Thinking and Decision-Making Process

Paper Info
Page count 2
Word count 543
Read time 3 min
Subject Life & Experiences
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

Introduction

Life is enmeshed in the type of thought processes which we usually have. Thinking is an integral part of our lives whereby we cannot act logically or rationally without putting or subjecting our actions to our thought processes. We can say that thinking is a term that describes a process that utilizes concepts to conclude a certain concept. Thus we can say that thinking is a term that describes a stream of consciousness and the everyday uncontrolled coursing of ideas through our heads which includes dreaming and daydreams (Bell & Raiffa, 1988; March & Chip, 1994). In essence, this is a very important process in human beings. This is because it governs the quality of life that human beings lead.

Case analysis

There are days that we often find ourselves acting thoughtfully and there are days where one can say that they did not act thoughtfully. Acting thoughtfully entails working and basing decisions and choices on thoughts while acting mindlessly is a state where one does not engage the thought processes to a level that provides solutions or conclusions logically or rationally.

In my life, there have been situations where I have acted thoughtfully and there are also cases where I have acted mindlessly. One of the situations where I acted mindlessly was when I opted to enroll for a course without consulting the academic advisor. This had disastrous effects because I did not engage the reasons why I should have taken that course. Essentially, I opted to take that course because everyone else seemed to be taking it. Eventually, I later discovered that I did not make the right choice (Moseley, 2005).

The decisions

Decisions are fundamental aspects of life. This is because they inform the direction which we take in life. It is worth noting that the quality of decisions that people make defines the quality of life that people lead (Hunter, 2009). In my case, I decided without consulting or thinking through the implications of the choice that I had taken. In essence, this had a negative consequence in my studies later on. People need to take note of the fact that decision-making is a process. This process is enshrined in stages that lead to the consequences that we would like to have.

The decision-making process

Decision-making may be defined as the process of choosing a course of action to deal with a problem or opportunity (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, & Hunt, 2011). The decision-making process which would have been followed in this case would have involved the following steps. Defining the problem at hand is the stage of gathering the information at hand. It also entails being specific enough to face the issues at hand to make decisions and conclusions about what is taking place. Secondly, analyze the alternative options available. This entails identifying with precision the anticipated consequences of the decisions which would have been made. Thirdly, choosing a preferred course of action, this stage entails pursuing a course of action based on the previous stages (Hunter, 2009).

Conclusion

The decision-making process also entails critical thinking which is based on the information acquired. Thus, one needs to take note of the fact that without critical thinking, the viability of the course of action is usually put under question.

References

Bell, D., & Raiffa, H. (1988). Decision Making:Descriptive, Normative, and Prescriptive Interactions. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Press. Hunter, D. (2009). A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking:Deciding What to Do and Believe. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

March, P. & Chip, H. (1994). A Primer on Decision Making:How Decisions Happen. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Moseley, D. (2005). Frameworks for Thinking:A Handbook for Teaching And Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Schermerhorn, Osborn, R., Uhl-Bien, M., & Hunt, J. (2011). Organizational Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Cite this paper

Reference

EduRaven. (2021, October 19). Thinking and Decision-Making Process. Retrieved from https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/

Reference

EduRaven. (2021, October 19). Thinking and Decision-Making Process. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/

Work Cited

"Thinking and Decision-Making Process." EduRaven, 19 Oct. 2021, eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.

References

EduRaven. (2021) 'Thinking and Decision-Making Process'. 19 October.

References

EduRaven. 2021. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.

1. EduRaven. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.

References

EduRaven. 2021. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.

1. EduRaven. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Thinking and Decision-Making Process." October 19, 2021. https://eduraven.com/thinking-and-decision-making-process/.