Decision Making in Management: Process, Types, Tools & Best Practices

Introduction: Why Decision-Making Is the Core of Successful Management

Decision-making is integral to managing things effectively in every aspect of life, more so in businesses and professions. To ensure an organization can leverage the best available resources at its disposal, given its existing workforce, effective decision-making is essential. Not only is it crucial for streamlined day-to-day business operations, but also for the overall business success.

In this post, we shall highlight the concept and the various aspects of decision-making in detail, but primarily on how it can contribute to systematizing administration and help people run small and big companies, along with businesses, effectively.

What is Decision-Making in Management?

Before we get into the details, let us start by discussing decision-making in management. Decision-making is when you and your team commit to choosing the best idea, ideology, strategy, or plan for the overall growth and success of the organization, and work towards achieving the targets laid out during the initial phase of groundwork and designing.

Two core aspects of decision-making involve referring to previous data and reports to identify problem areas, and practicing processes and principles that can help resolve business challenges. The reason it continues to be an integral part of management is that it sets the foundational stone for companies that have a structured roadmap to follow and aim towards a defined goal.

What are the Key Characteristics of Effective Management Decision Making?

For effective management decision-making, managers and leaders must practice the following:

1. Responsibility: To execute the decisions made during the planning phase, it is important to be responsible. After all, it is not only about defining accountabilities but about fulfilling them responsibly. Whether it is about allocating new resources to a project or achieving the targets within a specified timeline, taking responsibility is crucial to achieving a realistic, measurable goal.
    
2. Organization: When it comes to making management or business decisions, keeping things synchronized is the key to avoiding any sort of chaos or confusion along the way. As almost every project needs structure, logic, approach, and timeline, it is imperative to make mindful decisions that are beneficial for the overall growth of the organization.
    
3. Decisiveness: As effective decision-making is majorly about picking the best alternative from the available options, individuals must be decisive and clear in their heads as to how their decisions will positively impact the organization at present as well as in the long run. So, if you are in a position authorized to make decisions on behalf of the company, make sure to do it only after a mindful assessment of the alternatives available.
    
4. Rationality: Decisions in management or in any aspect of one’s personal or professional life should be based on reasons and logic, and not simply on impulse or intuition. Rationality is what acts as the driving force for managers, team leaders, supervisors, and project heads to make choices that are strongly backed by resourceful evidence and have proven records.
    
5. Purpose: Any major or minor decision that a company makes has mainly to do with its growth and success. This is the purpose towards which everyone works. But what defines purpose is not an ultimate goal, but also how that particular objective can contribute to the desired conclusion if we work towards it with strategy and proactive action.
    
6. Empiricism: In most cases, the team leaders, project managers, and those in senior positions often also go with their previous experience or past observation when it comes to making imperative decisions. They ensure their decisions are based purely on facts and data, and there is no deviation from the truth. Empirical decision-making, therefore, remains a key aspect of management that relies on nothing but clear evidence and assessable data.
    

What is the Decision-Making Process in Management?

Decision-making is a complex process and consists of several steps, each of which eventually leads to the next step, which ultimately contributes to the overall growth of the business. We have listed out the core steps involved in decision-making when it comes to management.

• Identify and understand the issue - When it comes to decision-making, the manager, overseer, or supervisor heading the project Management is responsible for identifying and evaluating the issues firsthand. Unless the team carefully scans through the issues raised by the subordinates or the senior team, they cannot devise a solution to the issue. So, this should be taken care of as the first step in the decision-making process.
   
• Collect relevant data to back it - Once the issue is identified, the first thing that a manager should pursue is researching and collecting information that aligns with their idea of the issue. Whatever you decide for the identified problem has to have solid data that supports it. Remember, decision-making should be an informed call once you have analyzed, studied, and collected your evidence. No matter whether you agree or disagree with the issue, you should have answers to support that.
   
• Find an appropriate solution - At one point, you may feel you have a lot of alternatives to choose from. In such a scenario, you should take time, discuss with the team members, speak to the experts, and seek the opinion from the senior management and project manager to conclude what remains an acceptable solution. Remember, your ultimate goal should be to choose a solution that favors the organization and aligns with its vision.
   
