Decision Making and Problem Solving Under Imperfect Knowledge

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Decision making and Problem solving under situations of imperfect knowledge. Operations Analysis and Planning “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” -Napoleon Bonaparte Introduction Decision making is one of the most essential and one of the primary functions of management. The major job of any manager is to make rational and sound decisions consciously and subconsciously. The decisions that a manager makes affect the organizational actions of the company. A decision may be defined as consciously choosing a particular action among other alternatives in order to arrive at a particular desired outcome or result. The primary function of a manager is to make decisions on particular situations or problems. Decision making saturates all actions of management. It is a continuous process and an indispensable part of the entire management process. Decision making links together means and ends. Decision making means to reach a definite result for an action. Decision is a choice that a manager makes among other options or alternatives. The word ‘decision’ derives its meaning from the Latin word ‘de ciso’ meaning cutting off or cutting away in practicality it means arriving at a conclusion. A decision is made to achieve a goal through actions. (Agarwal, 2010) This essay talks about the importance of decision making in an organization and how the managers make decisions in situations where there may be inadequate or no information about the problem or the circumstances of the decision taken may be unclear. The reader will gain an insight on decision making and problem solving under conditions of imperfect information. Some theories under decision making have been discussed and by the use of a case study, the effective use of the gap analysis theory of decision making has been highlighted. Steps involved in the decision

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