Every day is spent making decisions that affect each individual’s life. Thus, it is best that every decision that we make takes all the considerations needed in order to have a very productive result. Accordingly, decision making is “the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among alternatives; it is a reasoning process which can be rational or irrational, and can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions.” (wikipedia.
org)Thus, with the advent of technology, decision-making software and programs are being developed and made for the assistance and utilization of the general public, especially in the fields of management, marketing, health sciences and research. One such decision-making software is the Decision Explorer developed by academics at the universities of Bath and Strathclyde, and now by Banxia Software.This allows the user to capture in detail thoughts and ideas, to explore them, and gain new understanding and insight on the issue or subject to be resolved. This software helps in decision making by taking into consideration all the ideas that are conceptualized either by an individual or the collective ideas of a group. These are then recorded in the program, including the contradictory and opposing views.
When all data are already recorded, an individual or group can explore the contributed ideas, and then work for a solution to an issue or a problem.Because the software records all information, it enables one to track the entire process of decision-making and spot weak links that need to be remedied. In Decision Explorer the “links between ideas add structure to the model, revealing inter-relationships and the cause and effect of different elements. ” Anyone, a company or organization which is beleaguered with a dilemma which needs to be resolved at the earliest possible time can use this software.
It helps in making decisions needed in managerial problems, qualitative data analysis, marketing, sales strategies, resolving corporate conflicts, brainstorming and organizational restructuring. It even helps in personal mapping and personal development planning. With the fact that much of the features in the software aid in the decision making process, this software would certainly help in improving one’s decision-making capabilities. The software pulls all of the ideas together, no idea is not considered, enabling for a much comprehensive assessment of a subject matter.Some problems and ideas are complex ones, but this is not a problem for the software because it manages complexity without losing richness of detail, and at the same time builds feasible, practical and acceptable solutions. In addition, Decision Explorer also presents reasoning in an effective manner, and maintains the creativity and focus in group meetings.
With these facts, there wouldn’t be any reason why the software cannot help in decision-making.Usually, without the help of a decision-making tool, an individual or a group finds it hard to make concrete solutions. The decision-making process takes long to complete. Time and efforts are sometimes wasted. With the help of this software, the way a user frames a decision will be changed.
A user will find it easy now to make a decision; he will not be burdened by taking into the decision-making process considerations which make things complicated because the software allows a detailed, procedural, and logical assessment of a certain issue that needs to be decided.
