A rational decision is made based on logic, objectivity, and analysis.

Rational decision making is a  process for making choices between alternatives. The process of rational decision making favors logic, objectivity, and analysis over subjectivity and insight.

A rational decision is made based on logic, objectivity, and analysis.

Rational decision making is a  process for making choices between alternatives. The process of rational decision making favors logic, objectivity, and analysis over subjectivity and insight.

Good evening!

(just a few 5 hours, before the new year begins, I send you my best regards.

I agree, as usual (!), with Behrouz,

but I would add, from my feminine point of view, that I also first need to combat my natural instinctive first decision, before I enter the logic, objective, and analytical views that provide the rational right decision, with reasonable rationality. (and from my feminine, way, very often I realize, that my first intuitive thought matches the best rational decision)

Kind regards, Maria

A rational decision is a decision that takes into account all affecting factors and is considered as the best possible for the situation.

Criterion for a rational decision is analysis of the situation, developing possible alternates, evaluates them against pros and cons, finally choosing best.

A decision should be based on good judgment to all affecting variables. There will be no common criteria for all decisions.

Rational decision is the type of decision which is more palatable, defensible and accepted by the majority that may have been affected by the decision.  It is the decision that is made  based on reasoning and principles of logic and aprori established truth and existing knowledge.  

Psychologists have pointed out that emotions and feelings can play an important role  in decision making. Are emotions and feelings essential for making rational decisions?

I m afraid Dear Mahfuz, if decisions are made from emotions and sensations then they loose their rationality  and reasonableness. Emotional decisions are mainly bad decisions and culprits of troubles and ills of societies.

Dear Mahfuz Judeh

A very happy and prosperous New Year 2015 to all of you.

In order to arrive at a rational decision, emotions and feelings need to be taken out of the decision matrix. However it is easier said than done with many people. So a midway to the position could be compassionate decision making with emotions providing a smoothing action for the decisions.

Rational decision making is also constrained by bonded rationality where decision maker is having limitation of limited mental and analytical capacity.

@MJ

Thank you for sharing this question. We have been taking decisions in our professional as well as personal lives. For the first time I thought to read about--Critaria for Rational Decision -- and I analysed that some of the  GOOD DECISIONS, I took, were based on --rational choice theory (RCT) . I would have taken more  GOOD & sound decisions, , if I had known  RCT earlier. 

This is the paper I read, may be you would like to read it

Thank you for making me wiser.

With Warm regards & Best Wishes for the New Year

Rational decision within academic setting starts by knowing the problem or the opportunity & gathering relevant information about it. Things then proceed into analysis of the case & bringing options followed by evaluating these options. Afterwards, a selection of the best envisaged action is undertaken.

It is true that emotional factors or outside effects may come to intervene but these ought  to be put aside when there is a huge issue at stake concerning the top interests of the academic institution “which is not a charity organization or a court of appeal”.

Thanks for the question, dear Mahfuz. My thread below may suggest a possible answer!

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Why_does_one_make_bad_decisions/6

Eight-Steps for Rational Decision-Making Model

- Identify the problem

- Establish decision criteria

- Weigh decision criteria

- Generate alternatives

- Evaluate the alternatives

- Choose the best alternative

- Implement the decision

- Evaluate the decision

http://www.scribd.com/doc/906096/The-Six-Step-Rational-Decision-Making-Model#scribd

I'm afraid that emotions and feelings lose the rationality in making rational decisions.

Tom Peters and Robert H Waterman Jr. in their book, In Search Of Excellence, gave high importance to the bias for action, active decision making. If information is not available, can we make a rational decision?

Some times pure objectivity and deductions based on supplied information may create dilemma when one has prior information about conditions under which a person-academic or administrative staff is working.  We may have faced such situations. In such case is it not proper to follow one's conscious ,so that injustice is not done?  

Detailed thinking and vast experience on the topic make one's decision more rational according to me. The urgency and lack of  sufficient knowledge make the decision unrealistic.

Rational decision making is a multi-step process for making choices between alternatives. The process of rational decision making favors logic, objectivity, and analysis over subjectivity and insight. 

The steps of rational decision  includes:

Formulating a goal(s)

Identifying the criteria for making the decision

Identifying alternatives

Performing analysis

Making a final decision

Source:  “Rational Decision Making.” https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/decision-making-10/rational-and-nonrational-decision-making-76/rational-decision-making-369-8376/

Rational decision making models involve a cognitive process where each step follows in a logical order from the one before. Steps in a rational decision making model are: 

• Define the situation/decision to be made

•Identify the important criteria for the process and the result

•Consider all possible solutions

•Calculate the consequences of these solutions versus the likelihood of satisfying the criteria

•Choose the best option

Rational Decision making model is basically the process which is used for making logically sound decisions. This model is applicable in a condition where it is important to follow an orderly and systematic path.

