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CH 6 – Decision Making Types of Decisions and Problems ∙ Decision making is the process of identifying opportunities… a decision is a choice make from available alternatives Types of Decisions: ∙ Programmed decisions: situations that occur often enough to enable decision rules to be developed (routWe also discuss several other topics like prp uwf
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ine and standardize system) ∙ Non-programmed decisions: are made in response to situations that are unique, are poorly defined and largely unstructured (not much experience from the past; new and unique) Decision Making Conditions ∙ The conditions surrounding a decision can be organized according to: o The availability of info (how much info do you have?) o The possibility of failure ∙ These conditions can be arranged on a scale moving from: o Programmed decisions: Certainty Risk Ex. 6.1 Conditions That Affect the Possibility o Non-programmed decisions: Uncertainty Ambiguity of Decision Failure Condition That Affect the Possibility of Decision Failure Organizational Problem Low Possibility ofFailure High Certainty Risk Uncertainty Ambiguity Programmed Decisions Problem Solution Nonprogrammed Decisions67 Three Decision Making Models 1. Classical/Ideal, Rational Model (how you should look at something) o Earliest model of decision processes o Describe logical and rational decision processes o Decisions are made based on the organization’s best economic interests o Defines how decisions should be made – not necessarily how they’re made o Assumptions: Accomplished goals that are known and agreed upon; problem is defined Attempts to gather complete info so that all alternatives are known Decision makers agree on criteria to evaluate alternatives and priorities Decision maker is rational and uses logic 2. Administrative Model (how you actually/typically make a decision) o Descriptive approach based on how managers actually make decisions o Doesn’t assume completely logical and rational decision processes o More realistic model for non-programmed decisions of uncertainty and ambiguity o Principal concepts: Bounded rationality: means that people have limits or boundaries on how rational they can be. We identify the essential features of the problem Heuristics: means that people use judgmental shortcuts in searching for alternative solutions Satisficing: means that decision makers choose the first solution alternative that satisfies minimal decision criteria 3. Political Model (how did this decision get made with this project/organization?) o Closely resembles the real environment in which most managers and decision makers operate o Decisions are complex (non-programmed) o Disagreement and conflict over problems and solutions are normal o Principal concepts: Managers exchange viewpoints to gather info ∙ Managers from different areas of the organization are pursuing different goals – share info ∙ Also uses the bounded rationality approach (may not have enough info…) Managers build coalitions in deciding among alternatives ∙ Decisions are the results of bargaining among coalitions Making Effective Decisions
Cognitive Biases in Decision Making ∙ Some common decision-making heuristics which can lead to poor decisions o Availability Heuristic Our perceptions of the frequency of events in influenced by: ∙ Ease of recall∙ Vividness ∙ Recency ∙ Errors in estimating odds or base rates To avoid this error, try not to be misled by easily recalled events. Don’t assume that what you easily recall represents actual rates of events outside of your experience EX: Here are three numbers… 2-4-6. What might the rule be? (it is increasing in order) o The Confirmation Trap “confirmation biases” (come up with a quick conclusion and go with) Tend to see and use info that confirms what we think is true; give too much weight to supporting info Fail to search for and give too little weight to contradictory or conflicting info (try not to ignore this!) We tend to pay too much attention to info that confirms our initial ideas. It may be more important to pay attention to contradictory info “devil’s advocate role” EX: draw four straight lines without lifting the pencil o Bounded Awareness “think outside the box” To avoid info overload we filter info. The filtering process can prevent us from focusing on useful, observable info We create a boundary which framed the problem to help us find a solution, but this can prevent the discovery of the solution Creative decisions are often prevented by the assumptions we make in defining the problem. Identify and question your assumptions (you aren’t even aware that you’re making the decision) o Escalating Commitment When there are indications that the project is failing, even more resources are committed in an effort to salvage the situation (after an investment, and it’s not going well, you try to keep your hopes up and keeping it going/trying) “gotta know when to fold’em” To help avoid this error consider the cost of dropping the project before you eve begin it – what will be the cost of withdrawal (bring in fresh eyes can help avoid this error) Decide today if it’s worth the investment independent of the prior commitment – If I started the job toady, would I support this project? Group Decision Making ∙ Decision in the business world are most often made by groups o Advantages of group decisions: Diversity of experience and viewpoints Generate more alternative Increase acceptance to decision o Are better decisions made by groups? Research studies indicate that… Groups often have better performance that the average of the individual’s solutions ∙ Main advantage may be that groups can pool resources and correct each other’s errors But group performance is often worse that that of the best single individual performance o This will help: Discover the goal(s) and work towards it to achieve it Pay attention to the process of the group o Problems with group decision making: Takes time to bring group together and groups take longer to research a decision Groups can be dominated by a few members There can be increased pressures to conform – one form of this pressure is referred to as groupthink