Fact-based Decision Making
Fact-based decision making is a key principle of TQM.
In order to assess the performance of an organisation, it is necessary to examine data on performance measures.
TQM involves the systematic collection and analysis of accurate and relevant data in order to assist in effective business decision making.
This means that decisions are based on data analysis and facts as opposed to being largely dependent on the intuition or opinion of managers.
There are five main steps involved in the process and these are:
1. Collect all relevant raw data and measurements relating to the process or objective
2. Verify the data to ensure accuracy and reliability
3. Analyse the data in accordance with best practice and using appropriate statistical techniques to produce effective findings
4. Ensure that the findings are made available to everyone involved in the decision making process
5. Formulate and implement the decisions based on the data but with some cognisance given to management insight and experience
On the surface fact-based decision making appears to be a relatively straightforward and logical approach. However, putting it into practice can be fraught with difficulty for a number of reasons including:
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Senior management may have historically based decisions on “gut feelings” and are not receptive to change or have concerns about their authority being undermined
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Collecting accurate data can sometimes prove to be problematic with data having to be collected from a range of sources and combined manually, with potential human error
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Data analysis may be complex and sufficient expertise may not exist within the organisation
Each of these potential obstacles must be addressed in order to pave the way for fact-based decision making to gain traction.
When used effectively within the quality management strategy, fact-based decision making delivers a robust mechanism to improve the accuracy of decisions and by reducing the dependence on the intuition of a few individuals, it serves to achieve more widespread support.