It has the following steps:

- Identify and define the problem

- Generate possible solutions

- Generate assessment criteria

- Choose the best solution from the possible solutions.

- Implement the best solution.

- Monitor and evaluate the results.

- Feedback

Yes, indeed dear Jamal. Decision making is a multi-step process for making choices between alternatives.

If you fail in competence and verticality, I am afraid that you have no alternative, Dear Mahfuz. (See the link mentioned by Marwan). It can be a matter of “good faith”.

The axioms of Decision Analysis

Source - Keeney, R. (1982), Decision Analysis: An Overview, Operations Research, 

I agree with Behrouz that a rational decision is made based on logic, objectivity, and analysis.

Rational decision making is a process for making choices between alternatives. The process of rational decision making favors logic, objectivity, and analysis over subjectivity and insight.

There may be any ideal criteria for a rational decision, but it depends as per perceptions and thoughts and decision taking authority / person and could have variable reactions - may be in favor or against

Decision making criteria should be built on the competency and honesty of the decision maker. Objectivity, fairness and logic should be the key factors in the analysis of the problem and the decision. Emotional behavior should be avoided as it false the rationality of the analysis. Smooth alternatives should be think for not loosing the rights or the experience or the competency of the person, the process, the system ,....., i.e the  analyzed issue. Decision making should be always positive and for the good and interest of the majority and not against personal rights

In general, t believe there is positive significant correlation between rational decision and the accuracy of information obtained. The more accurate information is, the higher rational a decision will be.

Some times, a manager has to take a decision urgently. Does he have to wait till s/he obtained information?.

A decision based on a most probable positive result with an acceptable less probable negative result is a rational decision. 

I must confess that I did not understand this question yet. I suppose you are speaking about university management. Every country has its laws and the universities have regulations that must be according to the more general laws. What the university manager needs to do (isolated or in a group) is applying strictly and with justice his/her university laws. If he/her is incompetent for the decision (that is, does not fulfil all conditions required for the decision) can not make any decision. For example, if a judge decides in court wrongly, he can not argue that the decision was wrong because he not had time for study the correct decision. I did not understand yet what this question has to do with the discussion of research that should be the goal of RG discussions

The rational goal model consists of a set of criteria often referred to in discussions of goal-setting and goal achievement, but which have not been given any systematic philosophical attention until recently.

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:37837/FULLTEXT01.pdf

In answering the question raised by Professor Mahfuz Judeh above (Some times, a manager has to take a decision urgently. Does he have to wait till s/he obtained information?.): I suggest that the manager ought to have 2 good persons around for rapid consultation based on the available information. A decision made by 3 persons will have lower percentage of error. This way, the manager cannot get the brunt of blame if it was found, later on, to be a bad decision.

Dear Dr. Nizar,

In addition to what you suggest that the manager ought to have 2 good persons around for rapid consultation based on the available information, I think the manager can depend on her/his experience and previous knowledge.

Usually in crisis state that urgent decisions are needed. In that case the manager should convene the administrative board for consultation; with the amount of information obtained (s)he could make a rapid deep analysis of the issue weighting the pros and cons and may be could call his superiors for more advices.This urgent decision is usually good for the common benefit of the organization or university or .... outside crisis, urgency should be avoided, decisions should be deeply analyzed and planned according to a careful methodical agenda (actual or projected)

Not to undermine the negative or positive effects of the existing organizational culture on decision making.

Ad hoc decision making happens when there is no time to consider all options, most ad hoc decisions are done by the top manager who must have enough intuition based on long periods of experience.

Alden Hayasi in his popular Harvard Business Review article suggests a combination of a rational and intuitive approach is the only possible path in decision making. 

Decision-making is far from a cold, analytic process… Instead our emotions and feelings play a critical role by helping us filter various possibilities quickly, even though our conscious mind might not be aware of the screening. Our intuitive feelings thus guide our decision-making to the point at which our conscious mind is able to make good choices. So, just as an abundance of emotion can lead to faulty decisions, so can its paucity

https://brainmass.com/file/1441620/HarvardReview-WhentoTrustYourGut.pdf

Steps in a rational decision making model

Pros and cons

A rational decision model presupposes that there is one best outcome. Because of this it is sometimes called an optimizing decision making model. The search for perfection is frequently a factor in actually delaying making a decision.

Such a model also presupposes that it is possible to consider every option and also to know the future consequences of each. While many would like to think they know what will happen, the universe often has other plans!

