Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois, 1965. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois, 1965. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The goal of this thesis project was to investigate cross-cultural differences in preferences for shared medical decision-making (SDM) by studying adults from the UK and Saudi Arabia. The aim of Study 1 was to gauge preferences for SDM in nonclinical samples from the UK and Saudi Arabia. Results show that there were indeed differences in SDM between Saudi and UK participants. Saudi participants tended to prefer stronger involvement from their doctor, whereas UK participants preferred to make choices themselves. The aim of Study 2 was to investigate in how far Saudi patients with Type 1 diabetes would be interested to be involved in a medical decision. The results of this qualitative study showed that, in general, physicians were reported to often have poor communication skills, which makes patients feel uncomfortable. Participants reported that their physician gave them medication without any discussion over the reasoning behind the prescription provided. Study 3 investigated parents’ preferences regarding their involvement in medical decisions when making decisions for themselves or their child, to record parents’ emotional reaction to shared medical decision-making, and to identify cultural differences on these topics in parents from Saudi Arabia and the UK. The results showed that parents were more likely to take an active role in the decision-making process when making the decision for themselves rather than their child. Decision confidence was higher in the non-informed choice condition. Emotional reaction and decision confidence were higher in the informed choice condition. A number of important recommendations for policy and practice that aim to increase shared decision-making and highlight the importance of culture. While European health-care professionals are increasingly encouraged to involve patients in decisions about their care, this study indicates that preferences for such shared medical decision making vary by culture and the recipient of the decision. This should be taken into account when health care professional involves patients in medical decisions.

Making decisions in the business environment is arguably the most challenging aspect of managers' yet also the easiest to fail in. Unlike individual decisions managers as agents for their organizations make decisions amidst high levels of ambiguity, incomplete information and mostly under time pressure. These are the very conditions that make managers vulnerable to the volition-undermining potential of decision-generated affect precisely when they are feeling over-extended to deal with such demands. Effective managerial decision making (MDM) involves more than applying a set of individual abilities. Managers face numerous obstacles, failures, and setbacks that often carry perturbing self-evaluative implications as well as social consequences that undermine their self-evaluations in ways that impair good use of their decision making skills (Bandura, 1997). Given the absence of a coherent theoretical framework in the literature the conceptual model of relations put forward attempts to organize and simplify how managers make decisions as agents of their organizations. Most conceptualizations apply oversimplified models that focus attention on one or a few variables, neglect the joint constellations of individual variable factors and the influence of individual self-generated influences as a contributing factor in MDM. As an ex post facto explanatory-predictive study the present research offers evidence of these links among the theoretically relevant constructs in order to formulate an account of their relations in a parsimonious framework that could guide future insights to explain and predict the intentions and direction of managerial decision behaviour. Conceptual research has outpaced empirical research in decision making of managers in organizations. A number of mini-theories exists that focus on a few variables using linear, antecedent-consequence relations with manipulations in laboratory environments that deal with decisions in contexts that are very different to those faced by managers. There is limited research on managers as research participants and empirical findings based on non-managerial samples and students may not generalize to managers in real life decision making. The present research used a non-probability, purposive sample (N = 196) of experienced managers in the Western Cape region of South Africa, all employed in private and public organizations (mean age 38.9 years, SD of 7.49, ethnic black managers constituted 15.8 percent of the sample). As part of the study it was necessary to construct and validate custom indicator measures in an independent pilot study from the same population. The pilot study determined the factor structures of the dimensionality and internal consistency of the custom-designed measures by way of both convergent, as well as, discriminative validity. The exploratory factor (EFA) and internal reliability analyses succeeded to provide both a comprehensive and empirical grasp on the constructs as was defined. Further, analyses of both standardized and custom-designed also revealed no significant difference between black and other managers across the pilot samples which provided confidence of the substantive relations of interest (i.e., the associations among the variables). