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Normative target-based decision making

Author

Listed:
  • Ali E. Abbas

    (School of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA)

  • James E. Matheson

    (SmartOrg, Inc., 855 Oak Grove Avenue, Suite 202, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA)

Abstract

This paper relates normative expected-utility decision making to target-based decision making, and introduces a new quantity, the aspiration equivalent. We show that using the aspiration equivalent as a target provides a new method for choosing between lotteries that is consistent with expected-utility maximization. Furthermore, we show that the aspiration-equivalent target provides a win-win situation for executive-manager delegation. This result furnishes a new link between normative decision analysis and target-based decision making. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali E. Abbas & James E. Matheson, 2005. "Normative target-based decision making," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 373-385.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:26:y:2005:i:6:p:373-385
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Herbert A. Simon, 1955. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 69(1), pages 99-118.
    2. Robert Bordley & Marco LiCalzi, 2000. "Decision analysis using targets instead of utility functions," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 23(1), pages 53-74.
    3. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Abbas, Ali E., 2007. "Moments of utility functions and their applications," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(1), pages 378-395, July.
    2. Lucy Gongtao Chen & Daniel Zhuoyu Long & Melvyn Sim, 2015. "On Dynamic Decision Making to Meet Consumption Targets," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1117-1130, October.
    3. Tian Bai & Samuel N. Kirshner & Meng Wu, 2021. "Managing Overconfident Newsvendors: A Target‐Setting Approach," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(11), pages 3967-3986, November.
    4. Chernonog, Tatyana & Avinadav, Tal, 2014. "Profit criteria involving risk in price setting of virtual products," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 236(1), pages 351-360.
    5. Bai, Tian & Feng, Gengzhong & Wu, Meng & Zhu, Stuart X., 2025. "A newsvendor model with multiple reference points: Target-setting for aspirational newsvendors," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 320(3), pages 655-669.
    6. Ilia Tsetlin & Robert L. Winkler, 2007. "Decision Making with Multiattribute Performance Targets: The Impact of Changes in Performance and Target Distributions," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 226-233, April.
    7. Andrea C. Hupman, 2022. "Cutoff Threshold Decisions for Classification Algorithms with Risk Aversion," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 63-78, March.
    8. Shi, Chunming Victor & Zhao, Xuan & Xia, Yu, 2010. "The setting of profit targets for target oriented divisions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 206(1), pages 86-92, October.
    9. Sean D. Vermillion & Richard J. Malak, 2020. "An investigation on requirement and objective allocation strategies using a principal–agent model," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 100-117, January.
    10. Ali E. Abbas & James E. Matheson & Robert F. Bordley, 2009. "Effective utility functions induced by organizational target-based incentives," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 235-251.
    11. Jeffrey M. Keisler & Robert F. Bordley, 2015. "Project Management Decisions with Uncertain Targets," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 15-28, March.
    12. Ilia Tsetlin & Robert L. Winkler, 2006. "On Equivalent Target-Oriented Formulations for Multiattribute Utility," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 94-99, June.
    13. Avinadav, Tal & Chernonog, Tatyana & Perlman, Yael, 2014. "Analysis of protection and pricing strategies for digital products under uncertain demand," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 54-64.
    14. Maximilian Zellner & Ali E. Abbas, 2023. "Experimental Assessment of Utility Functions Induced by Fixed and Uncertain Targets," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 187-201, September.

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