TITLE:
A Theoretical Approach to the Effective Decision-Making Process
AUTHORS:
Federico de Andreis
KEYWORDS:
Decision-Making, Human Behavior, Problem Solving, Management, Organizations
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.10 No.6,
June
16,
2020
ABSTRACT: This research develops and elaborates studies done
for a contribution to the 2019 PIC International Conference 2019 in Malta,
about the decision-making process. Decision-making is the act of choosing
between two or more courses of action. In the wider process of problem-solving,
decision-making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem, and
these decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process, or
a combination of the two. The study of decision-making processes, to be
understood as the role of human factors, becomes particularly interesting in
complex organizations. This research aims to analyze how an effective team,
within organizations, can develop a more correct and effective decision-making,
in order to get an optimal solution, overcoming the typical uncertainty. The
paper describes the point of departure of decision in complex, time-pressured,
uncertain, ambiguous and changing environments. The use of a leading case (the
Tenerife air accident, 1977), will lead us to the desired results, i.e.
to demonstrate how an effective decisional process, including team dynamics,
can be useful to reduce the risk, present in all decisions, and reduce errors. The
case of Tenerife air disaster, confirm our research. In that case, in fact, the
group dynamics prove not to have worked. Thus, we can state that if a team
approach had been followed instead of a more individual one, the results would
probably have been different. The central belief of the research, is that
classic decision theory could benefit from a team approach, which reduces the
risk that a decision may lead to undesirable consequences. As demonstrated with
the case study, within organizations, the decision-making is not a solitary
action. Decisions, in fact, are made within a team and in order to be able to
function effectively in a group, and manage group situations, there are
essential skills. The team can then become a resource for the decisional
process and problem solving, but it is necessary to understand the dynamics.