Question 1: Decision Making Process

Identify the Problem or Situation

Whenever you make a decision you are responding to some situation that needs your attention.
So before you begin with your decision, analyze exactly what it is that’s prompting your
actions and make sure you’re seeing the whole picture. Try to state the problem as objectively
as possible.

Consider the Nature of the Problem

In what way is the situation you are addressing problematic? In what way is it causing you
difficulties? Why do you need a solution? These are the next questions you must answer as you
go through your 8 steps. In essence you’re identifying your problem criteria.

Research the Problem

Once you’ve understood the issue, you may find you need more information in order to begin
to address it. Unless you have all the facts at your fingertips, it will be difficult to make an
informed decision in your own best interests.

Develop Solutions to the Problem

Most problems have more than one solution. Usually you will find there are several different
ways you could address the situation, and each might have different outcomes and
consequences. Make a list of each of these approaches.

List Pros & Cons

For each of your possible solutions, list out the pros and cons of the approach. Try to do this
while thinking through the long-term consequences, and being as objective as possible.

Select the Best Approach

Examine each of your possible solutions in turn, with its list of pros and cons, and decide
which will be the most effective and beneficial. Try to be as analytical as possible in this stage
and try not to let your emotions about the situation cloud your judgment. Keep your long-term
goals in mind.

Execute Your Choice

Now that you’ve identified and chosen your solution from all the possible options, it’s time to
put it into action. You can be decisive in taking action precisely because you know you’ve put
in the work in the previous steps to make the best decision possible.

Evaluate and Communicate

Was your decision successful? It’s important to reflect on it for yourself and to seek the
opinion of others, once you’ve followed through on your decision. This will give you
important information for carrying out other key decisions in your life that you will make in
the future. Most decisions affect others in your life or at your workplace. Bring them into the
process and clearly communicate your decision and the actions you have effected to bring it
about.

To offer insight, I will provide the decision-making process I used to choose my graduate
program and university, Business Studies at BSU University.

Define the problem: This step is simply defining the problem. What is the problem? How
should it be solved? Is the problem time sensitive? Based on my education received in my
undergraduate university, ABC University, I felt that there were gaps in my education: campaign
analytics, technical writing, and business acumen. I felt that looking for jobs was more
challenging than what I anticipated. I definitely had the desire to be in a position most similar to
a creative director or account executive.

Identify decision criteria: This step is to think about variables or factors that will influence your
decision. Variables can be important concepts to you regarding the problem defined in step one.
While considering different programs and schools, I developed a list of criterion that had
differently ranked priorities: reputable program, accredited programs, graduate assistantships,
location, curriculum, and program length. These criterions helped me think about costs incurred,
risks encountered, and desired outcomes.

Allocating weight to the criteria: To assign weight to each criteria–defined in step two–you
simply rank the items on the list from most important to least important, with your most
important item corresponding to the number of variables you have and the least important item
being one. While I was making the decision, the most important criterion was definitely the
possibility of obtaining a graduate assistantship. Thinking about this retrospectively, I will assign
weight to each of the decision factors using one through six to indicated importance, six being
highest/most important. Graduate assistantship (6), accredited program (5), Reputable program
(4), Curriculum (3), Location (2), and Program length (1). I felt that some of the priority weights
shifted during different stages of decision-making. As deadlines to decide became closer and
closer, I looked more closely at location and if I could feasibly imagine myself functioning.

Developing alternatives: This step requires that you list all possible outcomes in regards to the
problem, so essentially different options. In regards to this step, I think alternatives would be
considered other schools that I was accepted as a graduate student: XYZ University, EFG
University, and KLMNO University.

Analyzing the alternatives: To analyze the alternatives, you must score each alternative on a
scale of 1-10 based on each variable you have outlined. So applying the weighted criteria to the
alternatives, I basically scored each criteria on a scale of one to ten in order to create a score for
each school, the sum of the alternatives being the score. So for BSU University, graduate
assistantships scored a 10 and if I multiply this by 6 (the weight from step three), it would be
equivalent to a 60. Applying this to all other variables, BSU received a total score of 163, XYZ
University 150, EFG University, 163, and KLMNO University 92.

Select alternative: This is simply making the decision. There can possibly be other variables
that influence your process of selecting an alternative. I applied for scholarships, grants, and
assistantships for all schools; however I was not successful at obtaining interviews or
employment from all, so when BSU University offered me an assistantship, my decision was
made.

Implementing alternative: This step is enacting the decision. I think the most significant
moment for implementing your decision is accepting your admission offer or signing a lease at
an apartment.

Evaluating decision effectiveness: Evaluating the decision process is going to be a little

different for everyone. Evaluation is dependent upon how you define it; therefore, evaluation can
be measured against how much money you are taking out in student loans or your happiness. For
me this is an ongoing process. I still think about location, academic curriculum, and other factors
more as the semester progresses. Me being a city person, I think I should have considered other
alternatives in more heavily populated areas. In addition, while I was reviewing academic
catalogs from different schools, I feel like I should have paid closer attention to what the courses
actually entailed. At BSU, there are some courses required that I do not think are extremely,
crucial to my career path. However, in retrospect, I feel like I should have paid closer attention to
how I assigned weights to each of the criteria.

When making your own decisions about college or any other big life choices, you can use this
eight-step process to help narrow options down. I am currently a second year graduate student at
BSU University pursuing a degree in Business Studies with a business concentration. Though I
am extremely excited about my assistantship, course work, and professors, on the same coin, I
am also excited to be near completion and closer to pursuing a career.
Question 2: Describe the issues associated with each of the types of workforce diversity.

