PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

2-6 Elements of Decision Process

There are five elements in the process of decision making.
1. See if the problem was generic and could only be solved through a
decision established by a rule, or principle.
2. Define the specifications which the answer to the problem had to
satisfy, that is, of the boundary conditions.
3. The thinking through what is right, that is, the solution which will
satisfy the specifications before attention is given to the compromises,
adaptations,

and

concessions,

needed

to

make

the

decision

acceptable.
4. The building into the decision of the action to carry it out.
5. The feedback, which tests the validity and effectiveness of the decision
against the actual course of events.
The second element in the decision process is clear specifications as to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What
What
What
What

the decision has to accomplish?

are the objectives, the decision has to reach?
are the minimum goals it has to attain?
are the conditions it has to satisfy?

In science, these are known as the boundary conditions. A

decision to be effective, need to satisfy the boundary conditions. It needs to
be adequate to its purpose. Any serious shortfall in defining these boundary
conditions is almost certain to make a decision ineffectual, no matter how
brilliant it may seem.
Everyone can make the wrong decisions. In fact, everyone will
sometimes make a wrong decision. But no one needs to make a decision
which on its face falls, short of satisfying the boundary conditions.
One has to start out with what is right rather than what is acceptable
precisely because one always has to compromise in the end. But if one does
not know what is right to satisfy the specifications and boundary conditions,

PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

one cannot distinguish between the right compromise and the wrong
compromise and will end up by making the wrong compromise.
The next major element in the decision process is converting the
decision into action. A decision will not become effective unless the action
commitments have been built into the decision from the start. In fact, no
decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps. Until then,
these are only good intensions.
Finally, a feedback has to be built into the decision to provide a
continuous testing against actual events of the expectations that underlie
the decision.
Decisions are made by men. Men are fallible. At their best, their works
do not last long. Even the best decision has a high probability of being
wrong. Even the most effective one eventually becomes obsolete.

2-7 Budgeting the Time

Effective manager know that time is the limiting factor. He does not
start with his work. He starts with his time. And does not start out planning,
but

start

by

finding

out

where

his

time

actually

goes.

Our

daily

accomplishments are set by time- the scarcest resource. In the process, we

call accomplishment as Time.
Time is a unique resource. Its supply it totally inelastic. No matter how
high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Moreover,
time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterdays time is gone
forever and will never comeback. Time is therefore exceeding short of supply.
Time is absolutely irreplaceable. There is no substitute for time.
Everything we do requires time. All works takes place in time and uses up
time. Yet, most people take for granted this unique irreplaceable and
necessary resource.

Man is ill equipped to manage his time. Unless it is

managed, nothing else can be managed.

PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

The main task in the work of a manager is the time spent working with
people. By nature, people are time consumers and most people are time
wasters. To spend a few minutes with people is simply not productive.
Relations with other knowledge workers are really time consuming.
Whatever the reasons, the knowledge worker makes much greater time
wasted than the manual worker on his superior as well as on his associates.
Mixing personal relations and work relations is time consuming. The
more people are together, the more time will be consumed for interactions.
Thus, less time will be available to them for work accomplishment and
results.
The larger the organization, the less actual time will the manager will
have to manage out of the little time at his disposal. The more people there
are in an organization, the more often does a decision on people arise. But
fast personal decisions are likely to be wrong decisions.
People decisions are time consuming. Just to get the work done with
people requires lots of time, thought and judgement.
Time wastes is often result from over staffing. The symptom of over
staffing could be if the chiefs and of course the manager in particular spend
more of their time, on problems of human relations, on feuds and frictions,
on disputes and questions of cooperation, etc. When the work force is almost
certainly too large, people gets into to others way. Then people have
become an impediment to performance, rather than the means thereto.
Meetings. Another common time waster is mal-organization. Its
symptom is an excess of meetings. Meetings are defined as concession to
deficient organization for one either meets or one works. Certainly, one
cannot do both things at the same time. We meet because people holding
different jobs have to cooperate to get a specific work done. We meet
because the knowledge and experience needed in a specific situation are not
available in one head, but have to be pieced together out of the experience
and knowledge of several people.

PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

If executives in an organization spend more than a fairly small part of

their time in meeting, it is a sure sign of mal-organization. Meeting should be
purposefully directed. An undirected meeting, is not just a nuisance, it is a
danger. An organization in which everybody meets all the time is an
organization in which no one gets anything done.
Meetings have to be the exception rather than the rule. When people
in organization find themselves in meetings a quarter of their time or more,
there is time wasting mal-organization. As a rule, meetings should never be
allowed to become the main demand on an executives time. Too many
meeting is indicative of poor job structures and wrong organizational
components. They signify that responsibility is spread out and that
information is not directed to the people who need it.

2-8 First Things First

The one secret of effectiveness is concentration. Effective managers do
first thing first and they do one thing at a time. There are always more
important contributions to be made than there is available time to make
them. No matter how the managers manages his time, the greater part of it
will still not be his own. Therefore, there is always a time deficit.
What one postpones, one actually abandons. Timing is the most
important element in the success of any effort. To a year later what it would
have been smart to do a year earlier is almost a sure recipe for frustration
and failure.

2-9 Employee Discipline

PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

Discipline is a means that management uses to bring employees

behavior under control.
Its purpose is not retribution or vengeance but to impress upon the
employee the need to do things in a prescribed manner. Discipline is an
employers action against an employee for infraction of company policies or
rules. The purpose of discipline is preventive; that is to prevent the
commission of an act, which violates the policies, rules and regulations of the
company. It is a form of control to protect the interests of the company as
well as those of the employees.
Control within this content has three major dimensions:
1. As a means of establishing awareness on the part of the employees
regarding the proper behavior, attitude, and conduct in their jobs.
2. As a means of establishing an atmosphere conducive to working
together efficiently.
3. As a means of correcting or reforming employees who commit any
infraction or violation of company rules and regulations.
The objective of discipline is to educate the employees in the
fundamental standards of behavior and performance. The employees
should therefore be made to realize that the rules and regulations are
enforced for their own benefit and not merely to punish them. Its aim is to
correct or reform the employee, not to penalize him.

2-10 Principles of Discipline

1. Disciplinary action should not be taken unless there is an obvious
necessity for it.
2. The reasons for disciplinary action should be made clear.
3. Give the man a chance to present his side of the story, and do not
argue.

PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

DECISION MAKING

4. There should be no favoritism or discrimination in any disciplinary

action.
5. Reprimand should be given as soon as possible after the occurrence of
the act. Right timing is important, but first have all the facts.
6. Forgive and forget. When a disciplinary action has been given, the
supervisor should resume a normal attitude toward the offending
employee.
7. Never discipline anyone in the presence of others.
8. The discipline that is inflicted must be just, but sufficiently severe to
meet the requirements of the situation.
9. Disciplinary measure should be applied by the immediate superior of
the employee affected, rather than by some other higher executive.
10.
In general, negative disciplinary action cannot be successfully
applied to large groups of employees representing a substantial portion
of ones organization. If there is poor discipline among a large group, it
is possible that there is something vitally wrong in the situation. The
remedy is correction of the situation, not disciplinary action.
11.
In determining the nature and degree of disciplinary action that
is made necessarily by some improper act of an employee, the intent
should be considered.
12.
Discipline should be constructive. It should show the offender
how to correct his errors and leave him willing and anxious to improve
rather than feel bitter and resentful.
13.
Except in cases of extremely serious offenses, no disciplinary
action should be permitted to take place until the supervisor has
actually talked to the situation over with the employee.
14.
Discipline should not be administered on an entirely routine
basis. Each case should be treated individually. You cannot discipline a
group to teach a few offenders.
15.
Maintain a constant and sincere interest in your peoples welfare
on and off the job. This reduces the need for disciplining to a minimum.
16. Motivation is the secret of good discipline. When a man is sufficiently

motivated, discipline will take care of itself.