Unit 3: Decision Making and

Home Management

Aira Jane M. Ancheta

Darlene Avie Y. Arellano
BTLED HE2
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
 Understand what is decision making.
 Apply consumer decision making skills in management of
personal, family and household resources for everyday living.
 Identify the steps and styles of decision making.

Topics
 Decision making and home management
- Definition
 Roles of decision making by individuals and household
 Scope
 Purpose and factors motivating for decision-making
 Steps in decision- making
 Types of decision
 Factors that affect family decision
 Types of decision- making styles

Introduction
Home management is a dynamic process involves decision
making. Decision making is the heart of home management. It
requires knowledge of essential information, application of
knowledge in life situation and the willingness to know and to
apply. So, the role of decision making in management involves
knowing and actually applying essential information in problem
situations of day-to-day life.
What is Decision-making?
- A decision can be defined as a course of action purposely chosen
from a set of alternatives to achieve organizational or managerial
objectives or goals.
What is Home Management?
- Home management is the natural outcome of human relationship in
the home environment. When the family is established,
management becomes one of the major responsibilities of the
family living.

5 Roles of decision making

by individuals and households
The initiator- The initiator is the family member who proposes a
suggestion or an idea related to purchases for the family.
The influencer- The Influencer establishes the decision criteria
by making comparison and tries to persuade other family
members during the process of decision-making. The influencer
might or might not be the same person as the initiator.
The decision maker (Decider) - This refers to the family member
with the power to unilaterally or jointly determine whether to
purchase a specific brand, product or service or not.
The purchasing agent (Buyer) - He/she carries out the decision
by purchasing the product for the family. The purchasing agent
might or might not be the same person as the decision maker.
The final consumer (user) - He/she is the one who uses the
product and evaluates it, giving some feedback to other family
members regarding the satisfaction with the chosen brand and
desirability to purchase the same brand or product again.

Scope
Most decisions can be demarcated in many different ways.
When deciding where to go for a bicycle vacation you can either
make a detailed itinerary beforehand, or just decide where to
start, and then decide the rest as you go on. In this and other
examples the detailed and the less detailed alternative can be
described as decisions with different scopes, but they can also be
described as decisions with the same scope that can either be
subdivided or made on a single occasion. The individuation of a
“decision” is unclear, i.e. there is often no definite answer to
whether a decisional process should be described as a single
decision or as a collection of several connected decisions.
Purpose and factors motivating for decision-making
When defining the content and main of work in management,
the most striking part of this activity is a decision-making. It is
one of the most challenging and also the most important
management functions. Very important role have just people
who are decision-makers. Result of decision-making process
depends primarily on their knowledge, experience, skills,
subjective attitudes, values and etc. Quality of management is
largely reflected by the quality of implementation of decision-
making activities.
 7 steps in decision-making
Step 1: Defining the problem- It involves the recognition of the
problem. It needs relevant information to identify and define it
first. Unless the problem is clearly defined and analysed the
ultimate decision would not be effective. For planning
household activities, purchasing labour saving devices, selecting
clothing for the family.
Step 2: Identifying the alternative solution- Decision making
will be effective only when one identifies possible alternatives.
The choice of best selection of alternatives requires thorough
knowledge about the availability of resources and their
limitations.
Step 3: Analysing the alternatives- After identifying the
alternatives, one should think of the consequences of each
alternative systematically to find out the relevant one,
considering the goals, values and standards.
Step 4: Select an alternative- After analysing the problem one
should carefully select from the possible alternatives. Evaluation
plays a very important role in this selection. Choosing the best
from the several possible alternatives will be helpful in solving
the problem.
Step 5: Action in carrying out the plan and bearing responsibility
for the consequences- This is the ability to assess and accept the
consequences of the decision for making future decision. It is
the evaluation process. This experience would indicate the final
outcome of the decision making.
 It creates self confidence in people to make effective decisions
in the future.
6 types of Decisions
 Individual decisions- It is the decision pertaining to an
individual e.g. education. Individual decisions are more
quickly made. The decision making of an individual
revolves around the values, goals, standards and roles the
individual assures in the relevant set of frame work.
 Group’s decisions- It is made from the collective action of
several individuals each of whom has distinct values, goals,
standards and role perception. It is a difficult process and a
slow process. Role conflicts would emerge in this situation.
 Habitual decisions- It is the lowest level of decision. Once
an individual is trained to do systematic work, he will
follow that throughout his life. They are routine, repetitive
actions related to daily activities. Once it becomes a
habitual choice, the resultant action is quick and
spontaneous.
 Central decisions- Central decision has many supporting
decisions to complete the whole task purchasing a house is
a central decision. This leads to look out for other
supporting decisions like transportation facilities,
community facilities, savings and etc.
 Economic decisions- It is based on allocation and exchange
process relating to resource use. This decision needs the
allocation of human and non-human resources to attain a
goal. It reveals the allocation of resources among the
 combination of goals that will bring about the greatest
degree of satisfaction.
 Technical decisions-This decision involves a decision,
which will enable the best combination of resources to
achieve the stated goal.

