DECISION MAKING:

Managers are tasked to provide leadership in the

quest for the attainment of the organizations sucess.

To become an effective manager, intricacies of

decision making must be learned.

Decision making is crucial for professional success.

GOOD DECISION VS. BAD DECISION

A major blunder in decision making may be

sufficient to cause the destruction of any

organization.

Good decision would provide right environment

for continuous growth and success.

DECISION MAKING AS A MANAGEMENT

RESPONSIBILITY

Decisions are made at various level in the

organization.

Decision making is the responsibility of engineer

manager.

A WISE MANAGER

Is it understandable for managers to

make wrong decision at times?

YES. A wise manager will correct them as soon

as they are identified.

Responsible for whatever outcome their

decisions bring.
A BAD MANAGER

The bigger issue is the manager who cannot or do not

want to make decisions.

This type of manager is dangerous and should be

removed from the position as a manager.

AN EXAMPLE THAT REQUIRES

DECISION MAKING

The production manager of a certain company has

received a written request from a section head

regarding the purchase of an airconditioning unit.

Almost simultaneously, another request from another

section was forwarded to him requiring the purchase of

a forklift. The Production Manager was informed by his

superior that he can only buy one of the two requested

items due to budgetary constraints.

The production manager must now make a decision. His

choice, however, must be based on sound arguments for

he will held responsible later on if he had made the

wrong choice.

WHAT IS DECISION-MAKING

Decision-Making maybe defined as “the process of

identifying and choosing alternative course of action in a

manner appropriate to the demand of the situation”

Delaney, 1982

The definition indicates that the engineer manager must

adapt a certain procedure designed to determine the

best option available to solve certain problems.

THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Rational Decision-making Process according to David H.

Holt:

1. Diagnose the Problem

2. Analyze the Environment

3. Articulate problem or opportunity

4. Develop viable alternatives

5. Evaluate alternatives

6. Make a choice

7. Implement Decision
8. Evaluate and adapt decision results.

DEVELOP VIABLE ALTERNATIVES

There could be many solutions to solve the problem,

but choose the best alternative by following the

procedures below:

1. Prepare a list of alternative solutions.

2. Determine the Viability of each solutions.

3. Revise the list by striking out those which are not

viable.

The List of solutions prepared by the engieering

manager shows the following alternative courses

of action:

1. Improve the Capacity of the firm by hiring more

workers and building additional facilities.

2. Secure the services of the subcontractor.

3. Buy the needed additional output from another firm.

4. Stop serving some of the company’s customers

5. Delay servicing in some clients.

MAKE A CHOICE

Choice-Making refers to the process of selecting

among the alternatives representing potential

solutions to a problem.

Webber advises that “effort should be made to

identify all significant consequences of each

choice”
For easier process, alternatives can be ranked from

best to worse.

IMPLEMENT DECISION

After the decision has been made, implementation follows.

Implementation refers to “carrying out decision so that the

objective sought will be achieved”

To make implementation effective, a plan must be devised.

At this stage, resources must be available. Implementors

must understand and accept the solution.

EVALUATE AND ADAPT DECISION

RESULTS
In implementation results expected may or may

not happen.

Manager should use control and feedback

mechanisms to ensure results and to provide

information for future decisions.

In this stage of decision-making:

1. Results are achieved – Good Decision

2. Results are not achieved – Further

analysis is necessarry

FEEDBACK AND CONTROL

Feedback refers to “process which requires checking at each

stage of the process to assure that the alternatives

generated, the criteria used in evaluation, and the solution

selected for implementation are in keeping with the goals

and objectives originally specified”

Control refers to actions made t ensure that activities

performed match the desired activities or goals that has

been set.

Approaches in problem solving

Qualitative Evaluation – This terms refer to evaluation of

alternatives using intruition and subjective judgement.

Stevenson states that manager uses qualitative evaluation

when:

1. The Problem is fairly simple

2. The Problem is familiar

3. The cost involve is low.

4. Immediate decisions are needed.

Quantitative Evaluation – evaluation of alternatives using any

technique in group classified as rational or analytical

1. Inventory Models

2. Queuing Theory

3. Network Models

4. Forecasting

5. Regression Analysis

6. Simulation

7. Linear Programming

8. Sampling Theory

9. Statistical Decision Theroy