My Decision Making Style

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My Decision Making Style

• Directions
• You have 5 points (per question) to distribute
  over 4 responses.
• Point Breakdown
• 5 I do this nearly all the time
• 4 I do this frequently
• 3 I do this more than half the time
• 2 I do this sometimes, less than half the time
• 1 I do this infrequently
• 0 I never do this

Survey by Harvey F. Silver J. Robert Hanson
for Georgia Department of Education
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A Primer on Decision Making How Decisions
HappenBy James G. March

• Presentation By
• Vanessa Muniz
• PA 715
• July 2, 2007

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Why Primer?

• This book is based on lecture notes from courses
  that March taught at Stanford.
• This book looks at how decisions happen and NOT
  how they should happen.
• There are no stories about specific decision
  making situations/cases.
• This book introduces the reader to basic decision
  making theories.

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Rational Choice Theory

• What does it mean to be Rational?
• Rational Procedure for Making choices
• pursues a logic of consequences and makes
  choices conditional to the answers of four basic
  questions

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Alternatives

• When faced with a situation where one must make a
  decision, there are always choices.
• Choices are equivalent to Alternatives.
• So, as a decision-maker you ask yourself, What
  choices/alternatives/actions are possible?

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Expectations

• Once you have recognized possible alternatives
  then the decision maker thinks of possible
  consequences each choice produces.
• You also ask yourself how likely is this
  consequence likely.

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Preferences

• What value do each of the consequences have to
  me?
• That is, what consequences am I willing to live
  with if I chose A over B.

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Decision Rule

• The decision maker will apply rules among
  alternatives and give consequences a certain
  value.
• If one consequence has a higher negative value to
  the decision maker, they are less likely to
  choose that option/alternative. But it could be
  the case that all decision have this consequence
  but the degree of it may vary. The decision
  maker will chose that which is more aligned with
  their ideals, identity and role.

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Why did you choose SFSU?

• Alternatives
• Expectations
• Preferences
• Decision Rules

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Multiple Actor Decision Making

• Power- those with the most get what they want.
• Coalition building- bringing people together with
  well defined preferences or identities
• Participation- those that are most interested in
  the issue will be more involved/opinionated ? get
  what they want whether its right/wrong

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Implementation

• Theres a disconnect between decision makers and
  implementation level.
• Example US Passport Requirement

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The Symbolic Importance of Decision Making

• The meanings elaborated in decision making have
  importance beyond the mundane realities of
  rendering decisions. Decision making and the
  activities surrounding it have considerable
  symbolic importance. In the course of making
  decisions, decision makers develop and
  communicate meaning not only about decisions but
  also more generally about truth, about what is
  happening in the world and why it is happening.
  They define what is morally important and what is
  proper behavior. They elaborate a language of
  understanding and describe how actions are
  properly explained and justified. They allocate
  and define individual worth- who is powerful, who
  is smart, who is virtuous. Thus, the process
  affects individual and organizational self-esteem
  and standing. It helps to mold and sustain a
  social order of friendships and antagonisms,
  trust and distrust. March (p 212)

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Decision Making on Immigration Reform

• What symbolic importance did the defeat of the
  immigration bill have?
• Why do you think it was defeated?
• Is it that Democrats dont want to give the
  President credit because they fear the loss of
  the Latino vote?

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Marchs Conclusion

• Decision making is not simple
• The ability to make decisions gives meaning to
  purpose, to self, to life
• Decision making ennobles as it frustrates
• Decision making is even harder when we discover
  that it wasnt as simple as we originally thought
  

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• Thank You