As a supervisor, you had frequently been making routine decisions, but you realize that decision making for the overall company can and will have far greater impact on the company and its employees.

Your boss, the chief executive officer (CEO), realizes that you do not have much practice in this higher level, decision-making process and has asked you to write a memo describing your understanding of how to make important decisions.

Your memo should address the following questions:

• Describe at least 3 criteria that would determine      whether the manager is making good decisions. What should be done to      better assure that you are making a good decision?
• In the realm of decision making, what are assumptions?      Rather than use a dictionary definition, cite several specific assumptions      that would go with any real-life decision you have made or have seen made      at a company at which you have worked.
• Given the importance of proper assumptions, your boss      asked you to assess the accuracy of certain business assumptions and what      could you do to test or confirm the credibility of them. The      following were major assumptions for each firm:
  • An automobile manufacturer’s assumption that the       demand for SUVs would continue because gas prices would continue to       rise
  • An airline’s assumption that there was a need for an       airline that provided no added amenities

Please refer to the following multimedia course material(s): 

• Unit 2: Assumptions
• Unit 2: Making Good Decisions
• Unit 2: Strategic Market Research Data
• Unit 2: Research Strategy & Proposal Outline
• Unit 2: Methods and Tools for Decision Making
• Unit 2: Decision Making Strategies
• Unit 2: Using Statistics in Business Decisions