ABSTRACT
Decision-making is only one of the tasks of an executive. It usually takes but a small fraction of his time. Effective executives do not make a great many decisions. They concentrate on the important ones. They try to think through what is strategic and generic, rather than solve problems. Effective executives know when a decision has to be based on principle and when it should be made on the merits of the case and pragmatically. To establish these businesses, the company developed a simple chemical process to preserve a tropical fruit which is a staple crop in both countries and which, up till then, had suffered serious spoilage in transit to its Western markets. Business examples are chosen here because they are still taken in a small enough compass to be easily comprehended – whereas most decisions in government policy require far too much explanation of background, history, and politics.