Factors that affect family decision

Values and beliefs- When we make big decisions, we bring
certain aspects of ourselves to bear on the situation. Most
notably, we draw on our values, our deepest, most-core
underlying beliefs about how things work and how things ought
to be.
Because many of us develop value systems in the context of our
family, we often share values within a family. However, our
values are also impacted by our temperament, personal
experiences, and relationships with others outside a family.
Authority and power- Many families have explicit and implicit
hierarchies of authority and power that also impact decision
making. This tends to happen most notably when people of
different ages within one family are making a decision together.
For example, parents make decisions on behalf of their children
all the time. Sometimes, children resent or disagree with these
decisions, noting what to them seems like an unfair power
differential.
Material factors- There are also material, financial factors that
can come into play when a family is trying to make a decision.
Material factors can come into contact with authority and power,
as well as with values.
For instance, a family might be contemplating moving to a town
where the cost of living is lower and they can thus save more
money for the children's education. This might be aligned with
parental values of frugality and education as a top priority.

4 types of decision-making styles

Directive- The directive decision-making style uses quick,
decisive thinking to come to a solution. A directive decision-
maker has a low tolerance for unclear or ambiguous ideas.
They're focused on the task and will use their own knowledge
and judgment to come to a conclusion with selective input from
other individuals.
Analytical- Analytical decision-makers carefully analyse data to
come up with a solution. They're careful and adaptable thinkers.
They will invest time to glean information to form a conclusion.
These decision-makers are task-oriented but have a high
tolerance for ambiguity.
Conceptual- Those who make decisions with a conceptual style
are big picture thinkers who are willing to take risks. They
evaluate different options and possibilities with a high tolerance
to ambiguity. They're social-oriented and take the time to
consider big ideas and creative solutions.
Behavioural- A behavioural style of decision-making focuses on
relationships more than the task. It evaluates the feelings of
others as part of their decision-making process. Behaviour
decision-makers have a low tolerance for ambiguity and a social
focus as they evaluate solutions.

Summary
A decision can be defined as a course of action purposely chosen
from a set of alternatives to achieve organizational or managerial
objectives or goals. In the process of family decision-making, several
family members are involved. They play a variety of roles in decision
process; each member may take more than one role or no role at all. A
family decision is composed of a sequence of decisions; different family
members may play different roles at different stages. And these are the
Initiator, Influencer, the decision maker (decider), the purchasing agent
(buyer), and the final consumer (user). When defining the content and
main of work in management, the most striking part of this activity is a
decision-making. It is one of the most challenging and also the most
important management functions. So, here's the steps of decision
making; Step 1: Defining the problem, Step 2: Identifying the alternative
solution, Step 3: Analyzing the alternatives, Step 4: Select an alternative,
Step 5: Action in carrying out the plan and bearing responsibility for the
consequences. If we have a steps-in decision making we have also six
types of decision making and these are; Individuals decisions, Groups
decisions, Habitual decisions, Central decisions, Economic decisions,
and technical decisions. Also, Factors that affect family decision;
Finance, Human resources, Technologies, and other factors. Decision-
making styles also vary in a social- or task-driven focus. Social-driven
decisions consider the behavior of others involved in the outcome. Those
who are task-driven make decisions based on how to best achieve a goal.
These are the four types in Decision-making styles; Directive,
Analytical, Conceptual, and Behavioral.