The Decision-Making Process Flashcards
DMC - What is the purpose of Relevance?
Is the decision related to and supportive of the basic purposes of the organisation?
What is a decision?
A course of action purposely chosen from a set of alternatives to achieve organisational or managerial objectives or goals.
DMC - What is the purpose of Practicality?
Does the decision recognise obvious constraints?
DMC - What is the purpose of Challenge?
Does the decision provide a challenge to managers?
DMC - What is the purpose of Scheduling?
Can the decision be scheduled and monitored to ensure progress towards their achievement?
DMC - What is the purpose of Balance?
Do the objectives provide for a proportional emphasis on all activities and keep strengths and weaknesses in balance?
DMC - What is the purpose of Flexibility?
Are the objectives sufficiently flexible or is the organisation likely to find themselves locked into one course of action?
DMC - What is the purpose of Timeliness?
Is it the proper time to adopt these objectives?
DMC - What is the purpose of State-of-the-Art?
Do the objectives fall within the boundaries of current technological development?
DMC - What is the purpose of Growth?
Do the objectives point towards growth rather than survival?
DMC - What is the purpose of Cost Effectiveness?
Are the benefits of the decision greater than the costs?
DMC - What is the purpose of Accountability?
Does the attainment of the objectives permit the assessment of performance?
What is Undirected Viewing?
Passive exposure to information where the viewer has no specific purpose in mind.
What is Conditioned Viewing?
Directed exposure to information, not involving an active search, to a more or less clearly defined area or type of information.
What is an Informal Search?
A limited and unstructured effort to obtain specific information for a specific purpose.
What is a Formal Search?
A deliberate effort to obtain specific information for a specific purpose, usually following a pre-established plan or method.
What are the three assumptions underlying the search process?
Search is motivated by the objective, simplistic, and biased.
What are common errors in collecting and using information?
- To gather information and not use it
- To ask for more information and ignore it
- To gather irrelevant information
- To disregard uncomfortable truths
What is Comparing and Evaluating Alternatives?
A repetitive function involving a deeper investigation of the possible courses of action.
What is a good alternative?
An alternative likely to produce a positively valued state of affairs.
What is a bland alternative?
An alternative which is likely to produce either a positive or negatively valued state of affairs.
What is a mixed alternative?
An alternative which is likely to produce both a positively AND negatively valued state of affairs.
What is a poor alternative?
An alternative which is likely to produce a negatively valued state of affairs.
What are the 3 States of Nature which can affect a decision?
Certainty, Uncertainty, and Risk.
What are the main characteristics of the Act of Choice?
- Unfamiliarity
- Ambiguity
- Complexity
- Instability
- Reversibility
- Degrees of Significance
- Accountability
- Time/Money Constraints
