DECISION MAKING

Decision making can be defined as the cognitive process which results in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Your decision making style can be intellectual or emotional and rational or irrational.

The thought process of selecting a logical choice from the available options.

When trying to make a good decision, a person must weight the positives and negatives of each option, and consider all the alternatives. For effective decision making, a person must be able to forecast the outcome of each option as well, and based on all these items, determine which option is the best for that particular situation

 Decision making styles:

There are countless perspectives and tactics to effective decision-making. However, there are a few key points in decision-making theory that are central to understanding how different styles may impact organizational trajectories. Decision-making styles can be divided into three broad categories:

Psychological: Decisions derived from the needs, desires, preferences, and/or values of the individual making the decision. This type of decision-making is centered on the individual deciding.

Cognitive: This is an integrated feedback system between the individual/organization making a decision, and the broader environment's reactions to those decisions. This type of decision-making process involves iterative cycles and constant assessment of the reactions and impacts of the decision.

Normative: In many ways, decision making (particularly in groups, such as within an organization) is about communicative rationality. This is to say that decisions are derived based on the ability to communicate and share logic, using firms premises and conclusions to drive behavior.

decision making styles

A huge variety of classifications of decision making style are available. While some of the classifications may be considered true classifications, others are more accurately a description of the decision making model being used. When you look at examples of decision making models this becomes more obvious.

It's also possible to take something such as a classification of cognitive style, such as the Myers Briggs model, and determine the impact of something such as this on decision making style.

And there are separate leadership styles, including collective participative  decision making style and authoritative style.

Many of these decision making styles are actually self-evident, impulsive, procrastinating, pro-active, and so on.

The fatalistic style is the attitude of 'whatever will be, will be'. There's little that can be done about it so we better get on and pick something.This is an interesting categorization of different types of decision making styles:

• Agony
• Impulse
• Escape
• Compliance
• Play it Safe
• Procrastination

Agony is where somebody agonizes over a particular decision. It is suggested that this is useful for very important decisions. Impulsive decisions are made with little or no consideration. The individual goes with their first reaction.

Escape is used to avoid actually making a decision or even to create a false choice so as not to have to make a decision. Compliance is to follow somebody else's instructions about what you should do. This is often a decision mistake in and of itself and it becomes very important in the domain of mind control.

Play it safe involves making the choice is the least amount of risk. And procrastination is, well, the procrastination decision making style.

The dependent category is where people allow others to make the decisions for them. 

omeone who is in the flexible category has the ability to move between different categories and may do so based on the circumstances or situation.

Normative decision making is actually the study of how people should decide. Behavioral decision making is the study of how people actually decide.

Rather than decision making styles, this is much more a list of how people make a mess of things when they don't actually know how to make a decision!

A mixed bag

Another classification includes the following categories

• Rational
• Intuitive
• Dependent
• Avoidant
• Spontaneous

I think the first two here, rational and intuitive, are much more a description of models than decision making style and examples of the others are given above or are self evident.

Overlay of styles

Myers Briggs developed a model which is used as a personality indicator. The four categories, or dichotomies, are extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving. Testing indicates whether an individual is an introvert/sensing/feeling/judging or extrovert/intuitive/feeling/perceiving and so on.

As well as extrapolating how individuals will function in groups or relationships based on their Myers Briggs category, it's also possible to predict their decision making style. And examples include a logical analytical style for someone who is the in the thinking/extrovert//sensing/judgment category. Whereas someone who is introverted/intuition/feeling/perceiving may procrastinate or be dependent in their decision making.

What works for you?

Many of the classifications of decision making style and examples are fairly accurate descriptions of what actually happens when people are attempting to make decisions. As I've already mentioned, it's frequently a description of how they actually avoid making decisions.

If what you really want is to learn a decision making model that works, then you can learn how you personally make good decisions with confidence.

Meena M. et al. / International Journal of Arts and Science Research. 2(2), 2015, 44 - 55. Available online: www.uptodateresearchpublication.com July – December 44 Research Article ISSN: 2393 – 9532 AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT - A CASE STUDY OF MADHUCON SUGAR INDUSTRY LIMITED

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL DEFNITION: Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development. Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows: 1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans. 2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees. 3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance. Objectives of Performance Appraisal Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind: 1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc. 2. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job. 3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development. 4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status. 5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status. 6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees. 7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes Advantages of Performance Appraisal It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by following advantages: 1. Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed or demoted in case. 2. Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation packages for employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority. 3. Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes. 4. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard. 5. Communication: For an organization, effective communication between employees and employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways: a. Through performance appraisal, the employers can understand and accept skills of subordinates. b. The subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in superiors. c. It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labour management relationship. d. It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees. All the above factors ensure effective communication. 6. Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future.