The Importance of Making Decisions in the Framework of the Administrative Process - Research Proposal Example

Proposal: Importance of making decisions in the framework of the administrative process Student name Course name Institution Date of submission Student Number Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Study Background and Rationale 3 Significance of the study 4 Aim and Objectives of the study 5 Research Questions 5 Research design 8 Data collection 8 Data analysis 9 Ethical considerations 9 Study limitation 9 Findings, Discussion and Conclusion 10 Reference List 11 Introduction The administrative process consists of activities involved in decision-making by the government. Administrative law regulates the decision-making process in any form of governance1. Further, it ensures that the decision-making processes are efficient and effective and that the decisions made are lawful and accounted for. The government agencies have to play the critical role of administering government legislations in order to ensure effective governance2. Therefore, there is a critical need for effective decision-making at all administrative levels. Additionally, effective decision-making should have a framework that ensures feedback mechanism targeted at continuous improvement. Delivery of feedback is effectively incorporate when individual in administrative management pursue feedback administrative practices instead of noncompliance or complaints3. Institutionalizing a feedback mechanism in decision-making is therefore critical within the decision-making framework of an administrative process. However, scarcity of researches has explored the importance of making decisions in the framework of the administrative process. This proposal proposes a study to fill the gap. Study Background and Rationale Traditionally, the management has tended to centralize decision-making and asked subordinates to take part in decision-making. As some researches on such early decision-making have testified, such structural specialization between planning and implementing has been effective. However, current studies also testify that democratic leadership and decentralization tend to be effective for some organization4. Still, a growing body of researchers also show that administrative processes are continually facing critical problems in developing and interpreting the importance of their decision-making frameworks5. Such evidence suggests that despite the existence of various decision-making frameworks, studies have showed that organizations have lack clear understanding of the importance of their decision-making frameworks, leading to poor timing of decisions, ineffective communication of the decisions made, doubting the accuracy of the decisions made and lastly building an effective decision environment. Consequently, understanding the effectiveness of decision-making framework has become a critical concern for government administration. The proposed research relies on this assumption. It will investigate the importance of making decisions in the framework of the administrative process. Application of document analysis will be essential in surveying how the managers perceive the importance of the framework. Significance of the study The research findings will offer an insight into the value of decision-making frameworks in administration. An immediate outcome is that oorganizations will enhance their capacity to establish robust governance framework that clearly delineates the different roles and responsibilities of various members in the process of administration. Organizations with superior understanding of the value of the frameworks they use are safe in determining the correctness or soundness of their decisions by basing on the extent they perceive the framework to be effective or accurate. Aim and Objectives of the study The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of making decisions in the framework of the administrative process. In order to establish the importance of making decisions in the framework of the administrative process, the proposed study objectives include: Examine the framework for effective administrative decision making systems Investigate the impact of involving staff in decision-making process Explore alternative interrelations of organizational decision-making. Investigate the value of decision-making frameworks in administration. Investigate whether decision-making framework support communication between communities, organizations and decision-makers. Examine implications of decision-making framework to administrative decision making. Examine whether decision-making framework contribute to effective corporate governance, resources allocation, transparency and accountability in government operations. Research Questions The proposed research questions are: What is the value of decision-making frameworks in administration? Does decision-making framework support communication between communities, government agencies and decision-makers? What are implications of decision-making framework to administrative decision making? Does decision-making framework contribute to effective corporate governance, resources allocation, transparency and accountability in government operations? Literature Review Decision-making is a vital component of management. According to Kidane6, decision-making is essentially a process of making a decision. In his view, decision refers to a judgment of choice between alternatives after deliberate contemplation. Still, the definition does not show the difference between decision-making and deciding. Kidane adds that decision-making describes the process of categorizing and making a choice between alternative courses of action in a way that is pertinent to the demands of the situation. According to Milkman et al7, effective decision-making relies on an affective framework. Milkman et al further argues that decision-making framework and its significance in an organization have various approaches. Good judgment can be described in respect to the effective coordination among the members of an organization8. Therefore, effective decision-making is central to effective administration. Hampton and Shull 9argue that whatever the course of action selected by managers during decision-making, effective decision-making is