LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Define decision-making and explain the role of decision-making for managers and employees
2. Discuss the conditions of certainty, risk, and uncertainty under which decisions are made
3. Describe the characteristics of routine, adaptive, and innovative decisions
4. Explain how goals affect decision-making
5. Differentiate between the rational, bounded rationality, and political models of decision-making

                      THE NEW CREATIONS

Initial & Surname	Student number	Contribution
TD MAMELA	28747682	Outcome 1
CS SIBEKO	31147232	Outcome3 and 4
PL MOROLONG	31984169	Outcome2
M SILIMELA	32595794	Outcome2,3 and 4
NP ZWANE	31739199	Outcome 4
N MAGADA	31871232	Outcome2
MZ MSIMANGA	31538916	Outcome5
MM MLANGENI	30404320	Outcome5

1. Decision –making is the process of making important decisions and making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions.

The role of decision-making for employees and managers

• It enhances creativity among employees
• Improves team work and working relations between workers and employees
• Decision making helps allocate tasks to employees
• It is effective for teaching goals and efficiently in time
• Final decisions of a manager affect all employees

2. The conditions of certainty, risk and uncertainty under which decisions are made

A. Certainty. Conditions in which both the problem and alternatives solutions are known and well defined.

B. Risk. The conditions where the problem is clear but the solution is not, therefore different solutions will be available and every solution will have different outcome and the solution with the closest result that is desired will be chosen.

C. Uncertainty. The conditions where the problem is not clearly defined, and no information is found for the solution and as a result the outcome is not known.

          3. Characteristics of routine, adaptive and innovation decisions.

3.1. Routine decisions

• These are standard choices made in response to relatively well defined and common The way in which various routine decisions are made often and covered by established rules or standard operating procedures.
• Increasingly, these routine decisions are made by computer software.

3.2. Adaptive decisions

• Choice made in response to a combination of moderately casual and fairly uncommon problems with alternative solutions.
• Often involve identifying and improving upon past routine decisions and approaches.
• Continues improvement as it is the way to total quality management.
• 3.3. Innovative decisions
• Choices based on the discovery, identification and diagnosis of unusual and problems or the development of unique or creative alternative decisions.
• The solutions frequently involve a series of small, interrelated decisions made over a period of months or even years.

                4. How goals affect decision- making

• They affect the decision making process by triggering it in a search for better ways to achieve established goals.
• They also affect the decision making process by triggering it through an effort to discover new goals, revise current goals, a drop outdated goals.

6. Difference between the rational, bounded rationality and political models of decision making

Rational model	Bounded rationality model	Political model
It is a 7 step prescriptive model that tells how the decision should be made when making routine decisions in situations involving conditions of near certainty or low risk	Emphasises the limitations of rationality and explains why different individuals make different decisions when they have exactly the same information	Describes the decision making process in terms of the particular interest and goals of powerful external and internal stakeholders 3 factors influencing political decision making Stakeholders Choice of goals Alternative solutions