Decision-Making Process

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Decision-Making Process Nicole Mills

Decision-Making Process MGT/230 3/12/12 [Do not abbreviate the date; write it out ] Dr. Arnold Bereson

Decision-Making Process Decision-Making Process People must make decisions everyday [Check spelling: "everyday" is an adjective meaning common or ordinary (This is an everyday sweatshirt); "every day" means "each day"] related to professional or personal circumstances. No matter how minute or major the decision is there is a process that should be followed [The passive voice is a form of "be" (be)

and a participle (followed). Over-use of the passive voice can make paragraphs officious and tedious to read. Prefer the active voice. For example, passive voice = The paper was completed on time. Active voice = the student completed the paper on time. See Center for Writing Excellence > Tutorials & Guides > Grammar & Writing Guides > Active & passive voice] to provide optimal success. The following paragraphs will describe how my [Avoid use of the first person (I, me, my) in academic writing unless writing about a personal experience. First person use may be allowed by the instructor. ] family and I came to the conclusion of purchasing a home, the differences and [in academic writing, if this is a series, place a comma before the final conjunction (and)] similarities of my decision-making process compared to those illustrated in chapter three of the text, and how [remove the comma unless the following is the last element in a series] my decision may have been altered had I incorporated these specific steps. Decision to Purchase a Home In 2007, my family and [in academic writing, if this is a series, place a comma before the final conjunction (and)] I lived in a small two-bedroom rental that we [Use "we," "us," or "our" to mean yourself and coauthors, not general humanity (or yourself and the reader)] had grown out of. Shortly after obtaining a new job with higher pay, my husband and [in academic writing, if this is a series, place a comma before the final conjunction (and)] I

Decision-Making Process

decided to rent a larger house in a better neighborhood. After renting for just six months, the owner told us he was foreclosing and that we had to move. Within a couple of weeks we found a home that had a rent to lease option. We decided that this was much safer route because we had a purchase agreement. However, after living in the home for nearly two years, the owner of the home also decided to foreclose on the property even though our payments were higher than the mortgage. This became frustrating. Once again, we were forced [Passive voice ] to uproot our children and find another house. My husband and I had had [Typographical error: eliminate duplicate word (if on the same line)] enough moving and wanted to provide a stable living environment for our children. This is when [Writing suggestion: reduce "This is when" to "then" ] we decided to consider purchasing a home instead of renting. Luckily, the housing market had decreased substantially in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The reduction in home prices coupled with low down payment options ultimately allowed us to purchase a home. Similarities and Differences Our decision to buy a home was similar to the steps described in the text of chapter three in Management: Leading & c [Use an ampersand (&) only in a company name or inside the parentheses of an in-text citation. Anywhere else, spell out "and"] ollaborating in a competitive world. Step one,, identifying and [in academic writing, if this is a series, place a comma before the final conjunction (and)] diagnosing the problem; the issue was the house going back to the bank. The dilemma was that we had to move. Step two, generating alternative solutions; we were forced [Passive voice ] to find additional options to consider other than renting. Other opportunities we explored were living with family or purchasing a home. There were not many alternatives available for consideration. Step three, evaluating alternatives; we examined the cost

Decision-Making Process differences between renting and owning in addition to cost savings associated with living in a relatives home. Step four, making the choice; the most difficult step in the process. After further

investigation, we came to the conclusion that purchasing a home was less expensive and provided stability for our children. Step five, implementing the decision; this step was somewhat inconvenient. Living with family was not an appetizing alternative, however, [Place semicolon instead of a comma before this conjunctive adverb if it begins a new clause (and if a semicolon follows it, replace it with a comma)] it became necessary during the process of house hunting. Because we only had [Writing suggestion: Effective meaning is usually clearer if "only" is next to the word(s) it modifies--had only--or perhaps later in the sentence] a couple of weeks [Place "only" closer to the words it modifies (before the number)] to move, this did not allow enough time to qualify, look, and close on a home. Therefore, temporarily we moved in with relatives until we closed on the home. Step six, evaluating the decision. Reflecting back on our decision to purchase a home, I know we made the right choice. After reading a CBS article on the real estate market, it explains that rental prices are increasing because familys who [Check spelling--whose is the possessive form] foreclosed are forced [Passive voice ] to lease. Rental hikes were estimated [Passive voice ] to increase five percent in 2011 alone (Fried, 2012). In addition to this cost factor of renting, the worst priced declines are expected [Passive voice ] to be over and mortgage rates are at historical lows (Fried, 2012). However, the difference in our decision does not greatly differ from the process stated in the text. The only difference is that I am further evaluating the decision because of statistics found specifically for this paper. Otherwise, the decision process was completed [Passive voice ] in a comparable manner in which is stated [Passive voice ] in the textbook. Conclusion

Decision-Making Process The steps taken in making the decision to purchase a home were practically identical to those stated in the textbook. Therefore, I do not believe that our decision would have been altered had we had the proper process if it had been put before us. We somehow unknowingly followed the steps, and in my opinion [Wordiness: Remove "in my opinion," which is unnecessary. By writing this, you are showing your opinion.] made the best choice after examining our options. Unfortunately, there was a lack of alternate options. Had there been viable options, they would

have been considered [Passive voice ] . Ultimately, after further review, we made the right choice for our situation.

Decision-Making Process References Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2011). Management: Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Fried, C. (2012). CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_16241142834/7-reasons-why-nows-a-good-time-to-buy-a-home/