When you are confronted with a decision, Sun Tzu presents us with five decision making constants. These five constants must be observed to determine what he calls the Conditions of the Field. At times all of the conditions may be known and at other times only a few conditions may be known. When making a inquiry process, these five areas are of high importance.
Despite your inquiry access and availability to information on these five constants, they will all affect the final outcome of your decision. At times, there may be factors that disallow you to have an in-depth look at these five constants. At times there will be varying degrees of influence within these constants.
Regardless of each degree to which you …show more content…
Identify and clarify the problems of the constant.
Your first task is recognizing that problems can exist. Some problems are big and unmistakable, such as failure of an air-freight delivery service to get packages to customers on time. Other problems may be continuing annoyances, such as regularly running out of toner for an office copy machine. The first step in reaching a solution is pinpointing the risks or problem area within the constant that positions it in the field.
2. Gather information. Learn more about the situation and problem. Look for possible causes and solutions with particular importance to levels any of the achievement areas that can be confirmed in performance or achievement steps. This step may mean checking files, calling suppliers, or brainstorming with fellow workers. For example, the air-freight delivery service would investigate the tracking systems of the commercial airlines carrying its packages to determine what went wrong.
3. Evaluate the …show more content…
Consider alternatives and implications.
Draw conclusions from the gathered evidence and pose solutions. Then, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. What are the costs, benefits, and consequences? What are the obstacles, and how can they be handled? Most important, what solution best serves your goals and those of your organization? Here 's where your creativity is especially important.
5. Choose and implement the best alternative.
Select an alternative and put it into action. Then, follow through on your decision by monitoring the results of implementing your plan. The freight company decided to give its unhappy customers free delivery service to make up for the lost packages and downtime. On the job you would want to continue
When gathering this information with each of the constants you must favor towards examination of each constant in favor of advantages. Your decision can then lever the advantages of each constant so that it favors your decision. This may enhance your success factor against any of the misinformation, errors and unknown in the