Chapter from: "Decision Analysis for Managers: A Guide for Making Better Personal and Business Decisions"
Published by:
Business Expert Press
Length: 17 pages
Share a link:
https://casecent.re/p/118869
Write a review
|
No reviews for this item
This product has not been used yet
Abstract
This chapter is excerpted from ‘Decision Analysis for Managers: A Guide for Making Better Personal and Business Decisions'. Everybody has to make decisions - they are unavoidable. Yet we receive little or no education or training on how to make decisions. Business decisions can be difficult: which people to hire, which product lines or facilities to expand and which to sell or shut down, which bid or proposal to accept, which process to implement, how much R&D to invest in, which environmental projects should receive the highest priority, and so on. Even if you make the correct decision, you still have to get buy-in and commitment from your team, other management, and key stakeholders to successfully implement the decision. Personal decisions can be even more difficult: which college to attend, who to date, who to marry, which automobile to buy, which house to buy, whether to change jobs or not, where to go on vacation, when and where to retire, how to handle and treat a serious illness or health problem, and so on. Decision analysis (DA) is a time-tested set of tools (mental frameworks) which will help you and the teams you work with clarify and reach alignment on goals and objectives and understand trade-offs in reaching those goals, develop and examine alternatives, systematically analyze the effects of risk and uncertainty, and maximize the chances of achieving your goals and objectives. Success (getting what you want) depends on luck and good decision making. You can't control your luck, but you can maximize your odds by making the best possible decisions. Broadly speaking, this book organizes and presents otherwise formal decision-making tools in an intuitively understandable fashion. The presentation is informal, but the concepts and tools are research-based and formally accepted. In the first five chapters we will discuss how to frame decisions. It's not possible to make an effective decision if one is unclear about either what needs deciding or what is at stake that the decision will resolve. This part of the book introduces an array of tools that help target and bring into perspective the various factors that are at the core of every decision. Chapters six through ten focus on analyzing and assessing the decision once it has been framed. Here a variety of tools help the reader identify the biases that were at work in the decision, the influences that contributed to the decision, and how one decision affects another. The last two chapters of the book explore advanced decision-making tools, including multiattribute analysis, risk analysis, portfolios, ethical decision-making, and other topics. Upon completion of the book, you will have an understanding of the tools that can help you make better personal decisions and that will help teams and work groups align quickly and make better recommendations and decisions. Readers will understand the frameworks for gaining insight when the decisions and/or the people involved in those decisions are difficult. Whether one is a business owner, a manager, a team leader, or a senior professional, these tools will help both the business and personal aspects of one's life.
About
Abstract
This chapter is excerpted from ‘Decision Analysis for Managers: A Guide for Making Better Personal and Business Decisions'. Everybody has to make decisions - they are unavoidable. Yet we receive little or no education or training on how to make decisions. Business decisions can be difficult: which people to hire, which product lines or facilities to expand and which to sell or shut down, which bid or proposal to accept, which process to implement, how much R&D to invest in, which environmental projects should receive the highest priority, and so on. Even if you make the correct decision, you still have to get buy-in and commitment from your team, other management, and key stakeholders to successfully implement the decision. Personal decisions can be even more difficult: which college to attend, who to date, who to marry, which automobile to buy, which house to buy, whether to change jobs or not, where to go on vacation, when and where to retire, how to handle and treat a serious illness or health problem, and so on. Decision analysis (DA) is a time-tested set of tools (mental frameworks) which will help you and the teams you work with clarify and reach alignment on goals and objectives and understand trade-offs in reaching those goals, develop and examine alternatives, systematically analyze the effects of risk and uncertainty, and maximize the chances of achieving your goals and objectives. Success (getting what you want) depends on luck and good decision making. You can't control your luck, but you can maximize your odds by making the best possible decisions. Broadly speaking, this book organizes and presents otherwise formal decision-making tools in an intuitively understandable fashion. The presentation is informal, but the concepts and tools are research-based and formally accepted. In the first five chapters we will discuss how to frame decisions. It's not possible to make an effective decision if one is unclear about either what needs deciding or what is at stake that the decision will resolve. This part of the book introduces an array of tools that help target and bring into perspective the various factors that are at the core of every decision. Chapters six through ten focus on analyzing and assessing the decision once it has been framed. Here a variety of tools help the reader identify the biases that were at work in the decision, the influences that contributed to the decision, and how one decision affects another. The last two chapters of the book explore advanced decision-making tools, including multiattribute analysis, risk analysis, portfolios, ethical decision-making, and other topics. Upon completion of the book, you will have an understanding of the tools that can help you make better personal decisions and that will help teams and work groups align quickly and make better recommendations and decisions. Readers will understand the frameworks for gaining insight when the decisions and/or the people involved in those decisions are difficult. Whether one is a business owner, a manager, a team leader, or a senior professional, these tools will help both the business and personal aspects of one's life.