What True Diversity in the Workplace Means

Diversity in the work environment promotes acceptance, respect, and teamwork despite
differences in race, age, gender, native language, political beliefs, religion, sexual orientation, or
communication styles among employees.
There are many benefits to having a more diverse workplace. Process and product innovation
results from having employees from a wide variety of demographics and backgrounds. When
different minds come together to achieve a common goal, the result can be monumental. In fact,
it has been reported that companies that practice diversity and inclusion in the workplace
outperform other non-diverse companies by 15 percent.

However, as the workplace becomes more diverse, more issues arise accordingly. HR personnel
and recruitment professionals need to be aware of the various challenges associated with
diversity so that it can be prevented and addressed. For this reason, we’ve created a list of the
biggest diversity issues in the workplace.

1. Acceptance and Respect

A fundamental value that contributes to a successfully diversified workplace is respect among
workers and employees. When there is a lack of acceptance of the diverse culture and beliefs
among employees, conflicts may arise. Sometimes, this conflict turns to animosity and may even
effectuate situations of violence.

When employees accept the differences between each other, it results in a sharing of ideas and
effective collaboration. Acceptance fosters mutual respect and prevents conflicts from arising.
Diversity training will help employees understand, accept, and respect each’s other’s differences.

2. Accommodation of Beliefs
Diversity in cultural, spiritual, and political beliefs can sometimes pose a challenge in a diverse
workplace. Employees need to be reminded that they shouldn’t impose their beliefs on others to
prevent spats and disputes. They also need to make sure to keep their ethnic and personal beliefs
independent of their work responsibilities and duties.

3. Ethnic and Cultural Differences

According to a New York Times report, there are only 5 African-American CEOs out of Fortune
500 companies. Furthermore, a University of Wisconsin study revealed that people with African-
American sounding names are 14% less likely to get a callback.

Sadly, issues from ethnic and cultural differences are still present in the workplace. There are
still some individuals who hold prejudice against people who have different ethnic, cultural, and
religious backgrounds as their own.

This prejudice and discrimination should never be tolerated in the workplace (or anywhere else).
Internal company policies with clear and objective regulations should be put in place to prevent
employees from demonstrating prejudice. Cultural sensitivities training and diversity awareness
programs in the workplace can help address this issue.

4. Gender Equality
According to a recent survey, 40% of people believe that both men and women will hire men
over women. This is supported by another study that shows that men are 30% more likely to be
promoted to a managerial position than women. Additionally, men earn an approximately 24.1%
higher base pay than women.

In the past, women were paid less than men, but the Equal Pay Act has changed that. In recent
years, there has been an influx of women in the workplace. Employers need to prevent gender
discrimination and maintain equality regarding hiring, salary, opportunities, and promotions.

5. Physical and Mental Disabilities

Often, disabled employees have a difficult time navigating through their workplace because
proper accommodations as simple as wheelchair ramps are not available. Some special needs
employees also have service dogs, and some office buildings don’t allow them inside. Make
arrangements for service dogs to be permitted in your place of work.
Have procedures in place for people with physical or mental disabilities. Some companies have a
“quiet room” so that when employees start to feel anxious, they can use that room to ease their
anxiety.

Be supportive to your disabled employees and avoid discriminatory or derogatory remarks.

Ensuring a fair and comfortable work environment for employees with physical and mental
disabilities helps successfully create a more diverse workforce.

6. Generation Gaps
By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce, and they are changing the work
culture. Employees from other generations may have difficulties adapting to changes in the
workplace and the work culture that the younger generation are bringing about.

In larger corporations, there are more diversified age groups, from teenagers to senior citizens.
As a result, cliques and social circles may be formed, and some workers may be isolated from
the team.
There may also be times that workers from different generations may disagree with how things
should be done. To maintain teamwork and collaboration, create an open communication culture
within your organization to help bridge the gap between generations.

7. Language and Communication

Language and communication barriers are ever-present in companies with a diverse workforce.
Often, US or UK companies hire people whose native tongue or first language is not English, so
employees and managers sometimes have difficulties in getting their message across. This can
lead to miscommunication and productivity loss.
Language training for non-native English speakers can often prevent this from happening. Hiring
multilingual or bilingual employees can also help bridge the gap

Question 3:

The Legal Environment

Stability or instability of legal and political systems

Legal procedures are established and followed

Fair and honest elections held on a regular basis

Differences in the laws of various nations

Effects on business activities

Effects on delivery of products and services

The Economic Environment

Economic

Economic factors are metrics that measure and assess the health of a given economic microcosm
within the entire global economy. These factors incorporate exchange rates, gross domestic
product (GDP), consumer purchasing indices, interest rates, inflation, and a number of other
indicators of economic health or direction.

These indicators are critical to management, as they can reveal a good time to borrow, as well as
whether an economy will be friendly to an industry where businesses fluctuate substantially with
GDP or spending power, etc.

Economic Systems
Free market economy
An economy in which resources are primarily
Owned and controlled by the private sector.
Planned economy
An economy in which all economic decisions are planned by a central government.

Monetary and Financial Factors

Currency exchange rates
Inflation rates
Diverse tax policies
Legal
Economic
Cultural

The Cultural Environment

National Culture
Is the values and attitudes shared by individuals
From a specific country that shape their behavior
And their beliefs about what is important.
May have more influence on an organization than
The organization culture

Political factors affecting business specifically revolve around taxes, import and export tariffs,
environmental and labor laws, potential subsidies, and the stability of a given operational region.

As global economics now supersede domestic economics for many businesses, companies must
consider a number of opportunities and threats when expanding into new regions or identifying
optimal areas for production, sales, or corporate headquarters.

Question 4: Why is decision making described as the essence of a manager’s job?

Decision making is described as the essence of a manager’s job because it is utilized in all four
managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Decisions, both large and
small, are made every day by managers and they have the potential to affect others.