Peter E. Druker (1967), lists five elements of decision process in his book, The effective Executive:1) Clear realization that the problem is generic and can be solved only through a decis

In the book called Decision making at the Top, Gordon Donaldson & Jay W. Lorsch (1983) state that, strategic decisions are not the product of simple economic logic alone. Because these decisions often depend on forecasts of the future events, they involve considerable uncertainty and ambiguity. Corporate leaders' desire to assure the survival of their company provides the driving force for their initiatives and strategic choices. James G. March (1994) has written in his book, A Primer on Decision making, that, Organizational decision making is a combination of talk and action. The making of concrete decisions in an organization is an exercise of practical, contextual judgment. Decision making normally presumes commitment, the willingness of decision-makers both to devote time and energy to deciding and to accept responsibility for the uncertain consequences of their actions.

Paul Moody (1983), has written in his book, Decision Making, that, "if a company has a long-standing policy of acting in a certain situation in a particular way, then it is easy to make a decision that is consistent with past history. However, if an organization is very volatile and a historical pattern has not been established --or if the nature of the decision is such that actions are highly dependent on the factors known to only higher-level personnel in the organization--then the decision assumes major importance. He further adds that, where the human impact of a decision is great, its importance is great. This is particularly true when the decision involves many people.

Considering that Mr. Zutshi was approaching the mandatory retirement age, and that a significant difference in opinion between Mr. Zutshi and the most powerful board member as to who should be the new president, it is clear that the board (the president is almost always a board member) was extremely derelict in its duties. The decision-making process was greatly undermined, with huge ramifications for the organization.

* He should check to see whether he is examining all the evidence with equal rigor and should avoid the tendency to accept confirming evidence with equal rigor and without question.

A successful succession process requires that the board members first define the question: Always view the problem from different perspectives. Each board member should have an independent point of view. Board members should be open-minded. Every board member should seek information and opinions from a variety of people to widen his/her frame of reference. Board members need to be active players in shaping the company, and one of their key responsibilities is to oversee the entire succession process.

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