• Assess the evidence carefully - For this, you can set up a team of decisive individuals who can help you to evaluate how a certain decision might or might not help in visualizing the bigger picture. Reflect upon it and see if your preferred way out of the problem is sustainable, accepted by others on the project, can be followed by the rest, and is something that can be considered even in future endeavors.
   
• Weigh the pros and cons alongside - To run a business or even to be a part of an organization’s decision-making strategy, there is a process that should be followed. Abiding by a structural approach and weighing the pros and cons of the considerable decisions available will further clarify which route you should opt for. While you do it, make sure to consider the timelines, resources required, manpower you can allocate for the job, the priorities, the concern areas, etc., to choose an alternative that helps achieve company goals.
   
• Develop a proper plan to address it - Simply selecting an alternative out of the available options and laying out a framework is not going to help! There has to be a practical plan of action that can lead to the results. In the plan, there should be all the required steps that can be taken, the things that need to be prioritized, and the tasks that need to be allocated to the team members, the timeline, funds, and other resources that the project would call for - everything should be covered. Alongside, make sure you, as a manager, seek regular follow-ups from the employees regarding the progress made.
   
• Track the performance of your decision - Once a decision is made, give some time to see how it performs. This can be tracked by the performance metrics - leads generated, calls received, mails acknowledged, and visitors count. If this is the first time you and your team have made a decision, it is fair not to expect a great outcome. Try to focus only on the returns, no matter how small they may seem. If, for instance, your decision was regarding a software launch, see if the launch actually addressed customer needs, or if it needs some improvements.
   

     Also, check out  for  PMP Certification Online to grow ahead in the future.

What are the Types of Decision Making in Management (With Examples)?

• Programmed (Routine) Decision - As the term itself is clarifying enough, this type of decision uses previously set and established regulations to address or manage a situation. This involves a team relying on their tried-and-tested guidebook to manage the day-to-day operations within a workplace or business. For example, preparing payroll sheets, inventory sheets for the raw materials needed, etc., using the predetermined roadmaps or functionalities, without experimenting with anything new.
   
• Non-Programmed (Strategic) Decision - In strategic decision-making, the key elements involved are the core objective of the business, the key steps required to achieve that goal, a strong presence of the essential aspects, including funds, resources, manpower, time, and management, so that the deliverables ensure maximum benefit to the customers. An example of this is to attain a new chain of clientele after a successful delivery of a project, or launching a new line of services for customers.
   
• Psychological (Cognitive) Decision - By psychological decision-making, we mean the decisions that are based purely on psychology and are related to mental functions. These decisions involve deep thought, consideration, emotions, actions, etc., together which contribute to identifying and assessing problems in detail, researching, processing, and curating a practical course of action, finding solutions to those problems, and resolving complex situations. The reason why most people support cognitive decisions is that these are strongly backed by data and therefore have fewer chances to fail. Simple examples to understand this in a better way could be deciding which course to pursue after school, which car to buy, or what to have for breakfast for the week, and so on.
   
• Normative (Rational) Decision - Normative decisions are founded on a set of guidelines that aid in informed decision-making. This form of decision-making prioritizes decisions according to their potency of delivery. Only if a decision seems productive is it considered rational and considerable by the management. Here, the major decisions are taken by the top, reliable decision-makers who have been doing this job for an extended period of time. One great example to understand normative decision-making is to choose the best possible solution or option to a problem or a situation that minimizes risk and amplifies benefits.
   
• Intuitive Decision - These are more or less the decisions that are made out of previous incidents, experiences, or are simply driven by instincts. Situations where your mind does not look for facts and other details to conclude a particular verdict are what we call intuitive decisions. These decisions are made quickly as they do not require extensive thought or consciousness, but just pattern understanding. Instances of intuitive decision-making can be witnessed largely in our day-to-day lives, where choices are made entirely out of intuition. For example - a candidate negotiating with a recruiter for a better package despite not being sure about it and grabbing a good hike on the current package; a doctor sensing a possible emergency during a patient checkup and quickly identifying the disease; appearing for a competitive exam without even being sure of your candidature simply by relying on your intuition and eventually passing it successfully, etc.
   
• Tactical Decision - Defined as a significant set of decisions influencing the business, these are actions that are directed towards bigger objectives. This involves decision-making for crucial aspects of the business like manpower recruitment, employee training, resource allocation, fund disbursement, marketing strategy, and stakeholder management. Effective decisions that tactically improve situations include certain prompt actions that promise to deliver quick results. For example, clearing up unsold inventory from the previous season this year at a discounted rate, launching a marketing campaign to balance the losses endured by the company in the last session, or recruiting new talent to manage excessive workload in a department, and so on.
   
