Models of decision making Essay

When we speak of rational behavior, we should remember that our focus in this discussion is not on making decisions, but rather on how to support the process of making decisions. Managers are change agents, not just decision makers, so the steps before and after a decision are as important as the actual choice of action. Preparatory steps include creating tension for change, understanding the positions of the various constituencies, and developing political support for a chosen action. Steps after the decision include naming the change monitor and identifying the monitoring methods. Therefore, the mission of good information system is broader than just collecting data to make a choice. Designers of information systems must understand not only how managers think but also how the decision process will be implemented in the managers’ environment. An information system that is well design is an information system that is used. Thus, an information system, in order to be useful, must be implemented. To understand the implementation process better, we review three models of organizational decision making rational, administrative, and political. The Rational Model. The rational model of decision making was introduced earlier in this chapter. It is based on the logic of optimal choice: the choice that would maximize value for the organization. The manager is assumed to be an objective, totally informed person who would select the most efficient alternative, maximizing whatever amount and type of output s/he values. We can summarize the rational choice process as follows: 1. An individual is confronted with a number of known alternative courses of action. 2. Each alternative bears a set of possible consequences. These consequences are known and are quantifiable. 3. The individual has a system of preferences or utilities that permits him or her to rank the consequences and choose an alternative. There is no empirical support for the contention that these three phases are actually used. In reality, managers seldom have the time or money to analyze all alternatives or envision all consequences. If rationality were ever-present among members of an organization, the organization would appear as a coherent and rational  policy-making entity that maximizes the attainment of a unique set of goals and has no internal conflicts. In other words, a rational decision process implies a rational organization. A rational organization is an organization that has (1) centralized power, (2) harmony and consistency of goals across boundaries, and (3) members who are objective, fully informed, and inclined to choose alternatives that maximize the common good of the organization. The rational model represents a sanitized vision of how organizations make decisions. In reality, organizations often seem more like complex groups of coalitions fighting for shares of limited resources, and using multiple sources of information with varying reliability to achieve a set of fluid goals. Individuals within organizations typically have widely divergent perceptions and goals and act to maximize their own gains, not necessarily those of the organization. Because of this disparity between the rational model and reality, we prefer to accept the rational model primarily as a benchmark for comparing the remaining two organization decision-making processes. In searching for a more realistic description of how organizations make decisions, we turn to the satisficing, or administrative, model. The Administrative Model. The quest for a more realistic description of organization decision making produced a variation called the administrative model. This model sees decision makers as people with varying degrees of motivation who are besieged by demands but have little time to make decisions and thus seek shortcuts to find acceptable solutions. Under the administrative model, a decision maker does not try to optimize but instead â€Å"satisfices† treats objectives as loose constraints that can tighten if there are many acceptable alternatives that fulfill those constraints. While optimization would require choosing the alternative with the highest value, satisficing requires finding the first alternative with an acceptable value, that is, an alternative with a value above a minimally acceptable level on a given constraint. Assume you had a car you wanted to sell. If you listed your car for $2,500 and had 10 offers, you could choose with either method. With the rational method, you would determine which offer had the highest value in terms of conditions and price. With the satisficing model, you would accept the first offer that met your lowest acceptable price. Satisficing may lead to a reduced decision quality, but it saves time and effort. Satisficing is a dynamic construct: the aspiration levels of the manager and the number of alternatives determine what is a â€Å"feasible, good enough solution.