Decision making is an activity that takes on an important role in our daily lives. Some decisions aren't that important whereas other important decisions, when carefully completed, can transform the span of our lives. The purpose of this essay is to investigate your choice making process regarding my proceed to Australia for the Experts program. "The process of decision making entails making a choice among different programs of action and requires a pattern of activities and situations that begins with identification of an problem and ends with the analysis of implemented alternatives" (John Campling, 2006). The procedure of decision-making can be categorized into programmed (program) or non-programmed (proper) decision making (Christensen, 1968). A programmed decision is one which we use inside our every day lives and are applied to recurring, routine problems that are often expected. Here we use information from earlier experiences to fix issues that we are very acquainted with (John Campling, 2006). Non programmed decisions usually solve issues that are unanticipated and occur less often and rely on personal attributes such as intuition, ingenuity, experience, wisdom etc (Christensen, 1968). Here people must identify the challenge and act after examining plausible alternatives. It usually requires creativeness which helps in creating and evaluating alternatives and readiness to adopt risk that allows us to choose an alternative solution (Lipicnik, 2002). The type of decision I made was a non-programmed decision since it was put on a problem that had not been a repeating one. It had been an issue which i had never dealt with before therefore i could not bring from my previous experiences to resolve the problem and got to count on my own traits such as judgment, and intuition. After doing my undergraduation in Biology in-may 2010, I decided to move into a business related field as it offers better job leads. While I was looking for my options, my cousin explained about a Masters degree in Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Management on offer at Monash School in Melbourne. I became interested in the course and started out to find out more about it by emailing the course director and seeing other people. After acquiring a great deal of positive reviews from people concerning this course/field, and after seeing my parents I decided to take the plunge and move to Melbourne.
Group vs. Person Decision:
When confronted with issues, one of the major issues is deciding if the decision will be independently made or in an organization (John Campling, 2006). Decision making is also structured according to whether it is made by an individual or by an organization (Christensen, 1968). There are benefits and drawbacks to both individual and group decision making. One of the advantages of a person decision is that it's often quick and creates less of an conflict which could otherwise happen in an organization decision. Advantages of group decisions are that there is usually higher amount of information, knowledge and skills available and people are able to bring more options/alternatives to the desk (John Campling, 2006). My decision to move to Australia to do my masters was a group decision as it involved many people including my parents, friend/cousin and others whom I consulted within my decision making process. As part of the group decision making improvement I was able to get knowledge and recommendations from multiple options which was of immense help in my decision making. WHEN I received positive opinions from professors and friends regarding the course I was interested in, my parents became more open to the idea of my move in another country.
Rational Decision-Making Model:
The kind of model I will be considering for the purpose of this essay is the rational/classical model which involves following a amount of steps which gives a structured method of decision making (John Campling, 2006). There are certain assumptions and characteristics that form the foundation of rational decision-making. For instance, decision makers should have clear understanding of the situation and of most available options accessible, and there should be an over-all consensus on the issue. They should decide on an alternative solution that will maximize their chance of achieving the targets (Heracleous, 1994). My major dilemma was choosing a course of analysis for my Masters degree. With all the possibilities today it is hard to settle on one thing easily. Also, because I originated from a science record and because I had never considered a course running a business, I was a little hesitant in moving into a small business related field. The next phase in decision making was to develop objective and requirements, which in my own case was to do Experts in a course that could have a good scope in future, and also I had been quite keen on doing work for a corporation. Money and time were also quite highly relevant to me as this course could be completed in per year. 5 and I didn't want my education to cost my parents an arm and a leg. Through the decision making process, I considered other possible alternatives such as finding a similar course back or employed in a research laboratory for a while before I pursued further studies. ONCE I examined the alternatives I realized that the best option for me would be to commence a Experts program as soon as I completed my Bachelors in Biology. The first alternate which was to discover a similar course back home didn't reap adequate results as either the price tag on tuition or university expectation was too much. The second solution was to discover a job in a research lab after graduation. During the recent period of economic downturn, when companies were either laying off people or not hiring in general, I had developed seen many of my peers battle to find employment in research laboratories. Ones who have find employment weren't too happy because they were not satisfied with the hourly pay these were being paid even in reputed companies like Pfizer. My parents on the other hands wanted me to get started on my Masters when I completed my Bachelors and they too weren't keen on the idea of employed in low paying research laboratories. Keeping each one of these things in mind I noticed that arriving to Monash was your best option as the price tag on tuition would be somewhat less than universities back in US and I could conclude the course in a yr. 5 instead of the typical two year programs. To put into action the solution, I discussed the whole situation with my parents and when they agreed to it, I applied for the program on offer at Monash. A few weeks later I received an offer from Monash College or university granting me admission into their program. If this hadn't been the truth and I have been denied admission, I'd have renewed the process through the use of for another program at various other university. A weak spot in my plan of action was that I didn't have a back-up plan as I only applied to one school.
Decision Style:
A "decision style, " which really is a decision maker's cognitive makeup is what influences how the person selects their course of action (Nutt, 1980). According to the decision framework methodology, there are four types of decision making styles: Directive, Analytical, Conceptual and Behavioral. Most of us use different decision making styles with regards to the kind of situation or problem our company is coping with, and depending on our psychological mind-set. Regardless of the decision making style we use, it contributes to a choice choice that delivers the best answer to a challenge (Richard L. Daft, 2009). During my decision making process, it was conceptual style that came into play. Individuals who use conceptual style in their decision making tend to be more socially oriented for the reason that they discuss their problems and possible alternatives with others, and collect the maximum amount of information as they can from all types of resources (Richard L. Daft, 2009). I tried out to gather just as much information as I possibly could about the program and the university by consulting people, including my parents and by researching online. It had been only after assessing all available options and alternatives which i chosen Monash.
Conclusion:
Decision making could be very tricky and challenging in some cases. It really is hence important to assemble just as much information from different options and examine all possible alternatives to the problem or situation at hand before deciding. Doing so allows us to arrive at the best possible solution for the challenge. My decision wasn't an over night one. It needed me two months of research and consultations with friends, family and university professors to make a decision. Low cost of tuition and amount of the course were also a large impact on my decision. An benefit of my choice was that it was an final result of research and dialogue and there was no conflict in that it was a group decision to which everyone agreed. This significantly decreased the likelihood of risk in my own decision making. I really believe my decision was correct and am quite pleased with the way it is turning out when i am enjoying my units in University. If I had made a decision independently and without my parent's consent, or with no research, it could have increased the probability of risk in any given situation.
