Chapter 6: Managers as Decision Makers

Management: Arab World Edition
Robbins, Coulter, Sidani, Jamali
Chapter 6: Managers as Decision Makers
Lecturer: [Insert your name here]

6-3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education
Learning Outcomes
Follow this Learning Outline as you read and study this chapter.
6.1 The Decision-Making Process
• Define decision.
• Describe the eight steps in the decision-making process.
6.2 Managers Making Decisions
• Discuss the assumptions of rational decision making.
• Describe the concepts of bounded rationality, satisficing, and
escalation of commitment.
• Explain intuitive decision making.

Learning Outcomes
6.3 Types Of Decisions and Decision-Making Conditions
• Explain the two types of problems and decisions.
• Contrast the three decision-making conditions.
• Explain maximax, maximin, and minimax decision choice
approaches.
6.4 Decision-Making Styles
• Describe two decision-making styles.
• Discuss the twelve decision-making biases.
• Explain the managerial decision-making model.
• Describe decision-making practices in the Arab context.

Learning Outcomes
6.5 Effective Decision Making In Today’s World
• Explain how managers can make effective decisions in today’s
world.
• List the six characteristics of an effective decision-making
process.
• List the five habits of highly reliable organizations.

The Decision-Making Process
1. Define decision.
2. Describe the eight steps in the decision-making process.

Decision Making
Decision
• Making a choice from two or more alternatives.
The Decision-Making Process
• Identifying a problem and decision criteria and allocating weights to
the criteria.
• Developing, analyzing, and selecting an alternative that can resolve
the problem.
• Implementing the selected alternative.
• Evaluating the decision’s effectiveness.

The Situation
• Sarah is a sales manager whose reps need new laptops because
their old ones are outdated and inadequate for doing their job. To
make it simple, assume that it is not economical to add memory to
the old computers and it is the company’s policy to purchase, not
lease.

Exhibit 6–1
The Decision-
Making Process

Problem
• A discrepancy between an existing and desired state
of affairs.
Characteristics of Problems
• A problem becomes a problem when a manager
becomes aware of it.
• There is pressure to solve the problem.
• The manager must have the authority, information, or
resources needed to solve the problem.
Step 1: Identifying the Problem

Decision criteria are factors that are important
(relevant) to resolving the problem such as:
• Costs that will be incurred (investments required)
• Risks likely to be encountered (chance of failure)
• Outcomes that are desired (growth of the firm)
Step 2: Identifying Decision
Criteria

Decision criteria are not of equal importance:
• Assigning a weight to each item places the items in the
correct priority order of their importance in the decision-
making process.
Step 3: Allocating Weights to
the Criteria

Criterion Weight
Memory and Storage 10
Battery life 8
Carrying Weight 6
Warranty 4
Display Quality 3
Exhibit 6–2 Criteria and Weights for Computer
Replacement Decision

Identifying viable alternatives
• Alternatives are listed (without evaluation) that can
resolve the problem.
Step 4: Developing Alternatives

Appraising each alternative’s strengths and
weaknesses
• An alternative’s appraisal is based on its ability to
resolve the issues identified in steps 2 and 3.
Step 5: Analyzing Alternatives

Exhibit 6–3 Assessed Values of Laptop
Computers Using Decision Criteria

Choosing the best alternative
• The alternative with the highest total weight is chosen.
Step 6: Selecting an Alternative

Putting the chosen alternative into action
• Conveying the decision to and gaining commitment
from those who will carry out the decision
Step 7: Implementing the
Alternative

Exhibit 6–4 Evaluation of Laptop Alternatives
Against Weighted Criteria

The soundness of the decision is judged by its
outcomes
• How effectively was the problem resolved by outcomes
resulting from the chosen alternatives?
• If the problem was not resolved, what went wrong?
Step 8: Evaluating the
Decision’s Effectiveness

Managers Making Decisions
1. Discuss the assumptions of rational decision making.
2. Describe the concepts of bounded rationality, satisficing, and
escalation of commitment.
3. Explain intuitive decision making.

