Includes bibliographical references (pages 103-113) and index

The quake -- 1. Decisions -- 2. Individuals as decision makers -- 3. Organizations as decision makers -- 4. The consequences of decisions -- 5. Complex decision processes -- After the tsunami -- References -- Index

Decision-making is an activity in which everyone is engaged on a more or less daily basis. In this book, Karin Brunsson and Nils Brunsson explore the intricacies of decision-making for individuals and organizations. When, how and why do they make decisions? The authors identify four distinct ways of reasoning that decision makers use. The consequences of decisions vary: some promote action, others impede it, and some produce more responsibility than others. With in-depth discussions of rationality, justifications and hypocrisy, the authors show how organizational and political decision processes become over-complicated and difficult for both decision makers and external observers to understand. Decisions is a concise and easy-to-read introduction to a highly significant and intriguing topic. Based on research from several fields, it provides useful reading and essential knowledge for scholars and students throughout the social sciences and for everyone who wants to understand their own decisions and those of others