Management Essay: Reflection on Managerial Decision Making Concepts

Question

Task

Management Essay Task Description: The objectives of this reflective essay are for students to (1) summarize, critically review and reinforce key concepts and theories learned from week 1 to week 8 of this unit. (2) reflect on these concepts/theories’ potential impact on students’ decision making, and how these learning are being applied and could be applied in their current jobs, development of future career and/or their life generally. (3) Reflect on new insights gained about oneself as a result of learning the unit and propose a plan for self-development. 

Students are expected to reflect on the topics (week 1- week 8) this unit has covered and evaluates which topics have inspired their thinking or influenced their decision making. You must pick four topics covered during the eight weeks. Each topic needs to contain a CONVINCING and PERSONAL justification of why these topics are chosen and how the mentioned topics have changed/might change the students’ thinking or the students’ decisions. For example, students could identify the topic of “automatic versus critical thinking” as a theme for one week’s reflection, and illustrate with personal examples how having learned about the differences has enabled him/her to be more effective in making a certain decision at work. Close to the end, the essay needs to reflect on self-knowledge and highlight implications for future self-development.

To successfully complete this assessment task, students should answer the following reflective essay questions:

• Which concepts/theories from which week’s learning activities are significant or important to you? • Why are these concepts/theories you have identified important or significant to you? (Theoretical review) 
• How are the concepts/theories you have learned influencing/impacting your decision-making in relation to your current interpersonal relationships, professional workplaces and/or personal life? (Practical Application) 
• What have you learned about yourself through the unit activities? What skills do you possess and what skills are you lacking? How are you going to improve your decision-making in the future? (Self-knowledge and self-development) 
• You should tie all your arguments/insights together at the end of your paper, highlighting how you think you will be able to use your learning in your future career and in life generally.

Answer

Introduction

The current management essay deals with the critical review by highlighting the major and key concepts or the associated theories that are the reflection of the selected course have a great impact on individual decision making, and also show the reflection on the self-knowledge and for the development of future tasks. However, the main topic which has been discussed in the course is self-awareness, which is considered as the crucial thing door to everything. This can be helpful for any of the people to thrive by learning who they are and try to ensure the strengths and the individual's weaknesses by striving and then develop the tradition of self-learning and its reflection. However, the second topic which resonates with me is the innovations and conclusion. As innovations helped to understand the modified conclusion and can help to provide a positive association. While the conclusion can be helpful in the persuasion and tends to influence the change. The third topic, which resonates with me in this course, is the topic of decision making, and it involves the terms which, when, and where. While the topic of decision making has not remain difficult and if the consideration is about thesimplicityof the facts that who is responsible for the decisions that have been made and are necessary. Moreover, the fourth topic focus on the associated theories of the course. In this regard the Game theory and its prospects are the most crucial, while these theories help make decisions (Bose, 2017).

Critical Review of the Key Concepts

Here are some of the take away from the course that are of vital importance which could be helpful not only in my personal life but also in my professional life as well. In addition this reflection will summarize all my learnings throughout the course and I will implement to overcome my weaknesses.

Self-Awareness

The leading topic which I want to discuss here is the self-awareness, which we have learned in week four, and this week is deal with the learning concepts of theories related to self-assessment and self-effectiveness. The concept of self-assessment is considered as the significant concept that could help to provide an understanding of oneself by using different methods. Moreover, the self-analysis asks the questions for the weakness and strengths and the passions which motivate you. However, presented by stimulating it and tends to understand by investigating the passion and my plans. I am in line with the theory and will say that the self-effectivenesscould supports the believe in their capacity and for accomplishment. Also, the opinion which is believed by the individual in achieving the capacity for explicitpresentation is considered more lively and is single-minded, which can endure the stress. Learning about the self-analysis had a greater impact on my decision making and in the choice of my career (Sayegh, 2014). This made me able to elect the righteous job and because the self-assessment also helped me to understand myself in a better way. This could also help to evaluate my likes, dislikes, desires and inspiration, and strengths as well, along with the selection of career which suites me. Moreover, my personal life has been improved in a greater way by doing self-analysis because it helps to know the things which make me contended. Currently, I initiated a blog where I got encouragement from people sharing new ideas and the relationship. I have attracted around 100 people in 10 days, where they have shared their ideas. This helped me to achieve and discover what I love determined to achieve the goals (Case, 2014). 

