A632.9.3.RB – Role of Emotion in Decision Making
Emotion can
play a critical role in the quality of the decisions that are made. The human
element of emotion can be contagious and can be the catalyst that ignites the
willingness, and effort that is placed behind the potential for success in a
decision. The positive role of emotion can be instrumental on both the
decision maker, and the client being served.
Shiv (2011)
reports that emotion plays a crucial role for the decision maker and that
confidence is often underrated. He believes that the contagion resulting
from decision confidence can impact both the client and future relations, as
well as similar situations. While he reports that others often
highlight overconfidence as something negative, he believes that in fact
confidence can help to develop utilities can benefit the leader. Shiv (2011)
points out that when a leader emerges from a decision feeling confident, the
resulting passion and intensity that is subsequently applied to other issues
can be an asset.
From the
perspective of the organizational output, when a leader does not solicit
passion and confidence in a decision, he may be creating a client that will
require ongoing high maintenance. For example, if the expectations that
the solution may work, or be considered just good enough, the client may
continually appear to be dissatisfied and looking for more. When confidence
is lacking, the client does not have a reasonable expectation of having
confidence in the decision either. Client emotion creates an opportunity
for everyone involved to have a personal investment in the success of the
decision. It is also possible that a positive confidence in a decision
can encourage sufficient desire to put out the needed effort to make success
happen. It also suggests that early success can have a domino effect,
impacting future decisions toward success. Client emotion, involvement
and genuine excitement for the confidence in decision can impact future working
relationships through loyalty.
For
instance, a situation that comes to mind was when my company changed insurance
providers. Employees were faced with the decision to choose from many
options with this new provider dependent upon what worked best for each
individual. First and foremost, many of us were confused and put off that
we would be changing providers, since we were all very happy with the benefits
provided. Secondly, the change over would require everyone to research
the new options and then decide what fit best. I found this rather
irritating. I was happy with my old benefits and didn't want to
switch. At the end of the day, I went with a benefits package that seems
to be close to what I was already using. Despite my irritation and
initial confusion, the new benefits actually seemed to be a really great
thing. The new benefits provided expanded coverage of doctors in network
and also provided a more reasonable pricing structure for co-pays, etc.
Another
example of emotions playing a large role in the decision making process was
when my school classmates and myself were reviewing the requirements of a
project that we were considering tackling. It was a daunting task to replace
multiple systems with a single, integrated solution. However, it was a process
that I was very familiar with. As we were reviewing the requirements, my
classmates were acting very nervously. Everyone could tell there was apprehension
about the process with all of the nuances. But as we reviewed the requirements,
I assured everyone that it was definitely doable. While I expressed that it
wouldn’t be easy, I showed them how each section could be broken out into
smaller pieces of functionality and how it could be pieced back together.
Because of my confidence, the nervousness of the students slowly started to
fade away. As Professor Shiv (2011) states, confidence is contagious. While
there were still questions, my confidence inspired the individuals that they
could do it. As we neared the end, our confidence turned to joy, as we were
able to solve such a complex problem. What started off emotionally as
uncertainty and nervousness turned into confidence, which turned into the joy
we felt when we finally completed such a complicated application.
Overall, I
believe that attitude is everything. How you act and present yourself to
others speaks volumes about how confident you are. There can always be
negative emotions around decisions but it is up to you to get in touch with
your personal emotions and decide what is best for you. Sometimes there
is too much emotion and you need to try to let it go. Emotions play a big part
in decisions because you are listening to your instincts as well as your
personal feelings for the product or company. I think emotions can be a
good thing but it does need to be within certain limits. Thoughts and
emotions should balance each other out when making decisions.
References
Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on
making decisions. (1st edition.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Shiv, B. (2011). Brain Research at Stanford: Decision
Making. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRKfl4owWKc
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