A process-oriented perspective allows decision-making to be broken down into
different phases. The recognition of a problem is the prerequisite for a decision-making
situation. When decisions, in contrast to simple actions, thematize their own
contingency, the result is that there are several alternatives which – no matter how
rudimentary – will be evaluated and from which one will be selected. Evaluation follows
implementation, which then in turn can lead to the recognition of a new problem.
Again, decision-making can essentially be divided into these four phases. The
existence of these phases does not imply anything about their rational or irrational
formulation. A decision of enormous consequences can – voluntarily or due to external
circumstance – be made within an hour or be the result of a rationalized decision-making
process. Precisely as the rationality of the result cannot be predicted, actors are left only
with the procedural rationality (Simon, 1976) of their decision-making.