Decision making is an important function of management and an integral part of the business management. In any organization, many decisions have to be taken by the top level management and the other employees working in the organization.
In the last article of mine, I have discussed what is decision making and the other things related to it like features and definitions. And if you wish to read that then you can do that by following the link provided below.
In this article of mine, I will be telling you about the decision making process. I will tell you about all the steps which are involved in making decisions in business management.
Before we begin I would like to tell you one thing and that is if you are a student then I recommend you reading my previous article before you read this one.
Because it will be easy for you to understand the things which are mentioned in this article.
The Steps in Decision Making Process
A decision can be a direction to something to do or not to do something. Effective decision making is required for the smooth functioning of the management.
The success of any organization depends upon the quality of the decision taken by the top level management and other important employees.
The steps involved in decision making are as mentioned below.
- Identification of the Problem.
- Collecting and Analysing Relevant Information.
- Discovery of Alternative Course of Actions.
- Analysis of Alternative Course of Actions.
- Selection of Best Alternative Course of Action.
- Implication.
- Verifying the Decision.
I will explain you all the 7 steps one by one in the further part of this article.
1) Identification of the Problem
Before taking any kind of decision in business management the manager has to identify the problem. The problem which his organization is facing from which they want to get rid off.
Without identifying the problem no manager can take the decision and that is the reason why identification of the problem is the first step involved in the process of decision making.
2) Collecting and Analysing Relevant Information
The first step was to identify the problem which is being faced by the organization. The next thing which the manager has to do is collect and analyze the information which is relevant to the problem.
But here the manager has to make sure that he is collecting only the information which is relevant to his organization and the problem.
3) Discovery of Alternative Course of Actions
After collecting and analyzing the relevant information now the manager has a good amount of information about the problem.
The next thing which comes to the picture is the course of action which they can use to solve the problem. But any problem can be solved in a number of ways so it is important to discover all those ways.
4) Analysis of Alternative Course of Actions
As soon as the alternative course of actions are discovered the next step is to analyze all the course of actions. Analyzing also includes the screening of them.
5) Selection of Best Alternative Course of Action
There is no doubt that every problem can be solved in many ways. But all the ways may not be suitable for the organization and that is the reason why the best alternative course of action has to be selected.
In this step, the manager has to be very careful about his selection because the effectiveness of the decision depends on this step.
6) Implication
Now the best alternative course of action has been selected so it is time for action. That course of action has to be implicated now. This is the step from where the effect of the decision making starts.
7) Verifying the Decision
The last step in the decision making process is to verify that the decision taken by the manager and the organization is correct. It can be done by analyzing the performance of the course of action.
If you want to know about the types of decision making then you can follow this link. There are 10 types of decision making which are taken in every organization.
Conclusion
So these are the 7 steps which are involved in the process of decision making. I hope you are clear with all the 7 steps, but if you have any kind of doubts then you can comment down below.