Decision Tree Analysis

Abstract

A Fortune Magazine survey on management decision-making revealed that most corporate presidents do not know how they make decisions nor do they follow any formal decision rules or procedures. Many of the managers replied to the questionnaire with such comments as: "I don't think businessmen know how to make decisions. I know I don't.", "There are no rules.", "You don't know how you do it; you just do it.", "If a vice president asks me how I was able to choose the right course I have to say, 'I'm damned if I know.'", "Whenever I think, I make a mistake." Such remarks on the, "how-to" of decision making are not surprising because most of the emphasis has been placed on the results of decisions rather than on the methods used.