not incidental. It is the outcome of effective framework, which has facilitated sequential progression of rational judgment. Effective decision-making should have a framework that ensures feedback mechanism targeted at continuous improvement10. Delivery of feedback is effectively incorporate when individual in administrative management pursue feedback administrative practices instead of noncompliance or complaints. Institutionalizing a feedback mechanism in decision-making is therefore critical in the framework of administrative process11. An effective decision-making framework should therefore ensure continuous improvement in areas of corporate communication, conflicts management, management practices and review and appeal structure. Decision-making framework guides the members taking part in designing and creating new administrative decision-making systems, as well as the officials taking part in significant reviews of the existing decision-making processes12. The levels in which the concerns raised in the decision-making processes are pertinent to administrative decision-making systems are contingent on the nature, objective and features of certain decisions and decision-making processes. This implies that the decision-making framework should be a reference point. At any rate, its design does not offer an exhaustive guide to the range of diverse issues affecting the development and operation of administrative decision-making processes13. Methodology Research design Contingent on the qualitative nature of the research data needed for analysis, the study proposes to use descriptive investigation. Application of document analysis will be essential in collecting the research data. The rationale for selecting qualitative documental analysis is to facilitate analysis of peer-reviewed literature and collection of empirical data14. Accordingly, systematic analysis of published research documents will be performed. Only articles published in English will be selected for review. The research will target library-based, online-based documents, and company and government reports and surveys. The basis for choosing the secondary resources is on the premise that they will offer consistent and reliable research data. The targeted databases include Google Scholar, EBCOhost, JournalSeek, IngentConnet and Inspec, as well as any relevant open access database. At the same time, the researcher will target any government depository with document’s whose scope cover national or global representative sample. Data collection Typically, online research has related challenges due to its capacity to provide extensive, limited or irrelevant data. To overcome this problem, the research will use Boolean logic to combine sets of words and phrases with the view of widening or limiting the search. Preference will be given to peer-review journals due to their perceived level of consistency and authenticity. Any irrelevant data will be excluded from the research to ensure that only objectively pertinent data is selected, and to avoid the likelihood of straining the allocated research period. Data analysis Evaluation of data collected will be through Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. The tool is essential for the research as it serves to discover practical and theoretical gaps in the surveyed literature. Analysis of collected data will comprise general analytic strategy, where theoretical propositions will be employed to attain the study objectives. At this rate, the research will orientate the findings to management theories in the critical analysis of research evidence. For reasons of validation and authenticating the research findings, the analyzed data will be interpreted in reference to past parallel researches or related data. The purpose for this is to check against the likely errors of including inconsistent data in the research. Ethical considerations Emphasis will be placed on ethical concerns during the whole process of research. Data collected will be accurately presented, reflecting the actual source and context. The research will also endeavor to curtail data fabrication and results falsification. Ideas and concepts derived from the primary and secondary sources will be referenced appropriately. Study limitation Few researches have been conducted to establish the significance of decision-making framework in administrative process. Such perceived scarcity is likely to thwart the depth of document review. Additionally, the research will be restricted to what already exists due to its reliance on already published literature. Lack of a follow-up study also signifies study limit. Findings, Discussion and Conclusion The findings are expected to have practical implications on organizational management. As established from the literature review, the research findings are expected to corroborate earlier findings that effective decision-making processes are contingent on an effective decision-making framework. To fulfill the study objectives, the study will emphasize the significance of decision-making framework in designing and creating new administrative decision-making systems. Consequently, the results will guide organizations in developing effective decision-making framework to ensure continuous improvement in areas of corporate communication, conflicts management, management practices, and review and appeal structure. Reference List Kohlbacher, H., "The Use of Qualitative Content Analysis in Case Study Research," Forum Qualitative Social Research, vol. 7 no 1, 2006, p.21 Kidane,F., "Decision Making and The Role Of Management Accounting Function – A Review Of Empirical Literature." A Journal of Radix International Educational and Research Consortium, vol 1 no 4, 2012, p.1-14 Hampton, L. and Shull, F. ‘Contemporary Approach to Administrative Decision Making,’ http://www.joe.org/joe/1973summer/1973-2-a2.pdf, 1973 (accessed 22 Oct 2014) Milkman, K/, Chugh, K. and Bazerman, M. 'How Can Decision Making Be Improved?' , 2008 (accessed 1 August 2010). Queensland Government. 'Better Decisions Project: A framework for effective administrative decision making systems,' http://www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au/Portals/0/docs/Publications/Agency_Resources/better_decisions_project_framework_report.pdf (accessed 1 August 2010). Read More