2. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Professional ethics refers to the personal code of conduct that one
is expected to uphold in a workplace, as well as the ethics of the
organization and industry that he or she works for. Professional ethics is
an ancient concept that dates back to the days of Ancient Greece and the
Roman Empire.
3. DECISION MAKING
“Decision-making is usually defined as a process or sequence of
activities involving stages of problem recognition, search for
information, definition of alternatives and the selection of an actor of
one from two or more alternatives consistent with the ranked
preferences”.
4. Theories about right decision
• Decision making theory is a theory of how rational individuals should
behave under risk and uncertainty
• Decision-making theories come are quite useful. When it’s time to
make an important choice, there’s no need to delay.
• Whether we are familiar with theories regarding decision-making or
not, in this day and age, choice is in abundance. What do we want to
eat, which sofa should we purchase, do you get a dog or not? Because
we have way too many options, it can make choosing much harder
than it should be.
5. So, why is it so difficult?
• Choice is our ability to make decisions when presented with two or
more options. When we have more than two options, we must make a
choice.
• Ultimately, choice represents the sacrifices we must make. We
automatically give up something else when we make a choice between
two or more things.
• This means, if we find ourselves wanting something else next month,
chances are that choice will be gone – non-existent. We have to take
what we have today, and this depends on what we choose.
6. Decision-making theories – the basics
• Different approaches to decision-making are sometimes called Choice
theories. William Glasser founded this term from a book with the same
title. According to Glasser, freedom, fun, power, love and belonging,
and survival are basic satisfied needs which come from choices we
make.
• The idea that choices are mostly made by humans, which enhance
what we really want, is an idea that’s been around for quite some time.
Choice and the psychology behind it is the reason we make the
decisions that we do. It’s a subconscious decision that motivates our
satisfaction and meeting those satisfactions.
7. Here are three decision-making theories that will
help you to understand the choices you make. It
might even encourage you to make better ones!
8. 1. Our emotions connect to our actions
• Neuroscientist and professor at USC and Salk Institute, Dr. Antonio
Damasio says that our decisions come from visceral emotion. The
definition of his theory is that there is a link between “raw” emotions and
the part of the brain which governs decisions. He, therefore, concluded
that decision making and judgment come from a critical neural circuit.
• Damasio concludes that non-rational and rational processes bridge
feeling and emotion. If meaning and motivation, would not be possible if
emotional input was absent, and decision making could not happen.
• Damasio believes that we don’t only base our choices on logic and fact,
but also on memories and emotions. This is why we make decisions on
unconscious levels. Our intuition guides us.
9. 2. Decisions can be costly – literally!
• Does making decisions result in reduced self-control? A study from
the University of Minnesota points to yes. The study also showed
more procrastination, lack of ability to persist in failed circumstances,
decrease in physical stamina, and worsening of arithmetic abilities
• Researchers, to conduct the study asked students for help. After
dividing into two groups, the teams take on studies much like the
others but to understand how choices affect things. Identical product
lists were given to all the students in the initial experiment.
10. 3. Watch out for bias!
• There is absolutely no doubt that our biases affect our choices.
However, there is one particular bias that focuses on decision-making
theories in many situations.
• Loss aversion bias is one such example. No one likes to be left out or
miss important things. Fact. However, it isn’t as important to gain
something than it is to avoid losing something. This is the way
aversion works. The endowment effect shows us through our desire to
keep what we have instead of striving for more.
11. How to make hard decisions easier
• Choices are hard, you see. I guess you understand now. No matter
what, some choices you make will always be hard. However, some of
these decision-making theories might just help you understand your
own choices.
• We don’t always have a rational reason to make decisions. They
cannot separate from our identity, our location, or what helps us decide
what to wear. Maybe we will be able to make wiser choices and help
others make proper decisions too, as long as we understand
psychological influences and factors that affect our decisions.