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Decision Making Essay | Difference Between a Good Decision and a Bad Decision

October 18, 2021 by Prasanna

Decision Making Essay: Making decisions is an essential skill for many professions, but it’s also a skill that we need in our personal lives. We need to be able to make decisions not just for ourselves, but also for the people around us. The ability to make decisions is a skill that is mostly learned through experience. However, other ways to improve decision-making skills also exist – such as reading, researching, talking to other people as well as analyzing different sources of information.

Regardless, it is important to make decisions on your own. The first thing that you should do is to define the problem that you are trying to solve. You want to know why a decision is needed, what it will change about your life, and what’s important to you about the decision. After reviewing all of these factors, you should come up with some options for which way you want to go about solving the problem. In this essay, we shall explore the factors that influence the process of decision making as well as the repercussion of poor decision making.

You can also find more  Essay Writing articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Difference Between a Good Decision and a Bad Decision

One of the most important things to do when making decisions is to know the difference between a good decision and a bad decision. The primary difference between a good decision and a bad decision is the impact that it has on your life. As the name suggests, a good decision is one that has a positive impact on your life, while a bad decision will have a negative impact on your life.

Moreover, good decisions will usually lead to more opportunities. However, when you make bad decisions, it can have repercussions which are not immediately apparent, but can have long lasting consequences. To sum up, a good decision is one that achieves the desired goal. A bad decision is one that does not achieve the desired goal or achieves it in an undesirable way.

Why is Being Able to Make Decisions Essential for Success?

If you are able to make decisions quickly, you are more likely to be successful. The ability to make decisions quickly has always been an important part of being a successful professional. One of the most important skills required for making decisions is the ability to accept uncertainty.

There will always be unknowns when it comes to making decisions. As much as we try, there may never be enough information when it’s time to make a choice. However, making successful decisions requires you to process and interpret large volumes of data. Doing so is an effective way to ensure that the decisions made are well-educated and informed. Moreover, in a world of increasing complexity, it can be overwhelmingly hard to make the right decisions, hence, data analysis is an excellent tool for decision makers to use.

How to Become a Better Decision Maker?

Each day we make a series of decisions, from what we have for breakfast to which job to apply for. But how can we make better decisions?

Here are a few tips to consider when making important decisions:

Define the Problem

Before you can make a decision, you need to understand the issue at hand. When faced with a problem, take some time to figure out what is going on and why this is an issue. Moreover, learn to think critically about the problem you are trying to solve.

Be Aware Of Your Personal Biases And Beliefs

One of the most dangerous biases we have as humans is our confirmation bias. This bias happens when we selectively search and interpret information to confirm our preexisting beliefs. Unfortunately, this bias is very common and can lead to poor decisions, such as not hiring a new employee because they don’t fit into a desired archetype.

Gather information

You need to gather all the information you can on the problem. This starts with understanding the problem, but also includes your understanding of the context for this problem.

Consider alternatives and different perspectives

There are many benefits to being decisive, but there are also drawbacks. Remember to consider all points of view when making a decision. For example, you may think your idea is the best for the company, but if you provide feedback or ask others for their thoughts, they may give you new ideas that will better suit the company’s needs.

Take time to analyse and evaluate your decision

It can be difficult to think objectively and analyze your decision when you’re in a hurry, but it’s often helpful to take a step back and evaluate things more carefully. This is important because we might find new insights or different perspectives.

Tips to Consider When Making Decisions

Following are a few tips and points to consider when making an important decision:

• Ask yourself what outcome you require
• Consider what happens if you take action and also if you don’t
• Think about how much time and energy would be needed for the decision you need to make
• Consider the probability of achieving your desired outcome or goal if you take this course of action or if don’t take any action at all
• Think about the pros and cons associated with your chosen decision.

Biological Process and Mechanisms of Decision Making

Our brain controls most biological processes in our body. It is also responsible for controlling external factors like our intuition, past experiences, learning as well as decision making. Human emotional response is governed by two information-processing systems:

• Affective system: The affective system is a part of the human nervous system that is responsible for emotional arousal. Mechanisms in this system are not always logical and therefore less controllable. In other words, it’s the part of the brain that says “I’m hungry!” when you see a picture of a pizza or make you laugh when someone trips over their shoelace.
• Cognitive system : The cognitive system is activated when the person has to make a decision based on their thoughts. This system is more controlled and can override the affective system when making decisions. It’s vital to help control emotions, since it can affect how people make decisions.

