HR Decision Making - Dynamics of Decision Making

Making Better and More Consistent Decisions

As a valued team member in your organization, you probably make decisions every day. Some decisions are relatively straightforward and simple: Who should serve on the quality assurance committee? Others are quite complex: To improve quality, should we switch to a new manufacturing process?

The first decision will impact people's workloads, and some people might be disappointed when they aren't chosen. However, you know the strengths of individual members of your team, so you can put together a good committee.

On the other hand, changing a manufacturing process is a very complicated decision. You will have to consider what new processes are available. How much will the change cost? When will you see a return on your investment? How large will that return be? How long will it take to train people to use the new system? What impact will there be on our customers? And how will this affect our supplier relationships?

Simple decisions usually need a simple decision-making process. But difficult decisions typically involve issues like these:

· Uncertainty - Many facts may not be known.
· Complexity - You have to consider many interrelated factors.
· High-risk consequences - The impact of the decision may be significant.
· Alternatives - Each has its own set of uncertainties and consequences.
· Interpersonal issues - It can be difficult to predict how other people will react.