International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management
Volume 5, Issue 10, 2018, PP 48-57
ISSN 2394-5923 (Print) & ISSN 2394-5931 (Online)
Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
1
José G. Vargas-Hernández, M.B.A, Ph.D., 2Ricardo Pérez Ortega
1
University Center forEconomic and ManagerialSciences.University of Guadalajara
Periférico Norte 799, Edif G201-7, Núcleo Universitario Los Belenes
Zapopan, Jalisco, 45100, México
2
Maestría en Negocios y Estudios Económicos.
Centro Universitario de Ciencias Económico Administrativas. Universidad de Guadalajara
Periférico Norte 799, Edif G201-7, Núcleo Universitario Los Belenes
Zapopan, Jalisco, 45100, México
*Corresponding Author: José G. Vargas-Hernández, M.B.A.; Ph.D , 1University Center forEconomic
and ManagerialSciences.University of Guadalajara Periférico Norte 799, Edif G201-7, Núcleo
Universitario Los BelenesZapopan, Jalisco, 45100, México
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between rationality and decision making. As a specific
objective it will be explained the benefit of learning in the decision making process derived from its results.
The research question is: How does bounded rationality impact the decision making of organizations? The
initial hypothesis is that the organization, as a social system, seeks to maintain the balance between the
behavior that determines the positions of people and the structure of values and beliefs shared among them,
but that is bounded to the rationality of the decision maker. The research method used is descriptive, being a
qualitative analysis, that follows from the understanding of the behavioral theory of the firm also the
behavioral decision theory, in terms of behavioral decision-making processes and the analysis through
learning. The main conclusion is that bounded rationality occurs when companies lack context information
of the results of their actions, being forced to make less than optimal decisions because they have to adjust
to the conditions in which they operate. Decisions involve a commitment of large amounts of resources of
the organization for the fulfillment of the objectives and purposes of the organization through the
appropriate means. These means can be translated into models that help reduce the limits of rationality in
organizations.
Keywords: Decision making, bounded rationality, learning process
JEL Classification: D91, G91
INTRODUCTION
This document is a reflection of the decisionmaking process in organizations, and the growth
of companies through the behavioral theory of
the firm. Decision making is analyzed from the
point of view of bounded rationality, this with
the aim of clarifying how decisions are made
considering the human aspect of who decides.
From a general point of view, the decision is an
act that leads to the action of choosing between
different alternatives. The adequate selection of
these depends, to a large extent, on their success
or failure, since they must cover the risk,
certainty and uncertainty inherent in the
decision and the action (Egan, 2007).In
organizations there is evidently a complex
network of decisions and actions, the latter
consisting of events that can be attributed to a
system (Luhmann, 1997), while the decision
finds its identity in the choice between
alternatives, understanding that the decisions are
much more sensitive to context than actions and,
therefore, not equal to stable. Simon (1947)
describes how organizations influence the
decisions of their members, trying to make them
compatible with the global objectives of the
organization.
The theory of decision making, under different
schemes, indicates the steps for a decision to be
rational (Eduards, The theory of decision
making, 1954). The people in charge try to do it
this way, but in the real world it is not always
possible. It is argued that an adequate study of
human behavior in organizations should take
into account the motivational, attitude and
rational aspects of human behavior. In this way,
both the works of economists on planning
processes and the work of psychologists on
International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management V5 ● I10 ● 2018
48
Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
organizational communication and problem
solving capacities (March and Simon 1958),
cited in (Vargas-Hernández, Guerra-García,
Bojórquez-Gutiérrez, & Bojórquez-Gutiérrez,
2014).
In this regard, Cyert & March (1963) in their
book "A Behavioral Theory of the Firm" offered
four main research topics; a) A small number of
key economic decisions, b) Development of a
general theory, generalizing the results of
studies of specific companies, c) Linking
empirical data to models, d) Orientation towards
the process instead of the results. They argue
that, the behavior approach takes the company
as the basic unit of analysis, trying to predict the
behavior with respect to the decisions of price
allocation, production and resources; the
decision-making process is emphasized. On the
other hand, economists and some psychologists
have produced a large number of theories and
experiments that have to do with decisionmaking with a particular focus on rational
behavior.
