Factors that Influence a Manager’s Decision-Making Process
Leadership is a term whose clear definition has not been identified despite various attempts to find a general definition of the work. The term could be used in various fields depending on it use and importance. Leadership is an important aspect of an organization because most of the practices within an organization depend on the decisions made by a leader of the organization. The leader has the sole responsibility to decide on various factors of the organization that would finally shape the organization accordingly (Dewett & Jones, 2015). There is a specific form of behavior for which when a manager shows he or she becomes an effective manager. The leadership qualities are capable of defining an organization entirely especially its final product and the outcome of the various practices that the organization engages in. therefore, in this study, he various practices of a manager or the managerial roles that define the final project of the organization would be discussed critically as a way to prove that the manager’s decisions define the outcome of the organization.
There are various factors that are capable of influencing the process of decision making for a manager at any organization. One of the most defining factors is the past experience possessed by the manager (Crant, 2016). Through the experience, it becomes possible for the manager to refer to past instances where similar problems were faced in making appropriate decisions. The experience in collaboration with the personal education possessed by the manager makes the process of decision making effective. The manager as the sole decider of the various practices within the organization takes charge of all the practices of the organization as he used his knowledge and experience in making the appropriate decisions for the organization. Through such experience and academic knowledge, it is possible to incorporate the past experience with the present management techniques into the activities of the organization such that it generates appropriate solutions to the various problems faced in the organization as it maximizes the outcome of the organization (Dewett & Jones, 2015).
The dedication and determination of the manager to become the best could be another factor that would influence the decisions made by an organizational manager. A dedicated manager is one who always desires to become the best through achieving his or her organizational goals effectively. Once the goals of an organization are set, the manager becomes the controller of all the activities within the organization that results into its failure or success (Kaplan, Murray & Henderson, 2013). The success of the organization or its failure solely depends on the actions and decisions of the manager. For successful and fruitful outcomes within a organization, the manager should be dedicated and determined to become the best through making decisions that would ensure that the outcome of the organizational practices are those that were anticipated in the business plan. Because the decisions of the manager solely determine the success of the business, a successful business could be termed as one whose practices are focused to the organizational goals and has a dedicated manager who is at all times determined to be the best through setting and working towards certain organizational goals (Carmeli & Halevi, 2014). There are other factors of a manager that are helpful in determining their decisions hence the fate of the organization.
The Importance of Proper Preparation
In most organizations, it is the responsibility of the manager to make all the decisions within the organization. However, in other organizations, the decisions would be made by a board or any other relevant persons within the business but the final overview of the decisions remain the role of the manager (Provan & Kenis, 2013). The final decision of the implementation of the decisions and the various changes that might be made concerning the decisions is the role of the organization’s manager. In most cases, the process of decision making is not simply the role of the manager in that the manager might wake up and make decisions that are implemented into the organizational practices. Most decisions are made by either the manager or any other person within the organization through a proper procedure of decision making (Kaplan, Murray & Henderson, 2013). Once the decisions are made, they would be presented to a meeting where they would be examined and analyzed fully before implementation. Such meetings where organizational decisions are made are in most cases held in the presence of the organizational management.
Once the final decision is made by the meeting over the various decisions, the manager takes the responsibility of approving the decisions and allowing its implementation. The manager in most cases takes his o her time to review the final decisions. With the help of his personal knowledge and experience, the manager has the power to make any decision over the decisions (Walumbwa, Wang, Lawler & Shi, 2014). The manager through his management skills may change, adjust or approve of the decisions based on their qualities and capabilities to influence the organization positively. Before the manager approves of any decisions within the organization, it would be important to consider the goals of the organization among other factor that control the organization. Once a manager makes any decisions, they would be implemented because the manager is responsible for making any decisions for the organization (Thompson & Heron, 2015). For a good manager, consultation with other leaders or any other relevant persons would be an important factor in deciding on the appropriate measures to take for an organization to generate positive outcomes.
Managing an organization is not an easy task that would be tackled by anybody effectively. Even the world’s best managers face certain management challenges some of which have not been solved. The major problems faced in management of an organization originate from inadequate preparation for organizational management (Meindl, & Ehrlich, 2017). Before implementation of the various decisions within an organization, it is important to ensure that the manager and all other aspects of the organization are properly prepared for the challenge. Organizational management is a challenge that if not by proper preparation, most people would fail terribly. In preparation for the management challenge, there are several factors that when considered would make the organization more profitable with positive outcomes at most times (Walumbwa, Wang, Lawler & Shi, 2014). While preparing, the management of an organization should have in mind the mission, vision and most importantly the goals of the organization at heart. The considerations of the three factors make an organization influential and focused to success of the organization through positive outcome generation.
Qualities of a Good Organizational Leader
In cases where inadequate preparation is put in place before the organization starts, several instances of organizational challenges would be recorded. The inadequate preparation by a manager for instance would lead to instances like improper formulation of solutions to various problems faced by the organization (Allen & Meyer, 2016). Because in its preparation, the manager did not detail his practices to identify some common problems, it might not be easy to create solutions to the problem when it appears in the process of management. On the other hand, when a manager prepares adequately, it becomes easy to handle such problems effectively as the organization shall have laid proper techniques and strategies to tackle any possible problems faced in management (Nyhan, 2014). Through proper preparation, it is possible for the organization to identify the best decisions for the organization to ensure that it always performs to its best with the best outcomes. Through such preparations it is possible for an organization to generate positive outcomes and develop through sure decision making within the practices of the organization’s managers.
