First Name:
Olga
Last Name:
Monfiston
Major Department:
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Thesis Director:
Joseph Daly
Date of Thesis:
Dec 2012
Managers tend to believe that the majority, if not all, of the decisions they make either are or at least should be based on objective reasoning and logic. Neutrality of personal opinions and biases has become an established standard of the decision making process. When making a decision it is recommended to rationally weigh all the available options, compare prose and cons, identify advantages and disadvantages of a particular decision; in short, use logical assessment and reasonaing. It is generally understood that managers as human beings are often affected by various emotions they experience in a particular moment or over a period of time. As a rule, emotions are viewed as having an adverse impact on the decision making process. Emotions are believed to cloud one's judgment leading to poor choices. However this idea leads to the question of how to separate emotion and reason in the decision making process. Is it even possible? Does emotion hinder judgment? How does it affect human behavior? And finally, what role do emotions play in the decision making process?
The purpose of my research is to inquire into the nature of emotion and its role in the process of decision making by addressing the aabove mentioned questions. The relevance of such a research project lies in its potential to reveal the degree of subjectivity in the decisions made in the organizational environment. This thesis explores the issue of decision making and the influence of emotions have on this process from the standpoint of two fields of study: neuropsychology and organizational behavior. I believe that the current research conducted in the field of neuroscience can provide a new insight into the effect of emotions have on human behavior.