These two systems are deeply intertwined with one another and impact cognition and the decision making process.

How the Environment Shapes our Decisions

Since the 1960s, environmental psychologists have proposed that our surroundings can affect our decisions, behaviors, and thoughts. These scientists have found that the physical environment may be an important factor in decreasing crime rates, increasing recycling, and improving academic performance. For instance, a study of 54 third graders found that children who were given a messy desk to work at were less likely to do their homework than children who were given perfectly neat desks. Many studies also showed that the environment in which an individual is brought up can influence certain behaviour. For example, a study by researchers from Cornell University found that there is a positive correlation between the wealth of an individual’s family and their academic performance. The study showed that families with incomes of $250,000 or more had an average GPA of 3.5 while the national average was 3.1. Other factors such as political uncertainty, economic instability or natural disasters can also hamper decision making processes.

Decision making skills are important for life, it is a skill that can help shape our futures. It influences how we spend our time, who we spend our time with, and what we do with the limited resources that we have. Moreover, we need to be able to make decisions not just for ourselves but also for the people around us. Hence, it is always better to be prepared and well-informed before making an important decision.

FAQ’s on Decision Making Essay

Question 1. What are the 5 stages of decision-making?

Answer: When making decisions, humans go through 5 specific stages. These stages are:

• recognition of the problem
• defining the problem
• generating possible solutions
• evaluating possible solutions
• choosing a solution

Question 2. Why is decision-making important?

Answer: Decision-making is one of the most important skills that everyone needs to have. It is the process of choosing between two or more things. Moreover, the decision that you make will have an effect on your life, so it’s important to do your research before making a decision.

Question 3. How to make a good decision?

Answer: In order to make a good decision, the individual should have the knowledge and skills to break down a problem into its constituent parts. They need to be creative in order to generate a range of possible solutions. They also need to be able to weigh the consequences of each solution and identify potential trade-offs. Finally, they need to implement a decision which is deemed feasible for the current problem.

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Essays About Choice: Top 5 Examples and 8 Prompts

Finding it hard to start your essays about choice ? Here are our essay examples and prompts to inspire you. 

Making choices, whether big or small, makes up the very journey of our lives. Our choices are influenced by various factors, such as our preferences , beliefs , experiences, and cognitive capacity. Our choices unravel our lives and shape us into the person we choose to be. 

However, humans can easily be distracted and could be irrational when making choices. With this, new studies have emerged to learn more accurately about our thought processes and help us move beyond our limited rationality when making our choices. 

Read on and see our round-up of compelling essay examples and prompts to inspire you in writing your piece about choice.

1. The Art Of Decision-Making by Joshua Rothman

2. tactical generals: leaders, technology, and the perils by peter w. singer, 3. how your emotions influence your decisions by svetlana w. whitener, 4. how to choose the right pet for you by roxanna coldiron, 5. how to make money decisions when the future is uncertain by veronica dagher and julia carpenter, 1. the hardest but best choice in my life, 2. how to make good decisions, 3. “my body, my choice.”, 4. the consequences of bad choices, 5. how consumers make choices, 6. the rise of behavioral economics, 7. moral choices, 8. analyzed the poem “the road not taken.”.

“One of the paradoxes of life is that our big decisions are often less calculated than our small ones are. We agonize over what to stream on Netflix, then let TV shows persuade us to move to New York; buying a new laptop may involve weeks of Internet research, but the deliberations behind a life-changing breakup could consist of a few bottles of wine.”

The article dives deep into the mind’s methods of making choices. It tackles various theories and analyses from various writers and philosophers, such as the decision theory where you make a “multidimensional matrix” in coming up with the most viable choice based on your existing values and the “transformative experience” where today’s values may not determine your tomorrow but makes you fulfilled, nevertheless.

Check out these essays about reading and essays about the contemporary world .

“The challenge is that tactical generals often overestimate how much they really know about what happens on the ground. New technologies may give them an unprecedented view of the battlefield and the ability to reach into it as never before, but this view remains limited.”

Fourth industrial technologies such as artificial intelligence are everywhere and are now penetrating the military system, enabling generals to make more tactical choices. This development allows generals a broader insight into the situation, stripped of the emotional and human interventions that can spoil a rational and sound choice. However, these computer systems remain fraught with challenges and must be dealt with with caution.