Alfred Marshall proclaimed in his principles of
economics that economics was a science of
psychology, stating Economy is a study of
humanity in the ordinary business of life;
examines that part of individual and social
action that is most closely related to
achievement and to the use of material welfare
requirements. Therefore, it is on the one hand a
study of wealth; and on the other hand, and
more importantly, a part of the study of man.
Because the character of man has been shaped
by his daily work and the material resources that
he therefore seeks, rather than by any other
influence, unless it is that of his religious ideals.
Marshall, 1890, (quoted by Simon, 1979, p.493)
them in a given context. This document will not
address these models in detail.
Why bounded rationality? Answering this
question is not possible only in one way, that is
why Conslick (1996) provides four reasons; the
first, there is abundant empirical evidence that is
important. Second, models of bounded
rationality
prove
themselves.
Third,
justifications that assume that rationality is not
bounded are not convincing in general. Fourth,
the deliberation of an economic decision is a
costly activity and a good economic decision
requires that all costs be covered.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY OF BOUNDED
RATIONALITY IN DECISION MAKING
In recent years there has been growing interest
in the description of decision making that refers
and analyzes the way people perform these
actions in real contexts, which mostly prevents
them from taking them rationally and in what
conditions they will actually be relatively
rational. This problem was analyzed by Barnard
(1938), in which he defined formal organization
as a consciously coordinated system of activities
or forces of two or more people; He also
emphasized the role of the informal
organization, in which the individual personality
is maintained against certain effects of the
formal organization that tends to disintegrate the
personality. In fact, Barnard (1938) concludes
that: "the expansion of cooperation and
development of the individual are mutually
dependent realities, and that due to a proportion
or balance between them is a necessary
condition for human welfare" (p. 16).
Subscribing to the previous contribution, Simon
(1979) mentions that economic science has
focused on a single aspect of human character,
which is the use of reason, and particularly the
application of it to problems of decision making.
The organization, as a social system, seeks to
maintain the balance between the behavior that
determines the positions of people and the
structure of values and beliefs shared among
them, that import a certain order between
individuals and the dynamics of organizations.
This of course is related to the incentives of
formal organizations, which are related to the
social capacity in which people feel in the work
environment, the condition of communion or
camaraderie. On the other hand, authority is also
mentioned as the character of a communication
or order in a formal organization by virtue of
which the dependents accept that order. The
latter has greater impact on the issue of decision
making, since the holder of the authority must
have the rationality to take an action from
among the alternatives within his reach and
communicate this to his dependents through the
authority that he enjoys.
The behavioral theory of the firm takes from the
theory of games, and research of operations,
between several branches of social sciences in
which
there
is
interdependence
and
complementarity; models to express a way of
anticipating problems, and simulate a solution of
From this point one of the fundamental
problems of the organizations with respect to the
communication begins, since the signature is
considered like a processor of information more
efficient than the individual, having failures in
the communication or understanding, deriving
49
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
from her a complex system cognitive called
bounded rationality, of which the behavioral
theory of the firm centers its study (Simon H.,
1955).
After Barnard, one of the authors of the
Behavioral theory of the firm, Herbert Simon,
describes the importance of organizations in the
decision-making of its members, considering
these organizations remove such individuals as
part of their autonomy and replace it with an
organizational process of decision making
(Vargas-Hernández et al., 2014). In this theory
is provided a self-conscious attempt to develop
linguistic and conceptual tools appropriate to
reality,
and
meaningfully
applied
to
organizations. The main thesis of Simon (1947)
is that decision making forms the heart of the
organization, and that the vocabulary of
organizational theory must be derived from the
logic and psychology of human choice.
