decision making The act of choosing one alternative from among a set of alternatives

decision-making process Recognizing and defining the nature of a decision situation, identifying alternatives, choosing the "best" alternative, and putting it into practice

programmed decision A decision that is fairly structured or recurs with some frequency (or both)

nonprogrammed decision A decision that is relatively unstructured; occurs much less often than a programmed decision

state of certainty A condition in which the decision maker knows with reasonable certainty what the alternatives are and what conditions are associated with each alternative

state of risk A condition in which the availability of each alternative and its potential payoffs and costs are all associated with probability estimates

state of uncertainty A condition in which the decision maker does not know all the alternatives, the risks associated with each, or the consequences each alternative is likely to have

classical decision model A prescriptive approach to decision making that tells managers how they should make decisions. It assumes that managers are logical and rational and that their decisions will be in the best interests of the organization

steps in rational decision making Recognize and define the decision situation; identify appropriate alternatives; evaluate each alternative in terms of its feasibility, satisfactoriness, and consequences; select the best alternative; implement the chosen alternative; follow-up and evaluate the results of the chosen alternative

administrative model A decision-making model that argues that decision makers (1) have incomplete and imperfect information, (2) are constrained by bounded rationality, and (3) tend to satisfice when making decisions

bounded rationality A concept suggesting that decision makers are limited by their values and unconscious reflexes, skills, and habits

satisficing The tendency to search for alternatives only until one is found that meets some minimum standard of sufficiency

coalition An informal alliance of individuals or groups formed to achieve a common goal

intuition An innate belief about something without conscious consideration

escalation of commitment A decision maker's staying with a decision even when it appears to be wrong

risk propensity The extent to which a decision maker is willing to gamble in making a decision

interacting group or team A decision-making group or team in which members openly discuss, argue about, and agree on the best alternative

Delphi group A form of group decision making in which a group is used to achieve a consensus of expert opinion

nominal group A structured technique used to generate creative and innovative alternatives or ideas

groupthink A situation that occurs when a group or team's desire for consensus and cohesiveness overwhelms its desire to reach the best possible decision