Conclusions and Innovation

The other topic which I will be going to discuss here is the conclusion and innovation extracted from the fifth week. This is the most important concept that makes me think out of the box, impossible thinking, and abductive thinking. These are the concepts that are considered important because they could help develop new ideas. Thinking outside the box helped me to come up with new and innovative ideas by assessing the different situations and to identify the things differently. However, abductive thinking could involve the use of knowledge that can help make a decision. While the concept of impossible thinking had explained the facts of how the person could able to accomplish the tasks by putting the simple things aside and preconceived the idea for doing o not doing any work. It also encourages the person who tries the impossible things and ideas that have been conceived. These concepts helped me in my professional career. I am working in an IT company where innovation helps make different decisions to survive. At the started sage, I was unable to meet the goals, which made me stressed. But after showing the innovative ideas, my manager identified my strengths and the improvements. This all done after week five in which the lecture to think out of the box and think abductive making the thing possible. This also helps to improve my creative skills, and I become able to have new ideas to solve the problems. The company was fronting the challenge of excess work and we have to deal with numerous activities where I was directed to outsource some experts where the issue gets resolved easily (Eisenhardt, 2012).

Relevant Theories

The other topic which I would like to discuss here is the topics associated with the relevant theories in making decisions that have been covered in week 8. The theory which resonates with me in the course is the prospect theory, and here I am in favor of Professor Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. He was the pioneer of this theory and argued that the individual decision making s heavily founded on the importance of the potential losses and the gains instead of considering the outcome (Medda, 2007).This theory helps understand the risk averseness and the bias as well. Also, the probability instead of optimal decision making, which helps in understanding the cognitive bias. By this model, I can able to understand that most of the people, when people get unforeseen gain and misuse these because they through that it is free money. Also, people tend to ignore some of the small losses and emphasis on the bigger loss. Moreover, the theory also has a greater impact on the decision making not only in my personal life but on my professional life as well. After understanding this theory, I had made the wrong decision, especially at the point when I got money, which I had never expected. This was my bonus money, which I never expected and spent on an unnecessary thing like partying etc. I also have realized that the marketing team has a focus on making the benefits that could avoid the loss. It is also observed that the marketers have concepts to provide more weight to lose as compare to benefits (Fleming, 2017). 

Psychological Contracts

In week seven the introduction to psychological contracts which help me to understand about the beliefs that are heavily based on the promises which are implied or the expressed regarding the agreement that is in between the individual and the organization. By learning this I become able to understand that how the psychological contacts are considered to be more successful and become the motivational source, if it involve the voluntary choice. This is that state of mind where the employees are so motivated that they wanted to stay in the same organization. This is due to the commitments that have been made with other. This will definitely help me in my personal and professional career that I will remain committed on my words (Case, 2014).

Impact on Personal Decision Making

The above discussed topic which resonates with me is that I like the context of decision making in week six. It has a significant impact on the associated concepts that mainly focus on the aspects of decision making which mainly include the who, where, when, etc. these are the vital concepts that come from the basis of the decision making and to understand that who is eligible to make decisions and who will held responsible for the associated consequences. So the better result making can be able to consider the need behind making a decision, and it should be well understood (Pettersen, 2017). The decision making might be of vital importance and is well understood. Moreover, to set the time while making a decision could create the need for stimulating the actions. In my personal experience, there are many situations that arise where the need arises for proper decision making, and working decisions penalize me a lot and lead to losses. Over the completion of my knowledge and the related activities, I became able to comprehend the responsibilities of decision making, and in my personal experience, I only blame myself for my wrong decisions. While talking about the personal decision, which was wrong due to peer pressure, where I only blame myself for such wrong decisions, which result in negative outcomes. I think I should analyze the need for decision making and should not waste money. There is also a need for making the decisions related to business ideas that where I should use money and where to save (Esmaeili, 2009). 

