Improving Decision-Making in Restaurants

What are the typical kinds of decisions that managers make? A restaurant manager is responsible for recruiting, training, and supervising employees. He is also responsible for planning menus, ordering supplies, monitoring stock, and ensuring the facility comply with all the legal requirements. The decisions of a restaurant managers are categorized into; strategic, programmed, non-programed, and operational decisions (Obi, 2018; Yolmeh, & Baykal-Gürsoy, 2019). Strategic decisions are concerned with the entire environment within which the restaurant operates (Yolmeh & Baykal-Gürsoy, 2019). They are also decisions that are based on the long-term goals and vision of the restaurant. Programmed decisions are those that are based on a well-understood criterion (Obi, 2018). Unprogrammed decisions are unique and lack clear guidelines for reaching solutions (Obi, 2018). Operational decisions are those that are made in the course of managing the day-to-day activities of a restaurant (Yolmeh, & Baykal-Gürsoy, 2019). Decision making

What behaviors can lead to faulty decisions?

Several behaviors can lead to faulty decisions in a restaurant business. One such behavior is laziness as lazy restaurant managers do not gather information, check facts, or confirm assumptions made. Another behavior that results in the wrong decision is failing to consider the possibility of negative events. Considering only the positive side of a decision is a behavior that increases the risk of making faulty decisions as a restaurant manager. Using past data to make future projections is another behavior that can lead to faulty decisions. In other words, restaurant managers who use approaches that worked in the past increases the likelihood of making faulty decisions.

What can you do to improve your decision-making skills?

Using decision-making models is the best way to enhance my skills as a restaurant manager. For instance, the rational decision-making model and the Vroom-Yetton model are two effective options for the restaurant business. The rational model requires a manager to rely on facts, analytics, and a step-by-step process to make decisions (Cartenì, D’Acierno, & Gallo, 2020).

The five steps of the rational decision-making model are: problem identification, establishing decision criteria, generating alternatives, evaluating alternatives, and selecting the best alternative (Cartenì, D’Acierno, & Gallo, 2020). By following these steps, the rational decision-making model uses facts and analysis from the restaurant to reach a solution. APA