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was chosen as the data analysis strategy of choice and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that the operational measures by and large succeeded in providing both a comprehensive and empirical grasp on the constructs as defined. The inter-construct relations were also consistent with expectations. Evidence for convergent validity however proved that the indicator measures for the allocation of attentional resources were less than adequate in order to provide an uncontaminated measure as a latent variable. The structural model was subjected to further scrutiny by way of a spectrum of goodness-of-fit statistics. The analyses revealed that the model was not adequate and the null hypothesis that the model fitted the population data was subsequently, rejected. It was also sensible to assess the degree of lack of fit of the model with reference to RMSEA which revealed a value of .08, that suggested a reasonable model fit. The poor structural model fit could however be attributed to the failure of the measured indicators used to provide an acceptable grasp of the allocation of attentional resources as a latent variable. The inherent structural flaws in the model could however not be unequivocally be ruled out as an additional possibility of poor fit. One conclusion is the possibility of an expanded model that requires additional indicator measures and additional paths. Notwithstanding these limitations, the present research provided support for social cognitive theory that underlies the model. In accordance with the literature and empirical findings the present research demonstrated mangers' decision making is much more than reason-based behaviour. The present research demonstrates the interdependencies and cumulative effects among individual factors, self-efficacy beliefs and temporal volitional processes, as psychological iv mechanisms through which social-structural factors are linked to the quality of MDM processes. The present research also presents an argument for the independent contributions of self-efficacy beliefs as causal influences on "hot temporal processes" that promote accuracy in decision making. Although present research demonstrates that the estimates were greater for cognitive ability than for both self-efficacy beliefs and social self-confidence it does not suggest that personality traits and self-efficacy beliefs have no utility. The present research demonstrates that cognitive ability combines with personality traits, self-efficacy beliefs and temporal processes (decision-generated affect and the allocation of attentional resources) in a complex manner through multiple pathways.

A model of organizational decision making is developed in terms of which certain components of the process - formation of goals, search procedures, making of a choice etc. - are conceptualized as being arranged sequentially along a temporal continuum. The temporal extensiveness of this continuum is seen as largely being a function of bargaining processes visa-vis components of a given decision by the differentiated sub-units of an organization. Research carried out among four technologically differentiated organizations provides empirical verification for the conceptual model and illustrates certain limitations to organizational rationality and the role of organizational politics in decision making. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The problem addressed here is the examination of the dilemmas of decision making in different substantive contexts. The contexts include peasant farmers deciding whether or not to accept an agricultural innovation, sophomore students gambling, and fishermen on British Columbia's West coast making up their minds where they intend to fish. The major conclusion is that the structure of decision making is a constant cross-cultural variable. This implies that socio-cultural factors can most profitably be viewed as a framework within which a similar structure of decision making occurs. From this consideration it follows that decision making is a basic building block for the study of social behavior. Identification of the basic structure of decision making is in terms of a theory of risk taking which relates the type of decision strategy used in any situation to considerations of the resources, information and utilities that particular individuals possess with regard to the event the decision is about. From an initial substantive concern with Third World farmers deciding to adopt or reject agricultural innovations I generalise to a number of statements about individuals and risk. Risk taking refers to behavior in situations where there is a desirable goal and a lack of certainty that it can be achieved with attendant possibilities of loss. Three main sources are used to test the assertions about risk taking — first a laboratory experiment, then fieldwork and finally secondary sources. The argument made to justify this procedure is that these situations constitute particular empirical settings in which the propositions about risk taking could legitimately be tested. The argument rests on the assumption that the same scope conditions are met in each substantive setting. The scope conditions considered here place an individual decision maker within parameters of resources and subjective utility with regard to some outcome, information and incentive conditions for any risk. The propositions predict the type of decision strategies that would be employed for given values of the above parameters. This level of abstraction, which is not tied to situational boundaries is, I submit, a necessary prerequisite for effective cross-cultural analysis. Thus my thesis is not about peasant farmers, or fishermen or gambling, the work attempted here is concerned with individuals and risk. The tools used draw upon a tradition of model building extant in economics with reference to decision theory. Thus the work attempted here is part of the growing formal tradition in economic anthropology. The model built was not a perfect fit with data but adequate enough to give one confidence in the set of methodological assumptions which were fundamental to its construction. Also the testing procedure employed has implications for the manner in which anthropologists may conduct enquiry, as it establishes that laboratory contexts are as legitimate a source of verification as field contexts. It is from these two considerations that I offer a test case for methodology in economic anthropology. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

