Managers use subjective and skills to solve the problems through logical reasoning and scientific reasoning (Buhler, 2001). An excellent example of such a decision is the adoption or institution of new technology. Such decisions are executed by top-level management. As one moves up the organizational hierarchy, the frequency of such occurrence increases significantly.
The rational decision-making approach usually entails sequential phases aimed at reaching a desirable solution. This process assumes that human beings always make sound decisions which are not the case at all times. Numerous factors influence decision making, and many may be irrational. Intuitive decision making is always subconscious, subjective, and more instinctive. In contrast to rational decision making, this technique entails decisions that do not emphasize on facts and analysis. Instead, the choices are less structured and involve feelings and perceptions (Kourdi, 2011). In my experience, I have worked with a supervisor that preferred rational decision-making technique. Before making any decision, he was always objective and emphasized facts together with a detailed analysis.
In conclusion, it is correct to point out that decision making is the backbone of a business undertaking. The decision made will determine how institutions handle situations that threaten their operation. Decisions can be strategic or operational, programmed, or non-programmed. The decision making the process as well can either be intuitive or rational (Kourdi, 2011). At all time, organizations encounter these different concepts, and the manager must know when to use each of the factors as mentioned earlier to propel the organization to greater heights.
References
Buhler, P. M. (2001). Decision-making: A key to successful management. SuperVision, 62 (2), 13-15.
Kourdi, J. (2011). Chapter 2: Assessing your decision-making style. Effective Decision Making: 10 Steps to Better Decision Making and Problem Solving. London: Marshall Cavendish International [Asia] Pte Ltd.
