Decision Making Mind Map Concept Decision Making

Decision Making

Mind Map Concept Decision Making

Decision making is a process of identifying and choosing the best option among all the available alternatives in a given situation. The purpose of making decision in a particular context is to select an option that can bring the most desirable outcomes for the decision maker or for the people or groups that have a stake in those outcomes (Hardman, 2009). A decision can be as easy as accepting or declining a simple proposal and as complex as planning a strategic investment in a business. Decision making is a cognitive process in which the decision maker has to actively respond to the external environment and evaluate all the alternative choices in order to make an effective decision (Bernstein, 2011).

There are six major concepts that are generally associated with all types of decision making phenomena or processes. These concepts are:

Preliminary Information

Available Alternatives

Decision Criteria

4. Decision Goals

5. Decision Effectiveness

6. Time Constraints

These concepts of decision making are now discussed below in detail:

1. Preliminary Information:

The first concept, which is also the most essential component of a decision making process is the problem statement or preliminary information on the decision alternatives. Before making a decision, an individual should have complete information on the background of the problem for which he has to find the solution or set a roadmap for future action. Excessive information is also not good for making an effective decision as it can take more time and resources to extract the relevant facts for the decision (Maldonato, 2010).

2. Available Alternatives:

Decision is made when there are more than one alternative available in a particular situation. Some alternatives are already known to the decision maker from the preliminary information while another set of alternatives is developed by him in the course of decision making. To make an effective decision, the decision maker should not solely rely on the already known alternatives; rather, he must re-think the whole situation to develop alternatives on his own. It will help him to ensure that he has not left any alternative un-judged (Bernstein, 2011).

3. Decision Criteria:

A decision maker has to analyze all the available alternatives in order to choose the best among them. The best alternative is the one which meets all the essential requirements of the decision criteria and gives the most favorable solution for the problem. To reach a better decision, a decision maker should rank all the alternatives according to their significance, quality, and associated costs. One thing must also be kept in mind that choosing one alternative can mislay the opportunity to get the unique benefits of other alternatives (Hardman, 2009).

4. Decision Goals:

There is always a purpose behind choosing among a large number of alternatives and consuming time and efforts to reach an effective decision. The decision maker must be aware of the purpose or goal of the decision so that he has a clear direction in his mind. If the goal is unknown, a decision maker cannot judge the importance of decision for himself or the associated parties. A decision goal can be defined by asking questions like, 'why this decision is important or what are the objectives behind evaluating the alternatives and choosing one among them all?

5. Value or Effectiveness of the Decision: