The presumptions of prescription

Abstract How one ought to make decisions has been an important subject of study for a long time. The normative framework of the rational decision-making paradigm was widely accepted many decades ago as an ideal to follow; more recently it has been recognised that there are difficulties in conforming to this ideal. As a result a distinction has been made between normative methods - those that we would ideally like to follow - and prescriptive methods, that is, ways to prescribe how decision makers should approximate to this ideal in practice. This paper explores several approaches to prescription in this paper, and the presumptions which underlie them. Firstly, we discuss the prescriptions associated with various forms of the rational decision-making paradigm. Secondly, we examine the presumption that prescription based on the rational decision-making paradigm is the right way to go. Finally, we discuss the desirability of prescription of any form, in the light of the discussions in the previous sections.

[1]  P. Fishburn.  Generalizations of expected utility theories: A survey of recent proposals , 1989 .

[2]  William R. King,et al.  On measurement, valuewise independence and linear models , 1983 .

[3]  T. Saaty.  Axiomatic foundation of the analytic hierarchy process , 1986 .

[4]  Valerie Belton,et al.  On a short-coming of Saaty's method of analytic hierarchies , 1983 .

[5]  A. Tversky,et al.  Prospect Theory : An Analysis of Decision under Risk Author ( s ) : , 2007 .

[6]  A. Tversky,et al.  Prospect theory: analysis of decision under risk , 1979 .

[7]  J. March.  Bounded rationality, ambiguity, and the engineering of choice , 1978 .

[8]  Amos Tversky,et al.  ON THE FRAMING OF MEDICAL DECISIONS , 1988 .

[9]  Gregory W. Fischer,et al.  Prescriptive decision science: Problems and opportunities , 1989 .

[10]  P. Bennett,et al.  A Kuhnian Crisis in Management Science? , 1981 .

[11]  Peter Checkland,et al.  Soft Systems Methodology , 2020, Systems Approaches to Making Change: A Practical Guide.

[12]  Peter Checkland,et al.  Systems Thinking, Systems Practice , 1981 .

[13]  Elizabeth C. Hirschman,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[14]  B. Roy.  Méthodologie multicritère d'aide à la décision , 1985 .

[15]  D. von Winterfeldt,et al.  A re-examination of the normative-descriptive distinction in decision analysis , 1989 .

[16]  L. Phillips.  People-centred group decision support , 1989 .

[17]  Peter H. Farquhar,et al.  OR Forum - Perspectives on Utility Theory , 1986, Oper. Res..

[18]  Brian Wilson,et al.  Systems: Concepts, Methodologies, and Applications , 1990 .

[19]  R. Abelson.  Script processing in attitude formation and decision making. , 1976 .

[20]  T. Saaty.  An exposition of the AHP in reply to the paper “remarks on the analytic hierarchy process” , 1990 .

[21]  Simon French,et al.  Readings in Decision Analysis , 1989 .

[22]  H. Montgomery.  From cognition to action: The search for dominance in decision making. , 1989 .

[23]  R. Hogarth,et al.  Decision Making under Ambiguity , 1986 .

[24]  Ulvila Jw,et al.  Decision analysis comes of age. , 1982 .

[25]  N. Pennington,et al.  Evidence evaluation in complex decision making. , 1986 .

[26]  R. Deber,et al.  Using Explicit Decision Rules to Manage Issues of Justice, Risk, and Ethics in Decision Analysis , 1990, Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making.

[27]  Ian O. Angell,et al.  Decision support systems in China: A clash of cultures , 1990 .

[28]  R. L. Keeney,et al.  Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Trade-Offs , 1977, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[29]  Rex V. Brown,et al.  Toward a prescriptive science and technology of decision aiding , 1989 .

[30]  R. L. Winkler.  Decision modeling and rational choice: AHP and utility theory , 1990 .

[31]  H. Simon,et al.  Reason in Human Affairs. , 1984 .

[32]  Martin Weber.  Decision Making with Incomplete Information , 1987 .

[33]  T. Saaty,et al.  The Analytic Hierarchy Process , 1985 .

[34]  W. Edwards,et al.  Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research , 1986 .

[35]  M. Machina.  Choice under Uncertainty: Problems Solved and Unsolved , 1987 .

[36]  Rakesh K. Sarin,et al.  Lottery dependent utility , 1987 .

[37]  J. Dyer.  Remarks on the analytic hierarchy process , 1990 .

[38]  James S. Dyer,et al.  A clarification of “remarks on the analytic hierarchy process” , 1990 .

[39]  B. Fischhoff,et al.  KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT: MEASURING LABILE VALUES , 1988 .

[40]  H. Simon,et al.  Rationality as Process and as Product of Thought , 1978 .

[41]  Martin Greenberger,et al.  Models in the policy process , 1976 .

[42]  James L. Corner,et al.  Decision Analysis Applications in the Operations Research Literature, 1970-1989 , 1991, Oper. Res..

[43]  Hylton Boothroyd.  Image Theory: Decision Making in Personal and Organizational Contexts. , 1990 .

[44]  Luis G. Vargas,et al.  Reply to “remarks on the analytic hierarchy process” by J. S. Dyer , 1990 .

[45]  A. Tversky,et al.  On the Reconciliation of Probability Assessments , 1979 .