This is a short, focused text, considering a range of methods, issues and concepts in management decision making. Written from the perspective of a student/manager unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with mathematics, the text considers a range of established decision making methods and presents them in the context of a need to develop an inclusive and integrated view of decision analysis in management.

1. Chapter 1
   1. Effective Management Decision Making: Introduction
   2. The Duality of Decision Making?
   3. Types of Business and Management Decisions
   4. Who is involved in Decision Making?- The Decision Body
   5. The three phased model
   6. Summary
   7. Key terms and glossary
2. Chapter 2
   1. Developing rational models with qualitative methods and analysis: Data forecasting
   2. Simple Averaging Forecasting
   3. Moving Averages
   4. Exponential Smoothing Data Forecasting
   5. Errors, accuracy and confidence
   6. Causal forecasting (explanatory forecasting)
   7. Non-linear Forecasting and multiple regression– Curve fitting
   8. Multiple regression and partial regression analysis
   9. Complete worked non linear forecasting example with seasonality
   10. Summary
   11. Key Terms and glossary
3. Chapter 3
   1. Developing rational models with quantitative methods and analysis: probabilities
   2. The Decision tree – a map of the solution set
   3. Decision Analysis
   4. More on probabilities: Expected Monetary Values (EMVs)
   5. Revising problem information – Bayes Theorem
   6. The Value of Sample and Perfect Information
   7. Summary
   8. Key Terms and glossary
   9. Chapter closing question
4. Chapter 4
   1. Developing rational models with quantitative methods and analysis: Distribution Functions and Queuing Theory
   2. The mathematical function: discrete and continuous variables
   3. The discrete distribution – the binomial function
   4. Extending binomial number sequences
   5. The Poisson sequence
   6. Queuing Theory
   7. Examples of poisson problems
   8. More examples of poisson problems:
   9. Queuing Theory – Modelling reality
   10. Defining the queuing characteristics
   11. Example of M/M/ system
   12. Queuing cost analysis of M/M/ models
   13. M/M/k queues
   14. The economic analysis of queues
   15. Other queuing systems and different waiting line structures
   16. Example of an arbitrary service time queue
   17. Summary
   18. Key terms and glossary
5. Chapter 5
   1. Developing holistic models with qualitative methods of decision analysis: Irrationality in Management Decision Making
   2. The Monte Carlo Simulation
   3. Systems thinking about decisions
   4. Checkland’s Soft System Methodology (SSM) – Mode
   5. Summary
   6. Key terms and glossary
6. Chapter 6
   1. The individual in decision making: Heuristics in Management Decision Making:
   2. More on the cognitive view – schematas and heuristics
   3. More on heuristics
   4. Summary
   5. Key terms and glossary
7. Chapter 7
   1. The role of groups in decision making and long term decision making methods and analysis
   2. Group decision making – is it really better?
   3. Group communication
   4. Convergent thinking emergence in groups- The Abilene Paradox
   5. Convergent thinking emergence in groups- The Groupthink phenomenon
   6. Futures forecasting and decision making
   7. Summary
   8. Glossary
8. References