Influential And Making Decision – Discussion And Process Of Decision Making

Report on the decision I was involved in

Discuss about the Influential and Making Decision.

In different stages of our life, we face a particular situation where we have to make important decisions in life. The decision may be related to our work life or some personal decision making. Whatever may be the context, I feel it is a very crucial step for moving in the right direction. Hasty and illogical decisions may lead to failure while right analytical decision making with foresight into future can lead to success both personally and professionally. I had to make many crucial decisions in life. I would like to describe one of the decisions that I made while working as an Accountant in medium size company and how I went about for planning and analyzing the rights steps to come to a valid decision.

I am a resident of Melbourne since the past 7 years. As I had completed my Master of Business (Accounting) in Melbourne, I wanted to get a job in this field to further expand my knowledge about business accounting. Therefore, according to my goal, I got a job in a medium size accounting firm and I am working here as an Accountant for the past three years. My major job responsibilities are related to financial functions such as preparation of financial statement of the company (both Account payable and Account receivable) and reconciliation of reports. I also run a small business. While starting the business, the major challenge that I thought I will have to face were promotion and expansion of my business to international market. Therefore this was an important phase in my career were I had to make some smart decisions to excel in my business.

The first step that I took to enhance my business was to improve my interpersonal and management skills. I knew that in my business, I will have to deal with various client as well as my employees. So I felt knowing the correct way of communicating will be a crucial thing. I was very enthusiastic during the whole process as it was my first venture into business and I was filled with various emotions at the same time. But in no way I wanted to lag behind and let my business suffer. My goal was to make it a successful venture through my honest efforts. This further propelled me to undertake an MBA which will enhance my business knowledge. Therefore I felt my decision to undertake MBA course was also a crucial decision in my life. It was a great help to my business as I learnt all the aspects about accounting, marketing, human resource and operations management.

My process of decision making

Being the owner of the company, I had the responsibility to recruit employees who had passion for business. I wanted some experienced member in my team who could guide new employees. So, I accordingly, I took in some members who had experience of business operation. It was of great help for my business. My company was involved in delivering products and services through online platforms. In order to expand my business to international market, I realized that promotional activities were also very important. I wanted to spend some of my capital in promotional activities as this will help in penetration of my business to international market.  Secondly, my focus was on developing a website that will have a great appeal among the customers and client. My major decision making centered on promotional activities and developing a website that has all the features suited to my business. Managing human resource is also a crucial part in organization it is the employees who can make or break your business. I also wanted that basic needs of employees were given in my company and the atmosphere and ambience should be such that everyone feels proud to be part of my company. I recruited an experienced HR professional to look after all the HR issues and this task was done.

As far as the development of my company’s website was concerned, I wanted the website to be regularly updated and also wanted  its features to be user-friendly both for the organization as well as the consumers. I wanted to have the online website complete with new innovative feature and include some points which are unique and no one else had ever done before. My purpose was to boost the sale of the company and make the products in great demand among clients. This was no easy task for me. I had to give all the ideas and instruction regarding what feature I want to include, how it will look, detail on different sections. After deciding the detail on the website, then only I could get the web-developer involved who would bring my thought process into reality.

Achieving all the occasional hurdles and challenges in my business was a great form of encouragement for me. All the efforts finally paid off and I was able to achieve what I wanted.  My company is now renowned for its services and it is also in demand among customers. I wanted to spend my time and energy on the development of the new website because I wanted to offer attractive services to customers so that their market demands never decreases. This decision was just a positioning or market strategy by my company to keep their hold on the market. I also feel that it was indeed a great step to take at this point of time because creativity and innovation are the keys to long-lasting success.

