Definition of the Decision Making Tool Grid Analysis
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life"- Eleanor Roosevelt (Arsham, 2005). Making decisions is a part of everyone's life. Daily we face decisions from deciding what shirt to wear to whether or not to fire someone. The fear of making the wrong decisions is well known to any responsible manager. "As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face" (Arsham, 2005). Using decision making tools and techniques help you to make the best decisions possible with the information you have available. With these tools you will be able to map out the likely consequences of decisions, work out the importance of individual factors and choose the best course of action to take. Some tools that are routinely used in commercial decision making are decision trees, 6 thinking hats, plan/do/check/act model, and the cost/benefit analysis. This paper will attempt to define and apply one very important widely used tool, the grid analysis.
Note that you do not have to have a different score for each option - if none of them are good for a particular factor in your decision, then all options should score 0. Score each choice for each factor using numbers from 0 (poor) to 3 (very good). Score each option from 0 (poor) to 3 (very good). How do you decide which car is right for you and your family? For me I need a car that is roomy enough for my family, a safe choice to drive in Alaska, and most importantly is affordable. It is a useful technique to use for making a decision. At one time or another, organizations develop an over-abundance of decision problems. Those firms that take a disciplined approach to problem solving-clearly defining the problem, identifying potential and creative solutions, selecting solutions based on appropriate criteria, and creating a detailed plan to implement the solution-are likely to succeed and prosper. Multiply each score by the weight of the factor, to show its contribution to the overall selection. Lay these out in a table, with options as the row labels, and factors as the column headings. If I still feel unhappy with the decision, maybe I have underestimated the importance of one of the factors. The next step is to work your way across your table, scoring each option for each of the important factors in your decision. This is shown in Figure 2:Figure 2: Example Grid Analysis Showing Weighted Assessment of How Each Type of Car Satisfies Each FactorFactors Cost Comfort Fun Nice look and build quality Safety Storage TotalWeights 4 3 1 2 4 5 19SUV 4 9 3 6 12 15 49Family Car 12 6 1 4 8 10 41Sports car 8 3 3 6 0 0 20Truck 8 3 2 4 12 15 44This gives an interesting result: Despite its cost, the SUV may be the best choice.
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