Decision Making

On a daily basis people have to make hundreds of decisions. These decisions range from simple (“Should I get out of bed now or stay in for 10 more minutes?”) to more complex (“Should I stay at this company and work my way up or try finding a job somewhere else?” Each decision includes a number of factors that influence the outcome. For most decisions, simply based on time, we are unable to be truly rational. If one were to apply, by definition, the rational decision making process to each decision we would not be able to get anything done. For example, it could take hours or days to calculate all of the available outcomes of the decision to get up or sleep in for 10 more minutes. We just can’t do it. We don’t have time. But, for some decisions we are more inclined to be rational while for others we are less inclined to be rational depending on a variety of factors.

For this assignment you will compare rational and boundedly rational responses to a scenario of your choosing. Provide an example of a decision to be made. The decision can be anything you wish, workplace or non workplace related. Then explain what that decision process would look like if one were to follow the rational decision making model. Then explain what that might look like if one were to follow a bounded rationality model. What are the main differences between these two approaches?