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Decision Making
Decision Making Process
Management Textbooks Boundless Management Decision Making Decision Making Process
Management Textbooks Boundless Management Decision Making
Management Textbooks Boundless Management
Management Textbooks
Management
Concept Version 8
Created by Boundless

Evaluate the Results

Decision makers must evaluate the results of a decision to improve the processes and outcomes of future decisions.

Learning Objective

  • Recognize the appraisal stage and the development of future insights as the final stage in the decision-making process


Key Points

    • Evaluation is the final step of the formal decision process. Evaluating outcomes may help the decision maker learn lessons that will improve her decision-making abilities.
    • Self-esteem is an important factor in evaluating results because it may lead to decision makers viewing the results of their decision with favorable bias. This can cause people to filter out or discount information that might show the decision in an unfavorable light.
    • It can also be valuable to assess the process by which a decision was made to make future decisions more effective.

Terms

  • appraisal

    A judgment or assessment—especially a formal one—of the value of something.

  • insight

    An extended understanding of a subject resulting from identification of relationships and behaviors within a model, context, or scenario.


Full Text

After a decision has been made and implemented it is important to assess both the outcome of the decision and the process by which the decision was reached. Doing so confirms whether the decision actually led to the desired outcomes and also provides important information that can benefit future decision making. Learning from experience is important to continuous improvement and effectiveness.

Evaluating Outcomes

The objective of evaluating outcomes is for the decision maker to develop insight into the decision. Many of the lessons developed in this stage come out of examining the implications of the decision. Insight can be obtained by referencing key business metrics such as increased revenue, lowered costs, larger market share, or greater consumer awareness. One can also consider whether a decision had the desired effect. For example, a decision to hold additional training seminars may have been intended to make it more convenient for people to learn a new technology. However, if overall attendance did not increase, then the decision may not have addressed the underlying cause of why people did not go to training events. Once the outcome of a decision is known, the results may imply a need to revise the decision and try again.

When decision outcomes are not clearly measurable or have ambiguous results—some parts good, some bad—is not uncommon for people to emphasize the favorable data and discount the negative. Maintaining self-esteem also may cause decision makers to attribute good outcomes to their actions and bad outcomes to factors outside their control. This type of bias can limit an honest assessment of what went right and what didn't, and thus reduce what can be learned by carefully evaluating outcomes.

Appraising the Decision Process

It can also be valuable for decision makers to step back and examine the process by which a decision was made. Often they can learn lessons that will benefit future decisions. If the decision was made by a group, having a conversation with all participants is often worthwhile. Whether enough information was gathered and whether its quality was high enough are two questions that should be considered. How the decision maker dealt with uncertainty or bias can be examined in the face of the results that have transpired. If estimates were off, or it becomes clear that emotions played too large a role in making a choice, it is important to learn from those mistakes so they won't happen again. Finally, it is important to question whether all the relevant parties contributed information and knowledge needed for the decision, and whether everyone who should have been involved was given the chance to participate.

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