“… emotions influence, skew or sometimes completely determine the outcome of a large number of decisions we are confronted with in a day. Therefore, it behooves all of us who want to make the best, most objective decisions to know all we can about emotions and their effect on our decision-making.”

Whitener stresses that external and hormonal factors significantly affect our decisions but determining the role and impact of our emotions helps us make positive decisions. This exercise requires being circumspect in our emotions in a given situation and, of course, not making a decision when under stress or pressure.  Check out these essays about respect .

“Whether we choose to adopt a cat, dog, rabbit, fish, bird, hamster, or guinea pig, knowing that we provide that animal with the best care that it needs is an important aspect of being a pet caretaker. But it’s also about the individual animal.”

Knowing which pet is best for you boils down to carefully evaluating your limits and lifestyle preference. This essay provides a list of questions you should first ask yourself regarding the time and energy you can commit before adopting a pet. It also provides a run-through of pets and their habits that can match your limits and preferences . 

How do I know when is a good time to invest? The article answers this burning financial question and many more amid a period of financial uncertainties propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides tips, such as evaluating your short and long-term financial goals and tapping an accountant or financial adviser, to help readers make a confident choice in their finances. 

8 Prompts On essays about choice

Get creative with our list of prompts on choice:

What is now your best choice may have seemed a difficult one at first. So, talk about the situation where you had to make this hard decision. Then, lay down the lessons you have learned from analyzing the pros and cons of a situation and how you are now benefiting from this choice. Your scenarios can range from picking your school or course for college or dropping out some toxic friends or relatives. 

Making the right choice is a life skill, but it’s easier said than done. First, gather recent research studies that shed light on the various factors that affect how we come up with our choices. Then, look into the best practices to make good decisions based on what psychologists, therapists, and other experts recommend. Finally, to add a personal touch to your essay, describe how you make decisions that effectively result in positive outcomes.  

“My Body, My Choice” is a feminist slogan that refers to women’s right to choose what’s best for their bodies. The slogan aimed to resist the traditional practice of fixed marriages and fight for women’s reproductive rights, such as abortion. For this prompt, you may underscore the importance of listening to women when making policies and rules that involve their bodies and health. You may even discuss the controversial Roe v. Wade ruling and provide your insights on this landmark overturn of women’s rights to abortion.

Bad choices in major life decisions can lead to disastrous events. And we’ve all had our fair share of bad choices. So first, analyze why people tend to make bad decisions. Next, write about the common consequences students face when they fall into the trap of bad choices. Then, talk about an experience where your bad judgment led you to an undesirable situation. Finally, write the lessons you’ve learned from this experience and how this improved your life choices. 

How does a shopper’s mind work? Your essay can answer this through the lens of marketers. You can start by mapping out the stages consumers go through when choosing. Then, identify the fundamental principles that help marketers effectively drive more sales—finally, research how marketers are persuading their target audience through their branding imagery and emotional connection.

Behavioral economics combines the teaching of psychology and economics to study how humans arrive at their economic choices. The discipline challenges the fundamental principle in economic models, which assumes that humans make rational choices. First, provide a brief overview of behavioral economics and how it was born and evolved over the decades. Finally, offer insights on how you think behavioral economics can be adopted in private companies and government agencies to improve decision-making. 

First, define a moral choice. Then, enumerate the factors that can shape a moral choice, such as religion, ethics, culture, and gender. You can also zoom into a certain scenario that sparks debates on the morality of choice, such as in warfare when generals decide whether to drop a bomb or when to forge on or withdraw from a battle. Finally, you may also feature people in history who have managed to let their moral code prevail in their judgment and actions, even in the face of great danger.

Making choices and the opportunities one can miss out on are the central themes in this poem by Robert Frost. First, summarize the poem and analyze what the author says about making choices. Then, attempt to answer what the diverging roads represent and what taking the less traveled road signifies. Finally, narrate an event in your life when you made an unpopular choice. Share whether you regret the choice or ended up being satisfied with it.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips .

But if you’re still stuck, there’s no need to fret. Instead, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

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How to Make Great Decisions, Quickly

• Martin G. Moore

It’s a skill that will set you apart.

