Aspects of Decision Making

Decision making affects just about every aspect of life, from personal matters to business project management. The same or similar concepts apply in just about all decision-making situations. Understanding the various aspects of decision making makes the process simpler and more straightforward for you and your group.

To make a balanced decision, it is important to have a brainstorming session to identify all possible solutions. A wide set of potential solutions increases the chances of resolving the issue successfully. This aspect of decision making is simpler when you have a group of people involved — the more people in the group, the more likely you’ll have a diverse and logical set of ideas to sort through.

Another key aspect of decision making is the evaluation process. Once you have a complete listing of ideas and solutions, you go through each one to decide which has the best chance of succeeding. For business decisions, the process can include performing research and conducting focus groups. For a personal decision, the process can simply involve speaking to your loved ones about the intended solution.

Possibly the most difficult aspect of decision making is to come to an agreement to make a final decision in the matter. All group members must come together either to vote or come to some other type of consensus to guide the final course of action. This can take time — especially if the group abides by formal rules of order when making decisions. Even when you are on your own in the decision-making process, it can be intimidating to finally choose just one course of action.

Once the decision is made, you must then monitor the effects of making that choice. For example, if you make a choice as a business owner to add a new product to your list of offerings, you should track sales and profit to see if that was the right decision. If you find that it is not working out, you can then move on to the next choice on your list.