This thesis developed a pragmatic approach to the optimization of business decisions in the chloralkali industry utilizing basic marginal analysis concepts. It attempted to meld accounting principles and techniques with economic concepts for the purpose of establishing a rationale and a workable model for guiding and evaluating everyday business decisions. The approach concentrated on short run decision making and did not get involved with capital and other variables which were fixed in the short run. Many attempts to apply marginal analysis to the real world have had only limited success. The concepts as outlined in this thesis used a particular empirical example to circumvent some of the inherent difficulties associated with marginal analysis. The emphasis in this study was to develop a useful business tool and not to fit theoretical economic concepts into the real world. The special requirements for this model were a capital intensive multiproduct company with a vertically integrated production line. Each product manufactured should have two outlets; a) to be used as raw materials to upgrade the product by further processing, or b) to be sold in the market place. Consequently, the product lines will be developed from relatively few raw materials. This is the situation in most petrochemical and inorganic chemical plants, oil refineries, and could even be applied to entire industries such as forest products, and pulp and paper. Although the chloralkali model's construction were discussed, the model itself was not included in the thesis. The particular model used was large and complex, specially adapted for the firm, and as a result contained confidential information and relationships which were difficult to disguise. The empirical example assisted in the development of the essential concepts but did little to contribute to the proving of the hypothesis. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

A new approach for making management decisions about the logging of forested streambanks is presented in this thesis. For several years administrative guidelines or regulatory clauses have required that narrow strips of vegetation be left along all streambanks after logging but experience with these guidelines or regulatory clauses has not always been satisfactory. In many cases the type of strip that is left is not well suited to the particular streambank site or to the needs of the users of that site and a new procedure for making streambank management decisions is clearly needed. The decision-making procedure developed and tested in this thesis provides a routine, consistent method for site-specific decision-making on any Vancouver Island streambank site slated for logging. It includes a range of possible management alternatives and a method for determining which alternative is appropriate to a given site. A checklist is used to assess a number of physical characteristics of the stream and streambank and to determine the resource uses of the site. The value of the vegetation along the streambank to the users is then identified and from this environmental basis, the width and type of vegetated leave strip best suited to the integrated use management of the site is indicated. The procedure was field tested on seven different streambank sites on Vancouver Island. Checklists were completed by individual participants and decisions about the width and type of strip to be left were made according to the procedure. Written qualitative comments were solicited. Analysis of the field test results indicated that there were a number of shortcomings in the checklist and in the procedure generally and revisions and improvements are suggested. There was however sufficient consistency in the results to indicate that the procedure could be used routinely and consistently by field level personnel and would improve streambank management decisions. The qualitative reaction to the procedure was generally favourable. It was felt to be a useful and valuable innovation and several participants indicated that they would be prepared to use it on an operational basis. It is concluded that a useful procedure for making site-specific integrated use decisions has been developed for forested streambanks. Recommendations are made for further improvement of this procedure and for its application to other resource management problems. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The information seeking behaviour of decision makers is an important aspect of the rational decision making process. This study examined the information seeking behaviour of students of educational administration in an attempt to more fully understand the decision making process and thus provide a basis for improving rational decision making. A statistical decision game was devised which utilized a Bayesian norm. The value of information to a decision maker was calculated from the game and then compared to the value defined by the Bayesian norm. The sample consisted of twenty-nine part-time students enrolled in winter session courses in the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.) Department of Educational Administration. This sample included students with various amounts of completed class work and educational administrative experience. Three independent variables were defined. The first variable, administrative experience had two levels. One level consisted of those with at least one year of administrative experience, the other consisted of those with no administrative experience. The second variable, graduate level training, had two levels. One level consisted of those who had completed at least three units of graduate level course work in educational administration. The other consisted of those who had not completed any coursework. The third variable, consisted of three divisions with two levels each and introduced varia tion across the eight games. The dependent variable, information seeking bias, was defined as the difference between the quantified value of information to the decision maker and that value ascribed by the Bayesian norm. The sample was tested in separate groups ranging