Managers Making Decisions
• Decision making is part of all four managerial functions (next slide).
In fact, that is why we say that decision making is the essence of
management.
• And that is why managers when they plan, organize, lead, and‒
control are called‒ decision makers.

Exhibit 6–5 Decisions in the Management Functions

Making Decisions
Rationality
• Managers make consistent, value-maximizing choices with specified
constraints.
• Assumptions are that decision makers:
 Are perfectly rational, fully objective, and logical.
 Have carefully defined the problem and identified all viable
alternatives.
 Have a clear and specific goal.
 Will select the alternative that maximizes outcomes in the
organization’s interests rather than in their personal interests.

Making Decisions (cont’d)
Bounded Rationality
• Managers make decisions rationally, but are limited (bounded) by
their ability to process information.
• Assumptions are that decision makers:
 Will not seek out or have knowledge of all alternatives.
 Will satisfice choose the first alternative encountered that‒
satisfactorily solves the problem rather than maximize the outcome‒
of their decision by considering all alternatives and choosing the best.
• Influence on decision making
 Escalation of commitment: an increased commitment to a previous
decision despite evidence that it may have been wrong.

The Role of Intuition
Intuitive decision making
• Making decisions on the basis of experience, feelings, and
accumulated judgment.

Exhibit 6–6 What Is Intuition?
Source: Based on L. A. Burke and M. K. Miller, “Taking the Mystery Out of Intuitive Decision Making,” Academy of Management Executive, October
1999, pp. 91–99.

Types Of Decisions and
Decision-Making Conditions
1. Explain the two types of problems and decisions.
2. Contrast the three decision-making conditions.
3. Explain maximax, maximin, and minimax decision choice
approaches.

Types of Problems and Decisions
Structured Problems
• Involve goals that are clear
• Are familiar (have occurred before)
• Are easily and completely defined information about the problem‒
is available and complete
Programmed Decision
• A repetitive decision that can be handled by a routine approach.

Types of Programmed Decisions
Procedure
• A series of interrelated steps that a manager can use to respond
(applying a policy) to a structured problem.
Rule
• An explicit statement that limits what a manager or employee can or
cannot do.
Policy
• A general guideline for making a decision about a structured
problem.

Policy, Procedure, and Rule Examples
Policy
• Accept all customer-returned merchandise.
Procedure
• Follow all steps for completing merchandise return documentation.
Rules
• Managers must approve all refunds over $50.00.
• No credit purchases are refunded for cash.

Problems and Decisions
Unstructured Problems
• Problems that are new or unusual and for which information is
ambiguous or incomplete.
• Problems that will require custom-made solutions.
Nonprogrammed Decisions
• Decisions that are unique and nonrecurring.
• Decisions that generate unique responses.

Exhibit 6–7 Programmed Versus Nonprogrammed
Decisions

Decision-Making Conditions
Certainty
• A situation in which a manager can make an accurate decision
because the outcome of every alternative choice is known.
Risk
• A situation in which the manager is able to estimate the likelihood
(probability) of outcomes that result from the choice of particular
alternatives.

Exhibit 6–8 Expected Value for Revenues from the
Addition of One Ski Lift

Decision Making Conditions
Uncertainty
• Limited information prevents estimation of outcome probabilities for
alternatives associated with the problem and may force managers to
rely on intuition, hunches, and “gut feelings”.
 Maximax: the optimistic manager’s choice to maximize the
maximum payoff
 Maximin: the pessimistic manager’s choice to maximize the
minimum payoff
 Minimax: the manager’s choice to minimize maximum regret

Exhibit 6–9 Payoff Matrix

Exhibit 6–10 Regret Matrix

Decision-Making Styles
1. Describe two decision-making styles.
2. Discuss the twelve decision-making biases.
3. Explain the managerial decision-making model.
4. Describe decision-making practices in the Arab context.

