Before considering examples of management decisions in an organization, you need to consider the concept and features of a management decision.

DEFINITION

Management decision is the preparation of conclusions and assessment of the current and future state of management objects and the subsequent adoption of a resolution by authorized persons.

A decision is a choice of alternative.

Organizational decisions can be thought of as the choices a manager must make to fulfill the responsibilities of their position. The purpose of organizational decisions is to ensure movement towards the goals set for organizations. The most effective organizational decision may be the choice that will be implemented subsequently and will make the greatest contribution to achieving the ultimate goals.

Features of management decision making

When considering the decision-making process and examples of management decisions in an organization, two features should be taken into account. The first is that making decisions in most cases is relatively easy. Everything a manager does can be reduced to choosing targeted actions. However, making a good decision is often difficult.

The second feature is that decision making is a psychological process because people are sometimes driven by logic and sometimes by feelings. For this reason, the methods that a leader uses when making decisions can vary from spontaneous to highly logical.

There are basic requirements for management decisions in an organization, including specificity, consistency, validity, timeliness, efficiency, etc.

Examples of programmed management decisions in an organization

Most often, an organization makes programmed decisions, which are the result of implementing a certain sequence of actions (steps). Similar actions are taken, for example, when solving mathematical equations in the case where the number of probable alternatives is limited, and the choice must be made within the directions that are given by the company.

Programming is considered an important aid in the process of making effective organizational decisions. By defining what the decision should be, managers can reduce the likelihood of error. Management often programs solutions for situations that recur with some regularity.

Examples of management decisions in an organization of a programmed nature:

1. Calculation of bonuses for meeting planned targets,
2. Budget forecast for a certain period,
3. Calculation of a decreasing or increasing coefficient for wages, etc.

Examples of unprogrammed management decisions in an organization

Unprogrammed decisions are made in situations that are somewhat new, internally unstructured, or involving unknown factors.

In this case, it is impossible to draw up a specific sequence of required steps in advance, so management develops a decision-making procedure. Examples of management decisions in an organization of an unprogrammed nature can be:

1. Determining the organization's goals on ways to improve product quality,
2. Decisions on improving the structure of the management unit,
3. Strengthening the motivation of subordinates,
4. Decision on the amount of investment in a new project, etc.

Intuitive and judgment-based decisions

An intuitive decision is made only based on the feeling that it is correct. At the same time, the manager does not consciously weigh the pros and cons and often does not even need to understand the situation. Examples of management decisions in an organization based on intuition are often made by management at the formation stage of the company (for example, choosing the mission and goals of the company).

Judgmental decisions are choices based on knowledge or experience. In this case, the manager can use knowledge of what has happened in similar situations before to predict the outcome of alternative choices in the relevant situation.

Examples of such solutions could be:

1. Change in price or product range,
2. Introduction of more advanced equipment,
3. Decision to expand the department, etc.

Examples of problem solving

EXAMPLE 1

Avdoshina Zoya Alexandrovna Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Management of Kazan State Technical University, Associate Professor at the Department of Management at the Russian International Academy of Tourism (Kazan Branch)

1. Concept, development process and features of management decisions

1.1. The concept and process of developing a management decision

A management decision is a natural result of a manager’s activity and is implemented in the form of directive, targeted influence on the management object.

Management decision- an act of purposefully changing the situation, resolving a problem, a variant of influencing the system and the processes occurring in it. Management decisions involve management actions leading to resolving contradictions and changing the situation. Any decision is based on the analysis of data characterizing the situation, the definition of goals and objectives, and contains a program and algorithm of actions for the implementation of measures. Management decisions are actually the main result of the activities of managers at any level of the hierarchical ladder. So, for example, heads of organizations and leading top managers can decide to expand the organization, enter new markets, or change the direction of the organization’s financial flows. These are the most complex strategic decisions that are made with a great deal of caution and involve analyzing a number of factors, modeling various options for the development of the situation, forecasting accurate quantitative results: profit, gross sales revenue, market share, market development rates, etc. In the decision-making process at this level, it is necessary to plan activities that may include changes in the structure, assortment policy, and type of activity of the organization. Decisions can be made at the level of director, head of a workshop or department, or foreman.

Depending on the level of management, the degree of responsibility and consequences of decisions made change. Thus, some managers have the authority to make decisions on financial, personnel issues, and problems of product (service) quality. For example, the head of an organization may decide to purchase new equipment, change the wage system, or ensure quality. The head of the sales department makes decisions on concluding sales contracts, conducting promotions within the allocated budget, etc.

In the process of developing solutions, managers analyze information, communicate with managers at other management levels, with those directly involved in activities, customers, think through scenarios for the development of the situation, hold business meetings, and choose the best alternative.

Management decision making process consists of a number of successive stages (See: Fig. 1.).

At the first stage, a problem arises that must be resolved in a timely manner, otherwise a situation of imbalance in the system may arise. Thus, a decrease in the competitiveness of an organization in the market will lead to a decrease in demand for its goods or services. In the future, this may mean loss of profit, and even the emergence of a situation of insolvency of the organization, actual bankruptcy.

In conditions when an organization is prospering and profitable, decisions are required, for example, to expand activities, purchase a business in another area, diversify, invest in capital construction, etc. Such decisions require thoughtful actions by managers and accurate diagnosis of the system state.

Let's move on to stage 2 of making a management decision. In this case, the manager is faced with the need to analyze documents: financial statements, sales dynamics, contracts, data on the advantages of competing firms.

Rice. 1. Stages of the decision-making process

The manager studies communication channels and information coming to him from various sources: from employees of the organization, customers, competitors; sees himself in this information field, watches people who can help him make the right effective decision.

At the third stage, a management decision is made individually by the manager or together with a group, for example, at a business meeting. Also, the manager can use the opinion of competent specialists, experts in the chosen field of activity to make decisions. Can discuss the problem with them, get their competent opinion, and then decide on further actions. Thus, a financial or marketing audit (assessment) of activities is in great demand, which can help the manager make the optimal decision with the least loss for the organization.

And finally, stage 4 involves making a decision, which is recorded in administrative documents: orders, instructions, technical specifications, various types of plans; and is also reflected in regulatory sources, enterprise standards, general provisions, charter, internal regulations and rules of the organization. It is important not only to make a timely decision, but also to monitor the implementation of activities carried out in accordance with adopted official documents, and to motivate the personnel who are involved in the implementation of these activities.

Let us outline the basic concepts associated with making management decisions.

Control— targeted impact on the system and processes that are designed to unite the efforts of employees to achieve specific goals of the organization.

Management process— a set of time-sequential operations and activities that make up the impact of the control system on the control object (organization).

Control system— a set of interrelated elements, a method of implementing control technology that involves influencing an object in order to change its state and process characteristics.

Management goal- an ideal image of the desired, necessary and possible state of the system, determined by a number of quantitative and qualitative indicators.

Situation— the state of the controlled system, assessed relative to the goal or initial, specified parameters.

Problem- a contradiction, a mismatch in the system that can bring it out of balance and threaten its viability in the environment.

Information- a reflection in a person’s consciousness of the reality around him, a set of information about the state of the controlled system.

Organization of development of management decisions— streamlining the activities of individual departments and individual employees in the process of developing a solution. The organization is carried out through regulations, standards, organizational requirements, instructions, delegation of rights and responsibilities.

Management decision development technology— a variant of the sequence of operations for developing a solution, selected according to the criteria of the rationality of their implementation, the use of special equipment, personnel qualifications, and the conditions for carrying out activities.

Management decision methodology— logical organization of activities to develop management decisions. Includes formulation of management goals, selection of methods for developing solutions, criteria for evaluating options, drawing up an algorithm for performing solution development operations. General methodological approaches used to analyze the methodology of management decisions can be considered: rationalistic, behavioral, systemic, situational, process, cybernetic, and synergetic.

The process of making a management decision consists of successive stages, such as: the emergence of a problem, diagnosing the state of processes in the organization, developing a solution and monitoring the implementation of planned activities. All these stages are necessary steps towards effective management. Managers are required not only to know management theory, but also to master methods: analyzing information, organizing work in a group to make joint decisions with colleagues.

Methods for developing management decisions- these are ways and techniques of performing operations necessary in the process of their adoption. These include methods of analyzing, processing information, choosing options for action, etc.

Any organization, starting from the moment of its inception, faces a number of problems that can provoke a dangerous situation, accompanied by a sharp deterioration in performance indicators: liquidity, solvency, profitability, working capital turnover, financial stability. Market forms of management in conditions of fierce competition lead to the insolvency of individual business entities or their temporary insolvency. The problem provides information, a “key to thinking.” It is necessary to make a decision that can change the situation and improve the condition of the organization.

Management theory has an established set of concepts, categories and methods for a comprehensive assessment of production and economic activities, and the effective organization of the decision-making process at all levels of management. System analysis makes it possible to identify the feasibility of creating or improving an organization, determine what class of complexity it belongs to, and identify the most effective methods of scientific organization of labor. In order to identify the reasons for the deterioration of the organization's performance parameters, problems are diagnosed.

Management diagnostics is a set of methods aimed at identifying problems, weak “bottlenecks” in the management system, which are the causes of the unfavorable state of processes in the organization. Diagnostics can be understood as an assessment of the company’s activities from the point of view of obtaining an overall management effect and determining deviations of existing system parameters from the initially specified ones, assessing the functioning of the organization in a mobile, changing external environment.

Management decisions must be developed by managers at the scientific level of management, using the entire complex of methods of analysis, diagnostics, planning, modeling and forecasting. An effective manager is a competent specialist who knows how to make decisions in a timely manner, direct and motivate staff to implement them, plan the resource base, implement effective behavioral models, and choose an adequate leadership style.

1.2. Types of management decisions: criteria, advantages and disadvantages

In the practice of organizations, a huge number of decisions are made every day. There was a breakdown of office equipment. The head of the department makes a decision on repairs. Staff turnover has increased. The head of the personnel development department decides to introduce a new employee support system, including a social package and a flexible bonus system. A new competitor has appeared and the head of the marketing service is forced to adjust the pricing policy. There are many such examples. In management theory, there are several types of decisions.

1) Typology according to the degree of participation of managers at different levels and specialists:

• collegial (expert and by agreement);
• collective (democratic);
• individual (sole).

Collegial decision is a decision made by a group of managers and specialists.

As a rule, decisions are made by the head of the organization in agreement with leading top managers and specialists, collectively. This happens in most companies. The manager delegates parallel powers or uses the technique of mandatory approval, which is stated in administrative documents as “agreed”. With mandatory approvals, responsibility for making significant decisions partially rests with the managers who assume such authority. Parallel powers increase the responsibility and rights of managers, and the decision becomes collective. For example, many companies use concurrent authorities to control financial expenditures, and large purchases require two or three executive signatures.

Collective decisions are usually made at business meetings and during the work of commissions by leading managers and specialists. At such meetings there is already a known balance of power, which significantly influences the management result, the decision. Thus, the balance of power may be such that one or two managers may have priority in making a decision, although formally the decision is made collectively. This is the disadvantage of collegial decisions. Therefore, managers turn to experts who can help them make important decisions. Such decisions are made if a group of specialists is involved: external auditors or employees of the organization’s headquarters services. For example, to resolve a controversial issue, a manager can involve a legal service, and to develop a strategic plan, use the services of a group of analysts. An expert commission may be formed with the involvement of external experts in the field of quality or financial audit.

Modern management theory offers methods and techniques that a manager can use to optimize the work of a small group and increase the effectiveness of decisions made.

Collective (democratic) decisions- these are decisions made by the majority of the organization’s employees, jointly by the work collective or by a small group. Unlike collegial ones, democratic decisions are a clear expression of the will of the majority of members of the work collective, small or large. Such decisions are made through secret voting, using expert assessment methods, for example, nominal group technique, Japanese ring techniques. The use of such methods is possible with a high level of staff motivation, the use of a democratic leadership style, and a developed and transparent corporate culture.

Collective decisions are also made when significant problems and issues that affect the entire staff are raised. For example, the election of a manager through a competition, the introduction of a new remuneration system, etc.

Individual management solutions- These are decisions that are made by the leader alone. Small business organizations have a small number of management levels and a high risk of losing competitive status. Such an organization is led by an entrepreneur who bears full responsibility for its further functioning in unstable market conditions. An entrepreneur is afraid to delegate authority on financial and other significant issues to his subordinates and makes decisions alone. The positive aspect of an individual solution is its creative, extraordinary nature.