in size from three to six. Each person in a group viewed the same sequence of eight games, corresponding to the eight treatment levels of factor C; however, each group had a different randomly determined sequence of games. The following five research questions were examined: (1) Do students of educational administration tend to seek the same amount of information as purely Bayesian players in a programmable decision situation? (2) Do students of educational administration with administrative experience behave differently than students with no administrative experience in their tendency to seek information? (3) Do students of educational administration who have completed three or more units of graduate level training in educational administration behave differently than students with no training in their tendency to seek information? (4) Among students of educational administration does varying the prior probabilities and payoff parameters in the statistical decision game effect the tendency to seek information? (5) Does information seeking bias change over the sequence of games? Does learning take place? The experimental design was based on Winer's (1971) three factorial repeated measure design (case II). In research question four a Scheffe Test was to be employed if the previous analysis indicated certain combinations of treatment levels in factor C had resulted in significant findings. Research question five was analyzed by graphing the information seeking bias for the various subject groups over the sequence of games. It was found that the group as a whole showed a strong tendency to seek more information than the Bayesian optimal. The hypothesis that the mean information seeking bias between the two levels of experience and training was the same could not be rejected. However, the interaction effects between factors A (experience) and C (repeated measures) and between factors B (training) and C were found to be significant at the .10 level. Finally, strong learning curves were noted for all subject groups. As the sequence of games progressed, the mean information seeking bias for all subject groups more closely approximated the Bayesian optimal strategy. It was noted, however, that experienced administrators tended to approach the Bayesian optimal strategy at a faster rate than the non-experienced group. The study concluded by recommending that programme developers in educational administration should attend to (1) the previous training and administrative experience of students and (2) the conditions under which decisions are made, when planning for future programs on decision making. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This research investigated a number of hypotheses concerning the form of social influence between factions in small group decision making. In an effort to avoid the bias which may result from the use of confederates in such research, the six person groups used in this study were composed entirely of experimentally naive subjects. Five specific hypotheses were investigated: a) that the influence of a faction depends upon the extent to which they are perceived as cohesive and consistent by the others (i.e., on their apparent solidarity); b) that as the size of a faction increases, that faction will be perceived by the others as being both more competent and less confident with respect to the issue at hand; c) that the faction which wins the first convert will exert more influence on the final decision; d) that disagreement will be solved by compromise; e) that the influence of a faction is a function of the frequency of communication by that faction. The problem discussed was a labour-management dispute. Eight to ten volunteer subjects whose responses to a wage settlement item on an opinion survey fell into either the range of 87o-127o or 307o-407o were scheduled to participate in a group, with this scheduling manipulated in such a way that there was a majority of "high" subjects assigned to each group. On arriving for the experiment, subjects were given a brief description of a labour dispute and asked to indicate their personal belief regarding the proper percentage wage increase. Six of the subjects were then selected to serve as the discussants, and the remaining subjects were asked to act as observers. Because the survey opinions proved to be unreliable indicators of the responses to the issue used in the experiment, the initial groups of eight to ten subjects often did not have a distinct "high" -"low" split, and for this reason the selection of the six discussants was done so as to maximize the polarization within the discussion group. The discussants were then given twenty-five minutes in which to simulate an arbitration of the dispute and to reach an agreement. During the discussion, the observer subjects and the two experimenters observed the group from an adjacent room through an observational glass. The discussion was recorded on audio tape and the two experimenters also independently coded each comment made by the subjects in terms of which person was speaking, to whom she spoke, and whether her comment favoured a "high" or "low" decision. When the group reached consensus (or at the end of the allotted time), all subjects completed a questionnaire concerning the course of the discussion, characteristics of the discussants, and opinions on a similar case. Fifteen discussion groups were used in the study. The results indicate: a) that compromise was not the means by which decisions were reached; b) that while the final decision did not always favour the faction which won the first convert, that faction was generally more influential; and c) that the other three hypotheses were unsupported. There are certain limitations to the generalizability of these data, based upon the combination of the small sample size and the amount of between group variability. The implications of these factors are discussed in detail, both with respect to the reliability of the obtained results and the problems for future research. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate