Abstract

This paper is a preliminary analysis of decision making principles and practices with in the pharmaceutical industry. The subject of managerial decision making in the sector forms an important area of research and policy debate and it has of recent become a much prominent sector for obvious reasons. First, the pharmaceutical industry contributes to improving the citizen’s health outcomes and productivity. Second, effective decision making is at the heart of what managers and administrators sector do. Third, there are glaring inefficiencies in the sector which blames the decisions made by those who run the sector. While organizations generate information at a much faster rate, the utilization of such information in decision making remains a matter of concern given the ineffectiveness in which some decisions continue to be made. This dilemma has generated a new and exciting interest for scholars. Moreover, the existence of noticeable historical practices that traditionally informed decision making over the long history of civilization makes it imperative to assess the interparty of these factors within the current decision making environments. This paper therefore traces how decisions have been made over time as specifically as applied to the pharmaceutical sector. The purpose of this study is to draw important insights for contemporary decision making challenges of the pharmaceutical sector within Uganda and the rest of the world. Research may also be carried out on how the buying of reliable information can influence judgment and the optimization of decision outcomes leading to better decision making in the regulation, management and administration of the pharmaceutical sector.

Key words: Decision making, decision making practices, productivity, information management, Pharmaceutical sector, Uganda.