The disadvantages of individual decisions appear when they acquire an authoritarian character. The manager usurps power, individually manages resources, determines the organization's personnel policy and puts pressure on subordinates. Decisions made by the manager alone allow the organization to remain in the market for some time and be successful. However, in the future, the leadership style used by the leader hinders the development of the organization. A leader must be able to maneuver and be flexible, use the art of delegating decision-making powers to other people in the organization.

2) Typology by levels of planning and time of implementation of activities

• strategic
• tactical
• operational

Strategic management decisions- these are decisions that are made at the highest level of management for the long-term development of the organization. Such decisions are followed by the development of: a strategic plan, the production program of the organization. Strategic decisions involve fundamental changes in the organization: changing the directions of financial flows into product groups or target segments, transforming the structure, entering new regional markets, expanding or reducing activities, changing assortment policy. Strategic management decisions are made at the level of directors, vice-presidents of the company, deputy. directors, heads of production departments and workshops. In a small business, all responsibility for making strategic decisions is concentrated in the hands of the manager and his team.

Tactical management decisions- these are decisions that are made at the top and middle levels of management for the year or quarter and include activities necessary to implement annual or quarterly plans: sales, production or provision of services. Tactical goals specify the strategic goal and, accordingly, tactical decisions are necessary to achieve this goal. Tactical decisions may be associated with thinking through new models of behavior in the market, changing pricing policies, organizing promotions, optimizing the work of professional teams, etc. Purchasing new equipment, introducing a system of discounts and benefits for profitable customers, introducing a system of bonuses and bonuses for the results achieved by staff, changing the pricing principle - these are examples of tactical decisions.

Operational management decisions— decisions made in the middle and lower echelons of management related to organizing the work of direct performers, providing them with resources, materials, and information. Purchasing materials, repairing office equipment, sending workers to certain areas to complete technical tasks, concluding contracts with consumers are examples of operational management decisions. Such decisions are made in the process of daily, hard work of the workforce and require regular monitoring by the manager.

3) Typology according to the content of the management process

• social
• economic
• organizational
• technical.

The substantive typology, in contrast to those discussed above, reflects the essential characteristics of management decisions, which have a specific focus and are associated with various aspects of activity. So, economic decisions associated with the management system, necessary for increasing the economic efficiency of the organization’s activities, profitability, payback and liquidity of assets. How best to manage resources, make the enterprise profitable, increase profits - these and other questions will confront the manager making economic decisions.

Social solutions are decisions that affect the organization's social structure, people, corporate culture, climate and shared values. Social decisions can be related to optimizing the work of personnel, improving the system of motivation and social support for employees, the image of the organization in society, and the implementation of the mission. Raising wages, introducing environmentally friendly equipment, improving sanitation, strengthening safety requirements, and resolving conflict are examples of socially responsible decisions.

Organizational decisions- these are decisions related to management methods, ways to achieve goals. Organizing workers to complete a task, redistributing functions and powers, holding a general meeting are examples of organizational decisions. Such decisions are an integral part of the management process.

Technical solutions— these are operational decisions that are necessary to ensure labor and production processes, supply the necessary resources, materials, and information. Installing software in a department, replacing a broken machine, paying for travel expenses, sending an employee to an important production area are examples of technical solutions.

So, management decisions are different in content, time parameters, levels of planning, but all of them are an integral component of the management process. The effect of their implementation directly depends on the manager’s ability to predict the situation, foresee the consequences of decisions made, and the ability to use not only his own potential, but, above all, the capabilities of the group and the team as a whole.

2. The human factor in making management decisions

2.1. The role of the manager in the process of developing management decisions

The human factor assumes that people play a key role in the complex process of developing management decisions. This is a manager, a leading specialist, and an ordinary performer. The quality of decisions and the effectiveness of joint activities depend on the coordinated work of all employees.

The human factor of management decision making includes:

1) Skillful delegation of authority.

2) Implementation of communications, availability of feedback with staff and consumers.

3) Behavioral characteristics of managers, organizational culture.

4) Leadership style, attitude towards hired personnel and organization of teamwork to develop management decisions.

5) Methods of personnel work and personnel management system.

6) Timely prevention of conflicts.

Delegation of authority, feedback from staff, manager’s behavior model, attitude towards employees, style of communication with consumers, climate, culture of the organization, all these are factors in the interaction of people and processes in the organization. Particular importance is attached to the ability of managers and executives to organize personnel and attract them to participate in the process of developing solutions. Collegial and collective decisions are more effective than individual ones, so the manager must skillfully direct staff to achieve the organization’s goals and delegate authority to solve problems.

Delegation of authority- this is the transfer of rights and responsibilities from a superior manager to a subordinate, from a line manager to the head of the headquarters structure, from a manager directly to a subordinate.

Skillful delegation of authority is an integral component of the process of making collective management decisions. If the manager does not delegate authority, then management decisions are made by him alone.

Classic management literature discusses difficulties that managers have when delegating authority. Thus, Newman gives five reasons for the reluctance of managers to delegate authority:

1) The leader’s misconception: “I’ll do it better.” But if the manager does not allow subordinates to perform new tasks with additional powers, then they will not improve their skills.

2) Managers become so immersed in the day-to-day work that they neglect the bigger picture. Unable to take a long-term view of a series of jobs, they cannot fully understand the significance of distributing work among subordinates.

3) Lack of trust in subordinates. If managers act as if they do not trust subordinates, then subordinates will actually perform accordingly. They will lose initiative and feel the need to frequently ask if they are doing the job correctly.

4) Fear of risk. Because managers are responsible for a subordinate's work, they may be concerned that delegating a task may create problems for which they will have to answer.

5) Ineffective control mechanisms. Management will have reason to be concerned about delegating additional authority to subordinates.

Subordinates avoid responsibility and block the delegation process for six main reasons:

1) The subordinate finds it more convenient to ask the boss what to do than to solve the problem himself.

2) The subordinate is afraid of criticism for mistakes made. Since greater responsibility increases the possibility of making a mistake, the subordinate avoids it.

3) The subordinate lacks the information and resources necessary to successfully complete the task.

4) The subordinate already has more work than he can do, or he believes that this is actually the case.

5) The subordinate lacks self-confidence.

6) The subordinate is not offered any positive incentives for additional responsibility.

The reasons for the reluctance to delegate authority or, on the contrary, to take responsibility, lie in the peculiarities of the psychology of the personality of employees. What is significant is: emotional interaction between members of the work team, behavioral models chosen by managers and forms of control over the implementation of decisions, feedback from subordinates, motivation of employees to participate in the process of developing responsible decisions.

Only managers themselves can make the process of delegating authority and developing joint management decisions effective. The leader directs, stimulates, organizes, determines policies, and shapes the culture of the organization.

The behavioral characteristics of managers influence their leadership style, the chosen forms and methods of making management decisions.

Rice. 2. Personnel management system of a modern organization

Behavioral characteristics of managers include:

1) Methods of assessment and control used by the manager.

2) Responding to the occurrence of problems or critical situations in the organization.

3) A feasible role model that encourages employees to imitate.

4) Criteria for allocating the organization's resources.

5) The criteria by which the manager determines the level of remuneration and status of the employee

6) The criteria that the manager uses when recruiting, selecting, promoting, transferring and dismissing employees.

The manager's behavioral model is recorded in the minds of subordinates through informal communication channels. Everyday information coming from a leader is actions, stories, jargon, symbols, symbolic actions. This is the main mechanism for consolidating the foundations of culture.

Leaders shape culture through informal communication channels. But the manager acts formally, using managerial methods of working with personnel.

The personnel management system (See: Fig. 2.) must be formed in such a way that employees have the opportunity to learn, receive an objective assessment of their activities, move up the career ladder, have social guarantees and motivation to participate in important decisions. What matters is personnel policy, the socio-psychological climate in the team, culture, and the ability to implement a democratic leadership style.

In the management literature, there are mainly three main leadership styles that strongly influence the forms of management decision-making: authoritarian, liberal and democratic.

Authoritarian leadership style characterized by strict centralization, the process of developing management decisions from one management center, pressure on subordinates, and the use of manipulative strategies to influence personnel. This style is chosen by the leadership of highly bureaucratic structures or small business organizations with a significant concentration of power in the hands of one person - the entrepreneur.

Democratic leadership style characterized by a high degree of participation of the workforce or managers of middle and lower levels of management in making strategically important decisions. In the first case we are talking about collective decisions, and in the second about collegial ones. The democratic style is used in decentralized organizations in which management is carried out according to goals and results. Such organizations are characterized by: flexible, adaptive structures, high motivation and competence of personnel.

Liberal leadership style characterized by a certain level of opportunities for employee participation in management decision-making. However, the situation in a team can develop differently, sometimes unpredictably. A leader who uses a liberal style can withdraw from management. In this case, the organization is managed by representatives of the “elite core”, who receive unlimited access to power and resources. Clashes between different groups and a sharp increase in conflicts in the team are possible.

Leadership styles have a significant impact on the process of developing a management decision: the chosen forms of control, management methods (See: table 1.). Leadership styles are closely related to the structural structure of the organization and the general management system.

Studying the human factor in the development of management decisions, we note: the decisive role in this complex process belongs to the manager. The requirements for the professional competence of a manager include not only the necessary knowledge and skills, but also certain human properties of him as an individual.

2.2. Social aspects of developing management decisions in tourism organizations

The development of management decisions in tourism organizations has certain specifics. The art of communication and action according to the situation are especially in demand here. Tourism organizations will experience an acute shortage of workers and qualified specialists in the field of tourism management and hotel business.

Concluding an agreement with a well-known tour operator, preparing a package of documents for tourists, purchasing furniture and equipment, sending employees on a study tour, increasing advertising costs, creating your own website - all this examples of management decision making in tourism. This field of activity requires special knowledge and skills from managers.

Requirements for the professional competence of managers in the field of tourism suggest:

1) Knowledge of tourism product sales technology.

2) Business communication skills and knowledge of client psychology.

3) Knowledge of the basics of regional studies and the main directions of tourism.

4) Ability to work with documents and databases.

5) Knowledge of the legal framework of tourism activities.

6) Fluency in Internet technologies, sales and online booking skills.

7) Use positive behavior models.

Let us recall the basic concepts of tourism management that appear in legislative acts.

Tourism— temporary departures (travels) of citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons (hereinafter referred to as citizens) from their permanent place of residence for health, educational, professional, business, sports, religious and other purposes without engaging in paid activities in the country (place) of temporary stay;

Tourist activities— tour operator and travel agency activities, as well as other travel organization activities;

Tourist- a citizen visiting the country (place) of temporary stay for health, educational, professional, business, sports, religious and other purposes without engaging in paid activities for a period from 24 hours to 6 months in a row or spending at least one overnight stay;

Tourism industry- a set of hotels and other accommodation facilities, means of transport, public catering facilities, entertainment facilities and means, educational, business, recreational, sports and other facilities, organizations engaged in tour operator and travel agency activities, as well as organizations providing excursion services and guide services - translators;

Tourist product— the right to a tour intended for sale to tourists;

Tour operator activities— activities for the formation, promotion and sale of a tourism product, carried out on the basis of a license by a legal entity or individual entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as the tour operator);

Travel agency activities- activities for the promotion and sale of a tourist product, carried out on the basis of a license by a legal entity or individual entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as a travel agent);

Tourist package— a document confirming the fact of transfer of the tourism product;

Tourist voucher- a document establishing the tourist’s right to services included in the tour and confirming the fact of their provision.

Note that travel agencies are, as a rule, small organizations with a limited staff. The success of such an organization depends on the ability of managers to respond in a timely manner to consumer requests and the market situation.

Large tour operators promote tourism products to regional markets. They should care about the quality of tours and service.

Decisions made in tourism organizations depend on the type of tourism activity (tour operator, travel agent, etc.)

Management decisions made in a tour operator organization:

• concluding agreements with regional representatives;
• material support of the organization,
• carrying out advertising campaigns and promotions;
• concluding contracts with individual clients;
• development of new areas of tourism activity;
• entering new markets;
• concluding agreements with foreign partners;
• creation of a reserve fund;
• creation of an electronic sales system and its improvement;
• creating conditions to ensure the safety of tourists, etc.