Decision-Making Styles
Linear thinking style
• A person’s preference for using external data and facts and
processing this information through rational, logical thinking.
Nonlinear thinking style
• A person’s preference for internal sources of information and
processing this information with internal insights, feelings and
hunches.

Exhibit 6–11 Common Decision-Making Errors
and Biases

Decision-Making Biases and Errors
Heuristics
• Using “rules of thumb” to simplify decision making.
Overconfidence Bias
• Holding unrealistically positive views of oneself and one’s
performance.
Immediate Gratification Bias
• Choosing alternatives that offer immediate rewards and avoid
immediate costs.

Decision-Making Biases and Errors (cont’d)
Anchoring Effect
• Fixating on initial information and ignoring subsequent information.
Selective Perception Bias
• Selecting, organizing and interpreting events based on the decision
maker’s biased perceptions.
Confirmation Bias
• Seeking out information that reaffirms past choices and discounting
contradictory information.

Framing Bias
• Selecting and highlighting certain aspects of a situation while
ignoring other aspects.
Availability Bias
• Losing decision-making objectivity by focusing on the most recent
events.
Representation Bias
• Drawing analogies and seeing identical situations when none exist.
Randomness Bias
• Creating unfounded meaning out of random events.

Sunk Costs Errors
• Forgetting that current actions cannot influence past events and
relate only to future consequences.
Self-Serving Bias
• Taking quick credit for successes and blaming outside factors for
failures.
Hindsight Bias
• Mistakenly believing that an event could have been predicted once
the actual outcome is known (after-the-fact).

Exhibit 6–12 Overview of Managerial Decision
Making

Practices Of Decision Making In The Arab
World
The traditional Arab decision-making process has been impacted by
several factors.
•A system of networking and collective decision making where the
leader/manager consults with other group members to arrive at a
decision that has the backing of the community.
•The concept of Shura is important. It is not restricted to the political
arena; it has its manifestations in different social institutions, including
the family and business organizations.
• The consultative style seems to be widespread in Arab
organizations.

Effective Decision Making In
Today’s World
1. Explain how managers can make effective decisions in today’s
world.
2. List the six characteristics of an effective decision-making
process.
3. List the five habits of highly reliable organizations.

Decision Making for Today’s World
Guidelines for making effective decisions:
1. Understand cultural differences.
 In some cases, there is no best way to make decisions. The best
way may depend on the values, attitudes, and beliefs that prevail
in a specific culture.
2. Know when it’s time to stop.
 Good decision makers are not afraid to change their minds.
They do not become attached to one course of thinking.

Decision Making for Today’s World (cont’d)
3.Use an effective decision-making process. This process has six
characteristics:
 It focuses on what is important.
 It is logical and consistent.
 It acknowledges both subjective and objective thinking and
blends analytical with intuitive thinking.
 It requires only as much information and analysis as is
necessary to resolve a particular dilemma.
 It encourages and guides the gathering of relevant
information and informed opinion.
 It is straightforward, reliable, easy to use, and flexible.

Decision Making for Today’s World (cont’d)
4.Build an organization that can spot the unexpected and quickly
adapt to the changed environment. Karl Weick calls such
organizations highly reliable organizations (HROs) and says they
share five habits:
 Are not tricked by their success.
 Defer to the experts on the front line.
 Let unexpected circumstances provide the solution.
 Embrace complexity.
 Anticipate, but also recognize their limits.

Terms to Know
decision
decision-making process
problem
decision criteria
rational decision making
bounded rationality
satisficing
escalation of commitment
intuitive decision making
structured problems
programmed decision
procedure
rule
policy
unstructured problems
nonprogrammed decisions
certainty
risk
uncertainty
directive style
analytic style
conceptual style

Terms to Know (cont’d)
behavioral style
heuristics
business performance
management (BPM) software

Chapter 6: Managers as Decision Makers

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