• Operational Decision - Any small or big decision usually taken by a company to ensure the smooth running of the business operations comes under operational decisions. These usually consist of the daily decisions and defined tasks of the routine that are undertaken by the junior and senior staff members. An example of this is a situation where a team leader or a manager oversees business operations to ensure there is no gap, disturbance, or discrepancy in the execution of duties by the staff members. Precisely, any action taken towards seamless operations of workplace responsibilities comes under operational decisions.

Decision-Making Styles that Managers Must Know

As we discuss decision-making in detail in this post, let us also quickly shed some light on the different decision-making styles that the senior managers and leaders follow.

There are four different decision-making styles, namely:

1. Directive - Decisions that are based on an individual’s experience, prior knowledge, and belief are directive decisions. This type of decision-making helps in hassle-free navigation of problems, provides quick solutions, and does not require extensive research.
    
2. Analytical - Most managers who believe in making long-term decisions are often analytical. They do not go solely by their instincts but carefully analyse situations based on research data, figures, facts, expert opinions, and additionally, consider comparing the collected data with the primary authentic resources available to avoid any kind of fallacy in decision-making. Although quite time-consuming, this decision-making style works best during research and development or informative material preparation.
    
3. Conceptual - When leaders are open to listening to different takes, ideas, perspectives, and feedback from people outside their team and are always eager to bring in fresh inputs into any project for the overall development of the project, they follow the conceptual decision-making style. This style comprises innovativeness, collaboration, freedom of speech, and thought to work towards a mutual goal, which also happens to align with the organization’s vision and principles.
    
4. Behavioral - Behavioral style of decision-making is all about prioritizing the behavioral patterns of the team members who are a key part of the company’s decision-making. In this, any decision made is based on what the team members have to say regarding that particular subject matter or issue. As more viewpoints, and different interpretations, and ideologies are involved in this kind of approach, there are rarely any chances of conflict in the decision-making process.

What are the Factors That Influence Decision Making in Management? 

Countless factors affect our decision-making ability. While some of these factors are entirely internal and associated with the manager or the team head himself, other factors impact the decisions externally, without any direct contact. Then there are personal and social factors, besides uncertainty and risk. We will explain each of these factors for you right below:
 

1. Internal Factors - Internal factors in decision-making consist of all the factors that have the potential to alter decisions from within the organization (where no external body or factor is involved). Internal factors can be different - it can be related to the manager’s or a team member’s emotional aspect, their experience, understanding of the industry dynamics, etc., or, on the other hand, it can be about the company’s policies, guidelines, and the culture of the mid-level and senior management, the resources available at hand among other factors.
    
2. External Factors - What also influences decision-making are the external factors that one has to tackle or keep in mind whenever they are about to make a decision. These are external factors that involve things that are not a part of the organization but can impact our verdict. For instance, factors like the ongoing market trend, the new competitors coming up, and the existing leaders in the market, a new software or technology in the scenario that can influence our decision, the societal take on our decisions, the political scenario of the region now, etc., are a few factors from our environment that can equally influence our decision-making.
    
3. Behavioral and Psychological Factors - Behavioral factors that can influence decision-making include personal beliefs, confirmation bias (favoring information that supports an individual’s vision or take), and anchoring (going with a decision based on the first piece of data you researched or found), sunk cost fallacy (where an individual does not step back from a poorly-made decision, despite that being a non-yielding practice), being too sure of one’s own capabilities, following shortcuts to save time and hassle but losing out on impactful results, etc.
    
4. Uncertainty and Risk - As we know, uncertainty is all about making decisions that do not have a predefined probability or outcome. Uncertainty in decision-making occurs when you are unaware of what the results will be of a certain decision that you make. Risks, on the other hand, are where you are clear about the outcomes, yet you choose to do it. The only difference between the two is that uncertain decisions can also lead to productive results at the end, but when it comes to risk, the outcomes are mostly significant, and failures can lead to major downfalls.

What are the Techniques and Tools Used by Managers in Decision Making?

