Decision-making

Decision-making (alternatively spelled, decision making) is the action, process, and/or creative behavior of making decisions.

Classifications

Decisional discretion

Any decision is a choice made from among two or more alternatives. The criteria that define what's important or relevant to resolving a problem are known as decision criteria. The freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation is known as decisional discretion.

Programmed vs non-programmed

1. Programmed decision. Any decision to follow a policy, operative rule, another regulation, or to routinely repeat one's previous decision that has been made while handling a similarly structured task.
2. Non-programmed decision (creative decision). A unique and nonrecurring decision that requires a custom-made solution.

Individual vs collective

1. Individual decision-making. Decision-making made by an individual as opposed to group decision-making.
2. Group decision-making.

Factors

Controlled vs uncontrolled

1. Controlled expectancy. A situation in which a decision maker is able to estimate the likelihood of certain outcomes.
   • Certainty. A situation in which a decision maker can make accurate decisions because all outcomes are known.
   • Uncertainty. A situation in which a decision maker has neither certainty nor reasonable probability estimates available.

Internal vs external

1. Core self-evaluation. Bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capacities, competence, and worth as a person. In other words, self-believing in one's inner worth and basic competence.
   • General mental ability. An overall factor of intelligence, as suggested by the positive correlations among specific intellectual ability dimensions.

Approaches

Decision-making approach

Decision-making approach. A particular manner of taking preliminary steps toward making a decision.

Rational

1. Rational decision-making. Decision-making that produces choices that are logical and consistent and maximize value.
   • Rationale. A reasoning characterized by making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints.

Intuitive

1. Intuitive decision-making. Unconscious decision-making on the basis of distilled experience, feelings, and accumulated judgment.
   • 

     Intuition
     Intuition. An instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by research.

Ad hoc

1. Ad hoc decision-making.
   • Design thinking. Approaching management problems as designers approach design problems.
   • Heuristic. A rule of thumb that decision makers use to simplify decision-making.

Process types

Linear vs nonlinear

1. Decisional tendency.
   • Bounded rationality. Decision-making that is rational, but limited (bounded) by an individual's ability to process information. In other words, bounded rationality is a process of making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.
   • Escalation of commitment. An increased commitment to a previous decision despite evidence it may have been wrong.
   • Risk aversion. The tendency to prefer a sure gain of a moderate amount over a riskier outcome, even if the riskier outcome might have a higher expected payoff.
2. Decision-making dilemma. Optimizing vs. satisficing, intuitive vs rational vs ad hoc, Agile vs rigid, conservative vs aggressive, linear vs nonlinear
   • Satisfice. Acceptance of solutions that are "good enough."
   • Allostasis. Working to change behavior and attitude to find stability.

Considerations

Self-regulation

1. Self-regulation strategy.
   • Prevention focus. A self-regulation strategy that involves striving for goals by fulfilling duties and obligations.
   • Promotion focus. A self-regulation strategy that involves striving for goals through advancement and accomplishment.

Ethics

1. 

   Ethical dilemma
   Ethical dilemma. A situation in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct.
   • Ethics. Principles, values, and beliefs that define what is right and wrong behavior.
   • Behavioral ethics. Analyzing how people actually behave when confronted with ethical dilemmas.