New Articles

  1. BOPSAT

    BOPSAT is decision-making by a B unch of P eople S itting A round T alking, which is a management practice of using sometimes inexperienced committee members to make important decisions. 1    Even though there may be considerable preparation ...
  2. Nutshell briefings

    The nutshell briefing rule is a quick and easy approach to decision making that can sometimes save time and effort in arriving at adequate judgments; however, reliance on such rules more often results in judgmental errors and can create grossly misl...
  3. Levels of Measurement

    There are four types of number scales: NOIR The nominal scale of measurement only satisfies the identity property of measurement.  Values assigned to variables represent a descriptive category, but they have no inherent numerical value with res...
  4. Screening

    When there are hard and fast "criteria" (as opposed to "objectives"), it is useful to screen out alternatives that do not satisfy the criteria.  For example, alternatives for a decision may be required to be "technically feasible."  Alternatives tha...
  5. Qualitative judgment

    Qualitative judgments are subjective judgments based on factors or information that can't be easily or accurately quantified.  The importance of objectives, which is by definition subjective, is a qualitative judgment.   The anticipated performance...
  6. Collaboration

    Engaging stakeholders and subject matter experts increases participation .  As people feel more engaged with decision-making and planning, they will also feel more motivated .  Both increased participation and motivation can further lead to ...
  7. Iteration

    Iteration is the act of repeating a process to generate a sequence of outcomes, with the aim of approaching a desired goal, target, or result.  Each repetition of the process is also called an iteration .  The results of one iteration are used as...
  8. Overconfidence

    Overconfidence is the tendency to overestimate our ability to make good decisions.  Research 1  indicates that the more experience a manager has, the more likely it is that he or she will be overconfident in making decisions.  Therefore, awareness o...
  9. Satisficing

    Satisficing is a decision-making strategy that aims for a satisfactory or adequate result rather than the optimal result, because aiming for the optimal solution may necessitate needless expenditure of time, energy and resources. 1 A combinatio...
  10. Compensatory

    Compensatory decisions are rational decisions.  In compensatory decisions, poor performance of alternatives with respect to some objectives can be overcome with excellent performance with respect to other objectives.  For instance, a plane ticket th...