Part 1: Post a Response

Decision making is the process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of action. While we want to make rational decisions, sometimes we don't . . . sometimes we make non-rational decisions.

There are four steps in rational decision-making:

1. Recognize and define the problem or opportunity-In business the problem can come in the form of customer complaints, supplier breakdowns, staff turnover, sales decline, etc. Organizations proactively seek opportunities to exceed goals, surpass the industry expectations and to expand and grow the business.

2. Identify and analyze alternative courses of action-Leaders should seek input from multiple sources to interpret and analyze the problem/opportunity to come up with as many options as possible to solve the issue.

3. Choose a preferred course of action-The group want to answer the following: (1) Is the action ethical?; (2) Is it feasible? (costs, technology availability; (3) Is it effective? If your answer to this question is the resolution is "good enough" you want to rethink this solution it will cause more harm than good.

4. Implement the preferred course of action-You need to the participation from all teams to successfully implement the action.

On the other hand, non-rational decisions are generally the result of either Satisficing (going with the first available option without much research) or Intuition (using your "gut" or just your own feelings to make decisions).

For this week's discussion, think about a time when you made a non-rational decision on the job or in your personal life.

• Was it the result of satisficing or intuition?

• How would your decision have been different using the four steps for rational decision-making?

• How would the steps have helped you to make a better, or more sound, decision?

Please give the example

Part 2: Respond to a Peer

Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.

Post 1

I make a lot of non-rational decisions when it comes to my shopping habits. I tend to be one that can fall for all the old marketing tricks in the book.

I would say that this is the result of satificing. For example, if I am at the grocery store and I am looking for a certain item, I will usually go for something that is within arms reach or at eye level. This is me going with the first option without much research. There is usually an item that is similar taste and quality for a fraction of the price close by but because of convenience, I choose the more expensive item. It drives my husband nuts.

I think that my response would be different if I am using the four steps of decision making because there would be more thought in what I am doing. Although this isn't a group decision so to speak, the steps can still be quite helpful. In storming, I can address the conflicts within myself and figure out where the issue lies.

I can then resolve the conflict and perform by solving the problem. A good solution could possibly be to create a shopping list with my husband and only go to the store with the intentions of buying only the items on the shopping list. This would resolve the issue and allow me to make a better, more sound decision in the future.

Post 2

Thinking about this week's discussion question, I believe that the times that I have made non-rational decisions are made on the home-front.

Upon further reflection, I came to this conclusion that being an administrative assistant to corporate directors and vice presidents, I must remain vigilant, poised, and in the right mindset. That said, the environment that I work in, and how I must prepare myself to function at the highest while supporting corporate executives requires rational decision making as there is little room for error at those levels within the organization.

Given that I have to function at the top of my game so-to-speak while performing my job leaves the home-front at risk for making non-rational decisions. While I do try to make decisions after performing some research (certainly not to the same degree as on the job), I do nevertheless fall victim to making non-rational decisions.

These non-rational decisions, when they occur are usually centered in the area of shopping. I do like to coupon, and that in of itself would suggest some degree of thought and research, however, when I get to the grocery store and items have sold out I then feel that I must make a decision as to what I'm going to do with respect to obtain the product. I ask myself, "Do I take the rain check and wait?"

Or, "Do I get a like product to fill the need immediately?" Being that I'm in the middle of the grocery store I don't spend too much time on this internal discussion that I'm having with myself. In the end, I usually take the rain check and purchase a like item to satisfy the immediate need. The decision process as stated in our course textbook on page 197 that I have invoked is satisficing decisions, which is "choosing the first alternative that appears to give an acceptable or satisfactory resolution of the problem."

In this case, purchasing a like item with little to no research to determine if the like product will truly satisfy the need or not - in the moment, it just appears to be able to satisfy the need. Additionally, invoking this type of decision at least for that moment in time would appear on the outside to move me from the "storming" phase where I'm engaged in internal conflict to the "norming" phase where the conflict appears to be resolved.