Kinds of Decisions:

• Strategic - these are long term decisions affecting the whole businesses, these are taken at the most senior level of management.
• Tactical - these affect a particular part of a business and are medium term. These are taken by middle management
• Operation - these are the ones taken on a day to day basis and are taken by managers.

Factors that can affect decisions:

Qualitative (Based on non-numerical information):

• Pros Vs Cons list
• Swot Analysis
• Market research information
• PEST analysis
• Porter's five forces
• Advice from consultants
• Brainstorming or running a workshop

Quantitative (Based on numerical data):

• Financial accounts of the business
• Financial information on the start of the local, nation and international economy
• Market research information
• Advice from consultants
• Brainstorming or running a workshop
• Help from business advisers
• Decision Trees

Conflicts in Decision making:

• The information gathered might not reflect reality
• Factors like customer satisfaction and staff morale are almost impossible to quantify and may prove unexpected in the face of change
• When Complex research is undertaken by experts it may prove inaccurate because the experts have no knowledge of reality.