Paper Example on Decision-Making: The Rational Model for Ensuring Responsible Choices

Introduction

Human beings make their everyday decisions based on specific rationale. It helps in ensuring that they are accountable to themselves and those around them. The logical evaluation of facts and circumstances is critical in ensuring that people have a specific or near-accurate decision-making criterion (Uzonwanne, 2016). The rational decision-making model evaluates compatibility and value, where rationality aims at informing people about the consequences of their options. This model is useful for implementing decisions that influence social behavior within organizations and communities. While undertaking this form of decision-making, a leader must identify a problem and then carry out a gap analysis while gathering facts, alternatives, and options.

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These stages of the model help in giving clarity and finding solutions to the problems that an organization may be undergoing (Uzonwanne, 2016). After conducting a gap analysis and analyzing all options and possible outcomes, firms should implement the most suitable and sustainable solution. The rational decision-making model allows management to set the managerial objectives with the wellbeing of their workers in mind. Specialists and consultants best effect rational decision-making models since they are neutral parties when it comes to the running of entities. Rationality is vital since it denotes objectivity, and it allows deliberate actions to be taken. Therefore, applying the rational decision-making model, entities display professionalism and maximization of employee and organizational interest.

Discuss Dealing with Biases and Errors in Decision Making

Biases and errors are likely to occur during decision making. This is common in situations where organizations or leaders are pursuing a personal agenda during a crisis. Time pressures also affect decisions, and the same creates errors that may be difficult to correct in the long run. Dealing with biases requires decision-makers to undertake internal training programs that will enable them to understand that they are likely to have unconscious preferences. The training can be one that entails mapping out the ramifications of biased decisions to ensure that the people in charge understand the legal implications of some errors (Cox, Strang, Sondergaard & Monsalve, 2017). When dealing with biases, therefore, decision-makers must be objective, consistent, accountable, and fair. Their decisions must also be based on evidence as opposed to the general feeling.

Being objective helps a person in avoiding errors since they will impartially look at details while ignoring their personal views. It is also a way of eliminating bias and creating legitimacy in decisions. Another way to avoid errors and biases is to train management on the need to exercise transparency. The latter can be recognized as one of the ways to create clarity within an institution (Cox et al., 2017). Where there is transparency, many people are likely to have an opinion regarding an issue, thereby reducing the chances of an error. Hence, dealing with errors and biases requires objectivity transparency and training of the senior staff of an organization to ensure that they do not personalize issues.

Analyze how Individual Differences and Organizational Constraints Affect Decision Making

Individual differences and organizational restraints can affect the decision-making process of any entity. This is because the human interfaces associated with decision making can pursue their interests at the expense of the entity, thereby losing objectivity. Individual differences, in most instances, are influenced by past experiences. The same may affect the ability of a person to make well-informed decisions, and this may tamper with the quality of their engagement with other people. Individual differences explain the disparity in the risk-taking levels of individuals (Appelt, Milch, Handgraaf & Weber, 2011). People with a high-risk tolerance are likely to navigate dilemmas better than those with a low ability to accommodate the same.

This situation can be explained by the fact that such people may be more impulsive and ready to try out new things until they get an appropriate solution. Individual differences, therefore, affect the decision-making ability of a person since they serve as a motivating factor to their level of engagement (Appelt et al., 2011). Organizational constraints, such as the lack of managerial support, affect decision making. In instances where the management may not be willing to support departments, the decisions made at that level may not be productive. The choices may negatively affect an entity, thereby causing conflict at certain levels of administration. Such indifferences between the management and various departments may result in poor funding and coordination, thereby derailing organizational progress.

Identify Ethical Considerations in Decision Making

While making decisions, individuals and organizations must be ethical to ensure that they are not breaking the law among the ethical considerations that entities consider include transparency, honesty, and reliability. Transparency fosters a learning environment where people are able to appreciate the essence of communication within the entity. Open discussions stimulate improvement, and they facilitate effectiveness. Accountability is also an ethical consideration in decision making. It entails being liable for personal and organizational conduct (Cox et al., 2017). Accountability, as part of ethics, allows companies to make decisions that are not only focused on profits but on the social good of the community and clients they serve. Thus, ethics are critical in decision making since they enable firms to carry out social good while avoiding illegalities that may result in legal liability.

References

Appelt, K. C., Milch, K. F., Handgraaf, M. J., & Weber, E. U. (2011). The decision making individual differences inventory and guidelines for the study of individual differences in judgment and decision-making research. Judgment and Decision making. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-09795-007

Cox, K., Strang, L., Sondergaard, S., & Monsalve, C. G. (2017). Understanding how organizations ensure that their decision making is fair. RAND. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1800/RR1827/RAND_RR1827.pdf

Uzonwanne, F. C. (2016). Rational Model of Decision Making. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 1-6. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francis_Uzonwanne/publication/311761486_Rational_Model_of_Decision_Making/links/5b5b60f0aca272a2d66e4c33/Rational-Model-of-Decision-Making.pdf