From the perspective of the vision of rational
systems, the behavior of organizations is
considered as actions carried out by determined
and coordinated agents. In this sense, Simon
(1947) is consistent with the logic of economics
and uses the flow of information, efficiency,
implementation and design. Insists on reaching
good terms with cognitive limitations, implying
that the rationality of the behavior of
organizations with clearly specific limitations.
Regarding bounded rationality, Simon (1947)
observes that a person does not live for years in
a particular position in an organization, exposed
to some currents of communication, protected
from others, without profound effects on what
the person knows, believes, wait, emphasize,
fear and propose.
So, the organization provides positions of
responsibility to exercise authority and influence
over others, executives who make decisions and
take actions, they must do so with an eye on the
situation and another eye on the effects of this
decision and future effects on the organization.
This means that decisions are also influenced by
the authority relationship. The major
contribution of Simon (1947) to the economics
of the organization is the argument that it is
precisely in the realm where human behavior is
intentionally rational, but only in a bounded
way.
Organizational behavior is the theory of
intentional and bounded rationality: it is about
the behavior of humans that satisfy because they
do not have the capacity to maximize (Simon,
1947). While the "economic man" maximizes
and selects the best alternative among all
available, the "man of the organization"
satisfies, seeks a course of action that is
satisfactory or "good enough." The economic
man deals with the real world "in all its
complexity. The world organization that man
perceives is a drastically simplified model of the
real world (Eduards, The theory of decision
making, 1954).
The limits of rationality are the central theme
that is addressed in this document. Rationality
requires a choice between all possible
alternative behaviors, in reality only a few of
those alternatives come to mind. Complete
rationality is "bounded" by the lack of
knowledge. At the simplest level, performance
may be bounded by manual dexterity or reaction
time, and decision-making processes may be
bounded by the speed of mental processes
(Simon., 1979). Individuals are also bounded by
their values and the conceptions of purpose that
influence them in making their decisions, and
these tend to be shaped by their organizational
experience.
For example, if the loyalty of the executives of
the organization is high, their decisions can
show sincere acceptance of the set of objectives
given within the firm. As mentioned above,
people are bounded by their knowledge of the
relevant factors for their work. This limitation
applies both to the basic knowledge required in
decision-making (bridge designers must know
the fundamentals of mechanics) and to the
information required to make appropriate
decisions in a given situation.
On the other hand, Cyert & March, (1963)
proposed that companies in reality, aim to
"satisfy", instead of maximizing their results.
That is, some groups can settle for "good
enough" achievements instead of fighting for the
best possible outcome. Again, this comes from
bounded rationality. In the authors' model, the
objectives are not established to maximize the
relevant magnitudes, such as profits, sales and
market share. Instead, the objectives are
commitments negotiated by the groups of the
organization. In the decision-making process the
information is required to take the most
appropriate, however, the collection of
information by itself has a cost and requires
resources.
The information is not transmitted immediately
or automatically from its point of origin to the
rest of the organization. Vargas-Hernández et
al., (2014) affirm that there is often a lack of
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
information transmission upwards, simply
because subordinates cannot visualize the
information with precision that their superiors
need. These authors suggest that the problem
also exists in an inverse situation, since the
superior can retain information from
subordinates; It can be accidental or fraudulent.
This is a weight variable that affects rationality,
again limiting the feasibility with which
decisions are made.
This current work focus on investigating the
close relationship of the decision-making
process and the rationality in them. Then the
following research question will be pursued:
What is the impact of bounded rationality in the
decision
making
of
organizations?
In the study, only the relationship between the
decision factor is analyzed, which in this case
will depend on the bounded rationality of the
person who performs the decision actions and
what to do with the behavioral theory of the firm
knowledge (Mahoney Joseph, 2012). From this
it can be inferred that an action is consciously
rational insofar as the adjustment of the means
to the ends is a conscious process. This
resembles what economic man (homo
economicus)
represents,
since
it
has
characteristics such as being fully informed,
sensitive and rational.
