"Every organization grows, prospers, or fails as a result of decisions by it’s managers" (Daft, 2005, p306). A vital part of good management is having the ability to make good decisions. Big or small, every decision determines how an organization can solve problems, use resources effectively and successfully attain goals. The process of decision making is to identify the problem and then opportunities to resolving them. With this, "decision making involves effort both before and after the actual choice" (Daft, 2005, p306) is made. In "The Merger" by David A. Light we will see two different aspects to decision making and how each one can have different effects on an organization.
The business world is full of evidence of both good and bad decisions. Management decisions typically fall into one of two categories, programmed and non-programmed. Programmed decisions involve repetitive situations that have occurred enough times so that rules have been developed for future reference. Decisions concerning the types of skills necessary to fill certain jobs are an example of programmed decisions. After these rules have been established, subordinates are able to make these decisions so that managers can focus on other tasks. Non-programmed decisions are made in response to non-repetitive situations that involve uncertainty. Non-programmed decisions are typically made less frequently than programmed decisions and usually have greater impact to the business. Entering a new geographical market or relocating a business headquarters are examples of non-programmed decisions.
Chapter nine identifies four conditions that affect the decision making process. Certainty is the condition in which all the information the decision maker needs is fully available. Most business decisions d ...