It is also limited by the cognitive abilities of the person making the decision; how good is their memory? how good is their imagination? The criteria themselves, of course, will be subjective and may be difficult to compare. These models require a great deal of time and a great deal of information. And, of course, a rational decision making model attempts to negate the role of emotions in decision making.

see: http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/rational-decision-making-models.html

In some cases, rational decision making process can be modeled mathematically. Game theory is the study of strategic decision making. Specifically, it is "the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers"

Yes, such situations are difficult to manage. On one hand we expect, the nurse first give some treatment and immediately contact doctor for further treatment. But if anything goes wrong then we state that she should not give any treatment without prior permission. 

Rational decision making is a step-by-step precise analytical process though careful analysis of facts, alternative and capabilities to come up with a fact-based decision. This includes defining the problem, identifying the decision criteria, allocating weights to the criteria, developing and evaluating the alternatives and finally selecting the best alternative and according deciding action and allocating the resources.

Dear Brenda: (…) I am absolutely sure that any health professional does always the best he/she can for the good of the patients (I have several family persons that work on that area).

Define the problem.

Identify the decision criteria

Allocate weights to the criteria.

Develop the alternatives.

Evaluate the alternatives.

Select the best alternative.

“So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard your choice turns out to be, at least you can find comfort in knowing you're avoiding something even worse.”

 Josephine Angelini, Starcrossed

Logic, objectivity and most importantly analysis form the basis of rational decision.

Manager's capacity to develop better alternatives and critical assessment is important for rational decision making.

Yes dear Antonio,  a health professional always tries to do the best he/she can for the good of the patients. Also, I do agree with dear Brenda that  in case of emergencies it is not always possible; however based on their experience of handling similar cases in past, they can arrive at appropriate decision in the best interest of patients.

Steps in the Rational Decision Process for managers

Problem definition. First, managers must recognize that a decision is needed and identify the problem to be solved. A problem is typically a difference between the actual situation and what is desired. However, managers often act without understanding the problem to be solved or define the problem in terms of a proposed solution or in terms of its symptoms (Bazerman, 1998). For example, in response to employee complaints about salaries being too low (a symptom), managers might define the problem as a comparison of salaries to industry averages. However, the true problem could be that the total compensation package, including benefits, does not suit the demographic characteristics of the firm’s employees.

Identify decision criteria. Decisions often entail the consideration of more than one objective. For example, in selecting a manager for an overseas operation you may want to maximize his or her ability to adapt to the new culture, maximize the level of technical skill he or she has, and minimize the cost of the assignment. To be rational, a decision maker must identify all the criteria that should be considered.

Weight the criteria. The criteria identified in the previous step may not be of equal importance to the decision maker. In order to be prioritized, they must be assigned weights. A rational decision maker will know his or her preference for certain criteria and assign relative weights accordingly (e.g.,cost of the assignment versus technical skills in the previous example).

Generate the alternatives. This step requires the rational decision maker to identify all possible alternatives that will satisfy the decision criteria. No attempt is made at this step to evaluate the alternatives.

Evaluate the alternatives. Each alternative must now be evaluated against the weighted criteria. This is often the most difficult part of the decision making process because it requires the decision maker to predict the future outcomes of each choice. However, the rational decision maker is able to assess the consequences of each alternative.

Select the optimal solution. The optimal solution is computed by simply multiplying the expected effectiveness of each alternative on each criterion times the weighting of each criterion for each solution. The sum of these scores is an evaluation of each alternative against the weighted decision criteria. The optimal alternative should

www.sagepub.com/upm-data/23126_Chapter_5.pdf

I think the decision which will not harm others are rational.....

but it is extremely difficult to identify.

Rational decision making is a precise, analytical process that companies use to come up with a fact-based decision.

If you ask for just one Criterion for Rational Decision, I think it's 'Rationality'

Rationality - a simple criterion

Rational decision making is a cognitive process which is made up of a logical step by step process that involves thinking and evaluating the outcomes and alternatives before arriving at a final decision. It is a multi-step process, from problem identification through solution, for making logically sound decisions. As such cognitive abilities, memory, imagination of the person making the decision are important. Complete and authentic information about alternatives and resources to evaluate each choice against the others is also essential. The criteria will depend on the aspect on which a decision is to be taken and the circumstances under which the decision is being taken.

I think those who would claim a special role for logic in their view of rationality need to address the arguments given in this recent article:

J.Robert G. Williams, "Rational Illogicality", Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 96 No.1 (2018) 127-141.

Williams has developed an account of rational norms on belief, doxastic probabilism, in which logic is not given a special role.

For a rational decision one can take as advisors the sensible or empirical information (what one sees, hears, etc.), the reasoning based on sensible information (what one thinks, argues, etc.) and the faith or the reasons of confidence (what one believes of others in who one confides, in the Church, etc.). For a rational decision one must do the reciprocal way, for example to reason what one has believed or to check with senses what one has reasoned or believed. All source of true information is valid to take in account to the decision making.