An economic man according to the theory of the
decision, has complete information, assuming
that he knows not only all the courses of action,
but also his results. It is sensitive to the
available alternatives. The crucial fact about the
economic man is that he is rational. This means
that their preferences are complete, transitive
and that there are perfect substitutes; and on the
other hand he makes his decisions to maximize
his utility (Eduards 1954). The same author
refers to the behavior in the decisions,
mentioning that humans are neither perfectly
consistent nor perfectly sensitive.
It is known that behavior can be rational or
irrational, then, it could be inferred that
preferences, beliefs, expectations and the
decision-making process are also. Cyert and
March (1963) mention that the company is an
institutional, functionally rational response to
uncertainty and bounded rationality. How much
of this can be observed in reality is to be
doubted. Rationality in the real world is a
complex concept, due to which there are
numerous research works that argue that
rationality is bounded by the lack of knowledge.
The above makes sense to the extent that it is
understood that in the tensions that exist
between society and the individual, there is a
great demand to compete within the individual
conscience. Where rational economic approach
is to think individually, as well as the economic
man who seeks to maximize its utility derived
from instrumental rationality (rational choice).
And since the capacity of the human mind to
formulate and solve complex problems is very
small compared to the size of the problems,
whose solution is necessary for objectively
rational behavior in the real world, instrumental
rationality becomes, so to speak, bounded
rationality.
Human beings struggle for rationality, but it is
restricted within the limits of their knowledge.
The rational choice is feasible as the bounded
set of factors on which the decision is based
corresponds to a closed system of variables,
Vargas-Hernández et al. (2014). This indicates
that decisions can be made without taking into
account the possible results derived from
knowledge biases. A branch of the social
sciences that tries to mitigate these biases, along
with the economy, is operations research,
however, the behavioral part is incorporated into
these areas to try to explain and solve the
limitations of the decision making in the firms.
The Theory of the instrumental rationality or
rational choice, assumes that, in a situation of
decision, the means, the information, the beliefs
and personal analyzes, are optimal; the estimates
of probabilities are easily realizable; the
individual has at his disposal information about
all possible alternatives and has a complete and
consistent system of preferences that allows him
to make a perfect analysis of all of them. It does
not present difficulties or limits in the
mathematical calculations that it must carry out
to determine which the best is, therefore, it
guarantees that the chosen alternative is a global
optimum (Aumann, 1997).
A decision can be called objectively rational, if,
in fact, it is the correct behavior to maximize the
values given in a specific situation. A decision is
subjectively
rational
if
it
maximizes
achievement relative to the subject's actual
The theory of bounded rationality, sees the
decision process from a very different point of
view. In the decision-making process, even in
relatively simple problems, a maximum cannot
be obtained since it is impossible to verify all
CONCEPTUAL THEORETICAL REVIEW
Bounded Rationality
51
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
possible alternatives. People differ in both
available opportunities and desires (influenced
by environmental factors). When an individual
must decide, they influence him, both the
desires that he possesses and the opportunities
that he thinks he has. It is not certain that these
beliefs are correct: it is possible that the
individual is not aware of some opportunities
that are actually viable to him or, he may
believe that certain opportunities are favorable
to him, which in reality are not, therefore it
cannot be guaranteed that choose the best
alternative (Elster, 1990).
the fact that human behavior is rational first
intention, but bounded by information
asymmetry. And as mentioned earlier, the
ability of the human mind to formulate and
solve problems is small and is bounded by
neuropsychological issues on the one hand and
language limits on the other. Physical limits are
the individual abilities to receive, retrieve and
process information; those of language refer to
the inability of individuals to articulate their
knowledge or feeling by the use of a word, so
that they can be understood by others
(Williamson, 1979).
As mentioned in Vargas-Hernández et al.
(2014), about bounded rationality, referring to
Table1. Comparative Rational Choice and Bounded Rationality
Bounded rationality
Necessity of assistance of the bounded mental
capacity of the subject that decides.
