Decision-Making Model PaperDecision-Making Model PaperDecision-Making Model PaperJoeMGT 999Instructor: ???13 September 2006Life is full of decisions. Some decisions are trivial. Should I choose paper or plastic at the grocery store? Which of the 31 flavors of ice cream should I pick? Other decisions are vital. Should I get married to her or should I take this new job? Your decisions may affect many people or only yourself. In this paper I will present a decision-making model. I will describe a decision that I made at work using this model and how critical thinking impacted that decision.
Decision making, as taken from the Wikipedia (2006) encyclopedia, is defined as “the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice called a decision. It can be an action or an opinion. It begins when we need to do something but we do not know what. Therefore, decision-making is a reasoning process which can be rational or irrational, and can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions.” (para.1). Decisions made by using a decision-making model typically result in better decisions. Decisions resulting from the model tend to be more consistent since the same steps are followed each time. Increased thoroughness of decision options considered is another benefit in using a decision-making model, as numerous factors are taken into account.
The Modeling of Decision Making (Moral and Ethical)
In a recent study, researchers at The University of Warwick used a choice model to analyze the validity of a simple process that was judged as a valid decision. The outcome of the study was that a more balanced and rational course of action would be justified and resulted in a higher value for money and better results for society. Research on decision makers and morality found that, while they should have a better standard of living, it was not necessary for them, as long as it worked, to be moral.
So how should the public respond when one of the best-established moral and ethical models of decision-making has been proven wrong?
For many, they have been shown to be invalid. Their methods are called “moral model” which is a form of moral proof which includes a positive argument as well as a negative one, and which is based on assumptions. This form of evidence is often used to argue in favor of actions that are not morally right and which, when tested, may be proven wrong. Since moral-model evidence usually consists of simple assumptions or judgments that are not clearly correct, many have tried to find a way to show or disprove a moral-model version thereof, and the results never succeed at all. They’re called “moral theory-based” because they rely on the assumption that moral knowledge comes with its own assumptions, and because such an assumption generally leads not only to wrong choices, but can also produce a wrong outcome. Many psychologists have observed that people who claim that moral theories about morally correct actions are grounded in moral fact, rather than on theoretical assumptions, are less likely to be wrong. A key question to ask is how many individuals have ever made such a false or unjustified claim. The study cited by Lefouz et al. was a large study, which examined more than 1,000 self-reported respondents, who were asked to consider their relationship to their choices, based on a series of questions using an open-ended questionnaire. Each respondent was then asked to estimate the extent to which they considered the actions they made the best or worst, and how likely the choice was to result in a good or a bad consequence. (In 2009, a more recent study suggested that people who believe moral theory is based on faulty assumptions about their choice of action are much less likely to be wrong about wrong choices). The results showed that people who believe moral theory is based on faulty assumptions about their choice of action are far less likely than respondents who believe it is based upon actual evidence (in the same study a similar thing was found).
As a result, the research could potentially lead to a policy-based moral system for decision-makers, and thus, in theory, provide additional support and evidence for the theory.
What to Expect From Your Public Forum or Community?
There is good reason for these questions to occur. We’ve written about the problems they can cause and the positive responses we’ve gotten from such an informal forum. There have been no major publications reporting on the issues raised in this study (that are available) and the authors did not participate in our research. In addition, there has not been any scientific inquiry regarding the results or methods used to evaluate the results. What is more, our original study was
The Modeling of Decision Making (Moral and Ethical)
In a recent study, researchers at The University of Warwick used a choice model to analyze the validity of a simple process that was judged as a valid decision. The outcome of the study was that a more balanced and rational course of action would be justified and resulted in a higher value for money and better results for society. Research on decision makers and morality found that, while they should have a better standard of living, it was not necessary for them, as long as it worked, to be moral.
So how should the public respond when one of the best-established moral and ethical models of decision-making has been proven wrong?
For many, they have been shown to be invalid. Their methods are called “moral model” which is a form of moral proof which includes a positive argument as well as a negative one, and which is based on assumptions. This form of evidence is often used to argue in favor of actions that are not morally right and which, when tested, may be proven wrong. Since moral-model evidence usually consists of simple assumptions or judgments that are not clearly correct, many have tried to find a way to show or disprove a moral-model version thereof, and the results never succeed at all. They’re called “moral theory-based” because they rely on the assumption that moral knowledge comes with its own assumptions, and because such an assumption generally leads not only to wrong choices, but can also produce a wrong outcome. Many psychologists have observed that people who claim that moral theories about morally correct actions are grounded in moral fact, rather than on theoretical assumptions, are less likely to be wrong. A key question to ask is how many individuals have ever made such a false or unjustified claim. The study cited by Lefouz et al. was a large study, which examined more than 1,000 self-reported respondents, who were asked to consider their relationship to their choices, based on a series of questions using an open-ended questionnaire. Each respondent was then asked to estimate the extent to which they considered the actions they made the best or worst, and how likely the choice was to result in a good or a bad consequence. (In 2009, a more recent study suggested that people who believe moral theory is based on faulty assumptions about their choice of action are much less likely to be wrong about wrong choices). The results showed that people who believe moral theory is based on faulty assumptions about their choice of action are far less likely than respondents who believe it is based upon actual evidence (in the same study a similar thing was found).
As a result, the research could potentially lead to a policy-based moral system for decision-makers, and thus, in theory, provide additional support and evidence for the theory.
What to Expect From Your Public Forum or Community?
There is good reason for these questions to occur. We’ve written about the problems they can cause and the positive responses we’ve gotten from such an informal forum. There have been no major publications reporting on the issues raised in this study (that are available) and the authors did not participate in our research. In addition, there has not been any scientific inquiry regarding the results or methods used to evaluate the results. What is more, our original study was
The following is a decision-making model that I have used to arrive at a decision.FRAMINGClarify purpose and boundaries of the decisionGather informationIdentify who is affected by the decisionIdentify who will make the decision (individual or group)Identify what knowledge or expertise is needed to make the decisionIdentify what information or resources currently exist to help with the decision making processDefine by when the decision needs to be madeCommunicate to affected parties who is making the decision and the rationale for itDECIDINGDefine how the decision will be made (e.g. consensus, voting, etc.)Use appropriate tools that support data gathering (e.g. affinity diagram, brainstorming, fishbone, flowchart, force field, how-how, interrelationship digraph)
Make the decision through the integration of ideas and data, and negotiation and prioritization of ideasIdentify who (individual or group) will implement the decisionCOMMUNICATINGSummarize the rationale for the decisionCommunicate the decision, why it was made and the rationale for itIMPLEMENTINGDefine the steps in implementing the decision including the timeframe for completionDefine the method for reporting when something is completed and who receives the reportEVALUATINGIdentify the process for assessing impact of decisionOur textbook defines critical thinking as, “The general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims, to discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases, to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions, and to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do” (Bassham et al., 2002, p.569). Simply put, critical thinking is being able to look at information critically. It means asking questions about the information presented and then analyzing the answers. It means using the answers to create new ideas, solve problems, and make decisions. Critical thinking is imperative to making sound decisions using a decision-making model.
Last year my company swapped the departments reporting to several