UNDERSTANDING

DECISION MAKING
CHAPTER FOUR
DECISION MAKING

Who decides?
Why there are problems in decision
making?
Is moral reasoning possible?

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UNDERSTANDING DECISION MAKING

EXAMPLE ONE

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 Who can decide?
Inanimate objects such as stones,
air, water, fire etc.
Animate objects such as trees,
plants and grass.
Animals such as cats, dogs,
horses, cows etc.
Small babies and young children
Mentally retarded, imbeciles, etc.
Very sick people, those under
coma, etc.
People under the influence of
drugs, drunkards, etc.
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Youngsters who can communicate
and understand what others say
and do.
Parents, guardians, care takers,
etc.
People educated as well as not
educated
Slaves, bonded labourers,
workers, employees
Managers, bosses, employers,
entrepreneurs, marketers,
advertisers,
Customers, clients, consumers,
etc.
Religious and political leaders, etc.
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Workout the decision making ability of
the listed (previous slide)on a scale of
ten and give reasons for their ability or
inability to take decisions?

What method would you use to fix

responsibilities against the decisions
the above subjects take?

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 What are you looking for?
To decide and make things happen as if you are the only one in the
world?
Who or what can constrain you from taking a perfectly good and
pure decision?
On what basis you want to take decision?
How much prior information you need to make a reasonably good
decision?
Whether the information is correct ?
Whether the source of information credible?

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 Analysis
To decide is to make a choice; state instances where you have no choice,
but to accept a given condition .
How to verify the veracity of information in decision making?
How much information is adequate in order to make a decision which
attributes to me the entire responsibility about the consequences resulting
from it?
As a manager what is my decision making capacity?
When an employee obeys me does he decide to obey me?
What forces are involved in decision making?
The ideal in economics is to achieve an equilibrium between demand and
supply; what kind of equilibrium is ideally possible in decision making?

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UNDERSTANDING DECISION MAKING

EXAMPLE TWO

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 Bees
Bees are considered by the scientists as one of the most efficient
species upon the planet
The secret of efficiency or management lies in group decision
making
There live bees from a few hundreds to a hundred thousand in a
hive
Decisions from relocation of the hive to the termination of the drones
are taken in incredible precision
It begins by collecting and integrating information
There is a great flurry (dance) in communication
The celebration of a decision is ecstatic and implementation instant
and precise

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 Decision Making Tree
Make a decision making tree
Tip: Make a flow chart of all possibilities to achieve your target

What do they
(bosses/clients/suppliers/etc/ expect me to
do?
What do I expect them to do?
How do these expectations relate to
ethics?
Tip: Use Internet to search ethical decision making tree
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 Ethical Issues
Guidelines
For Relevant Applicable
Ethical Facts Principles
Tree
Choices
Interests of the stakeholders
Intended course of action
Foreseeable consequences for all the
involved
Assessment of the Consequences
Whether any codes of the firm are violated
Whether any codes of conduct are violated
Whether lessening of the negative consequences
contemplated

FINAL DECISION
Justification
Implementation
Repercussion

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UNDERSTANDING MORAL REASONING

EXAMPLE THREE

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 Thinking

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 Language
You think differently for the same things
The color of this car is red.
He said, The color of this car is red.
He told the truth when he said that the color of this car is
red.
He did not say, The color of this is red.
He told a lie when he said that the color of this car is not
red.
You ought to tell the truth.
You ought not lie.
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 Logic of Ethics
Logic is the grammar of thought
The grammar has two ways: deductive and inductive
Deductive logic proceeds from a general principle to a particular
conclusion; inductive is the other way around from several
particular instances one hypnotizes a rule/law/principle

Ethics is the grammar of human social behaviour or morality

Its logic is deductive (proceeds from normative principles)
Induction is used to study the differences that exist between the
general norm and particular moral behaviour

This, then, in brief is the logic of ethics or moral reasoning

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 Answer the following questions on moral reasoning

1. How do relevant considerations get taken up in moral reasoning?

2. Is it essential to moral reasoning for the considerations it takes up
to be crystallized into, or ranged under, principles?
3. How do we sort out which moral considerations are most relevant?
4. In what ways do motivational elements shape moral reasoning?
5. What is the best way to model the kinds of conflicts among
considerations that arise in moral reasoning?
6. Does moral reasoning include learning from experience and
changing one's mind?
7. How can we reason, morally, with one another?
8. What is the importance of institutional authority and social roles to
the structure of moral reasoning?
9. How does moral reasoning fit into business management?

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Source:
Thinking: http://cct.wikispaces.com/
Inductive deductive diagram,: http://www.whitworth.edu

THANK YOU

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