I took two-three month’s time for all promotional activities. Within this period, the website had to be developed. I wanted to make proactive decisions by analyzing the reaction to each thought and ideas. I wanted to get prepared for all forms of inquiries in the future and wanted to give convincing answers. I had to make sure that my thoughts were user-friendly and had all sorts of exquisite detailing that consumers look for in a website. Besides this, I also wanted to bring one unique idea to the table which attracts the majority of customers to our website. So the success of my venture depended on some smart planning, commitment, some amount of glitz and last but not the least support and encouragement from my employees and team members. For any ideas to be implemented in the website, I analyzed what would be the future outcome of this action. I got an idea of this by taking feedback from the team.

I went for a rational model of decision making for my professional work. I just went about it with smart planning and intuition. I asked my team members regarding any issue they face or some feature that does not satisfy them. My decision making process depended on gathering relevant information for my task. I did this both by self-assessment as well as by collecting information by consulting with experienced members from my team and also by internet sources. This was a useful exercise for me as it helped me narrow down my list of issues and keep only relevant, useful ideas. I got ideas about the different option I can take and accordingly I listed down all possible and desirable alternatives. Once everything was clear, I tried to weigh it by analyzing what response I will get if I take my idea forward. I had to see that the purpose of my task had been rightly served, and there is no weak point in it. I wanted to give my best in this phase of my career. I was hoping that if I did my job exceptionally well, it would benefit me in my career goals and professional path. After finalizing all my plans and ideas, I had to implement the options that I finalized and just waited for the reviews and consequences of my decision.

I felt rational decision making was apt for my professional work. I was very enthusiastic about the decisions that I had to make my for my business venture. I felt it would take me one step ahead in my career. For successful completion of my work, I analyzed facts related to the website features and proceeded step-by-step to come to a decision. Rational model of decision making involves six steps which are as follows:

Identifying the problem: I faced several challenges in expanding my product to international market. I just wanted to adapt marketing strategies to boost the sale of my products. I felt that adding appropriate features in the website will be an appropriate step to take. Now I had to decide what will be my priority and criteria for decision making (Hwang & Yoon, 2012). 

Identification of decision criteria: In this step, I had to choose variables that will define the success of my decision. So, I had to search information which will help me in knowing what factors could boost the sale of my business and what kind of changes in the website will be influential. I felt that my team members could help me in this regard and so I decided to take feedback from them to get an idea about factors that could increase sales (Byrnes, 2013). 

Selecting the important criteria: I identified different variable in the initial phase of my decision making process. I had to rank each variable according to the usefulness it will have in my decision making process. I felt that any change would have the biggest impact on customers and the marketing of my organization (Hill, 2014). 

Evaluating decision and alternative options: I got many ideas for my decision making, and I also developed alternatives that I could consider later. My alternative options include increasing promotional activities to lure new customers and increase sales and promoting my company’s brand by way of advertisement in different forms of media (Elbanna et al., 2013).

Though I used the rational model of decision making for my work, still I feel if I had used other models of decision making, it could have helped me a lot in my decision making process. The approach I took were just the basic principles that every common man takes in their work or life decisions. But apart from the general process, I found that there are a lot many techniques and tools available for people when they are trying to make any crucial decisions in life. These models are useful tools and give better, faster and timely results. Specific criteria, detailed information and considering all alternatives is the part of the process (Pettigrew, 2014). All the models of decision making have specific features and is useful in the different situation. Few examples of models of decision making will make the idea clear.

Any rational decision making has five stages- input, processing, decision, output and review. The first stage involves defining the opportunities or problem in business, identifying goals and who needs to get involved in it. For example in my case, I realized that expanding my products to international market will be a challenge. I had to careful planning for the accomplishment of my goal. The second stage is the processing stage which includes identifying assessment criteria and assessing alternative against the set criteria. This stage would influence the third stage that is what decision has been taken. The fourth stage is the output stage which involves communicating and implementing the decision. The success of the decision depends on final stage which is the review stage. In this juncture, all the steps are reviewed after proper monitoring and controlling the implementation process (Grünig & Kühn, 2013).

