The main obstacles to effective decision making (and possible solutions!)
Making decisions for the future of the business is a complicated task for managers and requires a lot of commitment from them. A lot of times, business leaders and departments d’ont have all the information they need to analyze situations in an objective way, which greatly complicates effective and rapid decision-making. On a day-to-day basis in which companies are constantly living, the lack of time to evaluate the company’s operations is one of the biggest enemies of correct decision-making. Today, companies generate data every day and the vast amount of information that exists is also a concern for companies as it is not easy to manage all sources of information and it is even more difficult to get the most important insights from each from them. There are many obstacles that prevent decisions to be made quickly and consciously and it is about these obstacles that we are going to discuss in this article. And we will also present possible solutions for each of them!
Obstacle 1: there is no information in real time
Business life happens now. In each moment information is generated and this information will have an impact on company’s life, so it is fundamental that a manager is always aware of what is happening. The reality, however, is that in most companies the information is spread by various software and it is not possible to have immediate access to all the data. This will have a negative impact on decision making. Decisions based on a few days’ reporting are always reactive and the company runs the risk of being outdone by a competition that is quicker to act.
Solution: BAM
BAM tools such as Multipeers are essential in today’s business world because they allow you to condense all information from a wide range of data sources into one platform. The ability to access information in real time changes everything because it is the guarantee that we are always working based on the most current information that exists. Decision-making is made easier because there is no need to resort to lengthy and old reports to decide what to do next. With information so accessible, the likelihood of making bad decisions is much lower, which certainly increases the efficiency of companies. In addition, Multipeers also allows the creation of business alerts that advise managers about anomalous situations that require their attention. This fact makes it possible for managers to carry out their day-to-day tasks in a quiet way as they know they will be alerted when something strange happens. This allows a corrective action to be taken immediately, ensuring prompt resolution of problems.
Obstacle 2: lack of mobility
Business mobility is a growing trend and in many industries is already a reality. However, there are still many companies that are not able to adapt to this new way of working and this makes employees have to be in the office to access the e-mail and to meet with their teams. Companies are still not very receptive to this new trend because they are afraid that mobility is synonymous with a greater probability of loss of credentials of access to the network, which in general results in the leakage of information abroad. Fortunately, more and more technology is moving towards making systems and networks more secure and practically inviolable.
Solution: use of the right tools
Employees and managers must always have access to the most important information about the business, since only then will they be able to make effective and timely decisions. Cloud computing has facilitated labor mobility by enabling important business documents to be consulted anywhere and for effective decision-making. Switching the corporate email system to a cloud-based solution is also very important for increasing business mobility. Videoconferencing tools were the first tools to enable enterprise mobility and are now moving to a large scale for mobile platforms, which significantly increases the scope of mobility. We are now able to use Skype and Hangouts on mobile devices, allowing you to have meetings anytime, anywhere in the World.
Obstacle 3: lack of planning
Companies often don’t spend the due time in planning their activity and this will obviously have negative consequences over time. Business planning is essential if the company’s action is to succeed. Setting realistic goals and ways to reach them is a very important part of business, because we can only succeed if we know well where we want to go.
Solution: plan and involve the entire team
At least every six months, it is crucial that managers meet with their teams and analyze what has been done so far and, based on the result of that analysis, the company’s course should be traced to the following months. However, it is very important that there is always a plan B. As good as planning is and the goals set are the most appropriate for the company, you have to take into account that things can go wrong, because the business world is very susceptible to changes and unforeseen events. Therefore, it is necessary to always have an alternative plan. Having a B plan makes emergency situations easier to deal with. Many managers don’t think of alternatives when they make a decision and end up harming the business if the decision they make doesn’t have the desired effects.
