Explain the relationship between decision making and perception.
Individuals in organizations make decisions, choices from among two or more alternatives. Individual decision making is an important part of organizational behavior. But the way individuals make decisions and the quality of their choices are largely influenced by their perceptions. Decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem. That is, a discrepancy exists between the current state of affairs and some desired state, requiring people to consider alternative courses of action. In addition, one person's problem is another person's satisfactory state of affairs.
Awareness that a problem exists and that a decision might or might not be needed is a perceptual issue. Every decision requires a person to interpret and evaluate information. A person's perceptions determine which information is relevant and which is not. Throughout the entire decision-making process, perceptual distortions often surface that can bias analysis and conclusions.