In: Economics
Course Learning Outcomes-Covered
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of decision making process for
complex issues pertaining to business environment both internally
and externally. (1.2)
• Explain critical thinking and cognitive psychology as it pertains
to analyze and synthesize information for problem solving and
decision making. (2.7)
• Identify and analyze different perspectives on understanding
problems for different situations. (3.1)
Assignment Instructions:
• Log in to Saudi Digital Library (SDL) via University’s
website
• On first page of SDL, choose “English Databases”
• From the list find and click on EBSCO database.
• In the search bar of EBSCO find the following article:
Title: “The elements of good judgement- How to improve your
decision-making”
Author: Sir Andrew Likierman, Professor, London Business
School
Date of Publication: January–February 2020
Published: Harvard Business Review
Assignment Questions: (Marks 05)
1. Read the attached article titled as “The elements of good
judgement- How to improve your decision-making” by Sir Andrew
Likierman, published in Harvard Business Review, and answer the
following Questions: [5 Marks]
a. Summarize the article and explain the main issues discussed in
the article. (In 600-700 words)
b. What do you think about the article in relations to what you
have learnt in the course about improving decision-making and
problem solving skills? Use additional reference to support you
argument. (In 300-500 words)
Please adhere to the number of words required and mention a reference
1.) Decision making is important to make a difference and to prove the qualities of a good leader. It is as historic as management and leadership. Every decision has some content behind it, which is derived from the knowledge of the person making the decision. It is an assumption based on the facts presented and is an anticipation towards the future. The common or conventional way of decision making process depends on the reasoning and causal factor of the decision. The determination of a decision is taken forth with all the risk factors that are responsible for it. We see that the biggest issue is neither internal factor nor the external factors but it is the balance the decision maker has to maintain. Internal factors are related to the plans and policies, channeling the resources, branding, labour management, etc.all of them depend on the factual accuracy of the organisation database but with external factors the decision maker has to be extra cautious, as he has no direct control on it. External factors include law, policies, infrastructure, etc. according to which the decision maker has to mould himself. Making a good call in case of a decision is important, forming an opinion on the basis of knowledge and experience is what makes a good judgement. (Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis-How winning leaders make great calls) When it comes to great leaders who have made the right call at the right time, it has come to light that they are good readers and listeners. In order to make the appropriate decision it is important to know the facts which requires a lot of reading and grasping. Reading and listening go simultaneously as both of them require ample amount of knowledge to turn it into understanding.It is also important to focus on the quality of what the decision makers read or listen rather the quantity, specifically in this era of fake news.Asking the right questions will actually give you the quality of the information you are receiving. Looking out for any sort of dicrepancy is important.
2.) Critical thinking is important to analyse the decision and anticipate the consequences. The basic motive behind critical thinking is to evaluate the information and come to a conclusion where there is an actionable conclusion.The conclusion should be sound and have a causal relationship with the anlaysis of the execution. Cognitive psychology is the attentiveness of the decision maker whose perception and memory tag along in his course of decision. Great leaders have to take care of both the things and take their decision. Their decision should not contradict their past decisions, other policies, any wrong measure of information and for that instant should be beneficial for the company. It is important for us to have a sound mind to make the right decision.
3.) It is not possible for a person to arrive on the same conclusion as others. In fact, both the conclusions can be good or bad or one can work well for the situation but to analyse all the possible outcomes, one must be open to diversity and welcome all the opinions and the inputs one receives in the process. Your experience should come to conclusion after you narrow down the information from all the resources even human resources. Identifying the problems through all the eyes in the business is important and one must focus on all the perspectives.
Andrew Likierman
1) A good decision is based on a good analysis of judgement and a good judgement comes from combining the skills with knowledge and turning it into a good understanding of the problem where you can arrive at a fruitful conclusion. A lot of us confuse decisions with the gut feeling and guesses one can make it should be analysed well and should be supported by facts and figures. All the great leaders who are running successful companies have certain qualities which is important to make the decision and one of them is:
Ambition is good but a better judgement is important for a person to come to be a better leader than before. A good judgement has all the factors and with all this passion and ambition is important too.