Lecture
The practical requirements for developing, adopting, and implementing an MD in real time lead to the fact that, for these purposes, the definition of MD as a process is the most suitable. Nevertheless, the direct use of the definition of an MD as a process for these purposes is complicated by the fact that the number of specific procedures aimed at its construction and implementation is quite large. Moreover, it is not always clear how these procedures are linked to one another, or what sequence of their implementation takes their interconnection into account.
As practice shows, the development, adoption, and implementation of managerial decisions in any sphere of life — in production and economic activity, everyday life, public life, and so on — proceeds through several time stages, each of which is characterized by its own independent objective and specific content aimed at achieving that objective. It is precisely for this reason that it is quite reasonable to introduce the concept of the «life cycle (LC) of a managerial decision».
Definition
By the life cycle of an individual managerial decision we mean the totality of sequentially implemented stages, each of which has its own objective and content; however, the objectives and content of each of these stages, although independent in nature, are subordinate to the overall objective of constructing and implementing the MD.
Naturally, the specific content of the life-cycle stages of managerial decisions in different spheres of life may have features determined by the specifics of the corresponding sphere. Thus, within the framework of material production, the objectives and specific content of the life-cycle stages of a managerial decision will be connected with production and economic activity, whereas in a household they are connected with the everyday life of an individual person or family. Nevertheless, what is common to all managerial decisions is the very sequence of stages of the MD life cycle, the objectives of the stages that are the same for all spheres of activity, and their formalized content aimed at achieving the specific objectives of each of the stages.
Below, a simplified model of the life cycle of a managerial decision is presented schematically; we will dwell on its content in more detail (Fig. 1.1).
Note that the objectives of the stages of the MD life cycle determine the names of these stages, and the content of each of them represents a set of actions aimed at achieving the objective of the corresponding stage. At the same time, the sequential chain of life-cycle stages itself is determined by the «life» of an individual managerial decision, from the moment of the idea of its construction to the moment of its completion — the implementation of the MD (stages 1—4 of the MD life cycle).
Since each of the managerial decisions is formed and implemented to achieve a specific objective, including one connected with changing the value of certain characteristics of the system under study, from the standpoint of
Fig. 1.1. Simplified model of the life cycle of an individual managerial decision
the DM, the question of monitoring the execution of the MD and evaluating its effectiveness is important. This is also necessary because the actual MD may deviate from what was originally intended, including because the actual actions for implementing and executing managerial decisions may deviate from those that were assumed when they were developed. It is precisely for this reason that stage 5 is included in the life cycle of an individual managerial decision.
Note!
The entire set of actions for developing (creating), approving, and implementing an individual managerial decision, based on the realization of the MD life-cycle scheme, constitutes the technology for constructing an MD.
In the specialized literature there are various proposals for distinguishing stages in the technology of constructing an individual managerial decision. Thus,
E. A. Smirnov distinguishes three main stages: preparation of the managerial decision, the managerial decision within the company, and implementation of the managerial decision , while R. A. Fatkhutdinov distinguishes 16 .
A distinctive feature of the proposed approach to distinguishing stages in the technology of constructing and implementing an individual managerial decision on the basis of the life cycle is that, although each of the stages is fairly independent — having its own objective and content, subordinate to the achievement of the objective of precisely that stage — all the stages are interconnected, their execution is sequential, and the objective of each of the stages is subordinate to the overall objective of the MD being developed.
The procedure for constructing an MD on the basis of its life cycle is preceded by an analysis of the situation that has arisen with the object of management (identification of the problem). It is carried out to obtain an answer to the question — is a change to it necessary? If the answer is positive, then the procedure for constructing an MD is used. Otherwise, there is no need to work out a managerial decision.
The situation that has arisen with the object of management (the managed system) is described by a set of certain parameters. Therefore, if, in the DM's opinion, the situation should be changed, i.e., a controlling action should be taken with respect to the object of management, the DM selects from this set of parameters those that require change. For each of the identified parameters requiring change, the DM formulates the values whose attainment must be ensured on the basis of implementing the MD being developed.
In order to construct a detailed procedure for constructing a managerial decision on the basis of its life cycle, the corresponding steps for implementing this procedure have been distinguished within each of the stages under consideration.
Comments