Individual Decisions Quarter

Human Decisions Quarter (hereinafter, the Quarter) is the first of four lectures of Operations Quadrivium (hereinafter, the Quadrivium):

• The Quarter is designed to introduce its learners to enterprise discovery, or, in other words, to concepts related to obtaining data needed to administer the enterprise effort; and
• The Quadrivium examines concepts of administering various types of enterprises known as enterprise administration as a whole.

The Quadrivium is the first of seven modules of Septem Artes Administrativi, which is a course designed to introduce its learners to general concepts in business administration, management, and organizational behavior.

Outline

The predecessor lecture is Human Motivations Quarter.

Concepts

1. Decision. A choice among two or more alternatives.
   • Decision. A choice made from among two or more alternatives.
   • Programmed decision. A repetitive decision that can be handled by a routine approach.
   • Nonprogrammed decision. A unique and nonrecurring decision that requires a custom-made solution.
2. Four stages of competence. Analysis vs intuition
   • Unconscious incompetence.
   • Conscious incompetence.
   • Conscious competence.
   • Unconscious competence.
3. 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.
4. Behaviorism. A theory that argues that behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.
5. Attitude. An evaluative statement or judgment concerning objects, people, or events.
   • Attitude. An evaluative statement, either favorable or unfavorable, concerning objects, people, or events.
   • Cognitive component. That part of an attitude that's made up of the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person.
   • Cognitive component. The opinion or belief segment of an attitude.
   • Affective component. That part of an attitude that's the emotional or feeling part.
   • Affective component. The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude.
   • Behavioral component. That part of an attitude that refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.
   • Behavioral component. The behavioral segment of an attitude that constitutes an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.

1. Cognitive dissonance. Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.
   • Cognitive dissonance. Any incompatibility or inconsistency between attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

• Decision analysis. An approach to decision-making that examines and models the possible consequences of different decisions. Decision analysis assists in making an optimal decision under conditions of uncertainty.
• Individual decision making
• Allostasis. Working to change behavior and attitude to find stability.
• Bounded rationality. Decision making that is rational, but limited (bounded) by an individual's ability to process information.
• Bounded rationality. A process of making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.
• Conceptual skill. The ability to think and to conceptualize about abstract and complex situations.
• Conformity. The adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group.
• Counterproductive work behavior. Actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent.
• Counterproductive workplace behavior. Any intentional employee behavior that is potentially damaging to the organization or to individuals within organization.
• Counterproductivity. Actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, of being late or absent.
• Decision criteria. Criteria that define what's important or relevant to resolving a problem.

• Design thinking. Approaching management problems as designers approach design problems.
• Escalation of commitment. An increased commitment to a previous decision despite evidence it may have been wrong.
• Escalation of commitment. An increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information.
• Ethical dilemma. A situation in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct.
• Exit. Dissatisfaction expressed through behavior directed toward leaving the organization.
• Certainty. A situation in which a decision maker can make accurate decisions because all outcomes are known.
• General mental ability. An overall factor of intelligence, as suggested by the positive correlations among specific intellectual ability dimensions.
• Heuristic. A rule of thumb that decision makers use to simplify decision making.
• Intuition. An instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by research.
• Intuitive decision making. Decision making on the basis of experience, feelings, and accumulated judgment.
• Intuitive decision making. An unconscious process created out of distilled experience.
• Intention. A decision to act in a given way.
• Rationale. A reasoning characterized by making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints.
• Rational decision making. Decision making that produces choices that are logical and consistent and maximize value.
• Rational decision-making model. A decision-making model that describes how individuals should behave in order to maximize some outcome.
• Quantitative approach in management. The use of quantitative techniques to improve decision making.
• Risk. A situation in which a decision maker is able to estimate the likelihood of certain outcomes.
• Uncertainty. A situation in which a decision maker has neither certainty nor reasonable probability estimates available.
• 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.
• 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.
• Satisfice. Acceptance of solutions that are "good enough."

Practices

The successor lecture is Worker Productivity Quarter.