† It has been pointed out that satisficing is an appropriate (i.e., rational) strategy when the cost of delaying a decision or searching for further alternatives is high in relation to the expected payoff of the supposedly superior alternative. When you take into consideration the costs related to extended search, it is questionable whether the optimum procedure is to search for the optimum value. When a decision has been reached and the solution to the problem implemented and found to be acceptable, then the organization institutionalizes the procedure used to solve the problem into astandard operating procedure (SOP). SOPs are rules, programs, and routines that are invoked by managers to gain time and to avoid the task of solving a problem from scratch each times it appears. Sometimes managers invoke those SOPs when the organization is facing a similar but not identical problem to the one that the SOP originally solved. Since SOPs are often processes that worked once but nobody is quite sure why or whether it was the best way to solve the original problem in the first place. SOPs are not always the time-savers they are supposed to be. Once implication of having rationally bounded decision makers in organizations is that organizations cannot be seen as single entities. Rather, problems are broken down and assigned to specialized units within the organization that develop their own priorities and goals. These goals, sometimes termed subgoals, may not agree with the organization’s overall goals. This phenomenon has been called local rationality.3 Using the perspective, organizations could be viewed as constellations of loosely allied units, each having a set of SOPs and programs to deal with its piece of the problem. As time passes, these units become more distinct and their subgoals more entrenched. These divergences are enhanced by increasingly distinct perceptions of priorities, information, and uncertainty; they are further reinforced by recruitment, rewards, and tenure. When these tendencies are very strong, the loose alliance of organization units breaks down into â€Å"organized anarchies.† In the extreme case, coalitions are created with conflicting interests. This leads us to the political model of rationality. You should note that the term political does not imply that this model is only relevant in the public  (government) sector; rather the term applies to a type of organization that may exist in any industry or industry sector. The Political Model. In contrast to the rational model, players in the political model (often referred to as incrementalists) do not focus on a single issue but on many intraorganizational problems that reflect their personal goals. In contrast to the administrative model, the political model does not assume that decisions result from applying existing standard operating procedures, programs, and routines. Decisions result from bargaining among coalitions. Unlike in the previous models, power is decentralized. This concept of decision making as a political process emphasizes the natural multiplicity of goals, values, and interests in a complex environment. The political model views decision making as a process of conflict resolution and consensus building and decisions as products of compromise. The old adage, â€Å"Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,† is the dominant decision-making strategy. When a problem requires a change n policy, the political model predicts that a manager will consider a few alternatives, all of them similar to existing policy. This perspective points out that decisions tend to be incremental— that managers make small changes in response to immediate pressures instead of working out a clear set of plans and a comprehensive program. This incrementalist approach can be seen as the simplest or most extreme form of satisficing. The incremental approach of the political model allows managers to reduce the time spent on the information search and problem definition stages. Incremental decision making is geared to address shortcomings in present policy rather than consider a superior, but novel, course of action. In the political model, the stakeholders have different perception, priorities, and solutions. Because stakeholders have the power to veto some proposals, no policy that harms a powerful stakeholder is likely to triumph even if it is objectively â€Å"optimal.† Our purpose in reviewing these models of organizational decision making is to highlight the realities of decision making that must be recognized when developing or acquiring information systems. If the designer of an I/S assumes that the rational model is a valid representation of the way a given organization is being managed when in fact the political model is a more valid description, s/he may encounter serious implementation  problems. For example, access to information can be very sensitive issue, since in politics, â€Å"information is power.† If managers discover that once a new information system is implemented they will no longer have access to certain data, it is quite possible they will resist the implementation effort. When we consider the issue of organizational decision making, it is important to recognize that the structure of the organization has a strong influence on how and when information is communicated and who gets involved in what decisions. We now turn our attention to the issue of organizational structure.

