M44ManageManagement Systems· Module 6
Decision Systems
Important decisions are made in hallways, reversed a week later and never recorded.
- Manage
- Institutionalise
- Scale
- Governance
- Leadership
- Strategy
- ~5 min · Template
The business problem
In many businesses, it's unclear how decisions are made, who made them, and on what basis. Decisions are revisited repeatedly, people act on different understandings, and the business cannot learn from past choices.
Why it matters
A decision system — who decides what, how, with what information, and how it is recorded — speeds decisions, reduces reversals and creates institutional memory.
What you will learn
- Classify decisions by significance and reversibility
- Match the decision process to the type of decision
- Record significant decisions and their rationale
- Review decisions to improve judgement
Core questions
- Which decisions need a formal process, and which can be made quickly?
- Who is consulted, and who decides?
- Where are decisions recorded?
- How often are decisions reopened, and why?
Work through the module
CaseWhat is happening?
Family agribusiness, 150 people · Illustrative teaching case
Family directors of an agribusiness reverse each other's decisions on pricing and hiring. Managers wait to see which decision sticks. The board agrees which decisions need board approval, which the managing director makes, and records all significant decisions with their rationale in a shared log.
DecisionWhat does the leader need to decide?
Keep deciding informally, or establish rules and a record for significant decisions?
FrameworkHow should they think about the problem?
Decision types
Reversible, low-impact decisions: fast, delegated, rarely recorded. Irreversible or high-impact decisions: defined process, clear decision-maker, evidence, record and review date.
ToolWhat can they use?
Decision logTemplate
- Decision and date
- Decision-maker and who was consulted
- Options considered
- Rationale and key assumptions
- Review date
ApplicationHow does it apply to their business?
Apply it to your own business:
- List recent decisions that were reversed or disputed
- Classify the decisions your business makes regularly
- Start a decision log
ImplementationWhat changes?
What should change in the business:
- Agree decision rules with the leadership team
- Log all significant decisions
- Review a sample of past decisions quarterly
ReviewDid it work?
How to tell whether the change worked:
- Have reversals and disputes reduced?
- Are decisions being made faster?
- Is the log used when similar decisions arise?
After this module you should be able to decide
Keep deciding informally, or establish rules and a record for significant decisions?
And leave with: A decision log and rules for how significant decisions are made.
Sequence · Management Systems