SECTION B DECISION MAKING Section contents (a) Decision Making b) Nature and Characteristics of Decisions c) Types of Decisions d) The Rational Decision-Making Process e) Decision Making Situations f) Individual Decision-Making g) Advantages of individual decision-making include h) Disadvantages of individual decision-making include i) Group Decision-Making: j) Advantages of Group Decision-Making k) Disadvantages or Group Decision-Making Learning objectives After studying this section, the reader should be able to • Explain decision making • Nature and the characteristics of decisions • List and explain the types and process of decision making • Explain the decision making situation • List and explain the factors that affect decision making in groups B.1 Decision Making A decision is a conscious choice which has been selected among competing alternatives and directed towards a definite purpose, while decision making can be seen as the process of selecting an optimal way of matching limited resources to limited wants in order to maximise the achievement of personal or social or business objectives. Decision-making is a continuous process that pervades all organisational activities. Managers in every type of organisation, business, hospital, government, education make decisions everyday. A decision is defined as a conscious choice among alternative courses of action followed by activities to implement the choice. A decision-making process is a series or chain of related steps that lead to an action or an outcome and assessment. Ivancevich, et al, (1994) explained that decision-making can be understood as a series of steps that run from clearly identifying a problem to implementing and assessing actions. Using such a systematic approach to decision-making ensures that relevant information has been gathered, alternative choices considered and Consequences of actions understood.