Knowledge of an acceptable set of actions
Approximate and heterogeneous knowledge of the
consequences.
Evolutionary and unsettled preferences.
Temporary and cost limitation that affects the quality
of the decision.
Search for a satisfactory result
Help the one who decides to understand what will
happen if he does something.
Rational choice
Unbounded cognitive ability of the subject who
decides.
Knowledge of all available actions.
Numerical knowledge of all the consequences of
actions.
Stable and ordered preferences.
Unbounded or non-influential resources in the
decision-making process.
Search for the best possible result
Inform the one who decides about what to do.
Source: Own elaboration with data from Simon (1957) and (2000).
Decision Making
The theory of the decision under the behavior
Paul & Fischhoff (1977), mentions that the
decisions taken under a system of perceptions
have, in a certain degree, to do with the
uncertainty about the states of the environment
in which the decision maker is. For example,
who takes an umbrella depends on something
that is not known with certainty that is the
weather; or if you are a smoker, the decision
will depend on the point of view of the loss of
health due to smoking.
With this respect the theory of the decision
making of Eduards (1954), three main ideas are
assumed, first of all, there are options to choose
from, so if a doctor wants to measure the
reflexes when hitting the knee with a
Neurological hammer, produces an automatic
reaction, therefore there is no decision made (by
the patient). However, from the doctor's point of
view when he chooses between the two knees of
the patient to hit, he makes a decision, because
he has options (the legs). So, the theory of
decision is about deciding with different
options.
Second, this theory assumes that decisions are
made in a non-random way. So it does not make
sense to investigate the mechanisms of decision
making, if these decisions are random. And
finally, as a third point it is assumed that the
decisions are oriented in specific goals. In
general, decision theory is concerned with goaldirected behavior, in the presence of options.
Paul & Fischhoff (1977) mention that there are
two types of decision theories; normative and
descriptive. The first, explains how decisions
should be made, the second describes how
decisions are actually made. The behavioral
decision theory in a descriptive way tries to
explain the real behavior. In this context it
makes sense to separate the decisions in
different stages, then, different philosophers and
psychologists, and scientists, separated the
decision-making process in different stages, but
more or less, all of them suggest, that first, we
identify the problem, then, we collect
information related to the problem; solutions are
produced, alternatives are evaluated and finally
selected among them. Figure 1 explains the
above.
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52
Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
Source: Own elaboration with data from Simon (1982) and Mintzberg et. to the. (2001).
Figure1. Comparison of the states of the decision process.
Behavioral Theory of the Firm
The behavioral theory of the firm has had an
enormous influence on the theory of
organization, strategic management, and socioscientific research fields. Its central concepts
have given motivation and foundation of
theoretical and empirical works focused on the
organizational phenomenon. In the present
investigation the behavioral theory of the firm is
used to explain the relationship in decision
making and bounded rationality. The authors are
mentioned, Barnad (1938) studied the functions
of executives; where he emphasized the role of
the individual personality in the informal
organization, which subsists against the current
of the formal organization. In the studies of
administrative behavior, Simon (1947) and
organizations March & Simon (1958), a
behavioral theory of the firm Cyert & March
(1963), were three contributions of the Carneige
School that founded the scientific studies of the
administration and behavior of the signature.
Again Simon (1982) publishes a paper entitled
"Models of Bounded Rationality". In the
following paragraphs their contributions that
form the behavioral theory of the firm will be
analyzed.
THE FUNCTIONS
BARNARD (1938)
OF THE
EXECUTIVE
OF
Barnard (1938) notes that successful
cooperation is an abnormal condition rather than
normal. In his work it is mentioned that, within
innumerable failures of cooperation, it can see
successes that survive these. Both the failures of
cooperation and those of the organization are
characteristic of human history.Its purpose is to
provide a comprehensive theory of cooperative
behavior in formal organizations. The main
characteristics of the contribution of Barnard
are: The willingness to cooperate, the ability to
53
communicate and the existence and acceptance
of a purpose. In this work it is argued that there
is a zone of indifference in each individual, in
which the orders are accepted without
consciously questioning them about their
authority.