Management decisions made in a travel agency organization:

• concluding agreements with tour operators, owners of famous brands,
• preparation of a package of documents for tourists;
• material support for the company, decoration of premises and supply of office equipment;
• sending employees for training;
• creation of an organization website and promotion to the market;
• use of an electronic booking system;
• organizing an effective system of working with clients (by telephone and in person);
• solving unforeseen situations and problems.

A manager in the tourism business spends most of his time on communications and communicating with consumers, so special attention should be paid to creating an adequate corporate culture with a high management context.

Culture is a set of traditions, norms, values, meanings, ideas, sign systems characteristic of a social community.

Organizational culture, according to E. Schein’s definition, is a set of collective basic ideas acquired by a group when solving problems of adaptation to changes in the external environment and internal integration.

The constituent elements of organizational culture are:

• observed behavioral stereotypes in the interaction of people (language, customs, traditions);
• group norms (values, standards characteristic of work groups);
• proclaimed values ​​(publicly declared principles and values ​​to which the organization strives);
• formal philosophy (general and ideological principles that will determine the group’s actions in relation to shareholders, employees, clients, intermediaries);
• rules of the game (rules of behavior at work, restrictions that a newcomer needs to learn);
• climate (feelings determined by the physical composition of the group and the manner in which members interact);
• existing practical experience (methods and techniques that do not require written recording);
• way of thinking and mental models (systems that determine perception, thinking and language, transmitted to group members at the stage of socialization);
• accepted meanings (instant mutual understanding that arises during communication);
• basic metaphors (ideas, feelings and images developed by a group for self-determination, embodied in buildings, office structure and other material aspects, reflect the emotional and aesthetic reactions of group members).

Culture has properties universality, informality and sustainability. It covers all aspects of activity and is associated with traditions that have been repeated over the years.

Culture fulfills Features: adaptation, internal integration, coordination of personnel behavior, optimization of employee motivation and profiling of the organization's image.

Culture of tourism organizations characterized by a pronounced focus on consumer needs and includes:

1) A special culture of communication with clients (understanding, informativeness, decency)

2) Traditions and atmosphere of travel and recreation

3) Group norms for joint, conflict-free effective activity

4) Philosophy of satisfying comprehensive customer needs

5) Favorable socio-psychological climate

6) Proficient operational skills in working with office equipment and databases

7) Basic metaphors embodied in office decoration, room design, aimed at potential tourists (comfortable furniture; modern office equipment; souvenirs reminiscent of travel; booklets and magazines informing about vacation destinations, etc.)

8) Openness to the world and other cultures.

Social aspects of management decision making in the tourism industry can be characterized as follows.

1) High demands are placed on the competence of managers, the growth of their initiative and responsibility

2) The role of communications is increasing; feedback from consumers is necessary

3) Behavioral characteristics of managers and organizational culture are characterized by a focus on consumers

4) Democratic leadership style, non-conflict and joint problem solving prevails

5) HR methods are focused on continuous training and development of personnel

6) Achieving efficiency is possible subject to the creation of a special culture of the organization

So, the development of management decisions in tourism is initiative, creative work, an innovative approach to work, goodwill and action according to the situation.

3. Organization of the process of developing management decisions and monitoring the implementation of measures

3.1. Methods for developing management decisions

To make informed decisions, it is necessary to rely on the experience, knowledge and intuition of specialists. Collegial and group decisions have significant advantages over individual decisions. Therefore, in management, considerable attention is paid to issues of working in a group, team, as well as ways to develop joint solutions. In this case, managers and specialists involved in developing solutions can be considered as experts on the chosen problem. Methods of expert assessments involve organizing work with specialists, processing their opinions, expressed in quantitative and qualitative forms, in order to prepare information for decision-making.

Rice. 3. Example of a cause-and-effect tree for a tourism organization

Expert methods for developing management decisions- these are methods based on the analysis and averaging in various ways of opinions and judgments of specialist experts on the issues under consideration. Often accompanied by the creation of special working groups of specialists and an expert commission. Experts can be managers who are responsible for making important decisions and are quite competent specialists.

Expert assessment methods: Delphi, round table, brainstorming, scenario method, weighted average method, business game, Japanese ringi method.

Delphi- one of the methods of expert forecasting, based on a consistent assessment by specialists of any proposed alternatives. Can be applied in the process of group management decision making by selecting the best alternative. The results of expert assessments are entered into a table (See: table 5).

Let's consider how the Delphi method can be applied to make management decisions in a travel agency.

Let's say that a tourism organization has a problem of reducing its competitive status against the backdrop of the emergence of new competitors with significant advantages (well-known brand, low prices).

Goal: to develop an optimal management solution through a group session and the use of expert assessment techniques.

Stage 1. The problem is discussed in a group of specialists, a tree of cause-and-effect relationships (problem tree) is built (See: Fig. 3)

Stage 2. Using the brainstorming method, 5-8 alternatives are identified, which are ways to solve the problem under consideration.

Stage 3. Based on the Delphi table (See Table 2), the most significant alternatives are determined.

Weighted average method is effective for experts to evaluate a number of alternatives and options for loosely structured solutions.

A system of weighted criteria can be used to evaluate product suppliers. At the first stage, experts evaluate the selection criteria directly. Let's assume the price for tour packages, bonuses for supply volumes, etc. All criteria are “weighted” in relation to the main criterion (See: table 3). All possible solution options are evaluated using selected weighted criteria. Let's say there are four tour operator companies: A, B, C, D. In fact, there may be much more of them. At this stage, a comparative assessment of each company is made for each criterion (See: table 4).

At the last stage, the total weighing of the options is determined taking into account the different “weight” category of each criterion, i.e. the weight indicators of the selection criteria are multiplied by the weighted options for each row (See: Table 3). The total weighted assessment shows the most adequate assessment of firms supplying tourism products.

Modeling a management decision is the development of a solution option in an abstract form, suggesting the possibility of change, operating with a large number of variables, and analyzing scenarios and situations related to this solution. The main goal of modeling a management decision is to select the best option, taking into account the predictability of the situation. The advantage of modeling a management decision as a method is that a manager can use his full potential: intelligence, intuition, management skills, and the ability of rational foresight.

Functional-decompositional representation of the system in the form of an aggregate complements mathematical modeling methods. It is most convenient to use the general representation of the system in the form of a mathematical model, for example, in the form of service loops or a vector model (See: Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Representation of the system as an aggregate

The methods for developing management decisions discussed above make it possible to increase management efficiency, because in this case, a number of factors influencing the development of the organization are analyzed. Factors or conditions that may not be noticed by an individual leader if he makes a decision are analyzed comprehensively and systematically when using group and expert methods. Group forms of solution development are more effective and reliable compared to individual methods.

4.2. Efficiency, control and quality of management decisions

Efficiency of management decisions— this is 1) a set of indicators indicating the achievement of the organization’s goals and the achievement of certain results in its activities; 2) the main result of the activities of managers to transform the management system and processes occurring in the organization.

The effectiveness of management decisions is determined by three main groups of organizational performance indicators:

1) Economic efficiency indicators:

• profit;
• revenues from sales;
• profitability;
• cost price;
• profitability;
• liquidity;
• management costs.

• quality of products or services;
• labor productivity;
• the ratio of growth rates of labor productivity and wages;
• wage fund (payroll);
• average salary;
• loss of working time per 1 employee (person-days);
• quality of staff work (points or %).

• staff turnover (the ratio of the number of dismissed employees to the total number of personnel),
• level of labor discipline (the ratio of the number of cases of violation of labor and performance discipline to the total number of personnel),
• ratio of management personnel, workers and employees,
• uniformity of staff load,
• coefficient of labor participation (KTU) or contribution (KTV)
• socio-psychological climate in the team.

Quality of management decision- a set of properties that a management decision has that meet, to one degree or another, the needs of successfully resolving a problem (timeliness, targeting, specificity, and other properties) (See: Fig. 5.)

Management decisions must be reliable, timely, targeted, planned, and effective.

Control over the execution of management decisions is a set of procedures and techniques of management activities that are used to record and adjust the activities being carried out.

Methods of monitoring the execution of management decisions.

1) Recording the results of the activities carried out.

2) Analysis of reporting documentation.

3) Conversations and business meetings.

4) Adjustment of plans.

5) Analysis of performance indicators of departments, services, and the organization as a whole.

6) Motivation for participation in the development of solutions.

Rice. 5. Conditions and factors determining the quality of management decisions

Control is an important component of the process of developing management decisions; it affects labor productivity, quality of products (services) and the effectiveness of decisions.

Modern theory uses techniques and methods that make it possible to identify the causes of quality deterioration and discover cause-and-effect relationships between a number of factors.

Ishikawa Causal Diagram is an expert method that first appeared in Japan and is used to identify the causes of technological process failures when obvious violations are difficult to detect. Let's consider a cause-and-effect diagram using the example of a tourism organization (See: Fig. 6).

Tourism organizations often have to deal with hidden, not always obvious facts that worsen the quality of services.

For example, often in organizations, the manner of communication with consumers does not meet the high standards of international service. Possible: inattention or, on the contrary, excessive pressure on the client. There may be inflexibility in communication. In travel companies, the problems of insufficient awareness of clients, failure to fulfill the terms of contractual relations, safety of tourists, etc. are relevant.

In this scheme, it is necessary to detect cause-and-effect relationships between the main indicator (quality of services of a tourism organization), the main groups of influencing factors and the reasons for the decline in quality separately in each group. Thus, during consistent analysis, we can discover hidden reasons that negatively affect quality.

The weight of each indicator is calculated by expert means, i.e. it is determined how important this factor is for ensuring the quality of services of a tourism organization.

Management decisions made in tourism organizations can change the quality of services, improve, or, on the contrary, worsen it. An organization can become competitive, or, on the contrary, it can lose its advantages in the market. All this depends on the skills and ability of the manager to make timely, optimal decisions, as well as choose the best style of managing the work team.

Undoubtedly, the priorities of management decisions in the tourism business should be: quality, brand equity and long-term strategy.

Rice. 6. Example of an Ishikawa cause-and-effect diagram of a tourism organization

4.3. Parameters of the effectiveness of management decisions in tourism organizations

Efficiency of management decisions in tourism organizations is determined by a set of indicators indicating the achievement of goals and the growth of the organization’s competitiveness.

Let us highlight the main groups of indicators of a successful tourism organization.

1) Indicators of competitiveness of a tourism organization:

• market share;
• brand equity;
• the ability to use the best pricing strategy;
• quality of tourism product;
• wide selection of tourist products;
• high level service,
• the use of means of promoting tourism products, which can contribute to the growth of the company’s image, increase in sales volume, and profitability of the organization;
• the opportunity to use resources that can make tourism products even more attractive to the target audience.

2) Indicators of quality and productivity of work:

• personnel competence;
• personnel are focused on working in this field of activity;
• a set of moral and material motives for personnel activities as an advantage;
• wage fund (payroll);
• equipping workplaces with modern office equipment;
• continuous staff training;
• level of performance discipline;
• implementation of calendar plans and achievement of planned indicators.

3) Social efficiency indicators:

• reduction in staff turnover;
• favorable socio-psychological climate in the team;
• organizational culture is customer-oriented;
• high level of corporatism (commitment to tourism activities, common goals of employees and organization);
• competence in communicating with clients;
• maintaining a special travel and recreation environment;
• Skillful staff skills in working with data banks and using modern information systems.

So, the parameters of the effectiveness of management decisions in tourism organizations are the main result of the activities of managers. Managers develop timely, highly effective solutions and can provide consumers with high quality tourism products. A high-quality and safe tourism product is what the consumer wants to see.

Quality management system of a tourism organization- this is a set of interrelated elements, the main goal of which is to satisfy the needs of consumers, provide them with services and high-quality tourism products (See: Fig. 7.). Quality is understood as a measure of consumer satisfaction, as well as compliance with standards and regulatory and technical documents.

Rice. 7. Quality management system of a tourism organization

In order to protect the rights and interests of tourists, licensing, standardization of tour operator and travel agency activities, as well as objects of the tourism industry, and certification of the tourism product are carried out.

Factors that determine the quality of a tourism product depend on the type of product. Currently, the tourism industry market offers a wide variety of programs and products.

Main types of tourism products and tourism destinations:

• excursion and bus tours;
• river and sea cruises;
• extreme tourism;
• event tourism (festivals, public events, etc.);
• medical and health tourism;
• domestic tourism (holidays in Russia);
• sports tourism;
• children's and youth recreation programs;
• winter and summer beach recreation programs;
• business tourism;
• individual tourism;
• inbound tourism (reception and service of foreign tourists);
• education abroad.

