Essay on Decision-Making in Pluralist, Hierarchical and Consensus Structure

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Pages: 10

Decision Making Process .
Introduction
Robbins (1998: 103) states that decisions are choices made from two or more alternatives. Decisions are made as a reaction to a problem. That is, there is a discrepancy between the current state of affairs and some desired state requiring consideration of alternative courses of action.
This however requires any person in the position where he/she must make decisions to consider some aspects regarding decision-making. This not only includes relevant information but also the application of knowledge and/or skills to use this information to realize a decision.
Decision making and its processes are
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Any deviance from the principles of the hierarchical structure is, as a matter of fact, penalized. One may have to lose his position to a lower rank whereas those who adhere to the whims and caprices of the top executives are moved more quickly up the ladder. It mostly practiced in government bureaucracies and in sole proprietorships. Hierarchy is facet of life as they are seen in community leaderships, religious sects, family lives, work places etc. as well as prevalent in educational institutions. In hierarchical political system, decision-making is centralized and acknowledgement of differences in opinions is non-existent. Knowledge tends to be inclusive only at the top of the hierarchy and interactions among members are vertical in form. Since decision-making processes usually do not take into account views of other members of the organization, the quality tend to be low though faster in some sense. However, wrong decision in the end can bring the leadership back to the same problem which at times would be waste of time and resources.
Hierarchies leave behind disgruntled and disloyal members of the group. This is because they tend to feel not part of the group as their views are not inclusive in decision-making processes and this in long run can breed saboteurs in the political system. Hierarchies are rampant in monarchical, autocratic, totalitarian or authoritarian regimes. Examples are King Louis XIV of France who was