Personal Perspectives Paper

Running head: PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE PAPER

Personal Perspective Paper

William Hildreth

University of Phoenix

Personal Perspective Paper

Should I stay or should I go(The Clash,2003), to be or not to be(Shakespeare,1600), paper or plastic, Coke® or Pepsi®, public school or private school, green beans or potatoes, it goes on and on almost forever. Even to the point of making another decision to make a decision. My experience with decision making models is apparently vast based on my reading of the reading material. The processes of normative, descriptive and prescriptive offer insight into the ability of make an effective decision.

Experience With Decision Making Models

Apparently as a human race we are duty bound to make decisions in our lives regardless of desire or functional ability to do so or not. Of course some decisions like what to have for dinner do not have the same reproach as critical business decisions such as production processes, or financial strategies, but none the less may require the same background to be able to make good or effective decisions.

Wharton describes three approaches to the decision making process. Normative, Descriptive and Prescriptive (Hoch, Kunreuther, Gunther 2001). Normative is the approach such a purchasing a home and obtaining a mortgage loan. This model assumes that the buyer has been presented a detailed set of plans that will lead them in the ability to make the “best” decision. When the problem presents an unclear choice the analytical material will guide the decision maker accordingly. I can best describe my dealings with this method as stated above. I was in a position to re-finance my house three years ago and was searching for a new loan. I focused on three offers from three different lenders. Each offered a different percentage rate, closing costs, fees and customer service opportunities. I had to factor in the details of the loan over the 30 year period then factor in the customer service aspect to the loan. This knowledge gave me the ability to make a decision on which lender to choose.

I can relate the role of descriptive behavior to that of buying a car. Each player makes a determination of which process he will use to close the deal. This manner may not be consistent with normative models because of vastly different motives. My normative model is to gain the most car for the cheapest price no matter what. The dealer’s normative model is to make the most amount of profit, and the sales persons normative model it to gain the highest amount of commission on the deal. It takes a great deal of analysis to manage this decision making process on each end to come up with a strategy that will compliment all parties for success.

Prescriptive