Unethical Issues of Apple Iphone

Important Note: This sample essay mainly illustrates the structure of your assignment on ethical issues of a company selected by you. You may first identify two or three ethical problems and then discuss how to solve them. Remember including relevant citations to support your evidences and viewpoints. Ethical issues in iPhone 1. Introduction . With an elegant combination of a mobile phone, iPod and personal digital assistant (PDA), iPhone was launched at Apple and AT&T stores across the US on June 29, 2007(Place, 2007). iPhone is by no means a prodigious success by selling one million iPhones within 3 months (Wolverton, 2007).However, what coupled with its splendid success are numerous criticisms from the general society. This paper firstly examines two of the most severely unethical issues in iPhone’s marketing activities, and then provides some possible suggestions to these problems. Finally a brief conclusion will be drawn. 2. iPhone’s Unethical Marketing Activities . Deceptive Advertising Practices On July 26, 2007, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple and iPhone carrier AT&T for deceptive advertising over the iPhone battery (Lane, 2008).According to the lawsuit, apple engaged in â€Å"purposeful and fraudulent concealment† of the fact that iPhone purchasers were required to pay $89. 95 to get the device's battery replaced, which means the replacement fee would become an annual charge based on the expected life of battery – 300 to 400 charge cycles. According to Lane (2008), Apple faces criticism because it did not disclose the actual cost and inconvenience of replacing the battery until three days after the iPhone's release. Also the battery information was difficult to find on Apple’s website.In sum, the fact that Apple did not immediately communicate the exact cost of replacing the battery, along with the fact that the iPhone battery was not replaceable by users, had generated an outrage among iPhone users. 1 Environmental Problems Back in May, 2007, Apple head Steve Jobs pledged that his company would become greener and that it would out-pace the competition when it came to removing toxic chemicals from the production of its devices (Stevens, 2007). This was largely seen as a response to a Greenpeace-led campaign.Now, Greenpeace was at it again, calling Apple out for taking a step backwards when it came to the toxic chemicals found in the iPhone (Riley, 2007). These chemicals also included Bromine, which had been banned in European toys thanks to its apparent impact on hormone levels in children. Greenpeace claimed that Apple was far from leading the way for a green electronics compared with its competitors, like Nokia, who hasd already sold phones free of Polyvinyl chloride (Stevens, 2007). Based on these findings it was hard to doubt that Apple took a step back from its green initiative to get the iPhone out the door.However, it was questioned whether the company would respond to this Greenpeace challenge like it did the last. 3. Suggestions . Deceptive Advertising Practices Although deceptive practices may benefit more profit in the short run, such practices will eventually harm their business in the long run. If consumers do not get what they expect, they will switch to more reliable products. This can also cause a backlash, if corporations are more focused on profits than customer service, particularly for a company such as Apple, which claims a long-term relationship with customers.Therefore, Apple Inc. should do its possible endeavor to avoid deceptive practices in the future and implement some initiatives to minimize trouble and inconvenience made to consumers, such as giving a discount to the first batch of iPhone purchasers to replace their batteries. Environmental Problems Nowadays, more and more companies are adopting policies of environmental sustainability, which is a management approach that involves developing strategies that both sustain the envir onment and produce profits for the company (Armstrong, 2008; Kotler, 2008). Apple Inc. as a leading corporation in the field of electronic products, should also initiate the environmental sustainability policies. Regarding the environmental problems involved in iPhone, Apple should respond to this Greenpeace challenge to solve the problem as soon as 2 possible and in the future Apple should try best to act as a leading giant for a green electronics. 4. Conclusion . This report investigates two of the major problems concerning the ethicality of marketing activities of iPhone including 1) deceptive advertising practices and 2) environmental problems.It can be concluded that despite the worldwide popularity, iPhone still faces some ethical problems. Suggestions to improve the image of iPhone by enhancing its ethical issues have also been discussed in this paper. They include: 1) avoiding deceptive practices in the future, 2) taking initiatives to minimize the troubles caused, 3) respon ding to the Greenpeace challenge and 4) maintaining the policies of environmental sustainability. In this way, iPhone could probably both enjoy the success in selling and maintain an ethical image.Reference: Kotler, P. (2008). Principles of Marketing. Pearson Education. Lane, F. (2008). Court Pulls Plug on Apple iPhone Battery Lawsuit. Sci-Tech Today. Retrieved September 26, 2008, from http://www. sci-tech-today. com/story. xhtml? story_id=62144 Place, N. (2007). ‘Mac-tastic' arrival: iPhone goes on sale today at 6 p. m. The News Herald, Panama City, Fla. Retrieved June 29, 2007, from http://www. newsherald. com. Riley, D. (2007). Greenpeace: iPhone Not Good for the Environment.TechCrunch. Retrieved October 14, 2007, from http://www. techcrunch. com/2007/10/14/greenpeace-iphone-not-good-for-the-environment/ Stevens, T. (2007). iPhone Bad For Environment, Says Greenpeace. Switched. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from http://www. switched. com/2007/10/15/iphone-bad-for-environment- says-greenpeace/ Wolverton, T. (2007). Apple sells 1 millionth iPhone. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 11, 2007, from http://www. mercurynews. com.

