Just as people are different, so are their styles of decision making. Cultural, gender and age differences can all influence the way we think, prioritise and make decisions. Furthermore, each person is impacted by the decisions they make in their life. Recognising this, the following tips may improve a person’s ability to make decisions.
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a person should not not make decisions that are not theirs to make
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brainstorming a range of alternatives with others will provide fresh ideas
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writing down or visually representing the pros and cons of each possible line of action (or non action) can be useful
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when making a decision, a person is simply choosing one option from various alternatives—it is not about a choice between right and wrong
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making snap decisions should be avoided, make decisions when there is time rather than when it's too late
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decisions should be made as the need arises so that they don't accumulate—a backlog of many little decisions could be harder to deal with than one big, complex decision
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whenever feasible, get the people that could be affected by a decision involved in the decision-making process to increase their commitment
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no one can know with 100 per cent certainty that a decision is correct because the actions related to that decision will take place in the future
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decision makers need to be able to trust themselves to make a decision and then deal with the consequences appropriately
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once the decision has been made, focus should be on the next move
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as part of the decision making process, consideration should always be given to how the decision is to be implemented.
(The Small Business Know-How Resource 2003).
Effective decision making is useful in most workplaces and therefore a valuable skill for employees in general.
Workplace solutions and adjustments
There are aids and supports available that can assist people who may experience difficulty with decision making in the workplace.
Flow charts can be used to remind people when decisions are required within a certain work process and can also provide prompts about when a person should make the decision on their own or seek advice or input from a manager.Having well documented work processes will help all employees understand their role and the scope of their responsibility. Documenting this information also allows new staff to learn the decision making processes within your organisation.
Aids such as graphic organisers can assist people when making decisions. They provide an effective way (particularly for visual thinkers) to arrange their ideas. With graphic organisers, most of the words are removed so that the focus is on connections or links between ideas using only key words and images. Graphic organisers have many names including visual maps, mind mapping, and visual organisers. They can be specifically used to compare and contrast ideas in the process of decision making (for example, the pros and cons shown in grids or graphs) (eduScapes 2006).
Employees can also seek support from job coaches or skills trainers and mentors in the workplace when making decisions.
Prompts and reminders can also be used to encourage people to make decisions in a timely manner at work:
References and resources
The Small Business Know-How Resource 2003, Decision Making Tips, Liraz Publishing Co., viewed 13 May 2007, <http://www.liraz.com/tdecision.htm>.
eduScapes 2006, Learning Resources: Graphic Organisers, eduScapes, viewed 13 May 2007, <http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm>.