Decision Making (Management)
Definition: Making intelligent, data-driven choices. Runs through all other management functions—every planning choice, directing choice, and control adjustment involves decisions.
Three Core Questions
| Question | Focus | Example (TSN) |
|---|---|---|
| What should we be selling? | Products/services | Add esports? Discontinue underperforming show? |
| Whom should we be serving? | Target audience | Which demographic for new documentary series? |
| How should we execute? | Methods/capacity | Expand streaming or focus on traditional broadcast? |
Key Insight
Decision making isn't a separate phase—it's the mechanism operating within all functions. Planning involves decisions about alternatives. Directing involves decisions about assignments. Controlling involves decisions about corrective action.
TSN Examples (mapped to three questions)
- What: Deciding whether to renew broadcast rights for a sport or add new programming
- Whom: Determining which viewer demographic to prioritize for advertising partnerships
- How: Choosing between competing advertisers for a premium sponsorship slot
Common Trap
Confusing decision making with planning. Planning is about setting direction and budgets for the future. Decision making is the act of choosing—and it happens everywhere, not just in planning.
The textbook separates them because decision making emphasizes the skill of choosing well, while planning emphasizes the process of setting direction.
North: Where this comes from
- What are the Four Management Functions (parent framework)
- Managerial Accounting (provides data for decisions)
East: What opposes this?
- Intuition-Based Decisions (gut feel over data)
- Analysis Paralysis (too much data, no decision)
South: Where this leads
- Relevant Cost Analysis (what costs matter for this decision?)
- Make or Buy Decisions (specific decision type)
- Capital Budgeting (long-term investment decisions)
West: What's similar?
- OODA Loop (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act)
- Cost-Benefit Analysis (structured decision framework)
- Decision Trees (mapping choice consequences)