Superstition in a Taiwanese Family

Final Writing Assignment: Superstitions in my family Talking about superstitions is a common fact in my family, and in ours modern societies. Even the more reasonable person at least once in his life had been superstitious. Even if we are not extreme in this belief; whom had never crossed their fingers or ran away if we see a black cat. We all even unconsciously believe in fate, good or bad luck. Some people are really extreme in their belief of superstitions but I tend to think that is a way for them more easily to accept some facts whenever the science can not explain it.Superstitions are not limited to a particular part of the globe, people, or community. All superstitions exist, in one form or another, and get different degrees of implication. Superstitions are passed on from one generation to another, through habits or religious practices. No doubt that less educated people are more sensitive to these believes because their understanding of the world and sciences are limited. I am however a rational and educated person. I tend to believe more in reason than feeling but I also happen to be superstitious.My superstitions are those ones my family has, and more precisely my mother conveyed to me. Also my country, Taiwan, where I have grown up is full of superstitious beliefs. Superstitions are a real part of the Asian culture. I totally experience it everyday in my proper family. Some examples of common superstitions of my culture are: you have to knock the door when you enter a room in a hotel in order to tell the ghosts that they have to leave. Or do not use your finger to point the moon or you take the risk to get your ears cut.Another, the most common in all over the world as well as in my country is the belief is link to a number for us the number four which pronunciation in Chinese is really close to the word, die. The another is that a black cat crossing your path can affect your luck, something bad will happen to you soon or later. Firstly, I think it is important to know what a superstition is: According to The Oxford Dictionary, superstition is â€Å"excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural.A widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief. † Now for the really scientific mind this belief can seem totally stupid or wrong. But I tend to think that there is no real rational explanation to this belief, we just follow those superstitions because we may be unconsciously afraid of the consequences in next second if we do not follow. For example, my mother used to tell me since I am a kid that do not whistle during night because hypothetically some ghost could be attract by the sound and follow me home.The elder generation really keeps and respects this kind of belief and we grow up with. Lots of people in Taiwan respect those believe that most of foreigners who do not know it and make the mistake are rapidly warned. Maybe this superstition could seem preposterous but most of people here believe in it, so you tend to believe too. For other example, in my family everybody believes that during the Ghosts month, it is inauspicious to travel, to marry, to swim, or stay late outside at night because they believe that all the ghosts of the universe walk on the earth during that month.So, that is why my mother asks me not to stay out at night because she wants to prevent any possibility that I meet any of this â€Å"unknown but possibly dangerous ghosts. † My country may be full of superstitions but many of them can be mock through scientific experimentation. For example, my mother believes that a woman during her pregnancy cannot use any sharp tool or glue without take the risk that her baby gets some bad after-effects. So does it mean that during all her pregnancy, she cannot use a knife so she cannot eat meat by herself.If we think more reasonably I do not see which does not enter the body can get the baby any consequences. This superstition must have evolved with the science but still in Taiwan that lots of family believe in it and really pay attention to pregnant woman. I ignore from where this superstition comes from but we still scare of the unknown and invisible things. In conclusion, the superstitions had been through centuries brought down from our ancestors. All these superstitions affect people’s life and have been kept and brought forward until now.In Taiwan superstitions are a real part of our customs and traditions. I really think that my family is really affected by these beliefs and divided between tradition and modernity. Eventually though I am a realistic person, I sometime get caught up in my mother's superstitions. I do not believe in superstition but unconsciously, I put myself into these through my youth. These superstitions are more than only simple beliefs they are my culture, and my identity. I would love to know how people of my ge neration and other countries live their proper superstitions.