Managers rely on several productive decision-making tools and techniques to simplify and navigate the complex decisions they have to make. Additionally, these tools are time-efficient and ensure minimal chances of errors during the decision-making process. Using these tools and techniques reduces the scope of indecision and enhances the quality of the outputs. Since each of these tools and techniques is designed for streamlined operations, they improve results and generate profits.

Common Decision-Making Mistakes Managers Should Avoid

No matter how experienced or successful a manager is, there can be situations where they might fail in making the right choices. Here is a list of the popular decision-making mistakes that managers should look out for so they can avoid making those blunders in their business operations.

• Overconfidence bias - Even the managers, project leads, and supervisors, at times, give rise to overconfidence bias through their decisions and behavior. This is when they end up making decisions and calls that are purely based on their arrogance. By overestimating themselves, based on their previous achievements or experience, they often compel their teams to agree to wrong decisions, which results in failures. This is something that both aspiring and experienced managers should take note of to ensure peace exists within the team and everyone remains on the same track, agreeing on things. A few ways to address this issue are by assessing oneself, listening to feedback, regularly reviewing performance, and working towards improving the concern areas.
   
• Analysis paralysis - Another major mistake that the managers make is analysis paralysis, a situation where the managers get excessively into doing the groundwork, research, and information collection that they miss out on delivering the project timely, resulting in them being defaulters. The reason why managers commit this mistake is because of their over-apprehensiveness and anxiety about making inappropriate decisions. In simple terms, this managerial behavior of overanalysis results in paralysing the growth of the projects and other tasks. To mitigate this issue, managers must set strict timelines and keep track of their work process so that too many rounds of research and analysis can be easily avoided and responsibilities can be easily delegated right in the beginning.
   
• Emotional decisions - Although considered a rare deciding factor, but certainly a relevant one in various corporate settings, are when managers are driven by emotions (anger, poor morale, ego, ignorance, reaction, etc.) and end up making decisions that are neither logical nor profitable for the business. Professional relationships stem from work, and getting extremely involved in the professional aspects of it can be hurtful to many. So, it is crucial to be strategic about workplace decisions and not entirely emotional, as the outcomes of making sensitive decisions can often disrupt team coordination, cause poor actions, and result in inadequate team performance.
   
• Groupthink - Groupthink is where groups or teams come together to discuss tasks, progress, and concern areas, but primarily prioritize team harmony over real discussion in the meetings. This causes the team members to not properly voice out their opinions, with the fear that their ideas or suggestions will not be accepted or acknowledged by the other team members. The conflicting nature of the groupthink mistake is that it results in poor decisions, overlooked priorities, and stagnant growth.
   
• Ignoring long-term impact - This is a common behavioral aspect of managers where they train themselves as well as their team members to focus on the work on the table, without emphasizing enough on the long-term impact that the decisions will have. This is a major mistake, as focusing only on short-term goals is not going to help you navigate the path to reach the ultimate, long-term goal. So, you will have to make sure that your short-term targets contribute to a bigger outcome. If you focus only on the next immediate task on the checklist and find solutions specifically to it, you might end up overlooking the long-term impact.
   
• Poor data interpretation - Data research, information collection, and segregation in themselves are time-consuming tasks and something that should be taken care of properly. This is because it sets the foundation for how accurate the deliverables will be. Poorly researched data, unchecked facts and figures, and biased information will ultimately lead to an unsatisfactory outcome, so managers must prioritize objectives clearly, train the research members about the correct ways of data collection, involve experts on the project for advice, and be open to seeking diversified feedback. 

Ethical Considerations in Management Decision Making

In management, business, and other important work aspects, when it comes to making ethical decisions, a lot of things come into play. Companies work with legal bodies and other authoritative organizations to structure their statutory principles and protocols. Some of the major considerations to make during decision-making are integrity, impartiality, responsibility, openness, impact on society, impression management, etc. 

Additionally, it can help with: 

Decision Making in Crisis Situations

Every business faces a crisis at some point or the other during its lifetime. It is for these situations that it is important to have a structured chart of guidelines that the companies can abide by. But how does effective strategizing and decision-making help get over emergencies?

Whenever the situations of a business seem unfavorable, it is important to prioritize fairness, obedience, proportionality, iniquity, and clarity in incidents and also between team members. Besides that, what holds equal precedence is proper communication between members, protection of individual rights and responsibilities, and discovering ways to maximize business output and minimize the chances of risks, deviations, and loopholes.