It is pointed out that the art of executive
decision making consists in not deciding
questions that are not pertinent, in not deciding
prematurely, in not making a decision that
cannot be made effective, and in not making
decisions that others must make. Such good
judgment of the executive preserves morality,
develops competence and preserves authority.
It is concluded that the expansion of cooperation
and development of the individual are mutually
dependent realities, and a due proportion or
balance between them is a necessary condition
for human well-being, Barnad (1938) cited in
Mahoney (2012).
ADMINISTRATIVE BEHAVIOR
(1947)
OF
SIMON
Simon's main thesis is that decision-making is
the heart of the organization and must be
derived from the logic and psychology of social
choice. Three roles of the organization are
highlighted: Organizations influence people's
habits, organizations provide means to exert
authority and influence over others; and
organizations
influence
the
flow
of
communications. Simon (1947) argues that it is
precisely in the realm where the behavior is
intentionally rational, but only in a bounded
way, that there is room for a true theory of
organization.
Organizational behavior is the theory of
intentional and bounded rationality. In this
sense, the term bounded rationality is used to
designate a rational choice that takes into
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
account the cognitive limitations of the person
responsible for decision making, limitations of
both knowledge and computational capacity.
Bounded rationality is a central issue in the
behavioral approach to economics, which is
deeply rooted in the ways in which the actual
decision-making process influences the actions
that are taken.
Considering the brain as a scarce resource,
Simon (1947) states that the information
processing systems of modern civilization swim
in an extremely rich soup of information. In a
world of this kind, the scarce resource is not
information; it is the processing capacity to
attend to the information. Attention is the main
bottleneck in the organization's activity, and the
bottleneck becomes increasingly narrow as we
move towards the top of the organizations.
Organizations De March & Simon (1958)
This model imposes a responsibility on the
managers, which is to continuously seek to
complement the information of their assignment
of tasks. An organizational model that neglects
economic incentives will be, for most humans, a
poor predictive model; and the behavior of the
organization can often be predicted by knowing
previous behaviors and routines (March &
Simon, 1958).
The characteristics of its organizational structure
model was the optimization was replaced by the
"satisfy", the alternatives of the action and its
consequences are discovered sequentially
through the search process, and each specific
action deals with a bounded range of situations
and a bounded range of consequences. It can be
interpreted as the search is partially random, but
in the effective search for problems is not blind,
given that the design of a search process by
itself is often an object of a rational decision
(Mahoney Joseph, 2012)
A Behavioral Theory of the Firm of Cyert and
March (1963)
His work contains four research commitments:
1) Focus on a small number of key economic
decisions made by the company; 2) Develop
models oriented to company processes; 3) Link
the company's models as close as possible to the
empirical observations; and 4) Develop the
theory with generality beyond the specific
studies of the companies.
According to Cyert & March (1963) the
organizations consist of a series of coalitions
and that the function of the administration is to
achieve a quasi-resolution of conflicts and avoid
uncertainty. The problematic search that is
stimulated by a problem with (or lack of) an
existing routine is assumed to be motivated,
simplified and biased, reflecting unresolved
conflicts within the organization.
Models of Bounded Rationality by Simon
(1982)
To cover the conflict of objectives and
uncertainty, Simon (1982) mentions that we
need to know something about perceptual and
cognitive processes to predict short-term
behavior.Also, the filtering of information is not
a passive process, but an active process of
attention, which is influenced by hopes and
desires. (Simon., 1979).
The abundance of information means the
scarcity of something else: the scarcity of
information
consumed,
the
information
consumes the attention of its recipients.
Information systems need to listen and think
more than they speak. Establishing the problem
of organization in this way leads to a very
different system design that deals with
information overload, (Simon H. A., 1997).