Tour quality is a set of indicators that expresses the measure of customer satisfaction, compliance with standards and regulatory requirements.

The quality of a tour is determined by a number of indicators.

1) Ensuring the rights of tourists, their safety and fulfillment of contractual obligations.

In preparation for the trip, during its completion, including transit, the tourist has the right to:

• necessary and reliable information about the rules of entry into the country (place) of temporary stay and stay there, about the customs of the local population, about religious rituals, natural monuments, history, culture and other tourist attractions;
• freedom of movement, free access to tourist resources, taking into account the restrictive measures adopted in the country (place) of temporary stay;
• ensuring personal safety, your consumer rights and the safety of your property, unhindered receipt of emergency medical care;
• compensation for losses and compensation for moral damage in the event of failure to comply with the terms of the retail purchase and sale agreement for a tourist product (agreement) by a tour operator or travel agent in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• assistance from authorities (local governments) of the country (place) of temporary stay in obtaining legal and other types of emergency assistance;
• unhindered access to communications.

2) Quality of services included in the tour:

• the price of the tourist product and the procedure for its payment;
• procedure for meeting, seeing off and accompanying tourists;
• minimum number of tourists in a group;
• tourist insurance in case of sudden illness or accident;
• convenient location of the hotel (place) of rest;
• security in the hotel (place) of the tourist’s stay;
• cleanliness and comfort of the rooms;
• price per room;
• Additional services;
• restaurant service;
• quality of organization of excursions;
• organization of entertainment events;
• quality of services of health centers;
• availability of exercise machines and sports equipment;
• proximity (distance) from desired natural or artificially created objects (sea, nature reserves, swimming pools, amusement parks, etc.);
• attitude of the hotel staff;
• implementation of the schedule of excursions and events;
• quality of guide (translator) services;
• contingent of vacationers.

The quality of a tour is determined by a number of indicators that require careful analysis, market research and consumer requests. A tourism manager may face challenges and circumstances that are difficult to predict and overcome. Environmental disasters, tsunamis, floods, flight cancellations, thefts, attacks on tourists and other facts that travel agency employees may encounter. During the holiday period, a tourist expects to receive new pleasant impressions. He moves from one country to another, from his region to a place of residence that is completely different in natural and cultural characteristics. Accordingly, negative factors, poor quality of service, flight delays, etc. may prompt him to further use the services of another travel company. A tourism organization must fulfill all its obligations, anticipate the wishes of tourists and take care of the high quality of their service. The effectiveness of developing management decisions in tourism organizations is determined, first of all, by the full satisfaction of consumer demands.

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Introduction

Decision making, as well as information exchange, is an integral part of any management function. The need for decision-making arises at all stages of the management process, is associated with all areas and aspects of management activity and is its quintessence. This is why it is so important to understand the nature and essence of decisions.

Making a management decision is always associated with the existence of a pressing problem in a certain situation. Solving a problem is a process consisting of a sequence of successive actions. This process begins from the moment a problem situation is detected and ends with the implementation of the chosen solution (the best option of possible alternatives) and evaluation of the result of resolving the problem.

The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that the head of any organization is faced with the implementation of management decisions every day. And how correctly it is accepted will determine all future activities of the enterprise. Management decision making is influenced by factors that reflect the characteristics of the manager making the decision, the characteristics of the negative influence of the external environment, as well as the associated negative consequences, information limitations, the interdependence of decisions made and other factors.

The purpose of this course work is to study the essence of management decisions and the process of implementation at the enterprise.

The purpose of the course work led to the formulation of the following tasks:

- research of the theoretical aspect in order to substantiate the essence of the category “management decisions”;

Research of the main stages, models and methods of the management decision-making process;

Carrying out the technology of making management decisions using the example of a manager (anti-crisis manager) of a construction organization.

The object of the study is the Industrial Republican Unitary Enterprise "Goryn Construction Materials Plant" specializing in the production of bricks and ceramic stones.

The subject of the course work is theoretical and practical issues of organizing management decision-making and methods for analyzing the effectiveness of their implementation and control.

1. Concept, essence and classification of management decisions.

What is the solution? Let us first try to give the most general characteristics. Usually, in the process of any activity, situations arise when a person or group of people is faced with the need to choose one of several possible options for action. The result of this choice will be the decision. Thus, solution - it is a choice of alternative.

Each of us has to choose something dozens of times every day (not always, however, without thinking about it), developing our abilities and acquiring decision-making skills through our own experience. There are many examples: choosing clothes from an existing wardrobe, choosing dishes from a proposed menu, choosing the most convenient transport route, choosing a vacation spot, choosing a specialty when receiving a vocational education, choosing a type of bank deposit, etc. This list is easy to continue.

Any action of an individual or action of a group is preceded by a decision. Decisions are a universal form of behavior for both individuals and social groups. This universality is explained by the conscious and purposeful nature of human activity. However, despite the universality of decisions, their adoption in the process of managing an organization differs significantly from decisions made in private life (5, pp. 18-19).

What distinguishes management (organizational) decisions:

1. Goals. Subject of management (whether an individual or a group)
makes a decision not based on his own needs (although their influence plays a certain role), but in order to
solving problems of a specific organization.

2. Consequences. The private choice of an individual affects
his own life and can affect a few loved ones
him people. A manager, especially a high-ranking one, chooses
management of actions not only for oneself, but also for the organization in
overall and its employees, and its decisions can significantly affect the lives of many people. If the organization is large and
influential, the decisions of its leaders can seriously affect the socio-economic situation of entire regions.
For example, a decision to close an unprofitable company operation can significantly increase the unemployment rate.

3. Division of labor. If in private life a person, when making a decision, as a rule, carries it out himself, then in an organization there is a certain division of labor: some workers (managers) are busy solving emerging problems and making decisions, while others (performers) are busy implementing decisions already made.

4. Professionalism. In private life, each person makes his own decisions based on his intelligence and experience. In managing an organization, decision making is a much more complex, responsible and formalized process that requires professional training. Not every employee of the organization, but only those with certain professional knowledge and skills, is given the authority to independently make certain decisions (8, pp. 291-294).

Having considered these distinctive features of decision-making in organizations, we can give the following definition of a management decision.

Management decision

In the process of managing organizations, a huge number of very diverse decisions are made that have different characteristics. However, there are some common features that allow this set to be classified in a certain way. This classification is presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1. Classification of management decisions

Let's look at it in more detail.

- The degree of recurrence of the problem. Depending on the recurrence of the problem that requires a solution, all management decisions can be divided into traditional, repeatedly encountered previously in management practice, when it is only necessary to make a choice from existing alternatives, and atypical, non-standard solutions, when their search is associated primarily with the generation new alternatives.

- The significance of the goal. Making a decision can be daunting
own, independent goal or to be a means,
contribute to the achievement of a higher order goal. IN
according to this, decisions can be strategic or
tactical.

- Sphere of influence. The outcome of the decision may affect
at any one or more divisions of the organization. In this case, the solution can be considered local. The decision, however, can also be made with the aim of influencing the work of the organization as a whole, in which case it will be global.

- Duration of implementation. Implementation of the solution may take several hours, days or months. If a relatively short period of time passes between the adoption of a decision and the completion of its implementation, the decision is short-term. At the same time, the number and importance of long-term, promising decisions, the results of implementation
which can be removed for several years.

- Predicted consequences. Most management decisions in the process of their implementation can be adjusted in one way or another in order to eliminate any deviations or take into account new factors, i.e. they are adjustable. At the same time, there are also decisions whose consequences are irreversible.

- Nature of information used. Depending on the
the degree of completeness and reliability of the information available to the manager, management decisions can be deterministic (adopted under conditions of certainty) or probabilistic (adopted under conditions of risk or uncertainty). These conditions play an extremely important role in decision making, so let's look at them in more detail.

Deterministic solutions are accepted under conditions of certainty, when the manager has almost complete and reliable information regarding the problem being solved, which allows him to know exactly the result of each of the alternative choices. There is only one such result, and the probability of its occurrence is close to one.

Probabilistic decisions made under conditions of risk or uncertainty are called.

To the decisions made in conditions of risk, include those whose results are not certain, but the probability of each result is known. Probability is defined as the degree of possibility of a given event occurring and varies from 0 to 1. The sum of the probabilities of all alternatives must be equal to one. The probability can be determined using mathematical methods based on statistical analysis of experimental data. For example, life insurance companies, based on the analysis of demographic data, can predict mortality rates in certain age categories with a high degree of accuracy and, on this basis, determine insurance rates and the volume of insurance premiums that allow them to pay insurance premiums and make a profit. This probability, calculated on the basis of information that allows making a statistically reliable forecast, is called objective.

In some cases, however, the organization does not have sufficient information to objectively assess the likelihood of possible events. In such situations, managers are helped by experience that tells them What this is what is most likely to happen. In these cases, the probability estimate is subjective.

An example of a decision made under risk conditions is the decision of a transport company to insure its fleet of cars.

The manager does not know exactly whether there will be accidents and how many and what damage they will cause, but from the statistics of transport accidents he knows that one out of ten cars gets into an accident once a year and the average damage is $1000 (the figures are arbitrary). If an organization has 100 cars, then in a year there are likely to be 10 accidents with a total loss of $10,000. In reality, there may be fewer accidents, but more damage, or vice versa. Based on this, a decision is made on the advisability of vehicle insurance and the amount of the insured amount.

In a market economy, a manager must take into account the level of risk as the most important factor in decision-making.

The decision is made in conditions of uncertainty, when, due to a lack of information, it is impossible to quantify the likelihood of its possible results. This is quite common when solving new, atypical problems, when the factors requiring consideration are so new or complex that it is impossible to obtain enough information about them. Uncertainty is also characteristic of some decisions that have to be made in rapidly changing situations. As a result, the probability of a certain alternative cannot be assessed with a sufficient degree of reliability.

When faced with uncertainty, a manager can use two main options:

1) try to get additional information and
re-analyze the problem in order to reduce its novelty and complexity. Combined with experience and intuition, this will enable him to evaluate the subjective, perceived probability of possible outcomes;

2) when there is not enough time and/or funds to collect additional information, one has to rely on past experience and intuition when making decisions.

Some decisions, usually typical and repetitive, can be successfully formalized, that is, made according to a predetermined algorithm. In other words, formalized solution - it is the result of performing a predetermined sequence of actions. For example, when drawing up a schedule for equipment repair maintenance, the boss

a workshop may be based on a standard requiring a certain ratio between the amount of equipment and operating personnel. If there are 50 units of equipment in a workshop, and the maintenance standard is 10 units per repair worker, then the workshop must have five repair workers. Similarly, when a financial manager decides to invest available funds in government securities, he chooses between different types of bonds depending on which of them provides the highest return on investment at a given time. The choice is made on the basis of a simple calculation of the final profitability for each option and determining the most profitable one.

Formalization of decision-making increases management efficiency by reducing the likelihood of error and saving time: there is no need to re-develop a solution every time a corresponding situation arises. Therefore, the management of organizations often formalizes solutions for certain, regularly recurring situations, developing appropriate rules, instructions and standards.

At the same time, in the process of managing organizations, new, atypical situations and non-standard problems are often encountered that cannot be resolved formally. In such cases, intellectual abilities, talent and personal initiative of managers play a big role.

Of course, in practice, most decisions occupy an intermediate position between these two extreme points, allowing both the manifestation of personal initiative and the use of a formal procedure in the process of their development. The specific methods used in the decision-making process are discussed below.

If the choice of the best alternative is made according to only one criterion (which is typical for formalized decisions), then the decision made will be simple, single-criteria. Conversely, when the chosen alternative must satisfy several criteria simultaneously, the decision will be complex and multi-criteria. In management practice, the vast majority of decisions are multi-criteria, since they must simultaneously meet such criteria as: profit volume, profitability, quality level, market share, employment level, implementation period, etc.

The person making the choice from the available alternatives for the final decision can be one person and his decision will be accordingly sole. However, in modern management practice, complex situations and problems are increasingly encountered, the solution of which requires a comprehensive, integrated analysis, i.e., the participation of a group of managers and specialists. Such group, or collective, decisions are called collegial. Increased professionalization and deepening specialization of management lead to the widespread spread of collegial forms of decision-making. It is also necessary to keep in mind that certain decisions are legally classified as collegial. For example, certain decisions in a joint stock company (on the payment of dividends, distribution of profits and losses, major transactions, election of governing bodies, reorganization, etc.) fall within the exclusive competence of the general meeting of shareholders. The collegial form of decision-making, of course, reduces the efficiency of management and “erodes” responsibility for its results, but it prevents gross errors and abuses and increases the validity of the choice.