How to Improve Decision-Making Skills as a Manager?

Studies suggest that everyone around us is a decision maker and that nearly everybody knows what it takes to make a decision that is good for the self and also for others. But there is a set of guidelines that the managers abide by when it comes to making decisions. You can check them out below:

1. Recognize problem areas: As a manager, one of your primary responsibilities would be to identify the problem and gradually look for ways to resolve it. For this, you can set up a team of experienced members who can sit together and brainstorm, and come up with a practical strategy to address the issue.
    
2. Observe and track progress: If you and the team you assembled have devised a new plan, process, or strategy to resolve problems, make sure to give it some time before you can actually announce it as a practical solution. Take your time to see if your devised roadmap yielded any positive outcome, and it should be followed in the future.
    
3. Leverage your experience: If you have been working as a manager with your organization for several years now, you would be aware of the ideas, strategies, and campaigns that you initiated, which worked for your business. You can utilize that experience in planning new modules and roadmaps to be incorporated into your company’s marketing blueprint.
    
4. Stay updated on information: As a manager, it is not only about keeping an eye on the current set of tasks, but also about everything that is even remotely associated with you. From knowing what each of your team members is working on, their work progress, the objectives of the month, the stakeholders associated with the project, the updates to convey to the senior management regarding the work done, and everything that is involved in the tasks that your team is working on, should be there, logged in your master work board.
    
5. Remind yourself of goals: Before reminding your team members of their objectives, it is important to have a closer look at the goals you have defined for the business you are working for. This is because only when you are clear of those goals will you have a realistic plan that you will follow. Keep track of everyday tasks, accomplishments, and the string of accountabilities yet to be achieved by you and your team.
    
6. Invest time in priorities: Avoid focusing on areas that demand the most attention. As a manager, you will constantly be surrounded by a plethora of tasks and responsibilities, and not knowing where to shift your focus will disturb the sync between all of them. Segregate tasks based on priority and start with fulfilling them based on their timelines. This will save you time and keep things organized throughout the process.
    
7. Be open to listening: Always encourage your team members and others you work with to openly share what they feel, so you can stay up to date with the progress of the work your team members are doing. Share feedback constructively so that the other person knows where they can improve and help them with how they can improve. As a manager, it is equally important to observe and listen, rather than just speak. This will help you to understand the different perspectives of individuals. 

How will the Future of Decision Making in Management?

Before we analyse the future of decision-making in management, we must understand what decision-making is and how it affects individuals and businesses alike. As we have already discussed this concept in this article, we shall share a fresh perspective on it here.

• Decision-making is more than just making decisions from a bunch of available options. It is a detailed process that consists of steps (stages) that one has to follow to conclude. 
   
• Data-Driven Management - Data-driven management in decision-making is a situation where management operations are based on well-researched data sets. By data, we mean statistics, reports, studies, analyses, and evidence. When any decision within a firm is based on either of these factors, it is known as data-driven management.
   
• Artificial Intelligence in Decision Making - With the advent of artificial intelligence, we have experienced a significant shift in development and decision-making. AI has streamlined operations, enhanced productivity, and aided us in major personal decisions. Today, it can fetch us significant pieces of information through various sources, alongside citing valuable details that can help us predict behavioral patterns and major phenomena.
   
• Automation in Business Decisions - The most important aspect of AI is that it has simplified complex operations by automating repetitive tasks, which would otherwise take up a lot of time, effort, and involve hassle. Additionally, it ensures accuracy, efficiency, and timely execution of tasks by eliminating manual work.
   
• Human + AI collaboration - Most companies nowadays have ensured to integrate AI with human intelligence. The reason is, when both work together, every action and decision is backed with accuracy and human emotions. While AI takes care of the problem-solving part, humans blend in thought, judgment, and empathy to every assignment to deliver a humanized output.
   
• Predictive analytics - Predictive analytics involves referring to studies and reports that denote how a specific event, occurrence, or technology will shape things in the future. It uses old data (success records, decisions, marketing ideas, customer feedback, product and service response, etc.) and figures to inform people how things are going to be in the future and how businesses and organizations should strategize for it beforehand.
   
• Ethical AI governance - Ethical usage of artificial intelligence in business operations involves mindful utilization of the platform where there is utmost privacy, transparency, and accountability of the information available. Regular audits of the AI system, complete security of personal data, centralized rules and regulations for careful AI use are a few of the steps involved in ethical AI management for businesses.
   
