Rational Decision Making - Essay Example

Rational Decision Making Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Instructor Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date A decision is defined as the act of making up one’s mind or the act of reaching a conclusion as an individual or by a group of persons. It is also a position that is usually reached or a particular opinion or judgment reached after a careful deliberation. The implementation of decisions reached in day to day lives need to be strategically applied. In this regard, rational decision making process need to be employed. A rational decision making model is a structure outline of a cognitive process that has steps where each of the steps follows in a logical sequence from one step to the other (Bonaccio & Dalal 2006). Cognitive process means that it is based on a person’s thinking ability and the capability to weigh up the available alternatives while trying to come up with the best potential result. Usually, there are different types of such models of rational decision making (Foss 2003). The steps that are involved in the different models may differ but they are much less the same. It is very important that the decision making process is not mistaken for the methods of solving problems. This is because not all decisions are problem oriented and thus the two must be distinguished. The paper herein expounds on the rational model of the decision making process. It is basically a process that is used for making logically sound decisions. It is crucial and is usually applied in situations that need to follow a systematic sequence in making particular decisions (Patokorpi 2008). The steps that are involved in the rational decision making process are: identifying and defining the problem, generating possible solutions, generating the required assessment criteria which means that one must calculate the consequences of the possible solutions while comparing them with the likelihood of satisfying the given criteria (Bonaccio & Dalal 2006). The next step is to develop the options which mean generating all the possible alternatives and then evaluating the available options before deciding now on selecting the most preferred alternative. Identifying the problem-this involves recognizing the problem at hand and then seeing opportunities that may be available and worthwhile in solving the problem. The first step is to ask oneself whether the problem really exists or not. One should be able to make the difference of the scenario as to whether he or she is required to solve a problem or to make a decision (Tiedens & Linton 2001). The next step is to generate the possible solutions to the problem. Once a decision maker has identified the problem, he/she needs to question themselves the criteria that can be used to solve the problem and make a decision. Next, the decision maker must assess the criteria adopted in step two. This requires a critical analysis of each and every of the possibilities generated above. Assessing them helps in weighing them so as to give them priority (Bonaccio & Dalal 2006). They can then make a choice as to what is relevant and what is not relevant to the decision to be made. Here, you choose the one that will make you get to the best decision. Generating the options is the next step where a person is to come up with all the possible alternatives that may succeed in solving the problem. Here, they are merely listed. The fifth step is to evaluate all the possible alternatives. Evaluating those means critically and analyzing them so that one can identify the strengths and weaknesses of each. This is done by comparing them one by one which then will leave the decision maker with fewer but probable options (Bonaccio & Dalal 2006). Lastly, one must choose the best option available that can lead to highly informed decisions. This means selecting the alternative that will give the best result. In choosing the best option one must also be able to foresee its consequences or risks before settling on it. After landing on the best alternative, the person can then begin to put in place a plan of action that will help him/her in implementing the decision. It is worth noting that the rational model of decision making has its own strengths and also weaknesses. Its main strength is that it is very useful in providing a structure that will ensure adherence and discipline to the entire process of making the decision. Therefore, it helps to ensure that a full range of factors are put in place during the whole process. The decision is thus reached in a comprehensive and logical manner (Bonaccio & Dalal 2006). It also helps individuals in making effective and strategic decisions by weighing the scenarios on a scale of probabilities. Nevertheless, there are some issues that can undermine the effectiveness of rational decision making. (Bonaccio and Dalal (2006). illustrated that some bad decisions were reached as because some crucial things were missing in the model. These had the effect of rendering the decision making process ineffective. One of the issues that has undermined the effectiveness of the rational decision making process is the lack of inclusion of intuition. According to the classical view for instance, the rational decision making model is useful but it does not fully explain how human beings make decisions in the actual sense. According to this view, it is suggested that the process of making decisions in human beings is a subjective concept and not an objective one. Subjective will thus mean the combination of tacit knowledge, heuristics, and a variety of judgments as well as intuition. Thus the model lacks to include intuition, which is a very critical aspect in decision making (Foss 2003). One of the major assumptions of the rational model is that human beings always make rational decisions. This is not always the case. The model may lack effectiveness because a variety of factors are involved when making decisions. These include factors such as a person’s attitudes, values, past experiences and even emotions. Intuitive rational decision making are mostly subjective and not objective. While the decisions made from the rational approach are mostly rational, those that are intuitive involve a lot of feelings and perceptions (Foss 2003). They are not based on facts and analysis. Another effect that has shortcoming impacts on the