| Abstract: | Decision makers today face constraints that did not exist in the early part of this century-constraints related to labor, consumerism, and ecology, for example. The decision making process is also complicated by the number of alternatives available to attain a certain objective. This article describes the systems analysis approach to decision making and explains why it is needed. The approach involves nine basic steps and, finally, identification of the best solution by considering the facts, assumptions, and uncertainties for the problem. Systems analysis is not a panacea for the decision maker; it is a method of investigating, not solving. |
