Digital Library: Decision-making

Decision-making

A decision-maker is a person who decides things, especially at a high level in an organization.

Definition of decision-making is the ability to understand needs, evaluate comparable options, and narrow down to the best option. Is the ability to make decisions autonomously; make timely decisions taking into account the consequences (for instance, effects on others, political and/or ethical implications); take responsibility for the decisions made.

Decision-making is about understanding the objective, analyze all possible options, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses and take the best decision in the interest of the company. Decision-making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action, and involves individual judgement.

Decision-making skills are about the ability to choose a good option out of two or more alternatives. In the wider process of problem-solving, decision-making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem. As a type of problem-solving skill, there are three main ways to approach decision-making: using intuition, reasoning, or a combination of the two.

Intuition is the combination of past experiences with personal values.

Reasoning is the use of facts and figures to make decisions. Reasoning can ignore the emotional aspects of the decision.

Depending on the decision context, intuition and reasoning can be misused. It is important to be aware of impulsive reactions to a situation.

Decision needs to be capable of implementation. Commitment to the decision made is fundamental to persuade others of its merits.

An effective decision-making process needs to ensure that the decision-maker is able to do so.

Problems that can prevent effective decision-making:

1. Not enough information: can give the feeling that the decision is taken without any basis. It is necessary to prioritize the information gathered at that specific moment.
2. Too much information: conflicting information that has to be discussed with the involved parties to decide what is the really important information and to set a schedule for the decision-making process.
3. Too many people: when many people are involved it is more difficult to take a decision. It is important to analyze different perspectives and the decision-maker is the responsible to decide.
4. Vested interests: it is hard to identify someone’s interests if they are not clearly expressed. Sometimes an outside perspective can help to make a decision.
5. Emotional attachments to the status quo.

Different techniques of decision-making have been developed. A wide range of simple rules to more complex procedures, depending on the nature of the decision to be made.

Significance in Times of Crisis (e.g. pandemic)

Crisis is an extreme form of change, and keeping a clear mind is essential to make good decisions.

Decision-making in time of crisis is one of the most important skills. Being able to keep in mind what is really important to do and act at the precise moment. A person with a strong decision-making skill is able to face and solve conflicts in any circumstance. Therefore, one of the most important skills of client-centered help and support on social level is a sufficiently high level of decision-making.