Summary of the article How Decisions Happen in Organizations by James

March.

The article talks about different decision making processes adopted by

various organizations and various problems attached to it. The article is
divided into 3 parts.

The 1st part deals with different problems connected with the development
in the decision making process with a rationally intended choice. Problems
like uncertainty of the future consequences, risk preferences which can
affect the decision if not taken in a calculated manner, ambiguity of future
preferences, conflict among the actors of the organization.

The 2nd part of the article gives out the rules and logic that need to be
followed while decisions are made. The article suggests that there might
sometimes arise a need to develop new rules to make sure the decisions
are carried out in the right way.

The latter part of the essay talks about different theories, viz. theory of
limited rationality, theory of choice, etc. Further, the article examines the
situation through which the decision makers with their new ideas have
challenged the standard set for decisions. The above idea was illustrated
by discussions of networks, temporal orders, symbols and meaning, and
the centrality of choice.

The main idea of the article is to help a person to take the right decision
for the organization and furthermore to make the best utilization of all
resources so that the objectives of the organization are achieved.