If a manager is faced with an unusually difficult problem or issue, if it is an important problem that will not resolve itself, and if the manager is the person who must decide what to do about it, then he or she is in a problem – solving situation. Many managers rely on tradition and make the same decisions that were made when similar problems or opportunities arose in the past. They may also appeal to authority and make decision based on suggestions from an expert or a higher level manager. Finally, they may use what philosophers call a patriot reasoning: The assume that most superficially logical or obvious solution to a problem is the correct one.

          The three methods may be useful in some cases. In others, however, they will lead the manager to make the wrong decision. For example, one company was plagued by a serious quality problem: Too many of the parts it was making were returned because of defects. The obvious management decision was tighten up quality control procedures. However, this did not solve the problem. Further investigation revealed that the real culprit was excess worker fatigue caused by a faulty ventilation system. In this case, the most obvious solution to the problem was not correct one.

 

          Not approach to decision making can guarantee that a manager will always make the right decision. However, managers who use a rational, intelligent, and systematic approach are more likely than other managers to come out with high – quality solution to the problem they face.

          The basic process of rational decision making is similar to the process of formal strategic planning. It involves diagnosing, defining, and determining the sources of the problem, developing and evaluating alternative solutions to the problem, selecting the most satisfactory alternative, and converting this alternative into action.

By: Desiree C. Cawigan | Master Teacher I | Lamao Elementary School | Limay, Bataan