A632.1.4.RB - Multistage Decision-Making_Washington James

After reading Chapter 3 of the Wharton text, I am not sure if I would overhaul my decision making process.  I have learned over time that one of the biggest factors to making any decisions is to take into consideration the overall impact of my decisions and how it affects everyone around me.  I am sure in my maturation I have learned to make better decisions.  I often try to teach my kids about the decisions they make; however through this course, I have learned that I have failed to comprehend how many decisions I make on a daily basis.  Some of these decisions are no brainers while others are complex; and I often find myself putting them off until a later date.  As educated as I am, I will admit that I an uncomfortable with the complex equations used in the text and I will more than likely never use them in my decision making process. I have been told that I am person that researches all options available to me and then I weigh the overall value of potential results (dynamic decision making) before deciding (which drives my wife crazy because I will go back and forth). But I do not feel that I make decisions impulsively. I have used many different techniques when it comes to making a decision about life changing events and my fall back is a list of pros and cons. I will confess however that I do not view decisions from a myopic perspective, which has been supported through many personality assessment which state that I am a strategic thinker (always looking toward the future in my decision making process).  I am not sure if reading Chapter 3 will impact my forward planning on my decision making process. I usually research the background of major decision and make sure I am very knowledgeable and understand specific issues that surround the problem before me, which is similar to what is mention in the text.  However, I am not sure if I will embrace using multi-stage equations for my decision making process. I am not a fan of trial and error; too many unknown risks. To me self-preservation and the well-being of my family will always be on the forefront of my decision making.  As for applying the optimal dynamic decision analysis to predict the future impact of today's decision; thus serving as a valuable asset?  I believe having the ability to retrieve past data from my own life experiences and the experiences of others to address present decision making is a valuable tool. Due to the changing environment, we must understand that no one situation from the past will be identical to present situations; however, there will be some similarities. I feel it would be a travesty if decisions were constantly made without understanding that there is similar information available for application to a specific problem.  It can be as simple as trying a new bank and realizing that although on the surface their benefits seem great, but later you find out their customer service is horrible or as complex as taking the job of a life-time only to realize that it involve a lot of travel that will take you away from your family. No one ever said making decisions was supposed to be easy.