Acceptable solution: new decision taking process for the new age

Baracskai, Z. and Dörfler, V. and Velencei, J. (2008) Acceptable solution: new decision taking process for the new age. In: Academy of Management, 2008-08-08 - 2008-08-13. (http://program.aomonline.org/2008/Session_Details....)

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Abstract

According to total rationality, the economic man, in attempt to maximize her/his utility, considers all the alternatives and chooses the best one, the optimal solution. According to Simon's conception of bounded rationality we have a number of limitations to being rational; as a consequence we are left with two choices: we can either search for an optimal solution within a limited solution-space, or we can define our expectations in advance and accept the first solution that satisfies them, this is the satisfactory solution. If we allow the decision taker to alter her/his expectations while searching we get adaptive rationality. In this paper we take the conception of adaptation to the extreme; if we cannot formulate any of our expectations in advance, than we search for alternatives and formulate objections against them. In this case, we accept the first solution which we have no objection against - the objectionless solution. Then we take to two extremes, the satisfactory and the objectionless solutions, and the corresponding rationalities under examination. The satisfactory solution corresponds to the routine (programmed) decision, while the objectionless solution corresponds to the original (non-programmed) decision. We know that these are non-existing extremities, the black and white, while the real-life decisions lay in the shades of the grey. By connecting the two models, we have developed the conception of the integrated rationality. The outcome is a solution which is both satisfactory and objectionless at the same time. We call it the acceptable solution.

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