COGNITION

AND
DECISION

MAKING
 DECISION MAKING

• Decision making can be regarded

as the mental processes
(cognitive process) resulting in
the selection of a course of
action among several
alternatives. Every decision
making process produces a
final choice The output can be
an action or an opinion of
choice.
 Systematic Approach to Decision Making:

ogical and systematic decision-making process helps you:

dress the critical elements that result in a good decision

iminate the chances of missing important factors.

PS INVOLVED IN EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKI

There are six steps to making an effective decision :

1 . Create a constructive environment .

2.
3 . Generate good alternatives .
4.
5 . Explore these alternatives .
6.
7 . Choose the best alternative .  
8.
9 . Check your decision .  

6.communicate your decision, and take action

 1

E A CONSTRUCTIVE ENVIRONM
 CREATE A CONSTRUCTIVE ENVIRONME

ctive environment for successful decision making, make sure yo

objective 

rocess  ---- vroom -yetton -jago model

ght people 

to be heard  --- stepladder technique

 Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model
Deciding How to Dec

t your leadership style to the situation and decision

es
ative styles
binations of the two
 STEPLADDER TECHNIQUE

Developed by
Steven Rogelberg,
Janet Barnes-Farrell
and Charles Lowe in 1992,

It encourages all members to

contribute on an individual
level BEFORE being influenced
by anyone else.
2

GENERATE
GOOD
ALTERNATIVES
Generate good alternatives

This step is critical to make an

effective decision. The more good
options you consider, the more
comprehensive your final decision
will be.
 •Brainstorming
is probably the most
popular method of
generating ideas. 
3

EXPLORE THE
ALTERNATIVES
 EXPLORE
THE
ALTERNATIVES

tion of realistic alternatives, then you'll need to evaluate the

x Thinking Hats
oking at a Decision from All Points of Vi
White Hat : With this thinking hat, you
focus on the data available.

Red Hat : Wearing the red hat, you look

at the decision using intuition, gut
reaction, and emotion.

Black Hat : When using black hat thinking,

look at things pessimistically, cautiously
and defensively.
 CONTINUED
Yellow Hat : The yellow hat helps
you to think positively. It is the
optimistic viewpoint that helps
you to see all the benefits of the
decision

Green Hat : The Green Hat stands

for creativity.

Blue Hat : The Blue Hat stands for

process control.
4

Choose best alternative

arious factors. This helps you compare unlike factor
5

Check Your
Decision
The first part of this is an intuitive step,
which involves testing the decisions you've
made against your own experience.
A second part involves BLINDSPOT ANALYSIS to
review whether common decision-making problems
like over-confidence, escalating commitment, or
group think may have undermined the decision-
making process. 
6
COMMUNICATE YOUR

DECISION

AND MOVE TO ACTION

nd involved in implementing it. Talk about why you chose the a
Importance of decision
making in businesses

Businesses are highly interdependent

on each other, their suppliers and
their customers. Decisions are not
taken in isolation. The effects of
any decision will depend critically
on the reactions of other groups in
the market. There fore the decisions
have to be taken systematically and
cautiously, as far as possible.
 CONCLUSION
Good decision making is an essential
skill for career success generally, and
effective leadership particularly.

However, if you make

poor decisions, your team risks failure
and your time as a leader will, most
likely, be brutally short.