Rational Decision Making
Rational decision making is a step by step procedure that is logical, and objective and is used to make selections between different options. This approach follows a path of a process which includes first formulating an objective and then recognizing the principles for making the decision. The next process is ascertaining the alternatives, carrying out an analysis, and then making the final decision. Rational decision-making helps to make good decisions because the choice of deciding rationally makes it possible for the decision-maker to address issues by breaking them down hence coming up with structured decisions.
Rational decision making is an important topic because not everyone makes decisions rationally and not everyone uses a process to make decisions. People who make decisions rationally evaluate the long-term impacts of their decisions (Uzonwanne 2016). Another type of decision making such as intuitive decision making is made quite fast and made with inadequate facts and often altered if the instinct was in error. This type of decision making is very likely to be more inclined to error and is unreliable. This may cause indecision and lack of confidence for the decision-makers which is risky, more so in a business setup. Because the decision is prone to errors, the consequences can be quite high in an environment where finances are involved. This makes rational decision-making processes have better consequences because it involves careful, methodological steps that involve choices that maximize benefits and minimizes costs.
Rational decision making is defined by the decision-makers adhering to the careful process, using logical and data-focused ways of following the stages of that procedure. Though the process can consume a lot of time and could be costly, it is worth and useful for making big decisions that have an impact on many people (Halabi 2019). Rational decision-making helps to make good decisions because the path followed is orderly which is translated from a problem to a solution. The chosen solution in this type of decision making is in agreement with the likings and opinions of the decision-maker and fulfills situations of logical dependability. Decision making is objective, unbiased, and is usually based on facts. During the decision-making process, information is assembled for analysis, and future outcomes are put into consideration for every decision option. Organized questions are used to ensure thorough scrutiny of the issue that is necessitating a solution.
Being rational helps to make good decisions because one can break down the issue and the solutions to come up with a conclusive decision. Being rational helps to characterize the issues and the objectives to ensure that all the needs and desires are addressed. Rational decision making involves a process that is aided by structured methods, mathematics, and computers all that work towards getting the best decision for a situation (Uzonwanne 2016). Making a rational choice helps to come up with good decisions because the decision-making techniques and tools have been proved to be useful and they help obtain good decisions. Being rational gives the decision-maker the capability to evaluate and analyze information that acts as a guide because it is based on facts. However being rational leaves out consideration of an individual’s personal feelings, emotions, experience, and ethical principles among other factors that are of value.
Factors such as emotion are said to be left out in rational decision making and have shown to influence the decision-making process. Decisions involve doubt and a person’s lenience for risk becomes an aspect. Hence being afraid of negative consequences could forbid choices whose benefits overshadow the probability of something going wrong. On the other hand, being rational remains to have a great impact on good decisions because sometimes emotions can cloud a person’s reasoning, especially when they are needed to do something that could cause internal pain. In situations such as ones that you are required to give constructive criticism or move away from something that you are attached to (Alvino & Franco 2017). In this case, being rational helps to make logical sound decisions even in similar situations where emotions can easily blur or lead to biased decisions. Being rational when making decisions results in satisfactory consequences and of great benefit according to the choices they have available.
Theories of rational decision making have an assumption that people always want to make the best selections whenever something valuable is at stake. An example is a fact that people want to buy a product that they desire and when they find it they gather information to make sure that they get their investment worth (Alvino & Franco 2017). Another assumption is that people are motivated by money and making profits which have permitted it to build formal and prognostic models of human actions. Another assumption is that a person is cognitively able to search and gather important facts that help them in making their final choice. A person can get the time and the resources needed for rational decision making to accomplish a solution that is effective and functional.
Being that a rational approach to decision making puts more emphasis on the significance of systematic analysis of the problem, followed by choice and realization, it makes rationality to relate closely to theories and models. Examples of these models which are adaptable by businesses include normative decision making which is rational because it assumes that the decision-makers use a set of rational standards to make a decision. Absolute rationality in a business is supposed to lead an organization to sufficient consistency in objectives by defining definite goals which are adequate for the situation in the long term. Another model type is the heuristic model that is based on the assumption that it is not possible to define rationality clearly without the use of a value system that is used to evaluate it (Alvino & Franco 2017). Research shows that the actual decision-making processes maintain that not every outcome can be considered and all the preferences cannot be well-defined. The heuristic model is based on the concept of bounded rationality which has the assumption that the capabilities of humans are imperfect and constrained and information is not impeccable.
Bounded rationality maintains that decision creators don’t have access to all the data that is important in making the decision. Another limitation that this theory has is that decision-makers have inadequate logical and computational capabilities and that they cannot judge their information perfectly (Halabi 2019). It maintains that the decision-makers unavoidably make a poor judgment in the assessment process. The decision creators are also said not to have limitless time to create decisions and real life circumstances provide time limitations in which decisions have to be made. Hence the suggestion of the bounded rationality which maintains that the decision creators have to be prepared to adjust to their rational methodology.
The rational decision-making approach follows precise steps hence come up with good and reliable decisions. First, the problem that needs a solution is verified and defined. This is important because the decision creator might end up doing too little or too much if the problem is not well understood (Uzonwanne 2016). Then there is the establishment of the decision criteria where the decision creator is needed to decide what is pertinent in creating the decision. A gap analysis is carried out to help understand the gap in the middle of the issue and the solution. Options, facts, and alternatives are gathered for guidance e in the decision making. The options consequences are evaluated to decide the most effective and well-designed option and in this step, enough time should be allocated to get the best options. When the best option has been selected, the decision is accurately implemented and thereafter the outcome is evaluated to know if it was successful.
Being rational helps to make the best decisions because it involves a process that is logical and objective. However, not everyone makes decisions rationally and not everyone uses a process to make decisions making the topic a topic of discussion. This brings the development of other types of decision making. Despite the limitations and critics of being rational, the processes in rational decision making enable a decision-maker to make the best decisions because of the orderly manner it follows. This enables the decision-maker to assess and analyze information that guides in the decision-making process.
References
Alvino, L., & Franco, M. (2017). The decision-making process between rationality and
emotions. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 5(9), 7074-7092.
Halabi A. (2019) The factors that effect on rational decision making. International journal of
Applied research 2019; 5 (5): 365-369
Uzonwanne, F. C. (2016). Rational Model of Decision Making. Global Encyclopedia of Public
Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 1-6.