In this work we also talk about two concepts,
one called Substantive Rationality, which deals
with an appropriate behavior for the
achievement of the given goals within the limits
imposed by the given restrictions. In this vision
of the economy, given the objectives, the
rational behavior is determined in its entirety by
the characteristics of the environment in which
said behavior develops. And the other concept is
Procedural Rationality, which is a search for
better heuristics (heart of intelligence).
Organizational economics is a description and
explanation of human institutions. Decision
processes, like all other aspects of economic
institutions, exist within human reasoning. This
is subject to changes in what humans know, and
with each change in their means of calculation,
(Simon H. A., 1997). A commercial company
equipped with the operations research tools does
not make the same decisions, for example, in
regards to inventory management, as it did
before it possessed such tools (Simon., 1979).
In this work it is concluded that complexity is
profound in the nature of things, and the
discovery of approachable procedures and
tolerable heuristics that allow to select large
spaces selectively is the core of intelligence,
whether human or artificial (Mahoney Joseph,
2012).
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
RESEARCH METHODS
The present investigation is of descriptive
character, being a qualitative analysis that
follows from the understanding of the
behavioral theory of the firm of Simon (1947,
2000; Cyert and March, 1963), the theory of the
behavior of the decisions, (Paul & Fischhoff
1977; Busemeyer & Bruza, 2012; Gonzalez &
Pegah, 2017), in terms of behavioral decisionmaking processes and their analysis through
learning, which significantly influence the
process of making decisions that help mitigate
rationality bounded to a certain degree due to
this key factor, which is learning.
Sources: Own elaboration with information from Natural Reviews, Neurocience. Volume 9. July 2008.
Figure2. Behavioral process of decisions.
As can be seen in figure 2, the main difference
with respect to figure 1, is shown in the learning
that adds value to the decision process is
learning. From this valuable concept, the results
of each action will be evaluated. The learning
process can modify all the states of decision
making.It is likely that flexibility, which
characterizes learning by greater openness of
ideas, greater discussions, allowing for the
possibility of being creative contributing to
rational decisions (Hart & Banbury 1994), and
in this way, mitigating its limitations, less in an
aspect that is the adequate use of information,
obtained through learning.
It is considered by what he mentions (Raport,
1975) that learning is of great importance
because decisions are not always static. Static
decisions are characterized by a single option
and are often conceptualized as linear processes:
one observes explicit alternatives and makes a
decision, but one cannot learn from the
consequences of those decisions (Gonzalez,
2012). Alternatives in typical static decisions are
often
described
by
probabilities
and
probabilities. A choice between an alternative
that gives $ 3 with security and one that gives $
4 with a probability of 0.8 and $ 0 otherwise is
an example of a static decision (Gonzalez &
Pegah, 2017).
There are other types of decisions that are
dynamic decisions. These, in contrast to static
55
ones, involve a sequence of choices made in an
environment that can change exogenously or
based on previous choices and where decisions
are sequentially linked to each other through
their effects so that an action at a specific time
influences directly or indirectly future actions.
Consider the previous example about finding the
best couple. If we continue to see a person
affects or not our chances of knowing a better or
worse candidate. This can occur because
dynamic environments vary in their inclusion of
delayed feedback, interrelated actions and their
effects over time, and dependence on time,
where the value of actions is determined when
an action is taken (Gonzalez & Pegah, 2017).
Simple tasks can have a dynamic complexity,
arising from the relationship between the
choices and their effects over time, from the
sequential nature of these interdependencies,
and the different lags between the actions and
their effect on the environment and looking for
the best partner is influenced by who we know
and with whom we spend time, before making a
marriage decision (Gonzalez & Pegah, 2017).
