If a number 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 informal problem-solving methods. They may, for example, rely on tradition and make the same decisions that where made when similar problems or opportunities arose in the past. They may also appeal to authority and make a decision based on suggestions from an expert or a higher-level manager. Finally, they may use what philosophers call a prior reasoning: they assume that the most superficially logical or obvious solution to a problem is the correct one.
These 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 to 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 the correct one.
No 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 that the other managers to come up with high-quality solutions to the problems they face.
The basic process of rational decision making is similar to the process of formal strategic planning discussed. It involves diagnosing, defining, and determining the sources of the problem, gathering and analyzing the facts relevant to the problem, developing and evaluating alternative solutions to the problem, selecting the most satisfactory alternative, and converting this alternative into action. The model of this process that we shall use consists of four major stages. 1. Investigate the situation. 2. Develop alternatives. 3. Evaluate alternatives and select the best one. 4. Implement and follow up.
By: Alfredo E. De Leon | Principal IV | Lamao Elementary School | Lamao, Bataan
