Decision-Making Process

Decision-Making Process Everyday there are decisions to be made that can affect the way people live. Decisions can range from which tie to wear to work to which automobile should be bought. Some decisions are easy whereas others can be quite difficult. Often times decisions are made based on current emotion and can cause a poor decision or regret of the decision made. Following the ideal decision-making process, which consists of six stages, can help ensure the proper decision is made. A decision that affected me in both a personal and professional capacity was changing jobs. When this decision presented itself, I was unaware of the stages of the ideal decision-making process and had to implement my own process. It became clear to me, and those around me, that I was unhappy at my current job and something needed to change. I was unsure if that change should be a new job or change of responsibilities of my current position. I began to weigh the pros and cons of my current position to try to determine what had caused my change in emotion. During this time I concluded it was not the position but the management of the company causing my dissatisfaction. This left me with two possible solutions: 1. Transfer to another branch or 2. Find a new job altogether. Again I weighed the pros and cons to each solution and decided a new job was the best route. Thankfully, I had a contact in another company in the same industry and because there was an opening I scheduled an interview. Following the interview I made the decision to leave my current company for the new company. Since I have gained knowledge and understanding of the ideal decision-making process there are a number of similarities between each process. According to Bateman and Snell (2011), the ideal decision-making process consists of six stages: identify and diagnose the problem, generate alternative solutions, evaluate alternatives, make the choice, implement the decision, and evaluate the decision (Chapter

References: Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2011). Management: Leading and collaborating in a competive world (9th ed.).