Introduction to Decision Making (Coursework Sample)

Introduction to Decision Making
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Introduction to Decision Making
In the local company where I worked in the operations department, we used to experience some problems. This really affected the company’s good performance, a fact that necessitated some managerial decision to be made as soon as possible. Some of the major problems that we were facing in this company were majorly related to the strategy used in the operations department and to some extent, the frequent absenteeism and frequent request for leaves by the employees. Our manager being an informed person, he used both programmed decisions and non-programmed decisions in his attempt to give a lasting solution to these problems.
Concerning the programmed decisions, it ought to be pointed out that they are decisions that are traditionally made for the standardization of the operating procedures in an organization or other techniques that are well defined for purposes of solving a problem (Kourdi, 2011). When it comes to the examples of strategic and operational decisions that I personally observed in this workplace, I would have to say that through his decisions, the manager touched on five very important things as follows:
* Goods and services: in this, the manager looked for ways through which the consistency in quality and cost of goods can be implemented.
* Quality Management: when it comes to the quality of management in this firm, the manager advised that it is very necessary to be clearer to the demands of our customers and as we continue manufacturing more products, we should consider meeting their expectations. He stressed that we ought to do a research on the market in order to find out what are the needs of our customers
* Process and Capacity Design: here, the manager talked about Design strategies that support our Company’s manufacturing goals including resources and technology. He said that a value stream map would be necessary for determining the processes necessary in the Company and how they can be maintained running efficiently.
* Layout Design and Strategy: the manager advised us to consider how materials are delivered and used in the Company, and most importantly, the arrangement of the workstation.
* Scheduling: I can remember our manager telling us to take into consideration both production and people. To be clear on this matter, we asked him questions pertaining the quantity that we should produce on a daily basis, machines required and the number of people required for this operation.
I believe that these decisions fall under both non programmed decisions and programmed decisions. I consider them programmed because they deal with things that frequently occur in the company and on the other hand, I consider them as non-programmed decisions because the manager used a logical means for solving issues in the company (Moshal, 2009). Concerning the non