I will analyze all the available models of decision making and estimate how it could have helped me in my decision process. One popular model is the Management Science model, which is dependent on mathematical tools and techniques for solving problems. It is useful in making those decisions where data analysis is critical. It is a quantitative method of decision making using a spreadsheet, algorithm, etc. It is a fast developing issue for analyzing and understanding management. This process uses tools like linear programming, sampling, time series analysis, simulation, etc. which provides exactness in solving managerial problems. This approach visualizes management as a logical entity which can be interpreted by mathematical approach (Anderson et al., 2015).

Another model that I came across was the Bureaucratic model of decision making. It relies on strict protocols and rules, and it is useful when fairness and consistency are required. The bureaucratic model came after the study of branches of bureaucracy by Max Weber. However I feel that these models are strict but in the real world, some flexibility may exist. It is a rational and legal approach in which order and reason are utilized for decision making. I think this model will be useful only when decision making involves making new company policies or implementing a code of conducts and discipline in the organization. This model demands ethic of professionalism and dedication to serving the needs of customers or shareholders (Pettigrew, 2014). 

There is a rhetoric model of institutional decision making which has incorporated neoinstitutional theory in its model. Within an institutional context, this model describes how communication skills of decision makers either enable them or constrain them to manage risk and uncertainty in their judgment (Frederickson & Ghere, 2013).  I feel this model would have been useful in my decision making. I could have judged the risk involved in my decision making by communicating my decision to my staff members. This act of utterance would have helped me in modifying my risk. This form is reasoning is dependent on public argument and my private argument to determine the success of my decision. It relies on speakers and listeners interpretation to persuade others to adapt to certain practices. I could have used this approach to convince my clients my product is exceptional in term of quality and durability, and it will also attract more customers. I also feel that arguments are necessary to shape one’s reasoning as it is a reflection of one’s emotion, logic, and values that support the decision (Scolobig et al., 2015).

Another model available to me as decision maker was the Carnegie Decision Model. This model is based on negotiation between stakeholders, and this approach is useful when different belief or ideologies exist in the organization. The model emphasizes the political process in decision making. This approach is dependent on mediation, surveys, consultation and focus group (Taylor, 2013). For the challenges in my business, I knew that I would face two set of constraints that is uncertainty and conflict. Though I tried my best to give my best, there was uncertainty regarding the acceptance of my effort. I also knew conflict might arise when my client or my team member might not agree to my opinion. So I think this model would have been helpful in my decision making. I could arrange for joint discussion to get shared view. In the case of major conflict, I could have had a common discussion and got shared opinion to come to my final decision (Dey et al., 2013). 

Rational model of decision making is completely based on the cognitive aspect of a human being. Such decision making abides by the emotional perspective of an individual. This type of decision poses challenges on the ethical aspect and also on the profitability of the business. But the opportunity cost involved in rational decision making is that it is based on the scientifically obtained data so there exist less chances of distortion in the objective and error.

This section is a description of my decision making style. Different individuals approach decision making in a variety of ways. The process weighs alternatives to find a solution to a problem. Decision making style is the key to making smart corporate strategies. I had adopted the conceptual style of decision making for my job. I just not only wanted to change the system, but I wanted the change to be effective in the long run. To achieve long term results, I went for brainstorming of alternative option and identifying the best step for my task (Kolbe et al., 2012, January). Taking some level of risk is also essential when planning to change the system of service delivery in the organization. Therefore, I had to take a creative approach to achieving my objectives. My team members and I spent few days in brainstorming different alternatives for the renovating the website features. I had to be incredibly creative and think out of the box to get something new for the website. The conceptual style is achievement oriented and looks into the future while making decisions. This method focuses on broad vision to solve a problem (Lysonski & Durvasula, 2013).

I will see the importance of other available styles of decision making that I could have used for my task. One of them is the directive style of decision making. This form relies on the rational and autocratic style to use one’s knowledge, experience, and judgment to choose the best option. However, I think the only drawback of this model is that it thinks about short term goals and does not look into the future. It is an aggressive style of decision making where individual make a quick decision and expects their team members to follow it without any opposition. Such person relies on just their own knowledge, and they are an excellent communicator. I feel this is a very rash style where decisions are imposed. I would never follow this style of decision making (Lorinkova et al., 2013).