On this basis, management decisions can be divided into fixed, or documented (i.e., drawn up in the form of some kind of document - an order, instruction, letter, etc.), and undocumented (not having a documentary form, oral). Most decisions in the management apparatus are documented, but small, insignificant decisions, as well as decisions made in emergency, acute, and urgent situations, may not be documented (11, pp. 118-132).

2. Technology and techniques for making management decisions. Methods of making management decisions.

Structure and content of the decision-making process. For a manager, decision making is not an end in itself. The main thing that a manager should be concerned about is not the choice of alternative itself, but the resolution of a specific management problem. This very often requires not a single decision, but a certain sequence of decisions and, most importantly, their implementation. Therefore, a decision is not a one-time act, but the result of a process that develops over time and has a certain structure. Based on this, we can give the following definition of this process. Decision making process - this is a cyclic sequence of actions of a management subject aimed at resolving the problems of the organization and consisting in analyzing the situation, generating alternatives, making a decision and organizing its implementation (1, pp. 178-181).

Let's consider the stages of the management decision-making process.

- Analysis of the situation. For the need to make a management decision to arise, a signal is needed about an external or internal influence that has caused or is capable of causing a deviation from the given mode of operation of the system, i.e. the presence of a management situation. Therefore, one of the most important conditions for making the right decision is analyzing the situation.

Analysis of a management situation requires the collection and processing of information. This stage performs the function of the organization’s perception of the external and internal environment. Data on the state of the main environmental factors and the state of affairs in the organization are received by managers and specialists who classify, analyze information and compare the actual values ​​of controlled parameters with planned or predicted ones, which in turn allows them to identify problems that should be solved.

- Problem identification. The first step towards solving a problem is its definition, or diagnosis, complete and correct. As they say, correctly formulating a problem means half solving it.

There are two views on the essence of the problem. According to one, a problem is considered to be a situation when the set goals are not achieved or there is a deviation from a given level, for example, a foreman may establish that labor productivity or the quality of products on his site is below normal. According to another, the problem should also be considered as a potential opportunity to improve efficiency. Combining both of these approaches, we will understand by the problem is the discrepancy between the desired and actual states managed object.

Identifying and formulating a problem is a very complex procedure. The fact is that at the time of their occurrence, many of the most important problems are poorly structured, that is, they do not contain obvious goals, alternative ways to achieve them, or ideas about the costs and effects associated with each option. Bringing these problems to quantitative clarity (structuring) requires managers not only to have knowledge and experience, but also talent, intuition, and a creative approach.

In medical terminology, the first step in diagnosing a complex problem is identifying the symptoms. Common symptoms of an organization's illness are: low - profit, sales volume, labor productivity, quality of goods and services; high costs, staff turnover, numerous conflicts. Identifying symptoms helps to identify the problem in general terms, but just as different diseases often have common symptoms (headaches can be caused by ordinary fatigue and hypertension), different causes can cause similar organizational problems (poor quality of a product can be a consequence of worn-out equipment , and insufficient qualifications of workers). Therefore, managers should probe more deeply into the causes of the problem and not rush to eliminate only its symptoms.

We must also not forget that all elements and work in an organization are interconnected and solving a problem in one part of the organization can cause problems in others. Therefore, when defining the problem to be solved, one should strive to ensure that the number of newly arising problems is minimal.

ABOUT defining selection criteria. Before considering possible options for solving a problem, the manager needs to determine indicators by which alternatives will be compared and the best will be selected. These indicators are usually called selection criteria. For example, when deciding to purchase new equipment, you can focus on the criteria of price, performance, operating costs, ergonomics, etc., and if you decide to hire a new employee, the selection criteria among candidates may be education, work experience, age , personal qualities.

- Development of alternatives. The next stage is to develop a set of alternative solutions to the problem. Ideally, it is desirable to identify all possible alternative ways to solve a problem; only in this case the solution can be optimal. However, in practice, the manager does not (and cannot have) such reserves of knowledge and time to formulate and evaluate every possible alternative. Managers are well aware that finding the optimal solution is very difficult, time-consuming and expensive, so they are not looking for the optimal one, but for a good enough, acceptable option to solve the problem. The selection criteria defined at the previous stage help to cut off previously unsuitable alternatives.

Along with the situation when options for solving a problem are known in advance or are discovered without much difficulty, situations often arise in which the problem being solved has not been encountered before, that is, possible alternatives are unknown and must first be formulated. In such cases, collective discussion of the problem and generation of alternatives are very useful.

- Selecting an alternative. Having developed possible solutions to the problem, they need to be evaluated, i.e., compare the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative, and objectively analyze the likely results of their implementation. To compare solution options, it is necessary to have standards or criteria by which they can be compared.

It should be noted that since the choice is made, as a rule, on the basis of several rather than one criterion, it is always in the nature of a compromise. In addition, when assessing possible solution options, the manager actually deals with predictive estimates of the values ​​being compared, and they are always probabilistic. Therefore, it is very important to take into account the risk factor, i.e., determine the likelihood of each alternative being realized. Taking into account the risk factor leads to a revision of the very concept of the best solution: it is not the option that maximizes or minimizes some indicator, but the one that ensures its achievement with the highest degree of probability.

- Agreement on the solution. In modern management systems, as a result of the division of labor, a situation has arisen in which some employees of the organization prepare and develop decisions, others accept or approve them, and others implement them. In other words, the manager often approves and bears responsibility for a decision that he did not develop; the specialists who prepared and analyzed the decision do not participate in its implementation, and the implementers do not take part in the preparation and discussion of the decisions being prepared. Management decision-making in an organization is often mistakenly viewed as an individual rather than a group process. Meanwhile, although the main stages of PPR by organizations and individuals coincide, the formation of decisions in an organization is significantly different from individual decision-making. It is the organization, and not the individual leader, that must respond to emerging problems. And not just one leader, but all members of the organization should strive to improve the efficiency of its work. Of course, managers choose the course for the organization, but for the decision to be implemented, the joint actions of all members of the organization are necessary. Therefore, in group decision-making processes, the coordination stage plays a very significant role.

Ideally, performers act in accordance with the decisions of managers, but practice is far from ideal and this does not always happen. Acceptance of a solution is rarely automatic, even if it is clearly a good one. Therefore, the manager must convince of the correctness of his point of view, prove to employees that his decision brings benefits to both the organization and its individual members. Practice shows that the likelihood of quick and effective implementation increases significantly when performers have the opportunity to express their opinion on the decision being made, make suggestions, comments, etc. Then the decision made is perceived as their own, and not imposed “from above.” Therefore, the best way to agree on a decision is to involve employees in the process of making it. Of course, this method should not be absolute: there are situations when this is impossible or irrational and the manager is forced to make a decision alone, without resorting to discussions and approvals, but we must remember that systematically ignoring the opinions of subordinates leads to an authoritarian leadership style.

- Implementation management. The process of solving a problem does not end with the choice of an alternative: to obtain a real effect, the decision made must be implemented. This is precisely the main task of this stage.

To successfully implement a solution, it is first necessary to determine a set of works and resources and distribute them according to performers and deadlines, i.e., to provide for who, where, when and what actions should be taken and what resources are needed for this. For fairly large decisions, this may require the development of a program to implement the solution. During the implementation of this plan, the manager must monitor how the decision is being implemented, provide assistance if necessary, and make certain adjustments.

- Monitoring and evaluation of results. Even after the decision is finally put into effect, the decision-making process cannot be considered completely completed, since it is still necessary to verify whether it is justified. This goal is served by the control stage, which performs a feedback function in this process. At this stage, the consequences of a decision are measured and assessed, or the actual results are compared with those that the manager hoped to obtain.

We should not forget that the solution is always temporary. The period of its effective action can be considered equal to the period of relative constancy of the problem situation. Beyond its limits, the solution may cease to have an effect and even turn into its opposite - not contribute to solving the problem, but aggravate it. In this regard, the main task of control is to timely identify the decreasing effectiveness of a decision and the need to adjust it or make a new decision. In addition, the implementation of this stage is a source of accumulation and systematization of experience in decision making.

The problem of monitoring management decisions is very relevant, especially for large bureaucratic organizations.

You can make many reasonable and useful decisions, but without a rationally organized system for monitoring execution, they will remain in the “depths of office work” and will not give the expected effect (8, pp. 156-167).

In the process of solving complex problems, in order to strengthen the ability of managers to make informed and objective decisions, various scientific methods of their development and optimization can be used, which are usually divided into two main classes: modeling methods and expert assessment methods.

- Modeling methods(also called operations research methods) are based on the use of mathematical models to solve the most common management problems.

Development and optimization of a solution to a specific problem using modeling methods is a rather complex procedure that can be represented by a sequence of main stages:

Formulation of the problem;

Determination of the criterion for the effectiveness of the analyzed operation;

Quantitative measurement of factors influencing the operation under study;

Construction of a mathematical model of the object under study (operation);

Quantitative solution of the model and finding the optimal solution;

Checking the adequacy of the model and the solution found for the analyzed situation;

Correction and updating of the model.

The number of different specific models is almost as large as the number of problems they are designed to solve. Their detailed consideration is beyond the scope of this textbook and is the subject of a special academic discipline, so we will name only the most common types of models.

- Game theory models. Most business transactions can be considered as actions performed under conditions of opposition. Counteractions should include, for example, factors such as an accident, fire, theft, strike, violation of contractual obligations, etc. However, the most widespread case of counteraction is competition. Therefore, one of the most important conditions on which the success of an organization depends is competitiveness. Obviously, the ability to predict the actions of competitors is a significant advantage for any commercial organization. When making a decision, you should choose an alternative that allows you to reduce the degree of opposition, which in turn will reduce the degree of risk. This opportunity is provided to the manager by game theory, the mathematical models of which encourage him to analyze possible alternatives to his actions, taking into account possible retaliatory actions of competitors.

Game theory models, originally developed for military-strategic purposes, are also used in business to predict the reaction of competitors to decisions made, for example, to price changes, the release of new types of goods and services, entry into new market segments, etc.

Thus, when deciding to change the price level for their goods, the company's management must predict the reaction and possible retaliatory actions of its main competitors. And if, using a game theory model, it is established that, for example, competitors will not do the same if the price increases, the organization, in order not to fall into a disadvantageous position, must abandon this alternative and look for another solution to the problem.

It should be noted, however, that these models are used quite rarely, since they are too simplified in comparison with real economic situations, which are so changeable that the resulting forecasts are not very reliable.

- Queuing theory models or optimal service are used to find the optimal number of service channels at a certain level of demand for them. Situations in which such models may be useful include, for example, determining the number of telephone lines needed to answer customer calls; trolleybuses on the route, necessary to avoid large queues at stops; bank tellers so that clients don’t have to wait until they can attend to them, etc. The problem here is that additional service channels (more telephone lines, trolleybuses or bank employees) require additional resources, and their load is uneven (excessive capacity ability in some periods of time and the appearance of queues in others). Therefore, it is necessary to find a solution that balances the additional costs of expanding service channels and the losses from their lack. Queuing theory models serve as a tool for finding such an optimal solution.

- Inventory management models. Any organization must maintain a certain level of inventory of its resources in order to avoid downtime or interruptions in technological processes and the sale of goods or services. A manufacturing company requires certain reserves of materials, components, finished products; for a bank - cash; for a hospital - medicines, tools, etc. Maintaining a high level of inventories increases the reliability of the organization and eliminates losses associated with their shortage. On the other hand, creating inventories requires additional costs for storage, warehousing, transportation, insurance, etc. In addition, excess inventories tie up working capital and prevent the profitable investment of capital, for example, in securities or bank deposits.

Inventory management models make it possible to find the optimal solution, i.e., a level of inventory that minimizes the costs of its creation and maintenance at a given level of continuity of production processes.

- Linear programming models used to find the optimal solution in a situation of distribution of scarce resources in the presence of competing needs. For example, using a linear programming model, a production manager can determine the optimal production program, i.e., calculate how many products of each type should be produced to obtain the greatest profit with known volumes of materials and parts, equipment operating time, and the profitability of each type of product.

