last updated 10/16/2009

Decision-Making

•   Typical Description of the (rational) Decision-making Process  -- Optimizing
       [ for an alternative see the Standard Agenda, based on John Dewey's problem-solving system ]

1.  Formulation -- defining what the problem is --felt need -- symptoms and causes of problems

2. Concept Development -- determining what standards/criteria govern a good solution and generating decision alternatives

3. Detailing -- gaining all appropriate information

4. Evaluation -- applying criteria to determine best decision

5. Implementation -- putting the decision into action

2.       1.  The Myth of Rationality - This is what our culture values but it isn't achieved in real life. 

In order to presume rationality we must assume:

 2.  Why we can't be rational

1.      bounded rationality - we have limited information and limited ability to analyze it so we can't ever fully accomplish 2 and 3 above.  Instead we decide by ** . 

** Satisficing - getting enough information to have a preference, getting by.

2.      we tend to allow our preferences to influence our guesses about  probable outcomes -- and the saliency of certain values changes over time,  thus making “the primacy of rationality” (above) unlikely.

3.      emotional involvement varies and affects our interest in acquiring information etc.

 3.  Why we aren't rational in real life

1.      we act first and then rationalize goals to fit the action.

2.      employees tend to know their own abilities and suggest solutions that use those abilities when it seems that might be chosen

3.      Weick's model fits what real decision makers do.

(1)   Enactment - doing something
(2)   Selection - picking out what seem to be key elements of the action
(3)   Retention - creating & remembering the rationalizations for why results occurred based on number 2 above.