The Relationship Among Decision-making Approaches, System Thinking, and Decision Speed: An Explanatory Study

Decision-making is a critical component in effective organizational management. Several modern business theorists have attempted to address the concept of systems thinking as an attribute in the decision-making process (Senge, 1990; Deming, 1994). However, their studies have been theoretical and used anecdotal examples to explain the relationship between the two variables. Through a quantitative fixed research design, this research used a survey to investigate the relationship among probabilistic, simple heuristic, and pattern recognition decision-making approaches; system thinking views; and decision-making speed among individuals in business. The responses from 93 participants indicated that there is statistical support that a system thinking view impacts decision-making speed. However, the relationship between a system thinking view and decision-making approach was not established, thus indicating a need to refine the survey tool or that individual choice of decision-making approach is more complex.