Unit Activities

By doing the elementary activities, I am able to learn a lot, and came to know that still there are many lacking and these needs to improve the interaction with my friends and colleagues in a healthierand improvedmethod. This could also be helpful in improving my decision making skills.This could also be helpful in directing me the way where i want to go. These doings are also helpful in the class of self-awareness and helped me to understand myself in a better way. Here I had analyzed self-awareness, and I came across many of my weak points for which I have to deal with by using my strengths. I can have the leverage to become a good person.in addition; the course helped me to understand that if I remain consistent and focused on what I have to achieve will help me in a great way. I have the skills to solve the problems by using analytical skills. I can assess things critically and handle the situation at difficult times. I also can able to prove some of the viable solutions in the critical situation by using my effective communication skills, which I have learned in this course as well. I have comprehended that my creative ability was that I want to be my supervisor at work and told us to think and evaluate critically and think the new and innovative ideas which compel to do them better and innovative things for the organization. Although this was challenging for me. But here, effective communication skills helped me to make the right decisions at the right time and communicate with the right people. I also have realized that my communication skills are not good and people do not get my point when I want to explain to them anything which was although the embarrassing for me (Heller, 2012)

Self-Knowledge and Future Prospects

The future aspects regarding the learning of this course is that I can able to improve my skill of making decision by working on my weak areas. This can be done by practicing the things which I have educated in the class and by creating the development skills through innovation and creativity. This could also improve my skill of decision making and by understanding the advanced business communication. This 12 months course will help develop personal skills. In addition to this, I will also incorporate many previous studies. This could be done by brainstorming and by sharing different ideas. I have a good peer group on social media as well, who polish my skills. Speaking in people and making interactions with the public is also helpful and to get involved in public activities. Moreover, class presentations also remain helpful in boosting my morale and confidence. This will remain beneficial to the extent if I only applied not to my personal life but my professional life as well. As an instance, I will identify the facts that will be held responsible for the decision making and knowledge about the needs for making the decisions that could able to determine that when the decision is made (Kahneman, 2013). 

Conclusion

While summing up, I would like to say that I have learned a lot in this course, and it remains beneficial not only in my personal life but to my professional life as well. I addition, this helped me to polish my skills and to make effective decisions that lead to effective decision making, and I become able to take a startup plan form my own business and utilize all my skills there. However, the learning of art and creativity help me in boosting my career and helps to add future value to my business. The reason is that creativity will develop unique business ideas that could tend to flourish in such a modest market environment.

References

Bose, T. R. (2017). Collective decision-making. . Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 16, 30-34.

Case, B. (2014). Walking around the elephant: A critical-thinking strategy for decision making. . The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 25(3), 101-109.

Eisenhardt, K. M. (2012). Strategic decision making. . Strategic management journal, 13(S2), 17-37.

Esmaeili, M. A. (2009). A game theory approach in seller–buyer supply chain. . European Journal of Operational Research, 195(2), 442-448. .

Fleming, S. M. (2017). Self-evaluation of decision-making: A general Bayesian framework for metacognitive computation. Management essay Psychological review, 124(1), 91.

Heller, F. A. (2012). Participation, managerial decision-making, and situational variables. . Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 4(3), 227-241.

Kahneman, D. &. (2013). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. . In Handbook of the fundamentals of financial decision making: Part I (pp. 99-127).

Medda, F. (2007). A game theory approach for the allocation of risks in transport public private partnerships. . International Journal of Project Management, 25(3), 213-218.

Pettersen, K. (2017). Acknowledging the role of abductive thinking: a way out of proceduralization for safety management and oversight?. . In Trapping safety into rules (pp. 107-117). CRC Press.

Sayegh, L. A. (2014). Managerial decision-making under crisis: The role of emotion in an intuitive decision process. . Human Resource Management Review, 14(2), 179-199.