Thursday, December 6, 2007

Critical Thinking Qn 2 by Shao Shiuan

1. The colleague recommends the rational choice paradigm of decision making.

2. It is generally a good recommendation in this situation, but there are some flaws in the information processing and compiling part.

3. Firstly, the decision maker cannot possibly look through all the different factors for so many travel agencies. There will be information overflow and it is hard to classify the points into a set of ideas, since decision makers themselves have a limited information processing ability. Therefore encoding too much varying information may cause confusion to the decision maker, which in turns affect the decision made to the organization.

Secondly, the decision maker may have the tendency to take a bias stand towards the decision made. For example, the decision maker may not like travel agency A because there is probably some conflicts between the manager of the agency and him in past experiences. Or probably the decision maker may tend to choose travel agency B between B and C, even though agency B and C may provide the same quality and attractive travel packages, but perhaps because agency B gave the decision maker a good impression before.

But there are also several positive aspects for this thought process too.

Since most of the problems lie on the negative assumptions we predict towards the decision maker (subject), most of the advantages actually lie on the solution itself (object).

With all the different minds gathered together, all the factors gathered will be able to allow room for the expansion of ideas, and the solution can be seen from a wider scope to consider more and make a better decision.

U see, in rational choice paradigm, we can also weight out the positive and the negative aspect of the solution, and thus through the well-planned concept in mind, it is easier for the decision maker to choose the solution with the highest payoff while not regretting the final decision made, this include not just the decision maker, but also the team members.

Ending off, i think it is always nessessary for us to consider both the pros and cons while deciding on a solution. In this case, human emotion can be controlled, and mistakes made due to emotion can be resolved if paid more attention to. Overall, this is a good thinking pattern, but incoparate some other thinking process, such as breaking down and classifying the factors into categories, is a good way for a better decision making =)

signing off....
shao shiuan the fine young man :X
Grrr... I AM SLOW, am i the last?

The decision making approach is Rational Choice of Paradigm of Decision Making.

The decision making style has both benefit and disadvantages.

Benefits: It gives a very structure approach to decision making, thus it simplifies complication and provide a proper guideline if decisions need to be made. Like the case study, this decision making style will offer them more choices of travel agency and which agency could offer them the best price (cheapest) yet best services

It also explores the different alternative solutions to a problem, thus giving a clear view and more choices to the company when they need a solution.

It also allow group to reflect upon the status of problem, i.e. where is the current standing of the problem, are we on the right track to solve a problem.

And if team is on the wrong track to solving problem, they can still head back into and explore the rest of the choices which was provided previously. Example, if the travel agency chosen does not provide the service the promised, company can look into other alternative travel agency

Disadvantages of Using Rational Choice of Paradigm of Decision Making
It is too idealistic as it has failed to recognize some of other factors that may influence the choice.

One of the factors is emotions of individuals that may influence the choice of the travel agent being chosen. The person could choose to used a travel agent because he/she has travel experience with the company and view it as an optimal choice thus this could affect the choice of the travel agent being chosen

Another factor could be crashes with personal interest. The travel agent could have given one member of the team making the decision a benefit if he/she help the agency by persuading and influencing the ideas of the other members who are making the decision, thus “The group choice may not be the best choice.”

Another factor that may influence the choice of agency could be the poor process of information thus leading to poor decision made. Looking at the agencies and comparing the relevant factors could be a benefit but it is a greater pit fall, as when we put agencies together and compare, personal preferences will bound to affect choices, thus it may not be the best choice that is used


GRR.. i am done

Shuxian..
(where got such good deal, get to travel, 2000 ppl)

Decision making

The decision making approach used is called the rational choice paradigm.

It is a relatively good recommendation but we cannot overlook its restrictions as well. Why i would say it is generally a good idea is because factual information is being considered and this will ensure that the best possible choices with the best outcomes, are being made with the options available. In this case, for air travel, it will be a way to save cost and use financial resources more effectively. Also, if the advantages and disadvantages of different factors are being carefully measured and weighed against each other, there will probably be a higher satisfaction level among the 2000 staff, with the service provided by the travel agency.

The main problem with this approach, however, is that its idealistic nature is not exactly feasible when it comes to application in real-life situations. This method negates the existence of human emotions and pre-conceptions in the process of decision making, which is rather impossible to carry out in reality. Although the presence of such human behaviour can be an obstacle to the making of decisions, it in fact helps one to be more empathetic especially when the decision involves people. Another reason is that decision makers are not always able to process such a large amount of information and they are actually not able to always identify the best options, as assumed by the rational choice paradigm.

We can therefore see that decision making involves many different aspects and an integration of different approaches will ensure that the best choice is made with eveything being taken into consideration.

Manhong
@_@

x_x

The colleague recommended the rational choice paradigm decision-making approach.
It is the best option from the company's point of view as it is the most cost-saving approach.
This approach also ensures that the decision made is rational and utility maximising, PROVIDED THAT the assumptions behind this approach are consistent with reality, which is usually not the case.

However this approach is based on two assumptions, which holds very little truth or rather are inconsistent with reality most of time.
1. human behaviour is always consistent with rationality.
2. humans are very clear and fully aware of the consequences of their choice.

