In contemporary societies, people and businesses make decisions frequently. Notably, in business entities, decisions need careful scrutiny and assessment so that the outcome is not detrimental to growth and revenues. Due to the seriousness of the impact that business decisions have on organizational progress, it is important for them to follow the decision-making process. The process has six steps that help organizations make worthwhile choices and derive positive results.
Companies that follow the process effectively enjoy results that are beneficial to their operations. Therefore, this essay explains the role of the decision-making process in the choice made by Kimchep Inc. where I work as a marketing manager, evaluates its influence on the outcome, and discusses why some stages were the most challenging.
The Business Decision
Kimchep Company Inc. sells electronics like laptops, smartphones, and a range of accessories. Recently, the company identified an opportunity in the online media and decided to introduce platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and a website. Remarkably, the attainment of the identified decision followed the provisions of the decision-making process that brought the stakeholders of the company together in an interactive forum. Employees, consumers, focus groups, and the management shared their views concerning the essence of the online platform and the benefits it would introduce to the company. The guidelines adopted from the process ensured that the stakeholders involved in the forums laid down a set of options and weighed them before they finally proceeded with the decision.
Influence of the Process on the Outcome
Adherence to the stages outlined in the decision-making process greatly influenced the outcome of the company’s resolution. Some of the influences include the speed and efficiency, inclusivity, enhanced cooperation from the stakeholders, as well as optimal utility of resources. It is important to note that the stages outlined in the decision-making process act as a compass for organizations and facilitate the attainment of informed choices (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). Through the stages, the company managed to evaluate the merits and demerits of the decision, analyze the options, and make a pilot project, which became a subject of serious scrutiny. Therefore, the process ensured that the speed of undertaking the decision was swift and efficient.
Additionally, inclusivity and enhanced cooperation from employees, clients, and the management is another influence that the process had on the outcome. The decision-making process has stages that compel stakeholders in a particular entity to participate and air their views concerning issues under discussion. From their participation, Kimchep Inc. stakeholders felt that the company valued their efforts, a feeling that translated into improved cooperation. Kaner (2014) asserts that inclusivity is principal in ensuring that stakeholders in companies develop a positive attitude and work together as teams. As such, the stakeholders at Kimchep Inc. strived to achieve the stipulated decision of developing an online platform.
Consequently, the decision-making process also helped the company to minimize losses that occur when decisions yield unwanted results and necessitate corrections or losses. Hussung (2017) argues that out of the well-defined stages, the decision-making process ensures that the outcome of a company optimizes the resources used during and after the decision materializes. In the absence of the process, the eventuality of the decision can yield unexpected losses. However, through the decision-making stages, Kimchep Company evaluated the pros and cons of the decision and weighed the options before making a final resolution, which was well-informed.
The Most Challenging Stages
Some of the stages that were the most challenging include the invention and the process of gathering information from the field. The two stages were tough because they defined the overall process entailed in decision-making. The invention stage was tough because it envisioned the art of persuading company stakeholders to accept that the idea would be beneficial. Consequently, the second most perplexing stage was the process of gathering information.
The complexity associated with the second stage hinged on the quality, validity, and reliability of data collected. It is on the collected data that the stakeholders would base their decisions. Goetsch and Davis (2014) explain that data collection is crucial to the success of any research and decision-making process. As such, any wrong move linked to the collected data would be detrimental to the outcome and could lead to unwanted losses.
References
Goetsch, D., & Davis, S. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Hussung, T. (2017). 7 steps of decision making process.
Kaner, S. (2014). Facilitator’s guide to participatory decision-making. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.