As mentioned before, it is through good leadership that an organization might achieve positive outcome in its practices. There are certain leadership qualities that a good organizational manager would show in order to lead the organization towards the positive outcomes that it desires. A good leader should be able to communicate the organizational decisions effectively without any form of contradiction. The communication of the organizational decisions determines the success of the organization because the ideas would most likely be implemented based on the plan laid by the organization in its preparation (Zheng, Yang & McLean, 2012). The communication and effective follow up of the various practices should be outlined properly such that accuracy is maintained as the organization achieves its mission effectively. The other factor that would determine a good leader is his or her capability to accept and tackle the various challenges faced by the organization effectively.
Another important character of a good organizational leader is his or her diversity. Diversity would mean that the manager of leader of the organization is open to the use of various options that the organization might consider in its activities (Huang, Cheng & Chou, 2015). Through diversity, it is possible for a manager to make a quick decision over certain organizational practices in case an initial decision fails to yield the expected results. A diversified manager is one who is capable of making the relevant decisions at any point in the practices of the organization. The decisions made in certain critical moments when a leader is faced with an organizational problem are some of the situations when a manager’s diversity would be proved (Weaver Trevino & Cochran, 2013). There are other properties of a good manager that would be necessary in ensuring positive results for the organization. Some of the factors include being a team leader who will have the organization’s employees as partners and not as servants.
The Importance of Ethics in Organizational Leadership
Every aspect of an organization has its morals and ethics that govern it. For an organizational leader, there are certain ethics that a good leader should consider to ensure that his organization becomes the best through the positive results it acquires and the decisions it makes (Abernethy & Brownell, 2015). One of the ethical leadership qualities involve being fair and just to everyone including the employees and the customers of the organization. Respect is another feature of a good manager. Respecting the people involved in the organization irrespective of their positions is a factor that the manager should take seriously as it would define the implementation of the organizational activities (Nyhan, 2014). A good manager should also be honest through all the activities of the organization and to all the stakeholders of the organization. Through honest, it will be possible for the organization to win the public trust, is an important feature in management.
Also, a good manager should be able to build an effective organizational team that would ensure that the organization achieves all its goals in time enough for it to be competitive and suitable for the market (Weaver Trevino & Cochran, 2013). Another ethical quality of a good manager is that he should be able to encourage the team at all times such that the organization would stand a better chance of achieving its goals. Through the encouragement of the employees for instance, it is possible for the organization to achieve its goals with motivated employees. The employees would struggle to reward the organization by working hard to achieve the goals of the organization in time. Finally, a leader should be able to lead the organization by example. The behaviors of the leader and not his words should be important in his leadership (Gelens, Dries, Hofmans & Pepermans, 2013). It is more likely that when a leader leads by example, the other team members will imitate him hence the organization will be successful and realize positive outcomes.
Conclusion
All the activities of an organization are based on the decision made by the manager of the organization as its leader. The leader as the sole decision maker is taken responsible for all the practices and outcome of an organization. As mentioned in this discussion, the leader of an organization is expected to make certain adjustments and changes within the system that define the organization entirely. The features discussed are the ones that determine what a manager is in addition to the fate of the organization. It is the sole role of an organizational manager to ensure that the organization remains active and productive all the time through various decisions that make the organization successful.
References
Abernethy, M. A., & Brownell, P. (2015). The role of budgets in organizations facing strategic change: an exploratory study. Accounting, organizations and society, 24(3), 189-204.
Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (2016). Organizational socialization tactics: A longitudinal analysis of links to newcomers’ commitment and role orientation. Academy of management journal, 33(4), 847-858.
Carmeli, A., & Halevi, M. Y. (2014). How top management team behavioral integration and behavioral complexity enable organizational ambidexterity: The moderating role of contextual ambidexterity. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(2), 207-218.
Crant, J. M. (2016). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of management, 26(3), 435-462.
Dewett, T., & Jones, G. R. (2015). The role of information technology in the organization: a review, model, and assessment. Journal of management, 27(3), 313-346.
Gelens, J., Dries, N., Hofmans, J., & Pepermans, R. (2013). The role of perceived organizational justice in shaping the outcomes of talent management: A research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 341-353.
Huang, M. P., Cheng, B. S., & Chou, L. F. (2015). Fitting in organizational values: The mediating role of person-organization fit between CEO charismatic leadership and employee outcomes. International Journal of Manpower, 26(1), 35-49.
Kaplan, S., Murray, F., & Henderson, R. (2013). Discontinuities and senior management: Assessing the role of recognition in pharmaceutical firm response to biotechnology. Industrial and Corporate Change, 12(2), 203-233.
Meindl, J. R., & Ehrlich, S. B. (2017). The romance of leadership and the evaluation of organizational performance. Academy of Management journal, 30(1), 91-109.
Nyhan, R. C. (2014). Changing the paradigm: Trust and its role in public sector organizations. The American Review of Public Administration, 30(1), 87-109.
Provan, K. G., & Kenis, P. (2013). Modes of network governance: Structure, management, and effectiveness. Journal of public administration research and theory, 18(2), 229-252.
Thompson, M., & Heron, P. (2015). The difference a manager can make: organizational justice and knowledge worker commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(3), 383-404.
Walumbwa, F. O., Wang, P., Lawler, J. J., & Shi, K. (2014). The role of collective efficacy in the relations between transformational leadership and work outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77(4), 515-530.
Weaver, G. R., Trevino, L. K., & Cochran, P. L. (2013). Integrated and decoupled corporate social performance: Management commitments, external pressures, and corporate ethics practices. Academy of Management Journal, 42(5), 539-552.
Zheng, W., Yang, B., & McLean, G. N. (2012). Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management. Journal of Business research, 63(7), 763-771.