5.2.3 Stages of decision making and implementation

The solution ^* is made to resolve any problem. The process of resolving the problem consists of three stages (Fig. 4.3.)

Fig. 4.3 Stages of problem solving process

Decision making ^* . This stage includes five main stages (Fig.4.4). The actual number of stages is determined by the nature of the problem.

Fig. 4.4. Stages of decision making

Diagnose problems . At the first stage, the identification and description of the problem situation, which is necessary or desirable to solve, is carried out. The diagnosis of the problem must be complete and correct. Fully defining a problem is often difficult, since all the many parts of an organization are interconnected and interdependent, and identifying the root cause and source of the problem that has arisen may require the collection of extensive information and in-depth analysis. No wonder they say that correctly defining a problem means half solving it. As a result, problem diagnosis often becomes a multi-step procedure with intermediate decisions. These steps can be:

• establishing the symptoms of the difficulties or opportunities that have appeared (low profits, sales, productivity and quality, excessive costs, numerous conflicts ^* in the organization, high staff turnover, etc.). Identifying the symptoms helps to identify the problem in general;

• determination of the novelty of the problem and the situation in which it arose. If the problem has already arisen earlier in a similar situation, then it is necessary to evaluate the possibility of using decisions already taken. In the case of a principled novelty of a problem situation, one has to solve the problem of making decisions anew, without using past decisions. In order to make it easier for managers to make decisions in recurring problem situations, it is advisable to create a library of precedents for decision-making tasks, which would be an integral part of the regulatory documentation of any level of management and contain collective problem-solving experience;

• identifying the causes and sources of the problem. For this, it is necessary to collect and analyze the required internal and external information. In the process of analysis, the collected source data must be filtered, discarding irrelevant data and leaving only those that will be useful in making a decision;

• the establishment of possible interrelations of the problem under consideration with other known problems. The definition of such relationships allows you to more clearly and deeply identify the cause and effect dependence of the occurrence of the problem being analyzed, makes it possible to classify interrelated problems (into main and secondary, general and particular, urgent and non-urgent), contributes to the development of a complex solution;

• determining the degree of completeness and reliability of information necessary for making a decision, and establishing the possibility of resolving the problem. It is necessary at least in general terms to determine what information is needed (about the problem situation, resources, restrictions, etc.), what is available and what needs to be obtained additionally. Already at the first stage of the decision-making process, it is necessary to at least approximately estimate the possibility of solving the problem, since it does not make sense to develop a solution for a clearly insoluble problem.

There are two situations in which problems arise: the situation of new difficulties and the situation of new opportunities . The situation ^{* of} new difficulties, as a rule, is associated with the occurrence of deviations from the planned trajectory of the object to the goal. It is characterized by the need for the correct formulation and formulation of the problem, the relevance of which is generally obvious. These can be scientific, industrial, technical and other problems. The situation of new opportunities is most characteristic of scientific and technological progress, since the achievements of science, technology and technology create fundamentally new opportunities for improving the organization of labor, production and management.

Formulation of limitations and criteria for decision making. Before identifying possible solutions to a problem, it is necessary to analyze the resources available to the organization, which may be required for making and implementing decisions (temporary, material, labor, etc.) and formulate appropriate restrictions. In addition, the cause of the problem and the limitations may be outside the organization of forces - such as laws and other regulations that the head is not authorized to change. If such limitations are not revealed, then an unrealistic course of action can be chosen, which will aggravate rather than solve the existing problem.

From a temporal point of view, it is necessary to take into account that almost all management decisions are made in time trouble, i.e., less time is allocated in decision-making practice for preparing decision-making than is necessary to fully use all knowledge or all information about a problem situation. This may reduce the quality of decisions made due to the impossibility of working out all alternatives and the inefficient use of resources. Therefore, an important role is played by the timely identification of problem situations, which leaves the maximum possible amount of time to prepare a solution. In a number of cases, the potential loss from quality reduction in a timely decision made in time trouble can be offset by an additional effect from an earlier implementation of the decision.

It is more expedient to take managerial decisions at the initial stage of problem growth, since the solution of finally mature problems is often very laborious and requires considerable resources. By analogy with medicine, problems are easier to prevent than to solve, and this requires a developed ability to foresee (predict) the course of development of production and social processes.

Similarly, the coordination of temporary needs and capabilities, it is also necessary to analyze the needs for material and labor resources and the possibility of their provision.

In addition to identifying constraints, the manager needs to define decision criteria — the standards by which alternative choices are to be evaluated. They act as recommendations for evaluating decisions. The criteria for evaluating decisions can be the degree of achievement of goals, the possibility (probability) of the full implementation of decisions, the costs of implementing decisions, the effect of the implementation of decisions, etc.

Identify alternatives. At this stage, alternative solutions to the problem are identified and formulated. Ideally, it is desirable to identify all possible actions to eliminate the causes of the problem and thereby to achieve the organization’s goals. However, in practice the manager rarely has enough knowledge or time to formulate and evaluate each alternative. Moreover, consideration of a very large number of alternatives, even if they are all realistic, often overly complicates and delays the process of solving a problem. Therefore, a manager usually limits the number of options for serious consideration to just a few alternatives that seem most desirable. In this case, a large role is played by the experience and intuition of the leader.

In difficult problem situations, especially in new ones, it is advisable to involve experts to form alternative solutions and their subsequent evaluation. It can be effective to develop and make a collective decision.

Evaluation of alternatives. At this stage, the analysis and evaluation of the identified alternative solutions to the problem according to the established criteria and taking into account the previously determined limitations is carried out. Of course, when identifying possible alternatives, a certain preliminary assessment is carried out. Studies, however, showed that both the quantity and quality of alternative ideas are higher when the initial generation of ideas (solution options) is separated from their final evaluation. This means that only after drawing up a list of all the ideas should proceed to the evaluation of each alternative. When evaluating decisions, the manager with the help of experts determines the advantages and disadvantages of each of them and possible general consequences. The implementation of any alternative involves some negative aspects, therefore, as already noted, almost all important management decisions contain a compromise.

The final choice is an alternative. Based on the analysis of the problem and the assessment of alternatives, the final solution is selected - an alternative with the most favorable overall consequences.

In essence, decision-making ^* is the choice of the best course of action from many possible ones, giving focus to all activities, that is, subordination to a specific goal or set of goals. This choice is made using established criteria and taking into account resource constraints. This may require additional information.

Experts may also be involved in the selection of the final decision, or it can be carried out collectively, but the responsibility for the decision made and the results of its implementation rests with the manager who has the authority to manage the organizational unit in which the problematic situation arose.

Implementation of the decision and evaluation of results . To solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity, the solution must be implemented. Only after the implementation of the decision revealed its real value and quality. The task of the manager at this stage is to organize the implementation of the decision , including drawing up a plan for implementing the decision, bringing this plan and the decision itself to the notice of the executors, and monitoring the execution of the work.

The plan for the implementation of the decision should contain a list of works, deadlines for their implementation, the list of performers, the required resources. The decision taken and its implementation plan should be communicated to the performers, as well as those affected by them. Even obviously a good solution is not always, however, it is automatically recognized by everyone involved in it, therefore, explanatory work may be required. In the process of implementing the solution, it is necessary to monitor the execution of the work and the results obtained .

Another stage in the process of resolving a managerial problem, which begins after the decision has been made, is to establish feedback, measure and evaluate the consequences of implementing the decision and comparing the actual results with those that the manager hoped to get . Feedback - that is, the receipt of data on the state of the managed object before and after the implementation of the decision - allows the manager to correct it if the results do not satisfy the manager.