The Art of Making Decision.

Life of a human being is full of ups and downs. These ups and downs have very close relation with the decisions that a person makes or takes in his life. Some decisions are so fruitful that very soon the person comes in the category of notably successful personality while some decions make their fortune nosedive. To cite examples of these persons is not the purpose of present piece of writing.
The purpose here is to explore the aspects of decision making for it to be made or taken with required confidence when such opportunity arises.
What is called decision? Is there any method of taking it? What makes a decision to be called sound and swift? Is there any skill of taking decisions? These are some questions that we feel prompted to explore and reflect thereupon. It is necessary for better understanding of the aspects associated with decision making.
A Decision is necessarily the product of our mental engagement with respect to the problem or prospects we see right now or foresee in the distant future. As a matter of fact our very life automatically follows the decisions we take on daily basis. However it is altogether different thing that we may not allow these decions to be noticed as such. Which food to be cooked today,? whether to buy a car this year or postpone the program for such buying at least for now, which doctor to see for the treatment of ailments,? if operation upon the patient is immediately necessary or could it be done after biding some time? which way to go for winning a game? whether to sign a contract with the party or not? If yes, when? Whether to study Art or Science or Commerce after matriculation, whether to join a course/service even after getting it through stiff competition etc, etc.
The above examples which are simply illustrative mean only to assert that it is a series of decisions from small to smaller and big to bigger ones that we go on making throughout our life. We make decisions for adding value or retaining value to what we are or have. Hence Value Addition or Value Retention serves as the rationale behind a decision we make. We should refrain from adopting a measure or step if it does not bring value addition or retention in our project or vocation or personality.
It is the impacting effect of the decisions that make them small or big. The decisions that appear to be small to one may be big for the others.
The above examples also suggest that we take decision only when we have choices. In case there is no alternative course of actions the decision in that case is evidently choiceless. Technically it is not a decision per se. This is comparable to what is called Hobson's Choice*.
(Note: Hobson's Choice* means the choice of taking the thing offered or nothing at all and the phrase is named after Thomas Hobson(1544-1631),a Cambridge carrier who hired out the horse nearest the door or none at all)
Thus if the situation for the time being is comparable to what is referred to as Hobson's Choice decision making is simply a self deception to say the least.
But choices do not appear before us automatically, we have to look for them and enlist them. This presumes that we must have an indepth idea of the problem or sufficiently clear picture of the prospects that we may have envisioned for the future. Unless we know the core issue how can we take decision to address that issue to our satisfaction or expectations?
When we talk of decision-making it would be irrational to desist from talking about the contribution of Herbert Simon. According to Simon all managerial activities theorised and acronymed as POSDCORB are nothing more than  mere proverbs.It was Simon who stressed that all managerial activities are essentially decision making activities.Studying the problem or core issue to find the solution has been called by Simon Search Activity incidental to decision making. Consequent upon the knowledge gained through such searching we need to visualise how many possibilities are there to reach a solution to the problem so studied in details. This has been called 
Design Activity. We design several courses of action based on the inputs provided by the Search Activity. After all alternatives are explored we settle in favour of one that suits us and our requirements the most. This is called Choice Activity.
Though these components of the decision making process appear to be simple it may not be so for understandable reasons. Human capacity to scrutinize the problem, to explore and analyse options etc. are limited. Our limitations condition these process of search, design and choice activities in such a way that we are left with no option but to ends up our quest at the point where we find the solution sufficiently satisfactory. This was referred to as 'Satisficing Model' of rational decision making process by Herbert Simon.
It is not difficult to visualize that each of the above activities namely search, design and choice activities contain individually all the three activities mentioned earlier and the chain goes on depending upon amongst other things the time constraints associated with the decision making.
As indicated a decision howsoever good if not taken at appropriate time is at best a trash.
So delay in taking decision is condonable to the extent till the decision itself is not rendered uselessfor reasons of being time worn. Hence timeliness of a decision is a criticality.
Delay and Procrastination
At this stage it is imperative to discuss delay and procrastination in decision making. While delay in taking decision is not unnatural for reasons that sometimes all possible consequences are not fully anticipated and studied procrastination is unacceptable.Procrastination is a dysfunctional delay, nothing else. It is a nasty delay in implementation of the decision,hence should be shunned in toto. 
Programmed and Non Programmed Decisions
Programmed decision means we know in advance each step that leads to final step in the delivery of desired outcome. But when these steps are not known a priori we cannot formulate a program for our desired outcome. This type of decision cannot be programmed for we do not have sufficient data, knowledge or experience to start with.Therefore, the process like search, design and choice activities are more relevant to Non programmable type of decision which involves mental engagement of highest order.
Cost Implications in decision making
Every decision has some cost to be born.
Low cost decision is generally programmed one.  Heavier the cost more is the need to invest time in search and design activities in the decision making process.
The mental composition and disposition of a person deciding the issue in hand has a great say in our decision making.
Some people are risk prone whereas some are risk averse while yet others are fickleminded.
A risk prone person makes decision which often works wonder but does not prove fruitful all the time. The risk averse people tends to bring incremental change through calculated moves unlike the risk prone ones. But fickle minded person is worse since his decision keeps on changing according to the state of his mercurial mind. The person of this category changes his mind accordingly with each and every advice he receives from his near and dear ones. He has no mind of his own in the matter to act decisively. Too much seeking of advice mars the prospects of a sound decision.
If ficklemindedness is worse 
Sitting Over an Issue to bide time is the worst approach in the scheme of decision making. Indecisiveness is sure sign of incompetence.The incompetent, under the garb of analysis, bides time for long till the opportunity passes him over. He then is seen to rue and express his concern over the opportunity he let go.
If the cost of such decision is heavy one even the best of mind hesitates to make decision having heavy cost dimensions. This explains why some decisions are implemented on pilot basis to study its success. The result of this pilot project decides the general implementation of the decision so introduced previously at a pilot basis.
Low cost decision is made at the middle Management level whereas high cost decision is made by those who are positioned at the top in an organization.
At the end it must be said no matter how sound and swift our decision may happen to be we cannot rule out the possibility of such decision meeting with failure for the simple reason that we cannot foresee all unforseen circumstances. So if we meet with failure we should accept it graciously and analyse the cause of such failure with cool and calm mind and make a note of the lessons learnt.
R.R.Prabhakar.
24.10.2019.