INVENTORY AND APPRAISAL OF U.S. GRADUATE DECISION PROGRAMS*
Authors
Ralph L. Keeney, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Kelly E. See, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Detlof von Winterfeldt, School of Policy, Planning
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INTRODUCTION
Decision-making is one of the most important skills that individuals can learn. It is by making decisions that we influence how well we, our businesses, and our governments fare in the world. Without considering and choosing alternatives, any of us must simply accept the life that has been dealt to us. So clearly, decision-making is fundamentally important.
It follows that the resources that we as individuals and organizations have to improve decision-making are critical. A significant part of these resources are in our universities, and specifically in the graduate schools. The resources are the faculties that teach about decision-making and produce research to further decision-making. The fundamental intent of marshalling these resources is to produce better decision-makers, develop better procedures and techniques for making more informed decisions, and create an understanding of the critical role of decision-making in society.
We know there is a significant breadth and depth of decision-making resources in the universities of the United States. But we don't know how broad or deep these resources are, since there has never been an inventory or appraisal of these resources. In contrast, the resources of established departments such as psychology, economics, electrical engineering, and finance are routinely assessed, for example in the national media like the U.S. News and World Report.
The reasons there has not been an inventory or appraisal of decision-making programs include that they are interdisciplinary in nature and rarely in a single department at a university. Rather, they are dispersed through several departments, and are typically only a small part of each of those. For such programs, it is more difficult to conduct an inventory and appraisal, which is perhaps why this has not been done in the past.
However, what gets measured is usually paid more attention. Consequently, decision programs are often relatively neglected compared to more traditional academic and intellectual areas that are evaluated in various polls and popular media studies. Even though such evaluations arguably have many shortcomings in their methodological approaches, the results, which are typically rankings, are often influential.
Recognizing the potential value of an inventory and appraisal of graduate decision program resources, the Decision Analysis Society decided to sponsor such a study. There are several purposes that include the following:
Enhance knowledge of the decision field and increase our current opportunities and future prospects.
Promote the decision sciences within our schools and universities and externally to business and government.
Spread the knowledge that decision analysis and behavioral decision research are interesting and legitimate areas of study. Indicate the breadth of programs available.
Recognize the many quality programs.
The overall intent of this study is to provide a logical and unbiased inventory and appraisal of national decision-making resources in universities. This inventory and appraisal should contribute to achieving objectives 3 and 4 above. By disseminating these results directly to university administrators and hopefully more broadly in public sources, we plan to contribute to achieving objectives 1 and 2.
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