Irrational Decision Making

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Irrational Decision Making

Irrational thinking often stems as a product of the immediate environment that people

are in, which not only influences their frame of mind, but their attitudes as well. Nonetheless,

whether it occurs in personal or business circles, irrational thought may culminate in short and

long term consequences that can significantly impact inter-personal relationships. Moreover,

unethical decision making can often arise from irrational thoughts which causes tension,

arguments, conflicts and resentment to arise. It is imperative that every worker is imbued with

the keys to making sound decisions so as not to put the company resources in danger thereby

maintaining a positive and motivated working spirit with their fellow workers. The same

concept applies in personal circles, however, sometimes, the way decisions are presented to

people can drastically change the outcomes generated since perspectives can either be broad

or narrow. A distinctive example of irrational and unethical decision making is gambling,

which leverages the resources present based on future unknown outcomes.

A large part of irrational thinking stems from the emotions within human beings and

how they are consequently influenced. Without the emotional processing part of the brain,

human beings are unable to make any decisions. Therefore, when these emotions are impacted

or changed in any way, the decisions made also change (Paul & Elder, 2012). Being aware of

this emotional concept is one of the ways that leaders are able to ensure rational decisions are

made at work. Additionally, perspectives are integral in discerning logical from illogical

behavior. Whereas from the outside a decision may seem incomprehensible, the people on the

inside may view it different. They may experience a lack of all the information necessary to

reach a rational outcome or they simply don’t agree with it. At time, the skills to make these

decisions may be lacking (Power, 2017). For instance, for workers trapped in a mine with no

geographical skills, they may try pulverizing the rock around them, which not only puts them

in more danger of rocks caving in on them, however, they lack the skill set to make different

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choices. Ultimately, there are a variety of reasons why people make unethical or irrational

decisions, but a large part of it has to do with the emotions at play.

My most significant irrational and unethical train of thoughts involved gambling

money that rightfully belonged to others in an effort to secure my future. Due to the

precarious nature of student life, three of my friends and I formed a financial group that

contributed a small fee every week from our allowances and saved it up in order to invest the

amount either in trading stocks or real estate. For the first two years, this plan worked

meticulously with the money collected amounting to a significant sum that not only promised

healthy returns but the promise of a secured future for the four people involved. As the

appointed head of the group, the sum was kept in my bank account with the trust of my

associates. However, halfway through my final year, I suffered the death of my caregiver

which forced me to reconsider my financial avenues. Previously, I had no interest in gambling

or any interest in the matter. However, as my prospects became dimmer, gambling started to

seem like a better option. Therefore, without the knowledge of my partners, I withdrew the

full amount of their savings and engaged in gambling activities that saw the loss of the full

amount within the following weeks.

An analysis of the decision made reflects portions of egocentrism and sociocentrism.

The decision to gamble money that had been saved through hard work by people who had

placed their trust in me was primarily influenced by my emotions and the environment I was

in (Paul & Elder, 2012). In order to maintain appearances and my social class, I went to

unethical proportions which ended up having short term and long terms consequences.

Arguments, conflicts and tension arose after they discovered that the money was missing and

had been gambled away without their knowledge. Furthermore, the promise of a more secure

future was traded in for present happiness. Moreover, it was hard to present my thinking

pattern or decision making process to my partners since they did not have all the information

of my financial predicament. Nonetheless, there were better ways to handle that followed a

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more rational way of thinking. For instance, asking for their permission to use the savings in

the account until I found a better option would have worked. Similarly, borrowing from them

personally could have kept me going for a certain period of month.

Alternatively, I could have used the keys of decision making to manage my problem.

Relying on one’s brains and not the emotions present serves as one of the integral keys to

rational decisions (Power, 2017). Additionally, instead of acting in a rash manner, I could

have sought out wise counsel that would have guided me appropriately. Furthermore, taking a

step back and being patient is a tool that would have disintegrated the tension and conflict I

faced thus allowing me to think of a constructive way out of the mess.

In conclusion, most irrational or unethical decisions are born out of emotions.

Gambling ranks as an irrational practice especially when it puts resources that are crucial to

survival, at risk. It is important to master and actively practice the keys of good decision

making in order to create better outcomes.

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References

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2012). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and

your life (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Power, R. (2017). 5 Keys to Great Decision-Making. Inc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017, from

https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/5-keys-to-great-decision-making.html

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