PSYCH 338 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Brainstorming, Group Polarization, Delphi Method

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 338
• Professor: Franki Kung

Document Summary

Decision making: the process of developing a commitment to some course of action. We can also describe decision making as a process of problem solving. Problem: a perceived gap between an existing state and a desired state. Well-structured problem: a problem for which the existing state is clear, the desired state is clear, and how to get from one state to the other is fairly obvious. These problems are usually simple and their solutions arouse little controversy. This is because such problems are repetitive and familiar. Because decision making takes time and is prone to error, organizations (and individuals) attempt to program the decision making for well-structured problems. Program: a standardized way of solving a problem. Programs usually go under labels such as rules, routines, standard operation procedures, or rule of thump. Some programs come from experience and others are more formal.