A632.2.3.RB

  A632.2.3RB – Sheena Lyengar: How to Make Choosing Easier 

MSLD 632: Decision Making For Leaders 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 27, 2015

         

Be Choosy About Choosing  

What is the best way to make a decision? There are an abundant amount of different options to choose from in the United States. From technology, to sports, to fashion, to grocery shopping, to banking options, investing options, the array of choices seem to be overwhelming. What happens when you are trying to run an organization that supplies your employees with too many work options to do the same task? Or how about offering your consumers one product line, but ten flavors? "Consumer and business customers approach purchasing in two very different ways. To successfully market your business to both types of clients, you need to understand the differences between the consumer and business buying processes. The business processes you use and the kinds of products you offer enter into the way that businesses and consumers purchase your products and view your business (Root, 2015)."

typical American decision-making

There is an actual science in which people are trained to make decisions and learn. "The consumer decision-making process consists of five steps, which are need recognition, information search, evaluations of alternatives, purchase and post-purchase behavior. These steps can be a guide for marketers to understand consumers communicate effectively to them. One note is that consumers do not always move in the exact order through the process; it can depend on the type of product, the buying stage of the consumer and even financial status (Lombardo, 2015)."

Americans are feeling the force of decision-making pressures. "The typical American reports making about 70 decisions in a typical day, with the average CEO engaged in about 139 tasks in a week, with 50 percent of their decisions being made in nine minutes or less. Only about 12 percent of the decisions did they make an hour or more of their time (Ted Salon, 2011)."

no more decisions!

Consumers are even having a hard time keeping up with the amount of choices. "This year, 9% of consumer shoppers indicate there are multiple stores they frequent, opposed to only one primary store and that they are becoming less likely to choose any one store to satisfy all their needs. Shoppers are optimizing their satisfaction store by store and by department. Consumers want whatever food they want to be available whenever they want it, and shifts in the retail landscape mean these expectations are increasingly being met. Immediate consumption (consuming a product within an hour of purchase) is no longer relegated to snacks and planned restaurant meals, it’s now a normal part of food management (Hartman Group, 2014).

There are three main negative consequences to offering people more and more choices. They're more likely to delay choosing; more likely to make worse choices; more likely to choose things that make them less satisfied. The main reason for this is because we can't actually do the math of comparing and contrasting (Ted Salon, 2011)."

techniques to apply...

There are four possible methodologies to improve decisions and enable easier decision making.

CUT: less is more

RESULTS:

·         increase sales

·         increase production

·         increase in happiness in choosing

·         increase in the experience

·         increase in profit

if you cant tell the choices apart neither can your customers

CONCRETIZE: each choice has an outcome, decisions need to be felt in concrete way, make it real

CATEGORIZATION: variety cues

RESULTS:

·         better choosing experience

·         tell apart categories

difference needs to be to the chooser and not the choice maker: think about who you are informing

CONDITION FOR COMPLEXITY: gradually increase complexity.

RESULTS:

·         How engaged is the customer?

·         Starting from a high number of choices to a low number of choices is not good. It is recommended to set up a low amount to high amount of choices.

·         You are essentially training the people to choose.

·         Prepares your consumer and is a willing participant.

my methodology preferences

I personally like the minimalist methodology, where less is more, and cutting is key. I am only interested in obtaining material possessions and groceries on a personal as needed basis.

I carry that methodology over to my professional side, believing in cutting more and operating minimally. I prefer to also concretize problems and solutions. I need to see, hear and feel the variables that are part of the manufacturing process on the line at my facility when making printed circuit boards. I do not like giving the assemblers on the production floor assembly options, as the results could be catastrophic to overall output. If I were to give the assemblers three ways to apply a component on a circuit board, for example, the assembler might choose the easiest and most production efficient way to complete the task, but will, then, inevitably place the other two options aside without trial. Rather, accuracy, functionality, and efficiency should be the key drivers.

In order to make a decision as a manager and leader, I need to think through and understand all the variables and ramifications associated with each decision before I take the next implementation step. I realize that I create more work for myself in this process when I do not limit the options to the most goal aligned for the task.

The bottom line is that narrowing choices is the most practical goal for successful delivery, whether in a professional or personal setting.  While I am more successful at using a selective option process in my professional life, I realize now that I may need to apply this process more so in my personal life, by proactively bringing aligned options in advance into my personal decision-making. The key to choice is to be choosy about choosing.   Practice the art of choosing (Ted Salon, 2011)."




References:

Hartman Group. (2014). U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2014 Overview. FMI: The Voice of Food Retail. Retrieved from http://www.fmi.org/docs/default-source/research/presentation.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1st edition.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN: 978-0471689386

Lombardo, Jennifer. (2015). Understanding the Consumer Decision-Making Process: A Marketing Must. Study.com. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/understanding-the-consumer-decision-making-process-a-marketing-must.html

Root III, George. (2015). Differences Between a Consumer Buying and a Business Buying Decision Process. Demand Media: Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-consumer-buying-business-buying-decision-process-20397.html

TedSalon. (2011). Iyengar, Sheena: How to make choosing easier. Ted Talks. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose