A BOOK REVIEW ON DECISION

MAKING -5 STEPS TO BETTER

RESULTS

-Harvard business essential

Presented by,
Neenu Varghese
1020934
HARVARD BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

 Designed to provide comprehensive advice,

personal coaching, background information &
guidance on the most relevant topics in
business.
 Carefully crafted to provide practical resource
for readers with all levels of experience, will
prove especially valuable for the new manager.
 These solution oriented books put reliable
answers at your fingertips.
ABOUT THE BOOK

 5 steps that can dramatically improve your

decision making skills and avoid common
traps which may lead to bad results.
 Managers will learn how to :
 Employ proven decision making
techniques.
 Get the right people involved.
 Reduce risk.
 Choose the best alternative.
STYLE

 Descriptive in nature.
 Its simple and precise.
 Easy to understand.
CONTENTS:

1. The decision process-5 key steps.

2. The context for success-Setting the stage.
3. The framing challenge-What is the real problem.
4. Alternatives-The source of superior solution.
5. Evaluate the alternatives-Finding the value of
each opinion.
6. Make the decision-Getting to agreement.
7. Uncertainty problem-How to deal with
unknown.
8. Human foibles-How to counter tendencies
that can ambush your decision.
9. Organizational traps-The madness and
wisdom of the crowd.
10. Towards a smarter organization-Getting
better at making decisions.
SUMMARY

1. 5 steps decision process – establish a context for

success, frame the issue properly, generate
alternatives, evaluate the alternative & choose the
best alternative.
2. It is difficult to make good decisions in
organizations afflicted by factionalism and a habit of
advocacy.
3. How our assumptions ,goals, experience
expectations can influence, how we frame the
problem & tips for preventing them from blocking a
true perception.
4. Seeking alternatives, characteristics of good
alternatives, and method of generating these
alternatives.
5. Tools for evaluating alternatives: Net present
value, prioritization matrix, a trade off table
and decision tree. Mentions computer software
to measure alternatives.
6. 3 techniques which for moving group towards
agreement of a decision; catch ball, point
counter point, intellectual watch dog.
 7. Tackling the problems of uncertainty-3 step approach;
identify the uncertainity,determine which uncertainties
could have the greatest impact, attempt to reduce key
uncertainties.

Also discuss how you can use your intuitions in making

serious choices clouded in uncertainty.

Other hazards faced by decision makers are

behavior,mentalhabits,anchoring,overconfidence,false
analogies& a bias towards evidence that confirms one`s own
opinions.
8. Give tips to overcome these hazards and to
make an effective decision.
9. Follows with a discussion of social &
organizational habits like group think, social
influences etc, that produce the damaging
effect.
10. Explains the things you can do to make your
organization better at decision making at all
levels. These include training, practice& all the
application of continuous improvement.
CRITICISM

 Situation based examples are lacking.

 Repetitive data.
THANK YOU