Most of the optimization models developed for practical use come down to linear programming problems. However, taking into account the nature of the analyzed operations and the existing forms of dependence of factors, models of other types can also be used: for nonlinear forms of dependence of the result of the operation on the main factors - nonlinear programming models; if necessary, include the time factor in the analysis - dynamic programming models; with the probabilistic influence of factors on the result of the operation - models of mathematical statistics (correlation and regression analysis).

- Methods of expert assessments. When developing and justifying many decisions that are completely or partially not amenable to quantitative analysis, expert assessment methods bring a significant effect.

The essence of expert decision-making methods is to obtain answers from specialists to the questions posed to them. Information received from experts, in order to minimize errors and the influence of the subjective factor, is processed using special logical and mathematical procedures and converted into a form convenient for choosing a solution.

To prepare and conduct the examination, an organizational group is formed to provide conditions for the effective work of experts. The main tasks of this group:

Statement of the problem, determination of the purpose and objectives of the examination;

Development of an examination procedure;

Selection, competency testing and formation of a group of experts;

Conducting a survey of experts and obtaining their assessments;

Processing, formalization and interpretation of received information.

Among the methods of expert assessments, group survey methods are widely used and used in practice: the commission method, the brainstorming method, various modifications of the Delphi method. The great importance of these methods is that they enhance the element of collegiality in the process of making complex decisions and, using intuition and collective generation of ideas, make it possible to find new, original solutions to problems that cannot be reached using logical reasoning alone (9, p. 58 -64).

3. Financial and economic characteristics of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM”

The production republican unitary enterprise "Gorynsky Construction Materials Plant" (hereinafter PRUP "Gorynsky KSM") specializes in the production of ceramic bricks, was put into operation in 1970 and was originally called the "Ceramic Drainage Pipes Plant".

In 1993, the reconstruction of the plant was completed using brick-making equipment SMK-350. The design of a plant for the production of ceramic materials at the Gorynsky KSM PRUE was carried out by Orgtekhstrom. The project is based on a complex of highly mechanized equipment SMK-350, reproduced in cooperation with the Unimorando company (Italy). The design capacity of the production line is 60 million units. standard brick per year.

As can be seen from Fig. 3.1., the enterprise has a two-level organizational structure. The enterprise is headed by a manager who was appointed to the position by the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus; the executive director is subordinate to him, to whom all employees of the enterprise are in turn subordinate.

The main activity of the plant is the production of bricks and ceramic stones. The company produces the following products:

- ceramic effective thickened facing and ordinary bricks;

- ceramic effective facial and ordinary stones;

- solid single ceramic brick;

- burnt ground brick;

- ceramic stones with horizontal voids.

Figure 3.1. Organizational management structure of PRUE "Gorynsky KSM"

Data on the main economic indicators of the activities of PRUE "Gorynsky KSM" in the period 2003 - 2005 are presented in table 3.1.

Table 3.1. - Analysis of the dynamics of the main economic indicators of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM” in dynamics for 2003-2005.

Based on the data in Table 3.1. we can draw the following conclusion: when comparing the enterprise's performance indicators for 2005 with the same period in 2003, it was established that the enterprise in 2005 received revenue in the amount of 2082 million rubles, which exceeds the revenue for 2003 by 4 times. This positive trend is observed with a slight increase in prices for the plant’s products (by an average of 15.9%), which indicates the presence of demand for the company’s products and increased efforts to sell them.

The cost of products sold in 2005 amounted to 3683 million rubles, which exceeded the level of 2003 by 2557 million rubles, 2004 by 1615 million rubles... As can be seen from the table, the increase in cost exceeds the level of growth in sales revenue, which at the current level product prices indicate the impossibility of covering production costs, the established sales volume and the need to increase product output, including new types of products.

Based on the results of activities for 2005, the company received a loss from sales in the amount of 1601 million rubles, which exceeds the level of 2003 and 2004 by 1012 and 623 million rubles. respectively. The plant's loss was incurred due to a steady increase in the cost per unit of production, and is not justified by low product prices (state price regulation). One of the ways out of this situation is to increase production volume, which the plant cannot yet do for a number of reasons.

We will consider the enterprise's provision of labor resources and the efficiency of their use in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2. - Availability analysis and efficiency of use

labor resources PRUE "Gorynsky KSM" for 2003-2005.

Having analyzed the above table, we can conclude that the average number of employees of the plant in 2005 was 271 people, which exceeds the level of this indicator in 2003 by 61 people. and for 22 people 2004 level. This increase was due to the commissioning of a clay dehydration workshop, which resulted in the attraction of workers.

The average annual output per employee in 2005 was 6361.6 thousand rubles, which is 3736.7 thousand rubles higher than the same figure for 2003.

The indicator of labor intensity of products in 2005 was 0.28 thousand man-hours, which is 0.08 thousand man-hours lower than the level of this indicator in 2004, which in turn indicates an increase in labor productivity.

One of the main reasons that led to the economic decline of the enterprise and its insolvency is the lack of highly qualified personnel, namely brick-making specialists.

During 2001-2005. Along with restoring the number of employees, special attention was paid to the issues of training, retraining of personnel, and improving their professional level.

An analysis of the dynamics and structure of fixed assets of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM” is presented using Table 3.3.

Based on table 3.3. we can say that in 2005 the enterprise had a huge value of fixed assets, over 82 billion rubles. Moreover, the largest share in the structure of fixed assets is occupied by buildings and structures (52.2%), followed by machinery and equipment (42.5%).

Having examined this table in terms of dynamics, we see that the cost of fixed assets in 2005 amounted to 82,513 million rubles, which is 14,941 million rubles higher than the level of 2003... This phenomenon occurred due to an increase in the cost of machinery and equipment in 2005 compared to 2003 for 7763 million rubles. (commissioning of a new kiln whose fuel is natural gas) and the cost of buildings and structures by 6276 million rubles... If we consider changes in the value of fixed assets in 2005 compared to 2004, we can conclude that the changes are not significant. Thus, there was a decrease in the cost of fixed assets by 120 million rubles, due to a decrease in the cost of machinery and equipment by 131 million rubles and an increase in the item other types by 11 million rubles.

We will analyze the state of the plant’s production assets using Table 3.4

Table 3.4. - Analysis of the state of production assets of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM” in dynamics for 2003-2005.

From Table 3.4 we see that the company has fixed assets, the book value of which as of January 1, 2006 is 82.5 billion rubles.

The condition of fixed assets is characterized by a high degree of accumulated depreciation (wear and tear) - 56.4% in 2005, 54% in 2004 and 52% in 2003. The renewal coefficient in 2003 was 0.27, in 2004 – 0.22, in 2005 – 0.001, which is less than the level of this indicator in 2003 and 2004 by 0.269 and 0.219, respectively. This indicates that despite the crisis financial situation and the lack of its own working capital, the company is working on technical re-equipment. For 2003-2005 1,491.6 million rubles were spent for the reconstruction and modernization of production, including 558.7 million rubles of own working capital.

The main production costs of the main type of product are presented in the following table.

Table 3.5. - Analysis of the dynamics and structure of production costs of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM” in dynamics for 2003-2005.

Based on the data in Table 3.5. Schematically, the structure of production costs will look as follows.

Rice. 3.2. The structure of production costs for PRUE "Gorynsky KSM" in dynamics for 2003-2005.

This table shows that the largest share in the cost structure is occupied by material costs (37.1% in 2003, 42.1% in 2004 and 45.75% in 2005). The increase in this indicator is due to an increase in the level of prices for fuel and electricity, which occupy a significant share in the structure of material costs. Labor costs accounted for 23.6% in the cost structure in 2003, 25.1% in 2004 and 24.76% in 2005. The increase in this indicator is associated with an increase in the number of workers at the plant, as well as the average monthly salary.

Let's look at another auxiliary table that will characterize the financial aspects of the work of this plant over the years 2003-2005.

Table 3.6. Assessment of the financial position of PRUE "Gorynsky KSM" in dynamics for 2003-2005.

The current liquidity ratio characterizes the organization's provision of working capital to carry out its activities and timely payment of urgent obligations. As the data in Table 1.4.7 shows, this coefficient remains unchanged during 2003 and 2004 and amounts to 0.3, and in 2005 this coefficient decreased by 0.1 and amounted to 0.2, which is less than the standard value established for industry building materials. This coefficient value confirms that, despite the fact that the enterprise is operating, it has insufficient supply of its own working capital and is not able to repay urgent obligations in a timely manner.

The absolute liquidity ratio in 2005 was 0.003, which is less than the standard value of 0.2. This, in turn, negatively affects the solvency of the enterprise.

The coefficient of provision with own working capital shows what share of all working capital the enterprise covers at the expense of its own working capital. This coefficient for the analyzed periods has a negative value and is below the standard (0.15). This indicator characterizes the insufficient availability of the enterprise's own working capital necessary for financial stability.

Thus, the analysis of the financial condition and solvency of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM” established that, despite the unsatisfactory financial condition, the enterprise has positive trends towards reducing insolvency by increasing the volume of output and sales of products, reducing actual production costs with further, phased exit for effective financial and economic activities.

4. Technology for making management decisions using the example of the head of PRUE “Gorynsky KSM”

Let’s resolve the situation using the example of the head of the construction organization PRUE “Gorynsky Construction Materials Plant”.

When the control and audit service checked the activities of this enterprise, a violation was revealed in terms of maintaining two official vehicles at once, which, in turn, contradicts the current legislation.

To get out of this situation, the leader will make a decision based on judgment - that is, he will weigh all the negative and positive aspects and choose the best alternative (option).

The main stages in resolving this situation were the following:

1. problem analysis. The manager in this case identified the essence of the problem. In this case, the manager saw the essence of the problem in the fact that maintaining a second company car is prohibited by law and the costs of its maintenance (depreciation, gasoline, spare parts, etc.) significantly worsen the financial condition of the enterprise, because the amount of costs falls directly on non-operating expenses, which reduces the profit of the enterprise by the amount of costs.

The analysis of the problem, in turn, determined the essence of the decision. In this case, the goal is to get out of this situation in a way that does not contradict the law and does not cause damage to the enterprise in the form of a fine. The manager in this case does not see any restrictions for making this decision.

2. Identification and evaluation of alternatives, selection of solutions.

Since the manager has little time to formulate all possible alternatives, he limited himself to only two:

1) transfer the second technological machine to the working category, thereby leaving only one, which will not contradict the current legislation.

2) keep two cars, but charge the costs of maintaining the second one to your wages (i.e., deduct from your wages).

The evaluation of the first alternative assumes that if only one technological machine is left, then the lead transportation engineer will have to travel to work by bus.

And since he lives in another area, 30 km from this enterprise, and there are no morning buses every day, the employee cannot come to work on time (but only by 10 o’clock), much less will he come to the morning planning meetings where decisions are made the main problems and tasks set for today. Inconvenience of commuting to work may be a reason to look for work in your local area. And the company cannot lose such an experienced employee, because... he had a hard time convincing him to work here in a construction company. This person maintains discipline. His subordinates respect him and carry out all his production orders. He is a very competent and intelligent specialist. His loss for the enterprise will be a great loss, which cannot be allowed.

The second alternative involves taking on large expenses for maintaining a second car, thereby depriving yourself of a shortfall in wages. This, in turn, will worsen the financial condition of the manager. But, on the other hand, it will provide an opportunity to retain and retain such a competent specialist at your enterprise.

3) Choosing a rational solution. Since this head of the organization, when choosing the right decision, is guided by a focus on business, as well as on personal relationships with this specialist, he accepted the second option, sacrificing his salary for the sake of production. At the same time, he created an order for the enterprise, in which he stipulated his decision, i.e. in this case, the manager found a way out of the current situation on his own, without the use of anyone’s help (see Appendix No. 1).

Let's consider another, more complex example of making a management decision.

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On state forecasting and programs for socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus”, all enterprises of any form of ownership annually develop business plans for an investment project for the modernization and reconstruction of existing production. Thus, PRUE “Gorynsky Construction Materials Plant” was faced with the current situation.

In this case, the organizational decision will be programmed type. This is evidenced by the fact that a sequence of actions occurs to achieve a certain result. In this case, the number of possible options is limited (here the main indicators for drawing up this business plan are the volume of production with the available production capacity and the amount of purchased and modernized equipment). It is these indicators that will be decisive for drawing up an investment development plan. Here a mathematical task will be undertaken that will give the answer: at what volume of production the greatest profit will be obtained for further reconstruction and modernization of the main production. This programmed solution contains already programmed procedures for applying certain actions to resolve the problem that have taken place in the practice of the organization and the manager making the decision. For the task at hand, standard methods and appropriate procedures for their resolution will be applied. In this particular case, the plant manager will not have to spend much effort and time on the methodology for making management decisions.

