Business Essentials, 12/e

Leadership, Management, and Decision Making

1. Objective 9-8 Relate leadership to decision making and discuss both rational and behavioral perspectives on decision making.

We noted previously the differences and similarities between managing and leading. Decision making is another important related concept. Indeed, decision making is a fundamental component of both leadership and management—managers and leaders must frequently make decisions.

The Nature of Decision Making

Decision making can refer to either a specific act or a general process. Decision making is the act of choosing one alternative from among a set of alternatives. The decision-making process, however, is much more than this. One step of the process, for example, is that the ...