As a new leader, learning to make good decisions without hesitation and procrastination is a capability that can set you apart from your peers. While others vacillate on tricky choices, your team could be hitting deadlines and producing the type of results that deliver true value. That’s something that will get you — and them — noticed. Here are a few of a great decision:

• Great decisions are shaped by consideration of many different viewpoints. This doesn’t mean you should seek out everyone’s opinion. The right people with the relevant expertise need to clearly articulate their views to help you broaden your perspective and make the best choice.
• Great decisions are made as close as possible to the action. Remember that the most powerful people at your company are rarely on the ground doing the hands-on work. Seek input and guidance from team members who are closest to the action.
• Great decisions address the root cause, not just the symptoms. Although you may need to urgently address the symptoms, once this is done you should always develop a plan to fix the root cause, or else the problem is likely to repeat itself.
• Great decisions balance short-term and long-term value. Finding the right balance between short-term and long-term risks and considerations is key to unlocking true value.
• Great decisions are timely. If you consider all of the elements listed above, then it’s simply a matter of addressing each one with a heightened sense of urgency.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Like many young leaders, early in my career, I thought a great decision was one that attracted widespread approval. When my colleagues smiled and nodded their collective heads, it reinforced (in my mind, at least) that I was an excellent decision maker.

• MM Martin G. Moore is the founder of Your CEO Mentor and author of No Bullsh!t Leadership and host of the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast. His purpose is to improve the quality of leaders globally through practical, real world leadership content. For more information, please visit, www.martingmoore.com.

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Essay on Making Decisions

Students are often asked to write an essay on Making Decisions in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Making Decisions

Understanding decision making.

Decision making is choosing between two or more options. It’s like picking between chocolate or vanilla ice cream for dessert. You think about which one you like more, and then you choose.

The Importance of Decision Making

Making decisions is important because it helps us move forward in life. Decisions like what to study, what job to take, or where to live shape our future. Just like choosing the right path in a maze, good decisions help us reach our goals faster.

Steps in Making Decisions

Making decisions involves several steps. First, we identify the options. Second, we evaluate each option. It’s like weighing the pros and cons. Third, we choose the best option. Lastly, we act on our decision.

Challenges in Decision Making

Sometimes, making decisions can be tough. It’s like standing at a crossroads, not sure which way to go. We may fear making the wrong choice or disappointing others. But remember, it’s okay to make mistakes. They help us learn and grow.

Improving Decision Making

250 words essay on making decisions, what is decision making.

Decision making is a process where you choose one option from many. It is like picking one ice cream flavor from many choices. It is an important skill in life. We make decisions every day, like what to wear or what to eat.

Types of Decisions

There are two types of decisions: big and small. Small decisions are easy, like choosing a pencil color. Big decisions are harder, like choosing a school subject.

Steps in Decision Making

There are four steps to make a good decision. First, know what you have to decide. Second, think of all the options. Third, think about the good and bad points of each option. Fourth, choose the option that has more good points.

Importance of Decision Making

Making decisions is important because it helps us in life. It helps us choose the right things. It also helps us solve problems.

In conclusion, decision making is a key part of life. It is like a compass that guides us. So, we should learn to make good decisions. Remember, even if you make a wrong decision, it is okay. You can always learn from it and make a better decision next time.

500 Words Essay on Making Decisions

The importance of making decisions.

Decisions are important because they shape our lives. Every choice we make can lead us down a different path. For example, deciding to study hard can lead to good grades, which can open up more opportunities for us in the future. On the other hand, deciding not to study can lead to poor grades, which might limit our options. So, decisions, big or small, can have a big impact on our lives.

Making a decision is not always easy. It can be tough when the decision is important or when there are many choices. Here are some steps that can help:

2. Gather Information: Once the decision is clear, the next step is to gather information about the different options. This could involve reading, asking others for advice, or doing some research.

3. Consider the options: After gathering information, it’s time to think about the different options. What are the pros and cons of each choice?

5. Take action: Once the decision is made, it’s time to act on it. This means doing whatever is needed to make the decision a reality.

6. Review the decision: After some time, it’s good to look back and think about the decision. Was it a good choice? If not, what can be learned for next time?

In conclusion, making decisions is a crucial skill in life. It involves understanding the problem, gathering information, considering the options, making the choice, taking action, and reviewing the decision. While it can be tough, practicing these steps can make decision making easier and lead to better outcomes in life. So, the next time you’re faced with a decision, remember these steps and make the best choice you can.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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Home / Essay Samples / Business / Decision Making / Making Informed Choices: the Importance of Decision Making

Making Informed Choices: the Importance of Decision Making

• Category: Life , Business , Education
• Topic: Decision , Decision Making , Personal Statement

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