The manager, according to the old scheme, issues an order for the enterprise to create a Working Group to develop a business plan for 2006, for 2006-2010, which will include all the necessary specialists. Thus, this decision is correct, since in previous years the same scheme of action gave a positive result (see Appendix No. 2).

However, on January 13, 2006, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus “On debt restructuring and some measures for the financial rehabilitation of unprofitable state organizations” was issued. This list of unprofitable organizations of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of the Republic of Belarus also includes PRUE “Gorynsky KSM”.

The implementation of this decree assumes a complete deferment of accounts payable accumulated as of January 1, 2006 for 5 years (this debt at the plant as of January 1, 2006 amounted to 4,522 million rubles). The decree makes it possible to subsequently write off existing accounts payable after 3 years - by 50%, after 5 years - by 100%, if the following payments are repaid monthly within 5 years:

1. gas and electricity;

2. Salaries and payroll taxes;

3. To the Social Protection Fund in the form of 35% of the salary;

4. bank loans and interest on their use;

5. representative office of Belgosstrakh;

6. current tax payments.

Thus, the implementation of this Decree should significantly affect the financial condition of the enterprise, since by the end of the five-year period, with monthly full payment of the above current payments, the entire amount of accounts payable will be written off to the enterprise.

In this case, the manager will be faced with a non-programmed solution - that is, the method of solving this problem is new, never before encountered in practice.

In order to solve the problem, the manager will need to spend much more time and knowledge to make the right management decision.

First, it is necessary to collect all available information about this Presidential Decree. study it carefully and understand all its intricacies.

Secondly, convey to every interested party that the company is given such a chance and cannot miss it.

Thirdly, familiarize each employee with the innovation and discuss it at a meeting.

In this example, the main elements of the management decision-making process were the following:

Diagnosis of the problem and setting goals for the decision;

Formulating restrictions and criteria for evaluating the choice of alternative when making a decision;

Identification of alternative options for a possible solution, their evaluation;

Choosing a rational solution.

Diagnosis of the problem involves determining the essence of the problem. Entry into this Decree entails the search and use of new opportunities. Determining the essence of the problem that arose allowed us to formulate a specific goal for making a decision - to enter into this Presidential Decree at all costs and after 5 years to improve our difficult financial condition in the form of repaying existing accounts payable.

Formulation of restrictions and criteria. To implement this problem, possible solutions may not be realistic. For example, an enterprise can only pay the following current payments monthly: wages and taxes on wages in the amount of 1%. 4% and income tax; gas and electricity; loans. And due to a lack of funds, tax obligations and 35% of the tax to the Federal Social Security Fund remain unpaid. This monthly amount is approximately 120-130 million rubles. Thus, the main limitations in this case are not full utilization of production capacity, high defects in manufactured products and large stocks of illiquid goods in the enterprise’s warehouses. Therefore, the main criterion in this case will be a monthly increase in revenue at the enterprise by 120-130 million rubles. in all the ways that need to be found.

Identifying Alternatives. For this purpose, the manager conducts an in-depth analysis of the current situation, and also considers in the future all the consequences if nothing is done. The managers identified a number of alternatives, namely:

1. collection of receivables in full, shipment of products to be carried out only on prepayment terms, sale of illiquid inventories of inventory at negotiated prices, increase in the volume of services provided to the population, write-off of equipment and components that have become unusable with the posting of scrap and returnable components and parts with their subsequent sale, reduction of defective products. In her opinion, this will give an additional influx of money in the amount of 120-130 million rubles. monthly;

2. increasing the volume of production, producing new types of products that meet demand requirements, introducing new technologies to reduce the energy and material intensity of the production process (this will make it possible to reduce the consumption of electricity and gas for production and will lead to a reduction in payments for consumed electricity and gas).

An assessment of two alternatives shows that to implement the first alternative, the enterprise needs very little time (post additional advertisements for the sale of products and the provision of additional services to the population), collection of receivables can be carried out with the help of the court or the tax authorities in terms of freezing the current account, handing over existing scrap metal can also be implemented in the near future, etc. That is, the implementation of the first alternative requires a small amount of time and additional funds and costs.

The second alternative can only be implemented in the long term, since the release of new products requires a significant period of time, and the introduction of new technologies involves a significant waste of time and money. Increasing the volume of production at this enterprise is currently not possible, since resources are limited, as well as due to the high wear of equipment (up to 80-90% wear of its active part), which reduces the full load of the tunnel furnace.

Choosing a rational solution. Having assessed possible alternatives, the manager of the Gorynsky KSM PRUE chooses the first, guided by the fact that its implementation will begin immediately, since the time for entry into the Presidential Decree is only 1 month. Therefore, this management decision has now been made correctly (see Appendix 3).

In the future, to implement the Decree, the second alternative will also be put into practice, which will make it possible to maximize revenue and thereby pay off its current obligations. This decision was made based on judgment.

If management decisions are classified according to characteristics, we get the following:

1. The degree of recurrence of the problem. When it came to drawing up a business plan for 2006 and the five-year period, the management decision was traditional, that is, it has been encountered many times before in the manager’s practice. That is, the manager only made a choice from previously used alternatives. And when it came to using the second technological machine and implementing Presidential Decree No. 27, the management decision took the form atypical, since the search for a solution was associated with the generation of new alternatives.

2. Significance of the goal. In all cases of making a management decision, its purpose was of a strategic nature, since the decision-making pursues its own, independent goal.

3. Sphere of influence. In the first example, the result of the decision affected one division of the enterprise (the accounting service, which will monitor traveling expenses monthly and deduct its amount from the manager’s salary), so the decision can be considered local. In the following examples, the management decision takes the form global, since it is applied with the aim of influencing the work of the entire organization as a whole.

4. Duration of implementation. In all the examples given, the duration of implementation is long-term in nature, since the results of the implementation of the adopted management decisions are removed for several years.

5. Nature of the information used. All decisions made are deterministic decisions, since they were made under conditions of certainty, since the manager has almost complete and reliable information regarding the problems being solved, which allowed him to know exactly the result of each of the alternative choices.

It should be noted that in the practice of making management decisions of this manager, documentation is inherent, i.e. fixation of decisions made in the form of issuing orders. This makes it possible to monitor the progress of the execution of instructions, and, in case of non-fulfillment, to punish the guilty person.

Conclusions and offers

The purpose of this course work was to study the essence of management decisions and the process of implementation at the enterprise.

When writing it, the following main tasks were completed:

- the theoretical aspect of the essence of the category “management decisions” was investigated;

The main stages, models and methods of the management decision-making process have been studied;

The process of making a management decision was analyzed using the example of a manager (anti-crisis manager) of a construction organization.

In the process of studying this topic, many definitions of the essence of the category of management decisions were given, however, in my opinion, a more accurate definition is as follows:

Management decision - this is the choice of an alternative made by the manager within the framework of his official powers and competence and aimed at achieving the goals of the organization.

Decision-making technology should be understood as the composition and sequence of procedures leading to solving problems of an organization, in combination with methods for developing and optimizing alternatives.

The main stages of the management decision-making process were:

Analysis of the situation;

Problem identification;

Determination of selection criteria;

Development of alternatives;

Choice of alternative;

Agreement on the decision;

Implementation management;

Monitoring and evaluation of results .

The course work presented methodologies for making management decisions by the anti-crisis manager of the Gorynsky Construction Materials Plant. For comparison, an example was given of making a traditional management decision (that is, developing a business plan for a five-year period and 2006). When making this decision, the manager used standard methods and appropriate procedures for resolving it. In this particular case, the plant manager did not have to spend much effort and time on the methodology for making management decisions. According to the old scheme, he issued an order for the enterprise to create a Working Group to develop a business plan for 2006, for 2006-2010, which included all the necessary specialists.

The next two examples were of an unconventional type, that is, a non-programmed solution. In this case, the method of solving these problems is new, never before encountered in practice. And in order to solve the problem, the manager will need to spend much more time and knowledge to make the right management decision.

It should be noted that the manager, when making a management decision, applies all of the above stages. It is also important that when making management decisions he is guided by judgment and scientific knowledge and rich production experience. Therefore, the decisions made are always correct, which allows us to gain authority among the employees of the enterprise.

List of used literature

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2. Gerchikova I.N. Management: Textbook. M.: Unity. 1995.

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Management decisions in an organization: concept and essence

In the course of an organization's work, a number of problems always arise that need to be solved. Top management bodies participate in decision making.

Definition 1

Making a decision is not easy; it requires the head of the organization to have certain skills, experience and knowledge. It is believed that the decision-making process is one of the most responsible in the organization, since the efficiency of the enterprise depends on it.

Each person makes several decisions throughout the day, from where to drink coffee at lunch to which country to go on vacation. But there is a significant difference between ordinary decisions and managerial ones.

A manager, like any other person, makes many decisions a day, personal and work, and so work management decisions are responsibility, risk and work.

The quality of the decision made largely determines the course of the organization’s activities; correctly made decisions develop the enterprise; incorrectly made decisions slow down and worsen the work of the enterprise.

Stages of making a management decision

The management decision-making process includes several stages:

• goal definition;
• consideration of the problem;
• calculation and justification of a decision and analysis of possible consequences;
• exploring several options for solving the problem;
• choosing a suitable solution to the problem;
• making management decisions;
• announcement of the decision to the executors;
• control over the implementation of the decision.

Examples of management decisions

Example 1

The organization has experienced a negative downward trend in profits over the past three years. Analysts argue that this is due to the fact that the company's sales are declining, the product on the market is losing competitiveness, costs are rising and there is a need to fire some staff in order to reduce the company's costs.

In this situation:

• The purpose of decision making is to increase the profit of the enterprise.
• The problem is a negative downward trend in profit indicators over three years.

The justification for the analysts’ decision is that if some of the staff are fired, then profit will be restored due to the reduction in costs. The head of the company must also understand that if a product loses its competitiveness in the market, then in the future the profit from the sale of such a product will only fall, and it will be necessary to fire not only part of the staff, but possibly most of the staff, but the problem will not disappear.

Other options for solving the problem are to conduct marketing research on why the product is losing its competitive properties, why sales are falling, what is wrong with the product, what the consumer wants to see from the product. The answers to these questions will allow the manager to find the right path to solving the root of the problem, avoiding mass layoffs.

Making a decision - to allocate funds from the enterprise’s profit to conduct marketing research, not to fire staff, to look for the essence of the problem elsewhere, to reorient production to produce a product in demand on the market that can satisfy

Management decision- this is the choice that a manager must make in order to fulfill the responsibilities associated with his position (the choice of an alternative made by the manager within the framework of his official powers and competence and aimed at achieving the goals of the organization). Decision making is the basis of management. Responsibility for making important management decisions is a heavy moral burden, which is especially pronounced at the highest levels of management.

Solution is a choice of alternative. Every day we make hundreds of decisions without even thinking about how we do it. The fact is that the price of such decisions is, as a rule, low, and this price is determined by the subject who made them. Of course, there are a number of problems relating to relationships between people, health, and the family budget, the unsuccessful solution of which can lead to far-reaching consequences, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
However, in management, decision making is a more systematic process than in private life.

The main differences between management decisions and decisions in private life.

1. Goals. The subject of management (whether it is an individual or a group) makes a decision not based on his own needs, but in order to solve the problems of a specific organization.

2. Consequences. An individual's private choices affect his own life and may affect the few people close to him.

A manager, especially a high-ranking one, chooses the course of action not only for himself, but also for the organization as a whole and its employees, and his decisions can significantly affect the lives of many people. If an organization is large and influential, the decisions of its leaders can seriously affect the socio-economic situation of entire regions. For example, a decision to close an unprofitable company operation can significantly increase the unemployment rate.

3. Division of labor. If in private life a person, when making a decision, as a rule, carries it out himself, then in an organization there is a certain division of labor: some workers (managers) are busy solving emerging problems and making decisions, while others (performers) are busy implementing decisions already made.

4. Professionalism. In private life, each person makes his own decisions based on his intelligence and experience. In managing an organization, decision making is a much more complex, responsible and formalized process that requires professional training. Not every employee of the organization, but only those with certain professional knowledge and skills, is given the authority to independently make certain decisions.

