A primer on decision making : how decisions happen

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

A primer on decision making : how decisions happen

James G. March ; with the assistance of Chip Heath

The Free Press, a division of Macmillan, Inc. , Maxwell Macmillan Canada , Maxwell Macmillan International, c1994

  • : pbk

Available at  / 56 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Publisher varies: The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780029200353

Description

Building on lecture notes from his course at Stanford University, James G. March provides an introduction to decision making, a central human activity, fundamental to individual, group, organizational, and societal life. March draws on research from all the disciplines of social and behavioural science to show decision making in its broadest context. By emphasizing how decisions are actually made - as opposed to how they should be made - he enables those involved in the process to understand it both as observers and as participants. In addition, March explains key concepts of vital importance to decision makers, such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, and weaves these ideas into a full depiction of decision making.
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9781439157336

Description

Building on lecture notes from his acclaimed course at Stanford University, James March provides a brilliant introduction to decision making, a central human activity fundamental to individual, group, organizational, and societal life. March draws on research from all the disciplines of social and behavioral science to show decision making in its broadest context. By emphasizing how decisions are actually made -- as opposed to how they should be made -- he enables those involved in the process to understand it both as observers and as participants. March sheds new light on the decision-making process by delineating four deep issues that persistently divide students of decision making: Are decisions based on rational choices involving preferences and expected consequences, or on rules that are appropriate to the identity of the decision maker and the situation? Is decision making a consistent, clear process or one characterized by ambiguity and inconsistency? Is decision making significant primarily for its outcomes, or for the individual and social meanings it creates and sustains? And finally, are the outcomes of decision processes attributable solely to the actions of individuals, or to the combined influence of interacting individuals, organizations, and societies? March's observations on how intelligence is -- or is not -- achieved through decision making, and possibilities for enhancing decision intelligence, are also provided. March explains key concepts of vital importance to students of decision making and decision makers, such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, and weaves these ideas into a full depiction of decision making. He includes a discussion of the modern aspects of several classic issues underlying these concepts, such as the relation between reason and ignorance, intentionality and fate, and meaning and interpretation. This valuable textbook by one of the seminal figures in the history of organizational decision making will be required reading for a new generation of scholars, managers, and other decision makers.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Preface 1. Limited Rationality The Idea of Rational Choice Limited (or Bounded) Rationality Theories of Attention and Search Risk and Risk Taking 2. Rule Following Decision Making as Rule Following Rules, Identities, and Action Rule Development and Change Appropriate Rules or Consequential Choice? 3. Multiple Actors: Teams and Partners Interpersonal Consistency and Teams Interpersonal Inconsistencies Social Bases of Inconsistencies Uneasy Partners 4. Multiple Actors: Conflict and Politics Decisions and Power Decisions and Coalitions Participation and Decision Instabilities Single Actors and Multiple Actors 5. Ambiguity and Interpretation Order and Ambiguity in Decision Making Ambiguous Bases of Decision Making Loose Coupling in Organizations Garbage Can Decision Process Decision Making and the Construction of Meaning Ambiguity and Understanding 6. Decision Engineering Defining Decision Intelligence Improving Adaptiveness Using Knowledge Creating Meaning Notes Additional Reading Index About the Author

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

  • NCID
    BA22602689
  • ISBN
    • 0029200350
    • 9781439157336
  • LCCN
    94004414
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    New York,Toronto,New York
  • Pages/Volumes
    ix, 289 p.
  • Size
    25 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
Page Top