The classical model tells decision makers how they should make decisions $$ it is a normative$$model$.$ The administrative and political models try to capture how decision makers make decisions $$ these are descriptive$$models$.$

The administrative model uses two key concepts to describe decision making. Bounded rationality$$says that people typically don$$t have all the information they need to make the best decision. As a result, they use the limited and possibly incorrect information they do have. Thus, the situation constrains their ability to be rational. Satisficing$$occurs when people choose the first decision that works, not the best decision. This is often done to save time and money in the decision making process.

The administrative model also suggests that people make decisions based on intuition, or gut feelings, rather than rational decision making. A person builds intuition from experience over time. Intuition does not require deliberate thought, but it is not arbitrary or irrational because it is based on hands on experience. Quasirationality$$refers to the practice of combining intuition and rational thought to make a decision. Managers often use this approach because they may not trust analytical data from their organization, and because they are under such time pressure to make decisions.

The political model of decision making says that when managers make complex decisions, and they have conflicting goals, they try to form coalitions$$to support their cause. Thus, the decision gets made in a series of interactions between managers, subordinates, environmental factors, and organizational events. This is how decisions actually get made in the real world.

The classical model of decision making is$,$ and its fundamental underlying assumption is that:

People make decisions based on unconscious mental habits and models

People make decisions rationally and logically

People will always make the right decision, given the chance

Decisions are made by groups with diverse interests, goals, and values

Suppose that you are buying a new car. You know that you want a hatchback. You go to the Honda dealer and test drive a Fit. Since it has the hatchback you want, you buy it without going to any other dealerships or looking at any other hatchback models. You are operating under conditions of $$

Which model of decision making comes the closest to describing how decisions are made in real life?

Rational model

Political model

Administrative model