According to figure 2 and the theoretical
analysis of Raport (1975) another very common
approach for the modeling of learning in the
tasks of the decision-making process is
reinforcement
learning
(Reinforcemente
Learning from now on RL). In a typical RL
problem, an agent tries to find an association
International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management V5 ● I10 ● 2018
Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
between an observed result and the previous
actions using either its memory or
environmental cues. An agent performs an
action in each state (for example, by selecting an
option in a binary choice task) and the
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
As discussed above, an agent learns how good
or bad each action is, based on the reward
received. These characteristics can be
probabilistic or deterministic and can be
modified dynamically over time (Busemeyer &
Bruza, 2012).This vision of the learning process
originates in the work of Simon (1955),
Edwards (1962), and the research paradigms
that followed from the Behavioral Theory of the
Firm. Under this tradition, the effects of realworld characteristics of decisions were
investigated, such as time constraints, delays in
feedback and cognitive workload, and how
people handle such environmental constraints
and learning everything. This process.
The thought cannot be thought stable and
according to general objectives, the individuals
that make up the group responsible for decision
making are the matrix of ramification of the
objectives, which are rationally subjective and
then give coherence to what has to be decided,
with personal interests, as a result of the rational
limitations offered by the generalization to
which it subscribes. Due to this, the learning of
the predictive becomes a meta-theoretical
challenge about the rationality of the
organization; Only from this challenge can the
organizational objective be generalized:
"Learning, in the sense of reacting to perceived
consequences, is the main way in which
rationality manifests itself" (Simon, 1978,
p.162) cited in (Hart & Banbury (1994).
In the solution of problems, human thinking is
governed by programs that organize a multitude
of simple information processes, in ordered and
complex sequences that respond and adapt to the
environment of the task and to the data extracted
from that environment as develop the sequences.
The secret of problem solving is that there are
no secrets: it is done through complex structures
of simple and familiar elements of learning in a
decision process (Simon., 1979).
CONCLUSIONS
From a rational point of view, Simon (1979)
states that choice is the process by which an
alternative behavior for each moment is
selected.For this, the possible alternatives must
be selected, determine the consequences of each
environment delivers a reward or punishment
based on the action state pair and changes the
agent's current state. It is important to note that
an RL agent tries to estimate the dynamics of
the environment when experiencing it.
alternative and compare them. Being able to
determine the consequences of the decisions
taken is complex, since we must know the
actions of other individuals or firms. However,
from a logic of the limits of rationality in
individual behavior it is not possible to reach a
high degree of rationality (Simon 1947).
Choices made by an individual usually take
place in an environment where premises are
given, which are accepted as the basis of choice;
and the behavior only fits within the limits set
by these given environments. One of the
functions of the organization is to establish its
members in such a psychological environment
that it helps to adapt their choices to the
objectives of the firm, providing the necessary
information to make their decisions.
Bounded rationality occurs when companies
lack perfect information, that is, they do not
have context information about the results of
their actions, for example; they have bounded
resources, and are restricted to the ability to
process information. Under these conditions,
firms are forced to make decisions, based on the
data available for this, their resources and
capacities to process information (Simon.,
1979). This implies that firms can make
decisions that are not completely optimal
because they have to adjust to the conditions in
which they operate.
Decisions involve a commitment of large
amounts of resources of the organization for the
fulfillment of the objectives and purposes of the
organization through the appropriate means.
These means can be translated into models that
help reduce the limits of rationality in
companies (Grosvold., Stephan, & Hoejmose,
2013).
RECOMMENDATIONS
Addressing the bounded rationality and
complexity of the problems that organizations
have to deal with, implies that the personnel of
the organizations adopt a number of reductionist
strategies, that is, that allows them to simplify
their representation of the situation that presents
a problem, trying to include the outstanding
information, before trying to model the
objective reality. For example, to contribute to a
better understanding of the decision-making
International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management V5 ● I10 ● 2018
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Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making
processes, recent research has reduced the
control tasks to its fundamental
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Citation: José G. Vargas-Hernández, Ricardo Pérez Ortega" Bounded Rationality In Decision-Making".
International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, vol 5, no.10, 2018, pp. 48-57.
Copyright: © 2018 José G. Vargas-Hernández, Ricardo Pérez Ortega. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management V5 ● I10 ● 2018