The new advancements in cloning an organ or a small body part Term Paper

The new advancements in cloning an organ or a small body part - Term Paper Example This is the very reason that an identical clone is formed through this process. The future of cloning depends totally on the new researches which are being done. Cloning so far has not been successful as it was expected. A sheep dolly was cloned in the year 1996 and it was considered as one of the most successful cloning experiment on an animal. Cloning has never showed any positive results on human beings. Cloning has been approved by many scientists and groups who argue that it holds the potential for many benefits for human beings and can serve to provide results and treatments that other methods have failed to provide. On the other hand, cloning has been rejected on the basis of ethical considerations. It has faced social as well as religious criticism owing to many reasons which include the fact that cloning has not yielded any major benefits as yet and also it serves to challenge the normal working and equilibrium of the world (Human cloning 2011; Phil B). Cloning is a process which can be compared to the stem cell research. Extracting stem cells and using them for curing diseases uses the process of cloning. Currently many research therapies are being carried out to find the viability of the stem cells. A study done in New England Journal of Medicine validates the use of stem cells in the patients who are suffering from leukemias. The research undertook many patients into consideration who were suffering from leukemias and their treatment options. The research then compared the patients who were provided with stem cell transplants with those who were not and it was found that stem cell transplant from newborn babies were effective in treating these patients. Thus it was concluded that leukemias can be treated with effective treatment by adult stem cells based on the process of cloning (Leukemia Patients Survive with Stem Cell Transplant, 2004). Similarly another research done by the UC researchers showed that bone marrow stem cells can be used to effecti vely treat disorders which are related to the eye. These stem cells can greatly help to cure the genetic eye disorders in children. Research done by the UC researchers was carried out on animals and the tests were positive. This showed that stem cells may also effectively work on human subjects to cure eye disorders (Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Cure Eye Disease, 2007). Not only this, but it was also found that adult stem cells can be used to cure heart attacks by the British physicians. The new treatment helped the heart muscles to recover from the shock that the treatment received. In other words because of the patients own stem cells the patient could recover from a heart attack as their heart muscles could be revived (Julie Wheldon, 2006). Another research carried out on skin cells to make them act as the stem cells worked quite effectively in treating rats with diseases of the brain. Parkisons Disease is one of the examples which the rats were suffering from and showed improvemen t because of the stem cells. This clearly shows that embryonic stem cells which are considered to be the basic cells of an organism can provide a breakthrough in treatments of different diseases which were previously not curable. (Stem Cells from skin treat brain disease in Rats, 2008). Another research being carried out in Spain shows that stem cells can greatly help to treat genetic disorders such as the Crohn’s Disease. It was found that 20% of the patients on which the stem cell transpl

Peace According to John Locke and Thomas Hobbes Essay

Peace According to John Locke and Thomas Hobbes - Essay Example Fundamentally, it is human nature that is focused upon in such theories, and this helps to explain the manner in which situations develop through time. Generally, it can be asserted that any theory that applies to society needs to have some kind of perspective on human nature too that would help to explain the situation in which man lives today. Whichever way one views human behavior, the present condition today has to be explained through that particular perspective. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two social theorists that took human nature into great consideration in their work, and they each explained the manner in which society developed through this behavior. They also explained how society functions and how things have come to be socially and politically speaking through this behavior. Specifically, one of the their main areas of focus is 'peace' and how human beings up hold the idea of peace. Locke and Hobbes each have interesting views on this subject, and address it in the ir renowned works: John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. The subject of peace for John Locke in his 'Second Treatise of Government' is viewed from a particular angle. ... t is not a state of licence: though man in that state have an uncontroulable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself" (C H A P. II. Of the State of Nature: Sect. 6). This clearly refers to suicide, and that in a liberal society people are not supposed to take their lives. Locke further asserts that it is wrong to take anyone else's life too. He asserts that man " has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession" (C H A P. I I. Of the State of Nature: Sect. 6). If one takes his or her own life or anyone else's, peace in society would be disrupted, as people would be disturbed. Also, others might resort to the same action and worsen the situation. Natural Law: With regard to John Locke's idea above, he bases his reason for this on his explanation of mankind's origin. He asserts that human beings do not have complete freedom to make decisions. Human beings must consider what is right and what they are answerable to. Locke refers to belief in God through this view, and this is evident when he writes about the state of nature. Locke asserts, "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions: for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent" (C H A P. II. Of the State of Nature: Sect. 6). Therefore, Locke asserts that whenever one takes a step in society, s/he ought to consider what a higher authority expects of him or her. It needs to be emphasized here that this view requires one to have a firm belief in a superior being. Undoubt edly, it may be asserted that such belief does aim