I shall refute the argument about the rational choice paradigm being the best approach in this case study from a NEUTRAL POINT OF VIEW .
1. The decision made by people may not necessarily be the best. Settling for anything else less than the best obviously does not reflect rationality.
2. Uncertainty regarding the consequences of their choice arises in cases whereby information provided for decision-making consideration is insufficient or people lack the cognitive ability and time to rank one choice against another.

Besides it is impossible to accommodate to the preferences of 2000 people in all aspects (transport/accommodation/meals in this case study) using the rational choice paradigm decision-making approach.

a very tired Yvonne

Critical Thinking

The decision making process recommended by my friend is the rational choice paradigm. The approach seems quite wise. If it works out, it is definitely the best solution. However, it is hard to achieve in real life.

Just like all approaches, there are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. With this approach, personal beliefs and preferences are being put aside. Thus the amount of biasness is greatly minimised. As all factors are being weighed carefully, the decision is more likely to be the most compatible with the company needs.

However, as you see, it is too idealistic. The approach seems to be suitable for robots or people whose work is their life. I doubt that I have the capability, in real life, to actually carry out all these tasks. The entire process seems very tedious and time consuming. There are tons of travel agencies to choose from. It is not practical to assess each and every agency in detail. I would probably suffer from work overload. In addition, I would find it difficult to totally put aside my emotions while making decisions. My decisions might be influenced by past experiences. I would rather choose an agency which I am familiar with rather than one that I am not. How would I know that the information given by the agency is not just an empty promise? Another con is the success of the process, ultimately depends on me. More than one person should be recommending the agency. I could narrow down the choices and then have a team to choose the final agency. Perhaps my company would want to receive employees’ inputs. While it is impossible to make everyone happy, it will be good to listen to what the employees prefer. After all, it is their trip.

The rational choice paradigm decision making process is an ideal process. If I am confident that I have the time and energy to channel into the project, I would use this method, considering it is a great solution. However, I doubt I do.

Fas
“Even during the darkest, deepest nights, I know without a doubt, tomorrow will come.”

Critical thinking by Jessica Ann

The decision making approach my colleague is using is the rational choice paradigm of decision making.

I feel that this approach has its advantages like enabling my colleague to choose from many people, and therefore finding the best agency. It may seem more fair to use this approach as it would mean that the majority votes would be chosen. Moreover by choosing this method, my colleague would be able to choose an agency from a variety of existing ones. By taking this method, lesser problems might arise, as the employess would also understand that the decisions were made to satisy everyone as a whole.

On the other hand, I do feel that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for this process. Many of the "logical" advantages stated by the book, are mere assumptions. They are not easily applicable. Firstly, when my colleague chooses the best alternative, he/she might very well choose the one that is more preferable to him/her. My colleague would also be unable to figure out which agency would best suit all the different needs. To study each agency in detail and choose the right one would be a very tedious job for the decision maker. This process might also take very long. As to choose the proper alternative, the decision maker will have to examine each alternative thoroughly, which would take quite some time. Furthermore, it would be impossible to satisfy the needs and wants of all 2000 employees. For example, some employees may find not be able to travel in planes due to air sickness or they may even have a specific preference for the type of hotels they want to live in. Truthfully, the amount of factors to consider are great!

To effectively make the right the decisions for this travel, feedback from the employees would definetly be necessary. In this way, better decisions can be made. Also, my colleague should approach this process more openly and consider various perspective other than his.

One of the Introvertz, Jessica Ann
PCS 1A01

E learning- Grace

1) What decision-making approach is your colleague recommending?
(2) Is this recommendation a good idea in this situation?
(3) Why or why not?

Question 1)It would be the rational choice paradigm of decision making.

Question 2) yes it is, because firstly, it allows the group to recognize opportunities during the process. This allow groups to feel more positive towards it, and may fill that there are lots of areas for them to explore, hence it may encourage them and let their mind run wild.It also aims directly at the problem and look at the big picture first, hence preventing them from hanging there at the problem and not moving forward.


However, it seems like a too perfect to be true.For the 4th step, by choosing one with the most favourable outcome, it doesn't mean that it will work best in that context of the problem. It may also be something that the group are not interested at all to explore. It may seems favourable from a bird's eye view, but it they dwell further, it may not be.

Moreover, Decision making in a group of complex human beings who have their own beliefs and values are very difficult. Everyone has different needs + viewpoints and deciding on one concensus agency would definitely take a long time. By exploring all travel agencys, there would all die of exhaustion. Moreover, which company are willing to provide you with information that are really true when they want themselves to make business? It will be very difficult to come up to a conclusion too.In addition, they are just assumptions and often then not, they limit the groups perception and awareness. It will also cause them to close their gate on looking at things in a bigger picture once a decision is made!

Although, it is good in ensuring that the group are moving towards the desire outcome for the company, however,along the process of making the decision, they may waive off from making a soundly decision.

Therefore,the group must move from being descriptive and subjective to prescriptive which requires well developed theories and methods of decision-making .


Grace