Individual decision making

Abstract

Individuals in organizations make decision. The optimizing decision maker is rational. Top managers, for instance, determine their organization`s goals, what products or services to offer, how best to organize corporate headquarters, or where to locate a new manufacturing plant. Middle – and mower – level managers determine production schedules, select new employees, and decide how pay raises are to be allocated. The making of decisions, however, is not the sole province of managers. No managerial employees also make decisions that after their jobs and the organizations they work for. The more obvious of these decisions might include whether to come to work on any given day, how much effort to put forward once at work and whether to comply with a request made by the boss. So all individuals in every organization regularly engage in decision making, that is they make choices from among two or more alternatives. Undoubtedly, many of these choices are almost reflex actions undertaken with little conscious thought. When individuals conform new or important decisions, they can be expected to reason them out thoughtfully. Alternatives will be developed. Pros and cons will be weighed. The result is that what people do on their jobs is influenced by their decision processes.