6 Steps to Decision Making Process

All human beings are faced with certain situations in their everyday life, where they
need to take important decisions. However, decisions that are made without any
planning have a risk of leading to failure. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to
take decisions in an organized way, which can be done by following the 6 steps to
decision making process...
How to Make a Decision in Six Steps
Defining the Problem: The first step towards a decision making process is to define
the problem. Obviously, there would be no need to make a decision without having a
problem. So, the first thing one has to do is to state the underlying problem that has
to be solved. You also have to clearly state the outcome or goal that you desire after
you have made the decision. This is a good way to start, because stating your goals
would help you in clarifying your thoughts.
Develop Alternatives: The situation of making a decision arises because there are
many alternatives available for it. Hence, the next step after defining the main
problem would be to state out the alternatives available for that particular situation.
Here, you do not have to restrict yourself to think about the very obvious options,
rather you can use your creative skills and come out with alternatives that may look a
little irrelevant. This is important because sometimes solutions can come out from
these outofthebox ideas. You would also have to do ade!uate research to come up
with the necessary facts that would aid in solving the problem.
Evaluate the Alternatives: This can be said to be the one of the most important
stages of the decision making process. This is the stage where you have to analy"e
each alternative you have come up with. You have to find out the advantages and
disadvantages of each option. This can be done as per the research you have done
on that particular alternative. #t this stage, you can also filter out the options that you
think are impossible or do not serve your purpose. $ating each option with a
numerical digit would also help in the filtration process.
Make the Decision: This is the stage where the hard work you have put in analy"ing
would lead to. The evaluation process would help you in looking at the available
options clearly and you have to pick which you think is the most applicable. You can
also club some of the alternatives to come out with a better solution instead of %ust
picking out any one of them.
mplement the Solution: The next obvious step after choosing an option would be
implementing the solution. &ust making the decision would not give the result one
wants. $ather, you have to carry out on the decision you have made. This is a very
crucial step because all the people involved in the implementation of a solution
should know about the implications of making the decision. This is very essential for
the decision to give successful results.
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Monitor !our Solution: &ust making the decision and implementing it is not the end
of the decision making process, it is very important to monitor your decision regularly.
#t this stage, you have to keep a close eye on the progress of the solution taken and
also whether it has led to the results you expected.
These ( steps to decision making process may, at first, seem very complicated.
However, these are essential decision making techni!ues that would aid you in
taking proper decisions in your personal as well as professional life.
)y *eepa +artha
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PLUS: THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS
-#Y ,., ,//.
0e selected a six step decision making process that synthesi"ed the decision
making models used in existing training, not %ust ethics training.
The model is descriptive of how people intuitively make decisions and makes the
steps explicit.
The six steps of this natural, intuitive decisionmaking process are1
Step ":
Define the problem
Step #:
$entif! available alternative solutions to the problem
Step %:
Evaluate the i$entifie$ alternatives
Step &:
Make the $ecision
Step ':
mplement the $ecision
Step 6:
Evaluate the $ecision
Step 1: Define the problem
The most significant step in any decision making process is describing why a
decision is called for and identifying the most desired outcome2s3 of the decision
making process.
One way of deciding if a problem exists is to couch the problem in terms of what one
wanted or expected and the actual situation. 4n this way a problem is defined as the
difference between expected and5or desired outcomes and actual outcomes.
This careful attention to definition in terms of outcomes allows one to clearly state the
problem. This is a critical consideration because how one defines a problem
determines how one defines causes and where one searches for solutions.
The limiting aspect of the problem definition step is not widely appreciated. 6onsider
this example.
Your company owns an old, downtown office building. Tenants are complaining that
their employees are getting angry and frustrated because there is always a long
delay getting an elevator to the lobby at rush hour.
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You are asked for a reaction on how to solve this problem. #s with most problem
situations there are several ways to define the situation and several solutions that
suggest themselves.
This scenario has been presented to over ,// groups in a training environment. The
most common alternatives these groups offered were1
8lexible hours so all the tenants9 employees wouldn9t be at the elevators at
the same time.
8aster elevators so each elevator could carry more people in a given time
period.
)igger elevators so each elevator could carry more people per trip.
:levator banks so each elevator would only stop on certain floors, increasing
efficiency.
)etter elevator controls so each eltor would be used more efficiently.
-ore elevators so that overall carrying capacity could be increased.
4mproved elevator maintenance so each elevator would be more efficient.
:ncourage employees to use the stairs so fewer people would use the
elevators.
4f you examine each alternative you will see that several different definitions of the
problem must have existed.
4f the solution is ;flexible hours; the problem must have been defined as, ;Too
many people getting off work at a given time.; <o other problem makes sense for
that solution.
;8aster elevators; comes from, ;The elevators are too slow.;
;)igger elevators; comes from, ;The elevators are not carrying enough
people.;
;-ore elevators; comes from, ;Too few elevators.;
The real life decision makers defined the problem as ;people coming about having to
wait;. Their solution was to make the wait less frustrating by piping music into the
elevator lobbies. The complaints stopped.
There is no way that the eventual solution could have been reached if, for example,
the problem had been defined as ;too few elevators;.
#s you can see, how you define the problem determines where you go to look for
alternatives5solutions, so define the problem carefully.
Step 2: Identify available alternative solutions to the
problem
The key to this step is to not limit yourself to obvious alternatives or what has worked
in the past but to be open to new and better alternatives. How many alternatives
should you identify= 4deally, all of them. $ealistically, we teach that the decision
maker should consider more than five in most cases, more than three at the barest
minimum. This gets away from the trap of seeing ;both sides of the situation; and
limiting one9s alternatives to two opposing choices> either this or that.
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Step 3: Evaluate the identified alternatives
#s you evaluate each alternative, you should be looking at the likely positive and
negative cones for each. 4t is unusual to find one alternative that would completely
resolve the problem and is heads and shoulders better than all others. *ifferences in
the ;value; of respective alternatives are typically small, relative and a function of the
decision maker9s personal perceptions, biases and predispositions.
#s you consider positive and negative cones you must be careful to differentiate
between what you know for a fact and what you believe might be the case.
The decision maker will only have all the facts in trivial cases. @eople always
supplement what facts they have with assumptions and beliefs.
This distinction between factbased evaluation and nonfact based evaluation is
included to assist the decision maker in developing a ;confidence score; for each
alternative. The decision maker needs to determine not %ust what results each
alternative could yield, but how probable it is that those results will be reali"ed. The
more the evaluation is factbased, the more confident he5she can be that the
expected outcome will occur.
Step 4: Make the decision
0hen acting alone this is the natural next step after selecting the best alternative.
0hen the decision maker is working in a team environment, this is where a proposal
is made to the team, complete with a clear definition of the problem, a clear list of the
alternatives that were considered and a clear rationale for the proposed solution.
Step : Implement the decision
0hile this might seem obvious, it is necessary to make the point that deciding on the
best alternative is not the same as doing something. The action itself is the first real,
tangible step in changing the situation. 4t is not enough to think about it or talk about it
or even decide to do it. # decision only counts when it is implemented. #s Aou
Berstner 26:O of 4)-3 said, ;There are no more pri"es for predicting rain. There are
only pri"es for building arks.;
Step !: Evaluate the decision
:very decision is intended to fix a problem. The final test of any decision is whether
or not the problem was fixed. *id it go away= *id it change appreciably= 4s it better
now, or worse, or the same= 0hat new problems did the solution create=
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making_model#ixzz!"#$%&xt
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