DECISION MAKING Decision making is: A process, that is the sole responsibility of the organisation’s top-management Making choices from two or more alternatives. A process that looks always the same no matter who and when is making decision Peoples’ decision-making styles differ along two main dimensions: An individual’s way of thinking & an individual’s tolerance to ambiguity Individual’s personality & business environment Problem complexity & urgency The first step of decision-making process it: Selecting an alternative. Identifying decision criteria Identifying a problem. One of the most often problems of group decision-making is so called groupthink. Groupthink: Is the tendency of the group to converge on more extreme solutions to a problem. Occurs when individuals in a group feel pressure to conform to what seems to be the dominant view in the group. Leads to a greater collective understanding of the eventual course of action chosen, since it is possible that many affected by the decision implementation actually had input into the decision. An ethical decision is one where one chooses how to respond to a given situation based on: Viable alternatives that could resolve the problem. Values of good and bad. Expediency or efficiency.