Decision making: an art or a science?
In the business environment, success is measured by tangible results. Results are achieved after performing certain actions. Actions are the result of decisions made. Therefore, success in the corporate world depends on the quality of the decision-making process. Today the Indian economy is more integrated with the world economy. Competition is intense in all sectors. In such a situation, the quality of decisions made at different levels is more important than ever.
Decision making is a self-dominated action. Some people may try to democratize the process. But ultimately, it is the individual who makes the decision. That decision becomes the property of an individual. This particular individual experiences pain or gain depending on the results obtained. Because decision making is a self-controlled action, the organization must tolerate failure. This world is full of uncertainties. Every decision has a certain amount of risk element. The trial and error process will help people hone their decision-making skills.
Some say that the ability to make decisions is inherent and cannot be taught. Others say that decision-making skills can be sharpened through practice, training, and experience. I feel like the last theory sounds good. The decision-making process is structured. It involves certain steps.
The first step is the identification of the problem. It is absolutely necessary to identify the correct problem. Identifying the correct problem is only as good as half solving the problem. What is necessary at this stage is to separate the problem from the symptoms.
The next step is to collect information. There are several sources of information. Information may be collected from publications, customers, competitors, and employees. The information gathering process should be scientifically organized because the quality and accuracy of the information will lead to the correct knowledge and wisdom.
Then comes the generation and evaluation of alternatives. The generation of alternatives can be done through brainstorming. The evaluation of the generated alternatives can be supported by various qualitative and quantitative techniques that lead to the appropriate choice of the alternative.
Some managers base their decisions on intuition. Intuition is personal ingenuity applied in real life situations. But the right decisions cannot be made solely on the basis of intuition. The decision-making process is situation specific. And every situation is different. What worked in the past in one specific situation may not work in another type of situation. Therefore, intuition can only be used as a complementary tool.
The failure of large corporations in recent times demonstrates the importance of decision-making skills. No decision is good or bad. The quality of the decision-making process can only be judged on the basis of the results. The precision of the decision-making process for better results can only be ensured by making it more systematic and scientific. Posted by Ajay at 10:53 PM 0 comments Links to this post Tags: Decision making, decision making models, decision making process, decision making skills, decision making theory, decision making in group, rational decision making, shared decision making Do we have a gender bias?
Over the past few decades, the demographics of the workforce have changed dramatically. While women’s participation has increased, they still lag behind their male counterparts, not only in number, but also in job content and rewards.
The gender bias is reflected in the placement of women in non-strategic positions that are essentially low-status, low-income occupations. Men still feel that women need jobs that suit their personality rather than knowledge, experience. In occupations like typist, telephone operator, receptionist, they have to work long hours with minimal benefits and benefits. The confinement in peripheral jobs failed to bring out the hidden talent in women.
Certain preconceived notions deeply rooted in the minds of the managerial class made them perceive the talent of women as inferior to that of men. The assumption that the nature of women does not allow any risk influenced the underutilization of female talent. Men cannot visualize women giving instructions. He does not associate it with firm determination or the ability to handle crises.
Movies and soap operas are the mirror of society. Even today, most movies portray the woman as a housewife to please the predominantly male audience. The media in the developed world still portray the sensual image of women and the violent image of men.
If we divide the management role into several sub-roles, the management role will be perceived as more masculine than feminine. This perception also extends to the workplace and becomes the barrier to professional advancement for women. The organization cannot assume that only by hiring and promoting women can they address the issue of gender diversity. It is necessary to correct the stereotypical gender bias. Unless this bias is removed, women managers will always be undermined, regardless of their skills and efforts.
The strengths associated with women are harmony, balance, teamwork, collaboration. They emphasize relationship building. His style of work is more democratic. They are good at multitasking as they have handled a variety of tasks since time immemorial. They are good at handling stressful situations. They turn to positive ways of coping with stress. While men’s reaction is ‘fight or flight’ in a stressful situation. The inherent traits of men force them to repress feelings and internalize stress.
In today’s competitive age, companies are resorting to removing layers from the organization structure. Today’s requirement is for lean and medium organizations. The traditional masculine approach of top-down task-oriented management is not going to work in today’s flatter organizations. The democratic, relationship-based management style used by women is more suitable for today’s organization. Companies must foster gender diversity to access the inherent strengths of women. They must develop strategies to retain existing women. Embracing gender diversity will help companies realize unrealized assets. Women make up half the population. If the talent of half the population does not materialize, no company or nation can think of progressing at a faster rate.