Write on the Decision Making is “the process of making choices among alternatives with the intention of moving toward some desired state of affairs” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2021).

Write on the Decision Making is “the process of making choices among alternatives with the intention of moving toward some desired state of affairs” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2021). The results of my self-assessment on Decision Making indicated a strong preference for rational decision making (16/20) and a low preference for intuitive decision making (7/20).
Discussion:
As evidenced by the results of my self-assessment, rational decision making is incredibly important to me. I want to know that there are facts, evidence, and reasons behind the decisions being made, and this something I want from my superiors, co-workers, and certainly from myself. Throughout my 12-year career in Naval special operations, rational decision making was critical. Planning for each and every contingency was imperative for mission success and survival could often come down to the rational judgements made throughout every step of the planning process. But rational judgement isn’t just unique to the life and death nature of military operations.
In a paper for Royal Society Open Finance, Baer & Schnall (2021) analyzed the dangers of decision fatigue and found that repetitive decision-making could lead to less rational decision making. In one organization, this breakdown in decision making cost over $500,000 per month. With this data extrapolated to entire economies, potential lost revenue from poor decision making could potentially reach hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
Whether it’s military conflict, business, or any other important area of life, a reliance on feelings, moods, and nonquantifiable sentiments should be met with skepticism. From a Biblical perspective on decision making, the prophet Isaiah writes, ““Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord” (NIV, 1984, Isaiah 1:18). Similarly, in Proverbs 28, Solomon writes, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered” (NASB, 1995, Proverbs 28:26). To be certain, there is a place for faith in our spiritual walk and our hope is in the Lord. But even that faith is based on considerable evidence and the rational decision to follow Christ. Our decision-making process in business and all other areas of life should be no different.

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