• Agile decision models - Agile decision models are all about acknowledging and implementing new changes, suggestions, and developments in a dynamic environment, while working on a business project. In this, the priority is all about delivering value over momentum. Any agile setting works in a step-by-step format where the complex issue is first broken down into small, manageable tasks, with frequent revisions, and systematic task allocation to the members, allowing them to quickly adapt to changes, make better decisions, and let the business grow.

What is difference b/w Decision Making vs Problem Solving?

Both decision-making and problem-solving are integral aspects of human behavior, often important to lead a stress-free, well-managed personal and professional life. While both these terms have different meanings, they remain closely related and have a role to play in resolving complex scenarios.

We have illustrated the differences between the two terms through the table shown below:

FAQs

1. Why is decision-making important in management?

   Decision-making involves making selections that are best for the organization in every way. This involves multiple verdicts regarding the various aspects of any business - this can include finance-related decisions, project-based conclusions, and other major commitments. Every company works with effective collaboration and participation of the employees, senior managers, financiers, and collaborators, where the company leaders, stakeholders, and those from the senior management are the ones making major decisions on behalf of the company.

   Effective decision-making is critical for any business or organization, as it eventually helps with meticulous onboarding of individuals, contributes to the overall growth of the firm, and assists in effective strategizing for the business, all of which help build brand reputation and identity.

2. What is limited decision-making?

   Limited decision-making is what we, as inquisitive and informed customers, do every time, throughout our lives, whenever we plan to buy something. This involves conscious judgment regarding a product before we choose to buy it. Limited decision-making involves referring to the product information in detail, researching it, checking out customer experiences, user feedback, and reviews, etc., and then making a decision, where the product satisfactorily meets the needs and budget of the customer.

3. What are the two branches of decision theory?

   The two primary branches of decision theory involve Normative Decision Theory and Descriptive Decision Theory. Here, the former one focuses on the reasonable grounds on which the informed beings should make decisions, i.e., with proper research, using useful tools, and relying on the core principles. Whereas in the latter one, it talks about how human beings make decisions, keeping in mind all the other factors affecting them. In simple words, in descriptive decision-making, people base their decisions on observations, studies, personal preferences, thoughts, emotions, etc.

4. What are common decision-making errors?

   No matter how significant decision-making is, there are a few things that, if not taken care of, can impact your decisions. So, it is important to know your fundamentals, on which you will base your choices. We have listed the top mistakes that people usually end up making when it comes to decisions.

   i. Humans often end up making decisions that, by default, align with their beliefs and choices. This area of error is popularly known as "confirmation bias."

   ii. There is another section of people who primarily go with the first piece of information they find on the internet, during their research. These people do not indulge in running multiple rounds of research or comparing information to rely on the one that feels the most authentic.

   iii. An error where people emphasize the previous events and occurrences to deduce as something they already knew of. This is counted as a bias where people are beyond confident about an outcome that happened in the past.

   iv. Being oversure of things and of the self, just out of one's own will, is also a major error that humans tend to make, which directly impacts their decision-making capacity. Multiple factors play a role in this error, including prior assumptions, not accepting feedback from others, criticizing others, and considering oneself highly without reflecting on the areas to improve.

   v. Making decisions hastily owing to past scenarios where something did not yield you a satisfactory return, when compared to the time, energy, efforts, and resources you invested in it.

   There are many more decision-making errors, but we tried to highlight the primary ones that affect us and our decisions daily, here and there. These errors can be taken care of with proper understanding of the problem, working with an approach, and being open to accepting opinions, taking time, and digging deep into issues for a better understanding.

Conclusion: Mastering Decisions in a Data-Driven Business World

The world we are living in today is driven by artificial intelligence, which, in simple terms, is a refined, humanized version of an information trove, offering various forms of information to its users. Nearly every company or business that is growing rapidly today has its operations based on data. Even their principles and practices are data-driven, well-researched, and proven to acknowledge problem areas meticulously. The reason why managers and those in senior positions of an organization can master decision-making is because of the significant amount of data that is available to them, which is relevant, structured, authentic, and based on real facts. These pieces of data can be used to formulate practical strategies, thoughtful decisions, and useful conclusions.