Define Heuristics and Explain How They Affect The Decision-making Process.

Decision-making
Define Heuristics and Explain How They Affect The Decision-making Process.
Heuristics are just simple and efficient rules that are used by individuals to form judgments and make the best decision. Generally, heuristics tends to be mental shortcuts that involves focus on ones aspects toward a challenging issues and ignore the rest. In most circumstance, this rule is applicable (Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier 2011). However, the use of heuristic leads to systematic deviation from the logical rational choice theory. They may cause an error referred to as “cognitive biases” where most of this types are documented. The use of heuristic in decision-making process has been evidenced to have an impact to people choice especially in situations such as valuation of houses or making decisions related to legal issues. Generally, Heuristics have governed the aspect of automatic, intuitive judgments. As well, heuristics have been used in deliberate mental techniques epically when there is limited information. According to scientist, human judgment is based on the aspect of heuristics where the concept is derived from the computation field (Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier 2011).
Use of heuristic in decision-making process has various impacts. According to scholars, use of the strategies has attribute to substitution especially in a situation where an individual may reason mainly about moral, legal and political issues. Given consideration of the challenges in these areas, people will always have to find more familiar and related issues and use it to find the solution and be the solution for challenging issues (Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier 2011). Ideally, the opinions of individuals who are trusted in terms of politics or in areas of religion will have to be used as the heuristic attributes in case people are questioned about their opinion toward certain matter. As well, heuristic has a source of emotions where individual moral opinions toward sensitive issues such as human cloning and issues of gender are fostered by the reaction of disgust rather than considering the reasonable principles and policies. Heuristic strategies have been challenged for failure of providing enough evidence that will attribute on the substitution rather than any other process which may work in the case (Finucane, et al 2000).
In addition, heuristic selected alternative models will have to face either higher or lower expectation values within the series of random generated decisions. It is evidenced that most of the simulated heuristic selected alternates with the higher expected values and the selected alternate with lower value tends not to be effective. However, the interpretation has faced various criticisms since not all variances are familiar and are not accounted due to the attractiveness of the issues. As well, use of heuristic experiment, a judgment may be made depending on familiarity of the issues (Finucane, et al 2000). Most of the attractive issues are often to be mistaken and be label as familiar. This is as a result of attribute substitutions. However, the heuristic attribute in the case tends to be an effect of “warm glow”. This is a positive feeling toward an individual an effect that may be caused by either being attractive.
Describe the Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Decisions
Group decisions comprise two or more individual who participate and may result into choices with responsibilities of group rather than individual. Group decision-making tends to be subjected to social influence that offer advantages and disadvantages of decision results (Slovic, et al 2007).
Advantages
Due to different specialties among the team members, the members will have capacity of offering more essential information and knowledge. As well, the information provide will be comprehensive and the entire group has capacity of generating greater number of alternatives.
Implementing the decisions tends to be more effective since individuals implementing the decisions will participate in the decisions (Slovic, et al 2007). This creates a chance of having committed individuals toward the success of implementation. Generally, it is essential that the decision will be accepted since lower quality decisions tend to be effective compared to high quality decisions.
• Input sourced from a large group reduces the biases that may be introduced by individual decision-making. As well, it reduces unreliability of individual decisions.
• The participation techniques during the decision-making process tends to develop a foundation which is training ground for the subordinates who are capable to develop essential skills with objective analysis for the information and derive conclusions.
• Group decision-making process tends to be more democratic in nature. Democratic nature of decision-making tends to be acceptable and is in line with the ideals of the society (Slovic, et al 2007).
Disadvantages of Group Decision-making
However, there are drawbacks evidenced in a group decision-making. Group process tends to have a negative to the performance in various ways:
• The process of decision-making process tends to consumer more time in terms of assembling the best group that will take time to reach a consensus since more opinion will be given. Time issues will arise with increased group size. Due to urgency of arriving to the best decisions, time matter needs to be considered.
• In many instances, participants in the group decisions have differentiated axes that wish to grind their own interests. Due to self-centered interests, the issue leads to aspect of personality conflicts that has to create interpersonal challenges that may diminish efficiency level on the process and quality of the decision-making (Bellini, Filippetti, Tassoni & Capolino 2008).
• Some of the members may agree with others due to social pressure. Hence, the desire to be a good group member one may silence not to disagree with others and favor the majority. Social pressure experienced may be strong and induce people toward changing attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions (Bellini, Filippetti, Tassoni & Capolino 2008).
