Judgment in Decision Making

Introduction

Decision making is an indispensable process in any organization irrespective of its nature and activities in which it is involved. There is the need to abide by the seven steps as they are the benchmarks to be observed by any organization willing to make quality decisions. This essay reviews the seven steps employed for the identification of the red flags. It also assesses the significance of the information used in the decision-making process by any organization may it be a church or a business entity.

The Seven-Step Process

Step One: The Establishment of the Decision to Be Made

This is a very crucial phase of any decision-making process. One must commence by realizing that there is indeed a decision to be made. What follows thereafter is the application of the internal processes in order to find a clear definition of the nature of the decision in question. It is critical to spot this red flag prior to any critical decision, as it provides clarity and precision of what exactly needs to be decided upon. Furthermore, this step aids in narrowing down the nature of the decision in order to avoid ambiguity.

Step Two: Gathering Relevant Information

It is mandatory for every decision to be anchored on pertinent information, which should be collected beforehand. The idea of this phase is to identify what kind of information is needed and what changes have to be made to the identified information. Some of the collected data must be based on the self-assessment, while other information must be sourced externally from other people, books and other sources (Bazerman & Moore, 2013). This step inculcates both external and internal business processes. This significant red flag makes the relevant information available for both reference and reliance during the decision-making step.

Step Three: The Identification of Alternatives

In the process of information collection, one will probably establish the possible paths of alternative actions. A decision maker may also use his or her imagination to build up novel alternatives. This is an indispensable step in the sense that it provides new options that can be used to ensure that the decisions are timely. Furthermore, it makes it possible to make a list of all the desirable and possible alternatives. What is more, the creation of alternatives prevents the decision-making process from stalling in the event that the main path fails due to the unexpected occurrences.

Step Four: The Weighing of Evidence

This step entails drawing all information about all identified alternatives. A decision maker ought to establish whether the problem pointed out in the first step would be solved via the application of each of the established alternatives or not. This internal procedure enables one to find the alternatives that have more potential of achieving the desired objectives. As a result, the decision maker will be able to organize the alternatives in the order of their priority based on the individual value system.

Step Five: Selecting Among the Alternatives

After weighing the available evidence, the responsible person is then able to select the alternative that suites the established goal. It is also possible to choose a combination of alternatives. This is a critical phase given that the option that will have the potential of yielding the best result will be adopted and carried forward to the next phase of decision making. Selection is significant at this point as it helps save time that would have been used for trying all the alternatives and hence delaying the entire process.

Step Six: Implementation

In any business process, the implementation phase is the most critical one, since it puts to test the practicality of the adopted measures. Without any action, the whole process will be rendered a waste of both time and resources. The alternative chosen in the fifth phase is the one to be implemented or put into action in order to arrive at the original objective of the project.

Step Seven: Reviewing the Decision and the Consequences

This is the last phase, which makes it possible for a decision maker to gain experience of the outcome of the decision and conduct an evaluation of whether or not it has achieved a solution to the need established in the first step. In the event that the issue has solved, it is prudent to hold onto the decision for some time. If it has failed, then some of the abovementioned stages should be revisited in order to arrive at a new decision. For instance, one might go back to collecting more info or coming up with additional alternatives to form the basis of the second alternative solution.

Making Better Decisions in the Work or Church Environment

The red flags identified above are very critical for the decision-making process, as they can help any organization formulate better decisions. To begin with, the information collected at different steps ensures that time is saved and not wasted for useless processes. What is more, the decision follows a specific plan that is adhered to by all the stakeholders involved in the process. Secondly, the gathered information allows the decision makers to select an alternative which yields the best results or meets the established goal of either the work environment or the church. Third, the evaluation of the final decision should be based on the result-oriented parameters with the choice of reverting to another alternative if the decision settled upon does not solve the issue identified initially.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, decision making is an imperative procedure in any organization. There is the need for the abovementioned steps to be followed, since they provide the information that is prerequisite to an efficient decision-making process. The alternatives formulated on the way act as a guarantee that the final decision can be varied under the circumstance that it fails to meet the goal identified in the first phase. The information gathered from the seven red flag steps is important for providing direction concerning the decision to be made.

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