Decision-making is defined as ‘the process of deciding, in which a conclusion or resolution is reached.It turns out that HPO managers change their decision-making style during their career. Early on, when they are a lower-level manager like a supervisor, they put emphasis on the decisive style. This is because the work they supervise is operational of nature and requires a focus on getting things done.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAFvLPy7-L8&feature=plcp[/youtube]

When moving up the organizational ladder, HPO managers put less emphasis on the decisive style and more and more on the flexible and integrative decision-making styles. This is because decision-making at higher organizational levels is more about listening, understanding, the long term, getting cooperation and buy-in. Non-HPO managers however stick to the decisive style and therefore become less effective. In addition, HPO managers make their decisions quickly. They do not suffer from ‘paralysis by analysis’: they do not over-analyze but balance thought and action. These managers take enough time for adequate decision-making but then turn their decisions quickly into actions to solve problems immediately.