FLORENCE A.

PASUDAG
Ed 314: Leadership in Management and Decision-Making
Module 3 Title: Data-Driven and Principled Decision-Making
Pre-test:
Which among the statements on decision-making below are true?
1. When the managers decide for the organization, they fail to exercise choice as they
have to exercise some conscious and deliberate logic or judgment. FALSE
2. There are situations whereby a manager decides without any alternative choices at
all, so there is no need to evaluate the choice that is to be made. TRUE
3. A purpose is always behind a decision and its actions. TRUE
4. A decision represents behavior chosen from a number of alternatives. TRUE
5. Sound decisions can be pronounced even without studying facts and data
surrounding a situation. TRUE
6. Decision-making is the most important component of a manager’s activities. TRUE
7. Decision-making is only for managers, utility workers and other subordinates need
not decide, they just follow. FALSE
8. Decision-making can be separated from management. FALSE
9. Decentralization of management is an action aimed to empower the people below
the organizational hierarchy. TRUE
10. The decision-maker is best when he/she is just an observer on how others perform
as per her/his decision. FALSE
11. The most important tool a manager has when making decisions are the information
he/she possesses. TRUE
Exercise 1. In your organization give examples of decisions in each level and identify who
typically makes that decision.

Who Typically
Levels of
Examples of Decision Makes the
Decision
Decision
Strategic Should we merge with another company? Should we School head and
include these in the Budget? teachers
Teachers should decide how, where and when to engage
in professional learning focused on student engagement
and learning, including:
-inquiry-based/project-based learning
-mastery-based/personalized learning
-habits of mind and habits of work__________________
-student-involved/led conferences
Tactical Who should we hire? Who should be responsible for an School Head and
appended duty? What needs to be done first? brigada
What should be done first during the brigada eskwela? coordinator
What stakeholders should come first and what works
assigned to them?
 Whom will we seek help/donations for the activity?
Who will be responsible in masonry works?
Operational How should I communicate with my co-workers to be Checkers and
able to do a task? How should this work be done? To Subject teachers
whom should I give this document?
How should the teachers write their lesson plans and
action plans in different subjects they teach? When
should they submit those requirements?
Who will check their daily lesson plans and subject action
plans?

Exercise 2. Explain in your own understanding the following quotations.

1. “If there is one universal mark of a manager, it is decision-making.” George Terry
Answer: Decision making can be a signature to a manager for it plays a vital role in
management and it is the most important component of a manager’s activities. It is on the
hand of the manager to decide which of the classifications of decisions to make in every
situation. His/her decision is the most potent apparatus at the disposal for achieving goal to
pursue or for solving problem. Managers faces a variety of decisions every day as they do
their task in managing the organization so they have to be given the title of decision maker.

2. “Whatever a manager does, he does through making decisions.” P.F. Drucker

Answer: Making decision is not a simple thing to do but a process of selecting the right and
effective course of action from different alternatives for the purpose of achieving a desired
result and it is a role of a manager to do it. As a manager makes a decision, he plans and
decide on matters as what goals the organization will pursue, what resources to use and who
will do the required task. He cannot decide without thinking for he will be accountable when
things go wrong. There are different strategies in deciding that managers can use to select
the best way. In deciding, they always plan, they don’t merely choose one option without
comparing to the others which is the best choice to make.

Exercise 3: Consider a time you made a big decision in your present work. Reflect on the
following questions and put your answers on the space provided for it

Steps Questions Answers

1. Identify the problem What exactly was the
concern that you have
decided on?
2. Establish decision What criteria did you
criteria consider in making your
decisions?
3. Weigh decision criteria Which among the criteria
that you used weighed
The absenteeism of some of the
boys in my advisory class.
The standards we use is to send
notice to parents every time they
get absent.
In every 3 notice received, the
parents will visit the school.

4. Generate alternatives
5. Evaluate the
alternatives
6. Choose the best
alternative
7. Implement the
decision
8. Evaluate the decision
most and which weighed
least?
What were your
alternatives aside from
what you have decided?
How are the alternatives?
What is the feasibility?
Which is most feasible,
effective, efficient and
with the most impact?
How did you implement
the decision you made?
Can you say that the
decision you made is still
the best decision? Why?
I have to make home visitations
They have to meet the guidance
incharge
Their parents will come to school
to explain for them as it was
tackled during homeroom PTA
meeting.
The alternatives are closely related.
The most effective alternative is to
visit them at home.
I have to send notice to their
parents everytime they get absent
without any reason for the parents
to come to school but if they don’t
appear then I have to visit them at
home.
Yes maybe, in our location that our
students came from different
barangays which are far from the
school and some are living alone,
with their relatives or at home
which is very far, there is no
guarantee that notices sent will be
received on time or that parents
can come to school due to many
works so home visitation is a nice
choice also to breath fresh air.

A. Class Reports of ___________

1. Read/ watch reports submitted by ________ on _____
Evaluation. After reading/ watching the reports and finishing the modules, it is time to do a
reflection, using the following guide questions.
1. How do I make decisions for myself? How did my major decisions affect me?
Answer: Most of the time, I listen to my gut feeling in making decisions. I also ask for help and
advices but I make my own choice basing from what I truly want. I decide knowing my goals and
I always trust myself. The last thing is I always practice, even if my decisions at first fails then
the next time will be okay.
Maybe, the major decision I made in my life is to enter the teaching profession for I am
a unit earner and it affect me a lot. In my first year of teaching, I had to keep on asking my
colleagues everything that I need to know. This decision I made helped me became serious and
wide reader, I keep on reading as much as I could for me to be able to teach my lessons in TLE
and MAPEH.
 2. Do I make decisions for others? How do I make decisions when others are
concerned?
Answer: I rarely make decisions for other but if there are time that I needed to, I always do for
it is easier to see the best solution to other’s dilemma than our own. We seem to see the best
solution with a clarity and decisiveness that is often absent when we face our own issues.
If the concern is other people, then I have to tell them my decision for them to react if they
approve it or not.

3. What skills should I improve in myself that will help me develop as a better
decision-maker?
Answer: I want to improve my critical thinking skill to help me develop as a decision maker and
be able to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. Critical thinking
involves the evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomenon, and research
findings. Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information and
discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve a problem or make a decision.
Employers want job candidates who can evaluate a situation using logical thought and
come up with the best solution. Someone with critical thinking skills can be trusted to make
decisions on his or her own and does not need constant handholding. And that’s what I want to
be.
4. After this lesson, how should I improve the way that I make decisions?
Answer: To improve my decision making, I have to take the risk and make a firm decision in
every problem arises as they said that a man learns by doing. Even if there are many ways in
making decisions like following our heart, our intuition or gut feeling, making random choices or
using our strategic or tactical planning, the most important thing is to know first the problem so
that we have idea on what strategy to apply on the options to choose the best decision to it. I
also have to be a critical thinking so that I can decide well.
References:
1. Sharma Priyali. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/management/decision-making-
management/decision-making-definition-importance-and-principles-management/
70038
2. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/principlesmanagement/chapter/11-2-
understanding-decision-making/
Prepared:
IRENE S. ANGWAY
Part-time Professor

Reviewed:
JESSIE GRACE M. SANNADAN, PhD
Program Chairperson

Approved:

PAULINO P. REYES II, PhD

College Dean