rational method of decision making is that usually, it lacks adequate participation of the involving stakeholders in the whole process of coming up with a decision This scenario majorly applies to institutions or big organizations. More than often, when a decision is wanted that will affect the whole organization, the people who should have been there to contribute to the decision are always lacking. It is disastrous to make a unanimous decision that affects a large number of people when the rest are not there. The effectiveness of the decision will not be achieved as the rest of the stakeholders may object. Moreover, the time that is usually invested in generating the range of the possible solutions available is always never sufficient. The alternatives adopted may thus end up rendering the decision ineffective (Patokorpi 2008). For example, when a person is looking for a good college to pursue his/ her undergraduates, it is impractical to look at all the available alternatives because there are thousands of colleges may be situated in one country. A person is usually content with the easily available solution to a problem than finding the optimal solution. More so, a solution to a particular problem that needed solving would not be reached. As per Clore and Huntsinger (2007),, “decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately” . The quick decision making is base on various assumptions. For instance, the assumptions that the decision maker has full knowledge of the problem and thus can come up with hasty alternatives, and the assumption that there will always be the best option with a maximum payoff. These may lead hasty but faulty decisions. Another issue that may also undermine the effectiveness of the decisions reached in such models will arise in situations where the model is used in isolation. This mostly happens because the model is purely based on decisions that are made in a rational way. Where complex and extremely important decisions are required, using the model in isolation is unadvisable (Foss 2003). This is because such decisions are supposed to combine a variety of factors ranging from emotional to an individual’s perspectives in life. In many of such situations, people who use the rational method of decision making process tend to end up making incomplete decisions due to lack of sufficient information. Useful decisions are usually made in organizations. Accuracy in making decisions is an important element in any growing organization. The underlying issues of ineffective decision making are mostly experienced at the workplace (Foss 2003). However, certain strategies may be put in place by the managers for any effective decisions in an organization. Consequently, there has been constant pressure for the need by managers to have the understanding pertaining on the ability to make quality decisions in emergency times rather quickly (Patokorpi 2008). There ought also to be strategies to put in place measures that will help in quick implementation of new decisions that are more adaptive and more effective for the making of rational decisions. Such strategies for instance will help the organization in its ability to adapt to new situations that need rational decisions, not only at the organizational level but also at the individual level. Managers can apply the use of intuition. Intuition draws on the ability of human beings to synthesize information very fast and effectively and at the same time be able to make fast and rational decisions (Patokorpi 2008). It has been employed within many organizations and they help a great deal in reaching a wide range of very critical decisions. Managers can employ the strategy if they want to successfully complete tasks that are very complex in nature in very short times. Decisions regarding activities like corporate planning, performance appraisal as well as stock analysis may be will reached through the application of intuition (Foss 2003). In some circumstances, intuitions may facilitate rapid, strategic and effective decision making in any organization. Thus decision making in major organizations is as a result of both rationality and intuition. Another strategy that the employer can make is to make sure that the decisions of the organization are consistent with the organization’s interests in the broader sense. All the shareholders that ought to be involved in the decision making should be present (Foss 2003). It is important that in circumstance that need rational decisions, and more preferably those that do not need final decisions be endorsed by a majority. The manager should create a standard organizational culture that will promote a rational as well as an intuitive set of norms, values and attitudes. Managers in charge of strategic decision making must be capable of providing satisfactory solutions to any problems that may arise (Bechara and Damasio 2005). Thirdly, managers are required to develop three organizational skills that will help them in putting together successful strategies for decision making. These include: anticipating the shape of any uncertainty that may is likely to occur in the future (Foss 2003). This is not always an easy task because scenarios that are characterized by elements and certain levels of uncertainty are not so easy to predict. Moreover, the manager will not be able to come up with any possible alternatives due to the uncertainty. Also, through the role of decision making and uncertainty, the manager is supposed to be able to generate new alternatives for the purpose of making of wanting strategic decisions (Patokorpi 2008). Managers must thus be able to predict the needs of the organization in fast changing circumstances. Conclusively, the rational decision making model, despite its few shortcomings is the most widely used method in decision making. It involves a cognitive method that follows a cognitive sequence(Patokorpi 2008). The more important the decision is the more time it will consume and the more the information that you will require in reaching a viable decision. Managers participate heavily in the decision making of any organization that they head. They must thus be well conversant with the issues that may hinder decision making as well as the strategies needed to overcome the underlying issues. References Bonaccio, S. & Dalal, R. S. . (2006). 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