I have received a lot of training in the disciplines of yoga and
reiki. For those of you that are not
familiar with these types of practices, they are millenarian practices that
incorporate the use of intuition as an effective way of working with the energy
of the body. Through these practices
I’ve learned to become more self-aware of that “gut-feeling” and to listen to
the subtle messages from my subconscious.
Hoch, Kunreuther and Gunther (2001, p. 39) discuss how “cognitive
abilities are poorly equipped to solve complex dynamic-optimization problems”
and explain that sometimes our intuitive guesses can be on target. But they also warn that a good manager must
know when to trust our intuitive process and when to “cede the stage f the
formal mathematical tools available from decision analysts and in
decision-support software (p. 40).
One of the things I do try to do when making decisions is to
become fully aware of all of my options and the consequences of each
option. When making a decision I try to
use a combination of rational thinking along with intuitive thought. One thing
that I have learned through this class on decision making is the importance of
an awareness of the decision-making process.
Although I like to rely highly on my intuitive nature, Hoch et. al.
explain how “a systematic approach can help avoid imprecision in the decision
process” (Hoch, Kunreuther, &
Gunther, 2001, p. 3). One such approach is what Hoch et. al. (2001,
p. 3) call dynamic programming which is “a process for solving multistage
decision problems”. The theory here is
that one can solve a complex problem by breaking it up into stages and by
solving the problem starting from the last stage and moving backwards towards
the first stage. This is what they call
“backward induction”. This would be
similar to how you would try to strategize in a chess came by trying to “see”
forward into the future to “to the end game when you consider your opening
moves”. This type of forward thinking is
something that I am not accustomed to doing in my own decision-making process. Because I rely highly on my intuitive nature,
I rarely am looking into the future but instead basing decisions on a more
automated process that pulls from my past knowledge and experiences. In fact, Hoc et. al. explain our human
limitations or what they describe a myopia or limit to forward planning (Hoch et al., 2001). I am definitely guilty of this type of
limited forward planning. Part of it is
related to pure laziness especially when dealing with complex problems. The stress related to problem-solving is
enough to make it cumbersome to try and look into the future. That mixed with my natural impatient and
impulsive nature make it difficult for me to have that kind of foresight.
In conclusion I think as I mentioned earlier
a combination of forward future planning and intuitive thinking with the used
of dynamic decision analysis tools and resources would be a complete strategy
for decision-making processes in the future.
References
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