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Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process

Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011.

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Other Authors: Pretorius, Leon
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Pretorius, Leon
author_browse Pretorius, Leon
author_facet Pretorius, Leon
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/28530
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:22.099Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/28530 Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process Pretorius, Leon dutoit.yolande@gmail.com Du Toit, Yolande System approach Decision making process UCTD Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011. According to Harvard Business Essentials (2006) an organisation is a series of decisions linked by implementation and other activities. Decisions set the pace and direction; the rest is follow through. Paul Nutt has been studying how decisions are made for more than 20 years and have found that decisions fail half of the time, without realising any benefit for the organisation (Nutt, 2002). Decision making is an essential part of the management function of an organisation. But why do so many decisions fail? Why does the outcome of decisions sometimes not satisfy the initial problem or support the organisation’s goal? Four decision making processes were analysed for this dissertation, the conclusion was drawn that current decision making processes do not incorporate a clear system approach. The dissertation shows that a system approach, as defined by systems engineering,satisfies the need for ensuring decisions are made taking into account a holistic picture. By following a system approach when making a decision, a bigger picture view can be obtained. Having a bigger picture view, will aid the decision maker in identifying whether the decision to make is indeed the right decision to be made, or merely a symptom of another decision or problem. A system approach aids the decision maker to determine where the decision to be taken fits in and what impact it will have on the system. A system approach to decision making process was designed, incorporating the strengths of the decision making process and system approach methodologies researched. The system approach methodology can be applied successfully to management decisions. By using this methodology a holistic view is obtained of a decision regarding a problem, resulting in effectively handling and managing the decision or problem. Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) unrestricted 2013-09-07T13:40:48Z 2011-10-18 2013-09-07T13:40:48Z 2011-09-06 2011-10-18 2011-10-07 Dissertation Du Toit, Y 2011, Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process, MEng dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28530 > E11/9/121/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28530 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10072011-153307/ © 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle System approach
Decision making process
UCTD
Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title_full Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title_fullStr Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title_full_unstemmed Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title_short Incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
title_sort incorporating a system approach to the decision making process
topic System approach
Decision making process
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28530
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10072011-153307/