Individuals base their behavior not on the way their external environment actually is, but rather on the way they see it or believe it to be. An understanding of the way people make decisions can help us explain and predict behavior, but few important decisions are simple or unambiguous enough for the rational models assumptions to apply. We find individuals looking for solutions that satisfice rather than optimize, injecting biases and prejudices into the decision process, and relying on intuition. Managers should encourage creativity in employees and teams to create a route to innovative decision making.

Specific implications for managers are below:

Behavior follows perception, so to influence behavior at work, assess how people perceive their work. Often behaviors we find puzzling can be explained by understanding the initiating perceptions.

Make better decisions by recognizing perceptual biases and decision-making errors we tend to commit. Learning about these problems doesnt always prevent us from making mistakes, but it does help.

Adjust your decision-making approach to the national culture youre operating in and to the criteria your organization values. If youre in a country that doesnt value rationality, dont feel compelled to follow the rational decision-making model or to try to make your decisions appear rational. Adjust your decision approach to ensure compatibility with the organizational culture.

Combine rational analysis with intuition. These are not conflicting approaches to decision making. By using both, you can actually improve your decision making effectiveness.

Try to enhance your creativity. Actively look for novel solutions to problems, attempt to see problems in new ways, use analogies, and hire creative talent. Try to remove work and organizational barriers that might impede your creativity.

Apply a key concept of the reading to a situation in a professional setting (non-family or friends). This setting can be your workplace (a current or past place of employment) or an organization to which you currently belong or belonged in the past (e.g., bowling club, team/sports group, church membership, etc.). Identify a situation related to the chapter reading and describe how you could use the learning from the chapter to address the situation.