decision making

Question 1

what are strategic decisions?

Answer 1

• long term decisions
• made by senior managers
• concern the organisations strategic objectives

Question 2

what are tactical decisions?

Answer 2

• medium term decisions

• made by middle managers

• based on how to achieve the organisations objectives

• detained and specific - how resources would be used

Question 3

what are operational decisions?

Answer 3

• short term decisions

• made by supervisors and staff

• concern the day to day running of the organisation

Question 4

what are 3 advantages of structured decision making models?

Answer 4

• no quick or rash decisions are made because time is spent analysing and gathering the information to make the decision it is important to spend time choosing the right option / decision to implement

• the strengths and weaknesses of each option and carefully analysed before they are implemented. it is important time is taken to do this

• internal and external factors need to be taken into account and considered when choosing a decision. it is important as they may impact on the decision greatly

Question 5

what are 4 disadvantages of structured decision making models?

Answer 5

• it is a time consuming process to gather and analyse information and time could have been spent on other tasks/ jobs/ activities

• depending on the situation or problem, there might not be many different solutions available to choose from

• it will be hard for people to use their instinct or a gut reaction because a specific process needs to be followed

• structured decision making follow a process and is therefore logical. this means creativity can be stifled

Question 6

what are 5 internal constraints on decision making?

Answer 6

• finance - depending on the availability of finance it may mean that the most effective solution is not chosen

• quality of info - poor quality info may lead to poor decisions

• number of employees - the numbers of employees available might limit whether aims and objectives can be achieved

• skill and training - employees may need to have appropriate skills or training for some decisions

• ability of managers - managers need to be skilled to make complex decisions which can be demanding for managers