What is a good Decision! Week 1

This first week we discussed ‘What a judgement and a decision was’. My first thought was that whether a person makes a judgement and decision is a purely personal thing and consequences differ and vary with each decision.  If a judgement is an assessment, and a decision is what follows an assessment, then would the outcome be a positive or negative decision based on the judgement?

We discussed the probability of analytical thinking and whether this would affect a decision. My idea of analytical thinking is thinking very in-depth about something. Or when you are analysing a concept or idea and trying to understand all the variables before undertaking that decision. Perhaps like in an interview. I think this shows that people are more analytical when under pressure. This is what I would do when in an exam; I would weigh up the pros and cons of each question before choosing and making my decision.

As discussed in class, if a judgement is an assessment, then this has made me realise that sometimes analytical thinking in for example interviews, does not always result in good decisions. When choosing the best candidate for a job, CV’s are assessed and a person is assessed in an interview. Sometimes people interview badly but would however be good for the job on paper. And due to analytical thinking poor judgements and decisions can be made. This reminded me of my sister, who is currently at Cambridge University. She had to undergo two interview processes as well as getting the required grades. In the first interview she did poorly in and she was told that she would be put on the waiting list. This is a classic example. Her grades were impeccable. And she would be studying. Why then did they need to assess her character? I believe a number of factors can affect a person’s confidence and performance in an interview. Luckily in the second interview she did well, and is now at the University. But I believe this a prime example of what how analytical thinking can result in poor judgments and decisions.   

Another thought I had ( and which we discussed in class) was the subject of people who are mentally and physically ill and how their judgements and decisions can be affected by this. When people are mentally ill it can often impair their judgement resulting in a bad decision i.e. psychos. Also people, who are under the influence of substances like alcohol/drugs, will often make decisions they would not normally make if they were not under the influence.  

 What then does make a good decision?

A decision is a course of action we are prepared to take.  And is the concept of processes and consequences. I believe that in day to day life we make many judgements and decisions based on our own personal concepts and schemas, in the way we view the World based on our own personal experiences. However whether a decision is good I believe would mainly depend on the consequences as a result and depends on the decision in turn.