Business Decision Making Using Technology

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Business Decision Making Using Technology

Advantages of Using an OODA Approach

OODA is the acronym for observation, orient, decide and act. This kind of approach is usually used during combat operations in the military. In the military, this approach was used in order to enable one to drive his/her energies towards defeating an adversary and surviving. In the same way, the approach is used in the business world. One of the advantages of this approach is that it relies on continuing observations including the analysis of a given situation. This approach is better than the previous approach the Amenities were using known as PDCA (plan, do, check and act). This is because it serves the decision makers with constant information that will aid them with adequate information to make informed decisions (Von et al, 2008).

The approach is meant to make the organization adapt rapidly to taking an observation and reacting to ongoing events faster than the opposing entity. This will enable the organization study and know the inside of the competitor’s decision circle, thus gaining the advantage. When the amenities took this approach, they had this in mind. The general main aim of the approach is top make sure that one is acting faster than their adversaries are. Having the pachinko parlors that total up to sixteen in a big country like Japan, such an approach is very crucial. More entities are competing for the same customers and opportunities. It is necessary to work with a strategy that is more adaptive to the current times. With relation to the ERP system, (enterprise resource Planning), the OODA would have been the best approach used by Amenities.

The observing, orienting, making decisions and acting makes an entity look ambiguous making the entity unpredictable. This unpredictability nature confuses and disorganizes the competitors. As a result, these competitor(s) will be unable to develop pictures or mental images that will help them be at per with the organization/entity. Amenities felt that using the ERP system, the SAP (system application system) and the OODA (von et al., 2008) would work to the best of ensuring that the business was ahead of the competition. All these would make it almost impossible to the competitors to predict strategies and plans of the entity while concurrently the firm is aware of opposing strategies from the competitors. In other words, Amenities would be able to know the others’ strategies and plans while theirs remain unknown or predicted by the competitor, thus setting confusion on the “other side”.

PDCA concentrates on the strategic or operational stage of projects. Amenities needed something more advance as this was giving the maximum results and especially to the decision makers. The decision makers needed something that could take them past the strategic and operational stages. They also needed something that would put their competitors off the balance. OODA did it. OODA approach was also easier to work with, as they needed something that could be used on a day-to-day basis in real time (Rich, 2007).

Real-time and continuous access to Key-Indicator

The business world changes every now and then. This is the reason why the decision makers need to have real-time information in order to make decisions that will make an impact. This entails use of charts indicating the sales, profits, losses, expenses, amongst others, change on a day-to-day basis (Rich, 2007). The constant changes in these charts and bar graphs enable the decision makers to make timely and necessary changes. Having reports that can only be reviewed at the end of particular long periods may not be as effective as reviewing the same reports in as short periods as one day to one week.

Pachinko business is a very fast business. Having sixteen such outlets needs people who are ready to put up with the competition and be on top. The business world is getting access to more and more modern technology that will enable the entity to be in the same level with the other competitors if not higher. Having ERP and SAP were part of improving the facilities and the strategies in accessing real-time information. This kind of information would also enable the decision makers to predict what the near future beholds for the entity. The same enables the decision makers to know what strategies to implement in case the business is going down and what strategies to put in place to keep the business on top in case of good performances.

Decision makers include managers, directors and any other people that might be given the responsibility of making such decisions (Mahoney & Gartner, 2007). The decision makers need to have the adequate and relevant information in order to make decisions that will influence the business in a positive way. Businesses need to have both short and long-term strategies. This is the reason why real-time information should be accessed more than depending on information that is past or too much into the future. It also gives the competitors a hard time in knowing the entity’s strategies and policies.

References

Mahoney, J., & Gartner, Inc. (Firm). (2007). The importance of integrated business and technology decision making will grow by 2012. Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc.

Rich, V. (2007). Business decision making. Harlow: Pearson.

Von, L. D. K. J. E., Beakley, J. E., & Patricelli, F. (December 01, 2008). All hazards approach to disaster management: the role of information and knowledge management. Boyd’s OODA Loop, and network-centricity. Disasters, 32, 4, 561-585.