• As well, the group member may exhibit the focus effect. This is ideas that the group may be focused toward few suggestion alternatives, spend more time in evaluations process hence lack of ideas, and limit the choices.
• Decision made by the entire group may not be in line with the corporate goals and objectives. This is fact mainly when the goals for the group and those of individuals do not support each other. This may results to decisions that are detrimental to the organization benefits.
• In addition, the group may be shifted toward less risky or more risky that may be undesirable. However, in decision-making process, it incorporates a level of risks or uncertainties (Bellini, Filippetti, Tassoni & Capolino 2008).
What Role Do Political Forces Play In Organizational Decision-making?
Within the political dimension, various models have an effect to the overall decision-making process. Some models related to rational actor, organizational, elitist, political, and idiosyncratic actors (Slovic, et al 2005). These models are not mutually exclusive but creates emphasizes on differentiated factors with different approaches toward the decision-making process. Within the rational factor model, decision-making process seeks to accomplish the tasks of identifying the challenges that they face, consider main factors that cause the issues with critical examination of the main course of action and making the best choice, and ensure there is maximization of benefit and reduction of costs (Slovic, et al 2005).
Considering the political actor models, the decision-making process is not very essential for rational deliberation. However, it is marked by the decision makers who are part of the power and the decisions tend to emerge from these struggles. Such kind of decision-making process tends to account for bargaining powers, accommodating for the consensus and controversy, bluff, conflicts, deceit and threats. The main bottom-line tends to be the key decisions that result from bargaining process from the diversified political interests (Slovic, et al 2005)..
In addition to the political actors, there is attributes of organization actors that affirm with the organization essential roles of decision-making process. This takes a closer look at the essentiality of organization crucial interests and capabilities. Organization actors has emphasis over the challenges, obtaining problems, shaping available alternatives, assessing the level of costs and benefits and making the best choices (Slovic, et al 2005). On the other hand, elitist actor model in decision-making have to assert most powerful individual to be part of the limited groups for the most political and influential people. Political and legal dimension need to be studied by the organization managers (Gwo-Hshiung 2010). The political and the legal dimension for general environment considers the government laws set for businesses, with consideration of business government relation as well as overall political and legal situation for the country. The business laws have responsibilities of dos and don’ts of organizations. Maintaining good business government relation will be essential for the economy as well as in decision-making process (Gwo-Hshiung 2010).
How Can Group Decision-making Be Improved?
In large and complex firms, basic and strategic decisions have been made by groups of manager compared to individuals. This means that, in many instances, group decision-making has been preferred. Decision related to organizations goals, formulation of plans, policies, and strategies are under the category. Hence, group decision-making has been wider prevalent in the past few decades due to organization challenges hence requiring specialized strategies and abilities to achieve the bottom line (Lu, Zhang & Ruan 2007).
In most instances, groups are required to come up with creative and imaginative solutions toward organization challenges. In such situations, brainstorming process has enhanced creativity outputs for the entire group. Generally, brainstorming tends to involve use of techniques to generate ideas on the possible cause of challenge, potential solution to the issue after they are identified (Lu, Zhang & Ruan 2007). Objectives of using brainstorming assist in generation of ideas for certain subjects. As well, a manager of the group needs to take decisions as an essential issue to understand the available alternatives and how the group will have to react toward them. The group needs to share their unique information to make better decisions with consideration of important factors of how every member will have to talk to each other (Merigó & Gil-Lafuente 2010).
In What Way Does Technology Assist Decision-making?
Decision-making process tends to be a significant activity in a business. Decision-making process involves processes that are impacted by technologies. Information technology offers the business with the decision support system and the artificial intelligence system/ combining the IT systems assists the business to create good information within the online analysis process and facilitate the decision-making roles and require significant analysis and efforts (Yu 2013). Technology has various roles in decision-making process such as:
• Data processing capabilities where technology assists in making quicker business decisions and offering ability of getting and receiving massive amount of the required information’s. Use of data warehouse and data mining techniques has computerized the decision-making process (Yu 2013).
• As well, IT has been used in bring speed in decision-making process. There is vast amount of available information with consideration of sophisticated capacities that assists in creating information that is useful in decision-making. Information technology offers greater power but decision maker needs to understand on the questions to ask on information (Chai, Liu & Ngai 2013).
• IT supports group decision-making where the team of workforce has to use the group decision-making system in making quicker decision. Group decision support system tends to be a useful in facilitating formulation and solution for problems by the entire team. The group decision-making process assists in incorporating capabilities, groupware, and the telecommunication process.

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