Decision_Making_Model_Paper

Decision Making Model Paper: The rational-analytic-comprehensive model is the one, according to which, decision making is a purposeful, consistent, sequential, and deliberate process. JANIS & MANN consider rationality as the ideal to be achieved during decision making. They take the view that, in rational decision making: (a) the goals and objectives of decision makers are clear and known in advance; (b) the decision maker chooses the best alternative among all possible courses of action; (c) full information about the consequences of possible courses of action is available; and (d) there is no uncertainty involved. In one of the landmarks in the area of decision making, CYERT & MARCH introduced the concept of “problemistic search” in their endeavour to describe the way in which decision makers act. According to them, three major terms can reliably describe the way decision makers behave: (a) they are single-minded; (b) most of the time they are biased; and (c) they are also motivated by certain specific goals. Moreover, Cyert & March introduced four major concepts that influence organizational goals, expectations, and choices: (a) quasiresolution of conflict among several subunits that constitute the different coalitions of members within the same organization; (b) uncertainty avoidance (there is always a tendency to maintain the status quo, and if problems are ignored they will eventually go away); (c) problemistic search (decision makers tend to look to the neighbourhood of current alternatives to choose the preferred one); and (d) organizational learning (the decision making process is a learning process for any organization at any given time). QUINN significantly contributed to the pool of existing theory in decision making. He took the view that fragmentation, constant evolution, and significant intuition characterize the process. The foundations of Quinn's model are built around the assertions that: (a) in today's rapidly changing competitive situations, decision makers operate in complex, demanding environments; (b) decision makers, as human beings, suffer from profound mental limitations which preclude them from acting in a completely rational-analytical manner; and (c) decision making is a fragmented process, and the major participants often differ in their values, attitudes, and interests. Despite this, one can trace areas (subunits) where rational analysis takes place. The final outcome is a mixture of both incremental and rational elements. Effective managers succeed in blending the widely recognized formal-analytical techniques with the more behavioural elements of strategic decision making, and they produce cohesive step-by-step movements toward an end. Initially, these are broadly conceived, but they are then constantly refined and reshaped as new information appears. This “logical incrementalism” school of thought advocates the use of both rational-analytical and power-behavioural aspects in decision making, and extends the previously mentioned models. Decision making. (2001). In Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/routsocial/decision_making