A career compass for youngsters

Manju Gupta
How to Make Successful Decisions: For University Students, D Amalor, Kalpaz Publications,
Pp 196, Rs 650.00
IN the context of globalisation, life is becoming increasingly complex and competitive. There is an information overload on the one hand and on the other, experience of the previous generation need not necessarily prove beneficial under all circumstances. In such a scenario, one has to depend on one’s own decision-making skills. For this, knowledge is necessary to help one decide what alternative to choose in any situation offering multitudes of choices. Here the right decision can make or mar life if the decision is right or wrong respectively.
Such a situation carries psychological stress, in which conflict resolution can make life satisfactory and meaningful. The book provides understanding of how people make quality decisions in general and what is the decision-making style of university students who will be the torch-bearers of the nation’s progress in future.
Decision making is a cognitive process of analysing various solutions to a particular problem and arriving at a particular solution. The first step on facing a problem is that one appraises the challenge. This involves time to solve the problem and the consequences attending to on neglecting the problem. The more time and care one gives to the problem the better will be the future environment. If there is lack of information, one is liable to find difficulty in filling the gap in his information but if he has adequate information and experience, he can make a proper choice to arrive at the solution. Once the alternatives are generated, the next task is to eliminate the unworthy alternatives and choose the most appropriate one from those shortlisted by now. For this, careful scrutiny of merits and demerits is required so that a better solution is identified for solving the problem.
Once the alternative is chosen, the next task is to make the commitment to put the choice into action. This involves finding a way for gaining approval from significant persons around. The chosen alternative is translated into a plan of action. The cumulative tension of considering many alternatives may make the person act wrongly when implementing the plan and might prove harmful in the long run. When putting the plan into action, criticism may be faced from certain quarters which would be only too willing to point out the demerits. Here one has to be prepared to take the risk and be open to criticism because discouragement at this stage will not help in implementation of the plan.
Certain dimensions influence the problem solving method. The individual dimensions consist of two factors – one is expertise in the problem domain and the other is psychological and personal characteristics. It has been found that experts continuously hone their skills to develop the intuition that most novices lack in solving problems.
(Kalpaz Publications, C-30, Satyawati Nagar, Delhi-110 052; kalpaz@hotmail.com)