Decision Making for Today’s World Guidelines for making effective decisions: Know when it’s time to call it quits Practice the five whys Be an effective decision maker Habits of highly reliable organizations (HROs): Are not tricked by their success Defer to the experts on the front line Let unexpected circumstances provide the solution Embrace complexity Anticipate, but also anticipate their limits Learning Objective #3 Chapter 5, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

Characteristics of an Effective Decision-Making Process Focuses on what is important Is logical and consistent Acknowledges both subjective and objective thinking and blends analytical with intuitive thinking Requires only as much information and analysis as is necessary Encourages and guides the gathering of relevant information and informed opinion Is straightforward, reliable, easy to use, and flexible Chapter 5, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

Summary and Implications What are the steps in the decision-making process? Steps include: identifying a problem and the decision criteria, allocating weights to those criteria, developing, analyzing, and selecting an alternative that can resolve the problem, implement the alternative and evaluate the decision’s effectiveness. Chapter 5, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

Summary and Implications What factors affect how decisions are made? Not all decisions follow the rational decision making model. How can managers make more effective decisions? Managers need to think broadly and deeply about issues, and then know when it is time to call it quits. Chapter 5, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada