Introduction
I am going to evaluate a management book that is written by Williams, Steve (2001). The book is titled “Making better business decisions: understanding and improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills”. It was printed in London by Sage publishers. I have read the book and I have seen it useful to both students of management and young inexperienced managers. In this paper I will analyze the book from my point of view; I will give an overview of the book and the areas that it touches on.
Theories or Concepts Featured In This Book
The book focuses on management and how decisions are made in a business situation. It starts by giving a deep analysis of what management is. He portrays, a manager as the fuel of an organization and thus at all times he must be sober and work for the interest of the organization. It goes further to define the various forms of management (democratic, lazier-free, diplomatic, and autocratic forms of management). After this he gets into the major topic of the day that is making managerial decisions.
Major Topic/ Subject
The main subject of the book is on how efficient and good managers make decisions. In the book he discusses the processes that a manager should go through before coming up with a decision however small the decision might look to be. Here is what he says: Managerial decision-making is the process through which managers arrive at the alternative solution to a given challenge facing an organization. The success of an organization is dependent on the quality of decision made by its manager. One of the major attributes that make a good manager stand out is his or her decisiveness. The quality of decisions made by a manager is reflected in the performance of his or her organization. The following are the processes that he recommends to be taken;
Defining the Problem
The first step in making a good decision is defining the challenge that calls for a decision to be made. There are problems that require either a “no” or a “yes”, others require an urgent solution and others can wait for a certain period of time for alternative solution to be arrived at. Generally to have a job well-done, it is of great importance that people involved start from the beginning. Decision making is not an exemption. In this stage, a good context of the problem is grasped. It is only after getting the correct understanding of the problem that he/she can make a good decision.
Gathering Data
In this stage the manager should gather all relevant data and facts. It is from the facts and data that he develops various alternatives of choices that can be used to solve the problem at hand. The statistics will also be the ones that will support the final decision. There are various methods of collecting data; they include researching, brainstorming, and experimentation. It is the manager’s duty to choose the right method to adopt because different problems call for diverse methods.
Depending on the problem, the people to be consulted differ. However an effective manager should ensure that he/she consults those who matter and those who know. Consultation assists in making a more informed decision and assists in generating more alternatives of choice. Their opinions and viewpoints should be considered in the final decision making, but the manager should always keep in mind that it is his/her responsibility to come up with the right decision (Williams, 2001).
Choosing the Best Alternative
After taking time and pondering over the issues; time taken depends on the urgency of the decision, he/she chooses and implements the best alternative. At the initial stage a lot of support of the decision is required to ensure that the whole organization or the departments concerned have adopted it effectively. It is not always that a decision made bring the expected results; thus feedback from the people on the ground and the general performance of the business should be sorted, so as areas that need improvement are recognized. In-case an area that needs improvement has been recognized, it should be addressed appropriately. According to the book, decisions are the driving force in an organization. The quality of decision that managers make give their organization direction and focus. The growth and competitiveness of an organization is influenced by the quality as well as acceptability of decisions made by managers at all levels. To come up with a good decision there are three main stages that a manager should follow they are; defining the problem, data collection, and choosing the best alternative. Always a good manager considers the urgency of the decision before making on (Williams, 2001).
It’s Relevance to Today’s Business World
The book does not just give plane analyses of the topic but goes further to give examples from real world of situations that have existed in the past and give alternatives. Other than being a plane management book it involves the reader in making practical decisions. Although the book was written ten years ago, it has stood the test of time and it can be applicable in today’s business as well. For example it talks in depth about decisions to make when a change is occurring in an organization. It was written at the time that computers had just started to be embraced in business and he says that: As the world evolves in the computer world, there is the need for an organization to align with the changes. The more the organization adopt new and right technology, it will have a competitive advantages over the other players in the same sector. To effect/ adopt the new technology, it takes deliberate managerial decision to effectively put it in place. It is via a planned change. The nature of human being is that they repel change and thus to adopt the new technology, there is the need for the management to have a well constituted change platform (Shaw, 1996). This is a wise advice that is applicable even in today’s world where change is increasingly becoming inevitable especially technological change and its adoption in business.
Why I Chose This Particular Book
I have read wide in management books, but in this book I found it as an interesting one to read. Portrays management as a day to day life whether one is aware of what he is doing or not. He notes that it is just an improvement of our day’s life where we are supposed to manage our lives. He does not talk of many theories about management but presents management from a known point of view. I like the book when he says that a situation that one is managing dictates the form of management that he is going to employ. Other than writing this book, the writer has had a hand on experience on management, he writes from both research point of view and experience. The book also is a small book it is only 167 pages, this is a short to the point book that one does not get bored when reading it. It is very interesting and to the point.
Why I Would Recommend It to Students and Young Managers
The book is written in simple English that is easily understood. As one reads the book, it does not tell someone on what to do when in management but it works with a person to look for a solution to a problem that it has created. There are exercises that are later discussed and this give the reader a chance to exercise what he has read. Finally, it is a small book that one can move around with to make references. When I read the book it assisted me to realize my potential in leadership and management, today I understand the kind of institutional that I can lead more effectively. To the reader, the book touches all areas of management and portrays a leader not as a person to make things happen but as one top pioneer thing. This is a concept that he has brought so well that when one is reading the book he grasps the right picture of a manager. I would thus recommend it for young managers and students (Bernstein, 2008).
Reference List
- Bernstein, J. (2008). Peer Review and Evaluation of the Intellectual Work of Teaching. Change 40.2: 48. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO.
- Shaw, I. (1996). Evaluating in practice. Michigan: Arena
- Williams, S. (2001). Making better business decisions: understanding and improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills. London: Sage