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Chapter 2 • Foundations and Technologies for Decision Making 71

simplifies reality and provides a relatively quick and inexpensive means of considering
various alternative courses of action to arrive at the best (or at least a very good) solu-
tion to the problem.

a Working Definition of Decision Making
Decision making is a process of choosing among two or more alternative courses of
action for the purpose of attaining one or more goals. According to Simon (1977), mana-
gerial decision making is synonymous with the entire management process. Consider
the important managerial function of planning. Planning involves a series of decisions:
What should be done? When? Where? Why? How? By whom? Managers set goals, or plan;
hence, planning implies decision making. Other managerial functions, such as organizing
and controlling, also involve decision making.

Decision-Making Disciplines

Decision making is directly influenced by several major disciplines, some of which are
behavioral and some of which are scientific in nature. We must be aware of how their
philosophies can affect our ability to make decisions and provide support. Behavioral
disciplines include anthropology, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, social
psychology, and sociology. Scientific disciplines include computer science, decision
analysis, economics, engineering, the hard sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics),
management science/operations research, mathematics, and statistics.
An important characteristic of management support systems (MSS) is their empha-
sis on the effectiveness, or “goodness,” of the decision produced rather than on the
computational efficiency of obtaining it; this is usually a major concern of a transaction
processing system. Most Web-based DSS are focused on improving decision effectiveness.
efficiency may be a by-product.

Decision style and Decision Makers

In the following sections, we examine the notion of decision style and specific aspects
about decision makers.

Decision style Decision style is the manner by which decision makers think and react
to problems. This includes the way they perceive a problem, their cognitive responses,
and how values and beliefs vary from individual to individual and from situation to
situation. As a result, people make decisions in different ways. Although there is a general
process of decision making, it is far from linear. People do not follow the same steps
of the process in the same sequence, nor do they use all the steps. Furthermore, the
emphasis, time allotment, and priorities given to each step vary significantly, not only
from one person to another, but also from one situation to the next. The manner in which
managers make decisions (and the way they interact with other people) describes their
decision style. Because decision styles depend on the factors described earlier, there are
many decision styles. Personality temperament tests are often used to determine decision
styles. Because there are many such tests, it is important to try to equate them in deter-
mining decision style. However, the various tests measure somewhat different aspects of
personality, so they cannot be equated.
Researchers have identified a number of decision-making styles. These include heu-
ristic and analytic styles. One can also distinguish between autocratic versus democratic
styles. Another style is consultative (with individuals or groups). Of course, there are
many combinations and variations of styles. For example, a person can be analytic and
autocratic, or consultative (with individuals) and heuristic.

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