Bounded Rationality - a Personal Case Study Reflection Essay

Parker’s budgeting decision is a good example of an individual acting with bounded rationality. This term was introduced by Simon in 1957 (as cited in Tolbert & Hall, 2008) to argue that normative models of decision making, which assume fully rational and objective judgement (Teale, Dispenza, Flynn & Currie, 2003), are unrealistic because human rationality is limited. Parker’s judgement may have seemed rational to him, but it was not rational for the organisation, a subtle distinction about rationality made by Storing (as cited in Tolbert & Hall, 2008). Parker’s judgement was also not rational in that he did not have all available knowledge and awareness of risk, which are the conditions of normative models (Teale et al, 2003) and the “official theory” of management (Anthony, as cited in Teale et al, 2003, p. 14). For example, Parker did not know about the variations in the terrain when he made his decision, and he also assumed that the assistant workers could work at the same physical rate that he could. Both of these limitations were factors resulting in a risk to on-time task completion.

Each alternative must be clearly identified. The key advantages and disadvantages of each alternative must be listed and thoroughly discussed. The compare and contrast (pro and con) assessments of each alternative must be done against the decision criteria previously listed and discussed. A matrix format may be used in order to more accurately compare each of the alternatives. If multiple decision criteria are being used, weighting of each of the criteria must be applied. It is also important to look at the short and long term results of each alternative, and to assess the best, the worst, and the most likely outcomes for each alternative. Qualitative and quantitative analysis will be required. It will also be necessary for the student to use the various supply chain management tools and techniques learned throughout the certificate program to determine those possible outcomes.

2. What ten criteria might affect your selection of resource suppliers and your plans for

Rational choice theory originates from the oldest criminological school of thought and criminological theorists, but the theory itself is new, only forming in the last five decades. Ronald Clarke and Derek Cornish, using the work of previous criminologists, put forth the rational choice perspective as a criminological theory (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). This theory has its roots in the classical school of thought in which individuals had the power to make decisions after weighing the consequence of such actions (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). The work of Cesare Beccaria in the late 1700’s cemented this theory’s existence from the beginning of criminology (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). Rational choice theory was also greatly influenced by Jeremy Bentham and his idea of felicific calculus, in which a decision to commit crime is made after putting risk variables in an equation (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). Bentham says all humans work this way, evaluating whether a crime is worth committing (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). Bentham was inspired by utilitarian theory, which states that individuals make decisions to maximize profits and minimize pain (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). In addition, rational choice theory is also based on traditional economic choice theory that states people will choose what will appease their desires after weighing their options (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). This paper will examine the effectiveness of the application of rational

Since the early stages, the project was inundated with concerns and issues with the project scope. From the perspective of project management, the initial scope was not defined well enough. Details of the design were over looked and aspects such as the details of the air conditioning ended up increasing the original scope by $200 million. This supposedly led a prosperous project to an uncertain economic ordeal. Initial estimates of the project had been $5.5 billion and by the time of its actual completion it been delayed by a year and increased to $15

In the initiation phase of the project, Anderson and Gable, decided to deliberately present false information to the client in regards to the project specification. Therefore, they both knew the risk that they did not have the capability of satisfying the project specification. However, they decided to go through with giving false information in order to win the tender, armed with the intention of negotiating the specification scope with the client halfway down the project. This approach of managing risk should not be accepted and is not recommended as it shows that the management

* The final significant risk my firm identified is the possibility of not meeting the established budget ceiling of $320,000. There are many variables which we feel could cause the cost of build to exceed the budget. Some of those variables include having to pay a premium for in-demand subcontractors, the cost of buying and

Women use more legal drugs, most of which are prescribed by male physicians to keep them calm. Women’s illicit drug use has been increasing rapidly in the 1990s in the world. Homeless women have a high prevalence of risky use of illegal drugs (Upshur et al,. 2013). Homeless women intend to have low self-esteem and low motivation that can result in a high risk of drug and alcohol dependence. Prospective studies have found that a current substance use disorder, or frequent continued consumption of drugs are associated with lower prospects of exiting from homelessness, prolonged episodes of homelessness, and housing instability. Despite the high need, homeless women report limited use of addiction services (Upshur et al,. 2013). Roberston et al, found that 43.5% of homeless adults identified a need for addiction treatment but had not received services, while Wenzel et al, reported only 27.5% of homeless adults with substance use disorder had accessed inpatient or residential treatment in the last year, with even fewer, 5.6%, having any outpatient treatment (Upshur

The business nature of the project—pipelines—affected many of our assumptions and approaches to our calculations for our ultimate decision. The case provided two sets of cost estimates from an outside consultant and from Goodyear after hiring a general contractor. We utilized both sets of costs that directed us to the same decision that Goodyear should not go ahead with the Pipeline Project.

Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender to commit a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors out-weigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision making process makes committing a crime a rational choice. This theory can be used to explain why an offender will decide to commit burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or murder.

With reference to the Vickers Industrial Supplies request for a distributorship and associated pricing discount, I have prepared a decision report to assist you in taking a decision. The report contains the analysis of the situation, the options available, my recommendation and an action plan. The recommendation has been arrived at by evaluating the options based on criteria which are aligned with the company’s objectives.

Kahneman’s article is an analysis of intuitive thinking and how it guides our decision-making. Although primarily aimed at the field of psychology, it is an interdisciplinary article with applications in economic theorising. Kahneman attempts to differentiate between two systems of thought, one of intuition (system 1) and one of reasoning (system 2), and argues that many judgements and choices are made intuitively, rather than with reason (a slower and more deliberate process). Intuitive decision making, which encompasses heuristics, although generally more efficient and rapid, makes the agent potentially subject to errors due to framing effects or violations of dominance. The analysis of the studies and theoretical situations also provides criticism of the commonly held model of the rational agent within economics. The article also further conceptualises Kahneman’s theory, the Prospect Theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), which has descriptive applications of people’s choice in decision-making situations involving risk and known probability of outcomes. These situations are typically unexplained by the more normative rational agent model.

Your firm, Supreme Financial Solutions, have just won a £3 million contract from Deep Blue Seaways that will require you – the Project Manager – to execute. You are pretty certain from your experience with Deep Blue Seaways that this project is seriously underfunded by possibly as much as £1 million. You are to replace their outdated finance systems with your company’s renowned Finance Wizard product, a system that processes all financial information, and produces an infinite array of management information reports that have been proved to improve strategic decision making in

Parks Corporation should have appointed an experienced project manager to run the Blue Spider project and Gary Anderson, who was an experienced engineer, should have been made the assistant project manager with the responsibility of managing the project’s R&D activities. Anderson was too inexperienced as a project manager and really had no clue what the true responsibilities were for managing a project except what he might have learned in his MBA program. 2. Project requirements needed to be clear and specific. In order to achieve successful project management and implementation, Anderson needed to ensure the requirements for the Blue Spider Project were clearly stated and written down in detail, so everyone involved in the project clearly understood the requirements. And, everyone needed to know what was not included in the Blue Spider Project. 3. Regular and effective communication was needed. If effective communication channels were established that let team members share their knowledge and skills Anderson could have delivered the right understanding of the project requirements to all the team members involved. All types of communication helps build a bridge between team members and stakeholders who have the responsibility to detect potential problems, clarify details, and maintain trust. 4.

Lack of project management clarity: the planning activity had lot of material but lacked content, clear action items and lack of consensus on the milestones. The difficulties in the project only increased with time and a more performance driven style would have kept things on track if introduced early on.