Another style of decision making is the analytical method of decision making. People adopting this style are innovative, and they research a lot before making a decision. Such person works well under challenging and stressful environment. This style of decision making is very time-consuming since it is dependent on analysis of a large amount of data. Analytic decision makers do not take an abrupt decision without observing data and facts. They have control over every aspect of decision making (Ayal et al., 2015)

Lessons from this reflection

This reflective exercise was very useful for me as it helped me realize my strength and weakness in my decision making process. As it was my first business venture, I made some mistakes also. But I was careful enough to correct them. It was my passion for business only that I tried to performed every task after much contemplation and research about business operations. The mistakes in the process were a learning experience for me. I also feel that analyzing the different styles of decision making tools and style has broadened my ideas about decision making process. The knowledge gained by this reflective study will be very useful for my future professional growth.

Conclusion

The whole report on reflective account of decision making summarizes my own experience of having to take a major decision in my professional work. I stated how I had responded to the challenges in my business and how I started planning for it to achieve the desired results. I had specific style and model of decision making to accomplish my goals and objectives. I went through lots of emotions in the process. I had my own expectation and hopes for my task. However, I was also apprehensive regarding what will happen if my plan fails or if am not able to attract the target customers.  So I prepared according to keep alternative option ready in case any situation arises where I will have to change my decision. I also analyzed another model of decision making which could have been useful for my work. I had my own style of decision making, but I also reviewed another style of decision making to determine the rationality and intuitions involved in a particular style.

Reference

Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., Williams, T. A., Camm, J. D., & Cochran, J. J. (2015). An introduction to management science: quantitative approaches to decision making. Cengage learning.

Ayal, S., Rusou, Z., Zakay, D., & Hochman, G. (2015). Determinants of judgment and decision making quality: the interplay between information processing style and situational factors. Frontiers in psychology, 6.

Byrnes, J. P. (2013). The nature and development of decision-making: A self-regulation model. Psychology Press.

Dey, A. K., Bagnell, J. A., & Ziebart, B. D. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,478,642. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Elbanna, S., Child, J., & Dayan, M. (2013). A model of antecedents and consequences of intuition in strategic decision-making: evidence from Egypt.Long Range Planning, 46(1), 149-176.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

Frederickson, H. G., & Ghere, R. K. (2013). Ethics in public management. ME Sharpe.

Grünig, R., & Kühn, R. (2013). Rational Decision-Making. In Successful Decision-Making (pp. 23-31). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Hill, M. (2014). Policy Process: A Reader. Routledge.

Hwang, C. L., & Yoon, K. (2012). Multiple attribute decision making: methods and applications a state-of-the-art survey (Vol. 186). Springer Science & Business Media.

Kolbe, L., Bossink, B., & De Man, A. P. (2012, January). Managerial decision-making in the context of open innovation: A conceptual framework. In ISPIM Conference Proceedings (p. 1). The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).

Lorinkova, N. M., Pearsall, M. J., & Sims, H. P. (2013). Examining the differential longitudinal performance of directive versus empowering leadership in teams. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2), 573-596.

Lysonski, S., & Durvasula, S. (2013). Consumer decision making styles in retailing: evolution of mindsets and psychological impacts. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(1), 75-87.

Pettigrew, A. M. (2014). The politics of organizational decision-making. Routledge.

Pettigrew, A. M. (2014). The politics of organizational decision-making. Routledge.

Scolobig, A., Prior, T., Schröter, D., Jörin, J., & Patt, A. (2015). Towards people-centred approaches for effective disaster risk management: Balancing rhetoric with reality. International journal of disaster risk reduction,12, 202-212.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.

Taylor, D. W. (2013). Decision Making and Problem Solving1. Handbook of organizations, 20, 48-86.