Of the numerous decisions effectuated during a lifetime, a relative handful will stand apart in rather dramatic fashion compared to more routine activities emblematic of everyday life. These outliers typically distinguish themselves with long-term repercussions as their hallmark and the foreshadowing of financial peril emanating from miscalculation or misunderstood risk from the outset. Such exceedingly prodigious decisions primarily categorize as strategic with their formulation amalgamations of art, science and a smattering of other intangible elements. As a result, decision triggers ought to warrant extraordinary care and accompany thorough investigation of potential outcome scenarios, the least of which might take into account possible exit strategies. However, time and again, the human equation proves otherwise and omits that which seems so indispensable in the inexorable drive for an expeditious remedy. Although strategic decisions commonly associate with organizational entities such as the Department of Defense, the Fortune 500 and major research institutions, it would be erroneous to believe in the existence of some mutual exclusivity. In the chapters that follow, the writer presents a review of strategic processes promoting applicability to individuals while focusing on those rarefied decisions with illustrative examples demonstrating conceptual parallels with complex organizations they frequently tend to associate. Anything but clear-cut and definitive,
Dearlove, D. 1998. Key management decisions: tools and techniques of the executive decision-maker. London: Pitman publishing.
the difficulty of strategy execution and the tools managers can use to make strategy happen. As the title
Timely and strategic decisions based on best facts and clear thinking when operating under extraordinary conditions during and post crisis
The decisions people make often have a significant impact on their lives. They may seem insignificant now but could change your whole future. Everyone has to make decisions on a day-to-day basis, some are simpler than others but the fact is everyone makes them. In fact Elie Wiesel had to make some tough decisions. Which involved life or death, due to the Holocaust.
There has been a large amount of research into what strategy is, since Michael Porter’s perennial work in the 1980s. Studies done on the execution of strategy have been far less numerous. However, there is one major understanding about the execution of strategy. The execution of strategy is a vital part of success in business. A summary of many myths surrounding various strategic executions will be outlined, along with their subsequent analyses.
When working with companies, an employee has to wonder from time to time what makes management tick. What is the source of their decision-making practices? Why should people strategize in business or in war? Well first let’s define what is strategy? “It is a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.” (dictionary.com, 2012) The main purpose of this article is to enhance our ability to think strategically. In addition, identifying how as managers and leaders of all organizational levels can
Chandler (1977) believes strategy is about using the necessary recourses so the organizations are able to carry out their long-term goals and aims. Which relates to Johnson (1987, pp. 4-5) who states, “Strategic decisions occur at many levels of managerial activity and will be concerned with the long-term direction”.
Some of these, such as strategic opportunities, might associate with clearly delineated time parameters where time is of the essence. Moreover, these situations generally never announce themselves in the first place? For this reason a person’s cognizance becomes paramount or there exists little, perhaps nothing, to capitalize on accordingly. This is precisely what this writing entails and the reason for its undertaking. If it alters your thought process, leads to contemplating the future, or appreciably enhances self-awareness, you might discover that it constituted one of those strategic decisions or provided a springboard from which to formulate others. Conversely, minimizing these types of decisions will likely create negative or highly unproductive outcomes that you will henceforth live with. And, that could be for quite a long
Speed is a critical necessity for success in today’s competitive, global marketplace. One way to enhance speed and responsiveness is to force/allow decisions to be made whenever possible at the lowest level in organizations. Policies are broad; precedent-setting decisions that guide or substitute for repetitive or time-sensitive managerial decision making. Creating policies that guide and “preauthorize” the thinking, decisions, and actions of operating managers and their subordinates in implementing the business’s strategy is essential for establishing and controlling the ongoing operating process of the firm in a manner consistent with the firm’s strategic
Garvin, David, and Roberto, Michael. What You Don’t Know About Making Decisions. N.p.: Harvard Business Review, n.d. Pdf
Make decisions about the best path for the firm’s initiative. Identifying the opportunities for success in context of threats to success can clarify directions and
Normally people do not break down how they make decisions, they just decide. But, for people who are making decisions for a larger group, knowing the process could be helpful. The first step in the process is to identify the problem by fully understanding and gathering all the information of the problem. Secondly, you want to think of alternatives or other options for handling the issue. Thirdly, you want to access or evaluate all the alternatives and consider the possible outcome. Finally, you go forward with the decision and evaluate the outcome (Kinicki and Williams, 2016). These steps are helpful and critical when making decisions for large groups or an organization.
In the context of public organizations, there are a number of decision making models that can applied to the actions of these organizations. In his book Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, Hal Rainey outlines a number of different theories of organizational decision making that explain why organizations do what they do. The three most prominent theories he describes are rational decision making, incremental decision making, and mixed scanning. Each of these will be discussed in depth for their merit and shortfalls.
A study published in the winter 1997 volume of Business Strategy Review suggests the major factor in a decisions success is the decision process itself. The study, by Paul Nutt, suggests that poor decision making
Traditionally, strategic decisions were thought of as "big decisions" made by general managers. However, big strategic decisions may not be the only source of competitive