Decision Making for the Strategic Leader.

Abstract

Decision making is a process whereby a leader, when confronted with a problem, selects a course of action or solution, from a set of possible courses of action. Since there is generally some uncertainty about the future, we cannot be sure of the consequences of the decision that is chosen. Soundness and timeliness in decision making depend to a great extent on the method used. This is a creative process, connected with the search for the new and best means of successful accomplishment of the mission. Inasmuch as the process is basically creative and cognitive in nature, the most important requirement on the process for making a decision is its correspondence to dialectics, the theory of knowledge, logic, and the principles of military art. The achievements and conclusions of such sciences as psychology, mathematics, and cybernetics can be of great assistance to the commander making decisions today. His mission, consequently, is to master logical and mathematical methods of thinking and cognizing developed by modern science. Decision making during the Information Age has become an enormously complex undertaking. There has been an increasing tendency to turn to quantitative techniques and models as a potential means for assisting the decision maker. The purpose of this paper is to describe the decision making process from a simple systems approach to a more complex and dynamic approach; focus on the essence of the decision making process; and to provide a representative sample of quantitative techniques for making decisions as a strategic leader. It is hoped that this paper will serve as a basis for a course that will assist future senior leaders in the process of decision making and may act as a connecting force between the analytical techniques on one hand and the recognitional techniques on the other.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 13, 1997
Accession Number
ADA326957

Entities

People

  • George E. Rector Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Judgment
  • Logistics
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.
  • Theoretical Analysis.