PRIMER ON DECISION MAKING

Drawing on lecture notes from his celebrated Stanford University course, James G. March offers an insightful introduction to the art and science of decision making in PRIMER ON DECISION MAKING. The work invites readers to explore how choices are truly made - not merely how they ought to be made - by examining a rich array of perspectives from social and behavioral sciences. With clarity and depth, March challenges conventional models of rationality, urging us to consider the interplay between calculated preferences and context-sensitive rules. In his thorough exploration, March articulates four enduring questions that continue to provoke debate among scholars and practitioners alike. He examines whether decision making is best understood as a clear, methodical process or as a series of ambiguous and inconsistent moments, and whether its significance lies primarily in its outcomes or in the meanings it generates. By illuminating key concepts such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, this text provides a valuable framework for understanding the complex dynamics that shape decision processes in both individual and societal contexts.