Decision making is preceded by several stages:

Depending on the basis underlying the decision-making, there are:

• intuitive solutions;
• judgment-based decisions;
• rational decisions.

Intuitive solutions. A purely intuitive decision is a choice made only on the basis of a feeling that it is correct. The decision maker does not consciously weigh the pros and cons of each alternative and does not even need to understand the situation. It's just a person making a choice. What we call insight or “sixth sense” are intuitive decisions. Management expert Peter Schoederbeck points out that “while increased information about an issue can greatly help middle managers make decisions, those at the top still have to rely on intuitive judgments. Moreover, computers allow management to pay more attention to data without replacing time-honored managerial intuitive know-how.”

Decisions based on judgment. Such decisions sometimes seem intuitive because their logic is not obvious. A judgment-based decision is a choice driven by knowledge or experience. A person uses knowledge of what has happened in similar situations before to predict the outcome of alternative choices in an existing situation. Using common sense, he chooses an alternative that has brought success in the past. However, common sense is rare among people, so this method of decision-making is also not very reliable, although it is captivating with its speed and cheapness.

When, for example, you are making a choice between studying a management degree program or an accounting degree program, you are likely making a decision based on judgment based on your experience with the introductory courses in each subject.

Judgment as a basis for management decision is useful because many situations in organizations tend to be subject to frequent conquest. In this case, the previously made decision can work again no worse than before, which is the main advantage of programmed decisions.

Another weakness is that the judgment cannot be related to a situation that has not previously occurred, and therefore there is simply no experience in solving it. In addition, with this approach, the manager strives to act primarily in those directions that are familiar to him, as a result of which he risks missing out on good results in another area, consciously or unconsciously refusing to invade it.

Rational solutions based on methods of economic analysis, justification and optimization.

Depending on the personal characteristics of the manager making the decision, it is customary to distinguish:

• balanced decisions;
• And impulsive decisions;
• inert solutions;
• risky decisions;
• careful decisions.

Balanced Solutions accepted by managers who are attentive and critical to their actions, put forward hypotheses and their testing. They usually have an initial idea formulated before making a decision.

Impulsive decisions, the authors of which easily generate a wide variety of ideas in unlimited quantities, but are not able to properly test, clarify, and evaluate them. Therefore, decisions turn out to be insufficiently substantiated and reliable; they are made “at once”, “in jerks”.

Inert solutions become the result of a careful search. In them, on the contrary, control and clarifying actions prevail over the generation of ideas, so it is difficult to detect originality, brilliance, and innovation in such decisions.

Risky decisions They differ from impulsive ones in that their authors do not need to carefully substantiate their hypotheses and, if they are confident in themselves, may not be afraid of any dangers.

Careful decisions are characterized by the manager’s thorough assessment of all options and a hypercritical approach to business. They are even less distinguished by novelty and originality than inert ones.

Types of decisions that depend on the personal characteristics of the manager are characteristic mainly in the process of operational personnel management.

For strategic and tactical management in any subsystem of the management system, rational decisions are made based on methods of economic analysis, justification and optimization.

Depending on the degree of preliminary formalization, there are:

• programmed decisions;
• unprogrammed decisions.

Programmed solution is the result of implementing a certain sequence of steps or actions. Typically, the number of possible alternatives is limited and choices must be made within the directions given by the organization.

For example, the head of the purchasing department of any production association, when drawing up a schedule for the purchase of raw materials and materials, may proceed from a formula that requires a certain ratio between the planned production volume and the number of raw materials and materials for the production of a unit of finished products. If the budget stipulates that the production of a unit of production will cost2 kg of raw materials and supplies, then the decision is made automatically - the planned production volume is 1000 pieces, therefore it is necessary to purchase 2,000 kg of raw materials.

Likewise, if the finance manager were required to invest his excess cash in certificates of deposit, municipal bonds, or common stock, whichever would provide the greatest return on investment at the time, the choice would be determined by the results of a simple calculation of each option and the determination of the profitable.

Programming can be considered an important aid in making effective management decisions. By defining what the decision should be, management reduces the likelihood of error. This also saves time because subordinates do not have to develop a new correct procedure every time a situation arises.

It is not surprising that management often programs solutions for situations that recur with some regularity.

It is very important for a manager to have confidence that the decision-making procedure is, in fact, correct and desirable. Obviously, if a programmed procedure becomes incorrect and undesirable, decisions made through it will be ineffective, and management will lose the respect of its employees and those outside the organization who are affected by the decisions made. Moreover, it is highly desirable to communicate the rationale for a programmed decision-making methodology to those who use this methodology, rather than simply offering it for use. Failure to answer questions that begin with "why" in connection with a decision-making procedure often creates tension and resentment among the people who must apply the procedure. Effective information sharing improves decision-making efficiency.

Non-programmed solutions. Decisions of this type are required in situations that are somewhat new, internally unstructured, or involve unknown factors. Since it is impossible to draw up a specific sequence of necessary steps in advance, the manager must develop a decision-making procedure. The following types of solutions can be classified as unprogrammed:

• what should be the goals of the organization;
• how to improve products;
• how to improve the structure of the management unit;
• How to increase the motivation of subordinates.

In each of these situations (as is most often the case with unprogrammed solutions), the true cause of the problem could be any of the factors. At the same time, the manager has many options to choose from.

In practice, few management decisions turn out to be programmed or unprogrammed in their pure form.

Most likely, they are extreme reflections of some spectrum in the case of both everyday and fundamental decisions. Almost all decisions end up somewhere between the extremes.

Requirements for solutions

• minimum number of adjustments;
• balance of rights and responsibilities of the manager making the decision - responsibility must be equal to his powers;
• unity of command - the decision (or order) must come from the immediate supervisor. In practice, this means that a superior manager should not give orders “over the head” of a subordinate manager;
• strict liability - management decisions should not contradict each other;
• validity - a management decision must be made on the basis of reliable information about the condition of the object, taking into account its development trends;
• concreteness;
• authority - a management decision must be made by a body or person who has the right to make it;
• timeliness - a management decision must be timely, because a delay in a decision sharply reduces the effectiveness of management.

Conditions for a quality solution

• application of scientific management approaches to the development of management solutions;
• studying the influence of economic laws on the effectiveness of management decisions;
• providing the decision maker with quality information characterizing the parameters of the “output”, “input”, “external environment” and “process” of the solution development system;
• application of methods of functional cost analysis, forecasting, modeling and economic justification for each decision;
• structuring the problem and building a tree of goals;
• ensuring comparability (comparability) of solution options;
• ensuring multiple solutions;
• legal validity of the decision;
• automation of the process of collecting and processing information, the process of developing and implementing solutions;
• development and operation of a system of responsibility and motivation for high-quality and effective solutions;
• the presence of a mechanism for implementing the solution.

A solution is considered effective if:

1. It comes from realistic goals.

2. To implement it, there is the necessary time and the necessary resources.

3. It can be implemented in the specific conditions of the organization.

4.Contingency and emergency situations are provided for.

5. It does not provoke conflict situations and stress.

6.Changes in the business and background environment are anticipated.

7. It makes it possible to monitor execution.

One of the important factors influencing the quality of management decisions is the number of management levels in the organization, the increase of which leads to distortion of information when preparing a decision, distortion of orders coming from the subject of management, and increases the sluggishness of the organization. The same factor contributes to the delay in information received by the subject of the decision. This determines the constant desire to reduce the number of management levels in the organization.

A serious problem associated with the effectiveness of management decisions is also the problem of implementing these decisions. Up to a third of all management decisions do not achieve their goals due to low performance culture. In our and foreign countries, sociologists belonging to a variety of schools pay close attention to improving performance discipline, including ordinary employees in the development of solutions, motivating such activities, cultivating “trademark patriotism,” and stimulating self-government.

The most common methods for optimizing management decisions are:

• math modeling;
• method of expert assessments;
• brainstorming method (brain attack);
• game theory.

Math modeling used in cases where a management decision is made on the basis of extensive digital information that can be easily formalized. The widespread use of mathematical models makes it possible to quantitatively characterize the problem and find the optimal solution.

The main stages of optimizing a management decision using mathematical methods are:

Formulation of the problem.

The choice of efficiency criterion, which must be expressed unambiguously, for example, by a certain number, and reflect the degree of compliance of the results of solving the set goal.

Analysis and measurement of variables (factors) influencing the value of the effectiveness criterion.

Construction of a mathematical model.

Mathematical solution of the model.

Logical and experimental verification of the model and the solution obtained with its help.

Expert assessment methods are used in cases where the problem completely or partially cannot be formalized and cannot be solved by mathematical methods.

The method of expert assessments is a study of complex special issues at the stage of developing a management decision by persons with special knowledge and experience in order to obtain conclusions, opinions, recommendations and assessments. The expert opinion is drawn up in the form of a document that records the progress of the study and its results. The introduction indicates: who, where, when and in connection with what organizes and conducts the examination. Next, the object of examination is recorded, the methods used for the study, and the data obtained as a result of the study are indicated. The final part contains conclusions, recommendations and practical measures proposed by experts.

The most effective use of the method of expert assessments is when analyzing complex processes that have mainly qualitative characteristics, when forecasting trends in the development of the trading system, and when assessing alternative solutions.

Brainstorming method(brainstorming) is used in cases where there is a minimum of information about the problem being solved and a short deadline has been set for solving it. Then specialists related to this problem are invited, they are invited to participate in a forced discussion of its solution. In this case, the following rules are strictly observed:

everyone speaks out in turn;

they speak only when they can offer a new idea;

statements are not criticized or condemned;

all offers are recorded.

Usually this method allows you to quickly and correctly solve the problem that has arisen.

A variation of the brainstorming method is jury opinion. The essence of this method is that specialists from various fields of activity are involved in discussing the problem and interacting with each other. For example, managers of the company's production, commercial and financial departments are involved in the decision to release a new product. The use of this method helps generate new ideas and alternatives.

One of the methods for optimizing management decisions in conditions of market competition is the use of methods used in game theory, the essence of which is to model the impact of a decision on competitors. For example, if, using game theory, the management of a trading firm concludes that if competitors raise prices on goods, then it may be advisable to abandon the decision to increase prices in order to avoid being put at a competitive disadvantage.

Methods for optimizing management decisions can complement each other and be used comprehensively when developing important management decisions.

The choice of methods for optimizing management decisions largely depends on the information support of management.

Many Japanese companies have used the Ringisei decision-making system to one degree or another, providing in-depth elaboration and coordination of decisions.

The classic “ringisei” procedure provided for repeated approval of the prepared decision at several levels of management, starting with ordinary employees (one of them is entrusted with drawing up a preliminary draft decision) and ending with senior managers who approve the decision that has passed all stages of approval. Coordination includes consultations at the level of ordinary employees of various departments (they are carried out by the employee responsible for preparing the preliminary draft decision), at the level of heads of departments and other divisions (carried out in the form of circulation of the draft decision among all departments related to this issue), and then more high-ranking managers - deputies and heads of departments or departments. By the end of circulation, the draft document turns out to be endorsed with the personal seals of dozens of superiors of various ranks. If disagreement arises during the preparation of a decision, consultative meetings of managers at the appropriate level are held at one level or another, during which an agreed position is developed. This practice of preparing decisions is quite complex and time-consuming, but most Japanese corporations go to such a slowdown in decision-making, counting on the fact that the “ringisei” procedure, which ensures coordination of actions at the decision-making stage, facilitates the coordination of their subsequent implementation.

The system has unconditional advantages. However, it is not without some disadvantages. It is believed that the procedure should ensure an influx of new ideas and freedom of opinion when discussing decisions. But this doesn't always happen. Sometimes, in conditions of a strict hierarchy and respect for superiors, such a process comes down to attempts by subordinates to predict the opinion of managers rather than to promoting their independent point of view. In this form, the “ringisei” system often turned into a complex and not always useful mechanism, taking a lot of time from managers and employees of different ranks to coordinate decisions.

Therefore, there is a gradual reduction in the sphere of influence of the Ringisei decision-making method. This is due to a number of reasons, including the widespread use of planning and budget development methods in Japanese firms (due to this, there is no need to make decisions on many issues using the traditional method). Considering that long-term planning is used, according to available data, by 83% of Japanese firms, the scale of such changes is quite noticeable. 63% of Japanese firms have increased the decision-making power of individuals, which again has led to a reduction in the scope of ringisei. By 1974, 4% of Japanese companies had completely eliminated the ringisei system.