“…Critically Evaluate the Strategic Decision Making Process Within Your Own Organisation…” Use Specific Examples from Your Own Organisation and General Examples from the World of Business Today to Illustrate Your Answer

Introduction
Strategic Decision-making is a crucial part of good business. The question then is ‘how is a good decision made?
One part of the answer is good information, and experience in interpreting information. Consultation ie seeking the views and expertise of other people also helps, as does the ability to admit one was wrong and change one’s mind. There are also aids to decision-making, various techniques which help to make information clearer and better analysed, and to add numerical and objective precision to decision-making (where appropriate) to reduce the amount of subjectivity.
Managers can be trained to make better decisions. They also need a supportive environment where they won’t be unfairly criticised for making wrong decisions (as we all do sometimes) and will receive proper support from their colleague and superiors. A climate of criticism and fear stifles risk-taking and creativity; managers will respond by ‘playing it safe’ to minimise the risk of criticism which diminishes the business’ effectiveness in responding to market changes. It may also mean managers spend too much time trying to pass the blame around rather than getting on with running the business.

Apple Inc. is an American computer technology company. It leads the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, iLife and its range of professional applications. Apple also spearheads the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.
Apple played a major role in the introduction of the personal computer in the 1970s, which eventually kicked off the personal computer revolution. It's first big hit, the Apple II, was introduced in 1977 and was a very popular with home consumers. Being the innovator that Apple is, it introduced the first graphical user interface (GUI) to the commercial personal computer. This technology is used on all of today's major computer operating systems such as Windows XP as well as Unix-like systems. Since then, the
Apple’s strategic decision to switch from computer based company to multimedia hi-tech profile and to migrate from IBM’s Power Pc cpu to Intel that was a bull’s-eye and made apple the biggest (from 2010 apple is worth more than Microsoft) it corporation in US in 10 year period
Apple.inc has revolutionized the way people and computer companies think about aesthetic design of computers and consumer electronics alike as well as the security and operability of the operating system. In addition, Apple's unmatchable success with it's iPod mp3 player and revolutionary iTunes music store has left many companies struggling to keep up with the new wave of giving consumers the simplicity they desire in technology.
The recent announcement along with the release of new Apple computers using the Intel processor, rather than the faithful IBM PowerPc processor, has allowed the company to enter into an entire new realm of needed compatibility with it's desktop and portable computers.

Another Example is IBM;
IBM once hired Microsoft founder Bill Gates to come up with the operating software for a new computer that IBM was rushing to market … and Gates turned to a company called Digital Research. He set up a meeting between owner Gary Kildall and IBM … but Kildall couldn’t make the meeting and sent his wife, Dorothy McEwen, instead. McEwen, who handled contract negotiations for Digital Research, felt that the contract IBM was offering would allow the company to incorporate features from Digital’s software into its own proprietary software – which would then compete against Digital. So she turned the contract down. Bill Gates went elsewhere, eventually coming up with a program called DOS, the software that put Microsoft on the map.
Today we can see that this was very bad Strategic Decision IBM could take over technology which could make it major player for software industry at this time.

Summary:
Decision-making increasingly happens at all levels of a business. The Board of Directors may make the grand strategic decisions about investment and direction of future growth, and managers may make the more tactical decisions about how their own department may contribute most effectively to the overall business objectives. But quite ordinary employees are increasingly expected to make decisions about the conduct of their own tasks, responses to customers and improvements to business practice. This needs careful recruitment and selection, good training, and enlightened management.