Description
Course Learning Outcomes-Covered
Aligned (PLOs)
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
Question
MGT.K.1
(1.1)
Find some structured ways of dealing with complex managerial decision problems.
Question-1
MGT.K.3
(1.2)
Explain simple decision models and management science ideas that provide powerful and (often surprising) qualitative insight about large spectrum of managerial problems.
Question-3
MGT.S.1
(2.1)
Demonstrate the tools for deciding when and which decision models to use for specific problems.
Question-2
MGT.V.1
(3.1)
Build an understanding of the kind of problems that is tackled using Spreadsheet Modeling and decision analysis.
Question-4
Assignment Instructions:
Log in to Saudi Digital Library (SDL) via University’s website.
On first page of SDL, choose “English Databases.”
From the list find and click on EBSCO database.
In the Search Bar of EBSCO find the following article:
Title: “Intuitive and Rational Cognition in the Theory and Practice of Management Sciences”
Author: Marcin Nowak, Joanna Ziomek
Date: March 26, 2019
Assignment Questions: (Marks 10)
Read the above case study and answer the following Questions:
Question 1: Explain the role of rational and intuitive cognition in the theory and practice of management. (250-300 words) (2.5-Marks).
Question 2: Discuss that the decision-making process takes place in conditions of permanent uncertainty under the pressure of time. (250-300 words). (2.5-Marks).
Question 3: Discuss the inadequacy of the management theory in relation to problems faced by management practitioners in the decision-making process. (250-300 words) (2.5-Marks).
Question 4: Explain the various stages of problem-solving process with suitable examples. (250-300 words) (2.5-Marks).
Answers:
1
2
3
4
Unformatted Attachment Preview
المملكة العربية السعودية
وزارة التعليم
الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Assignment-1
MGT425-Spreadsheet Decision Modeling
Deadline: 09/03/2024 @ 23:59
Course Name: Spreadsheet Decision
Modeling
Course Code: MGT425
Student’s Name:
Semester: Second
CRN:
Student’s ID Number:
Academic Year: 2023-2024 (1445 H)
For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade: Marks Obtained / Out of 10 Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low
General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via
allocated folder.
Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented; marks may be
reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover
page.
Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
Late submission will NOT be accepted.
Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students
or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No
exceptions.
All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced)
font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered
plagiarism).
Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
Course Learning Outcomes-Covered
Aligned (PLOs)
MGT.K.1
(1.1)
MGT.K.3
(1.2)
MGT.S.1
(2.1)
MGT.V.1
(3.1)
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
Question
Find some structured ways of dealing with complex managerial
decision problems.
Explain simple decision models and management science ideas
that provide powerful and (often surprising) qualitative insight
about large spectrum of managerial problems.
Demonstrate the tools for deciding when and which decision
models to use for specific problems.
Build an understanding of the kind of problems that is tackled
using Spreadsheet Modeling and decision analysis.
Question-1
Question-3
Question-2
Question-4
Assignment Instructions:
• Log in to Saudi Digital Library (SDL) via University’s website.
• On first page of SDL, choose “English Databases.”
• From the list find and click on EBSCO database.
• In the Search Bar of EBSCO find the following article:
Title: “Intuitive and Rational Cognition in the Theory and Practice of Management
Sciences”
Author: Marcin Nowak, Joanna Ziomek
Date: March 26, 2019
Assignment Questions: (Marks 10)
Read the above case study and answer the following Questions:
Question 1: Explain the role of rational and intuitive cognition in the theory and practice
of management. (250-300 words) (2.5-Marks).
Question 2: Discuss that the decision-making process takes place in conditions of
permanent uncertainty under the pressure of time. (250-300 words). (2.5-Marks).
Question 3: Discuss the inadequacy of the management theory in relation to problems faced
by management practitioners in the decision-making process. (250-300 words) (2.5Marks).
Question 4: Explain the various stages of problem-solving process with suitable examples.
(250-300 words) (2.5-Marks).
Answers:
1
2
3
4
POZNANIE INTUICYJNE I ROZUMOWE W TEORII I
PRAKTYCE NAUK O ZARZĄDZANIU
INTUITIVE AND RATIONAL COGNITION IN THEORY AND
PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
Marcin Nowak1
Politechnika Poznańska
Wydział Inżynierii Zarządzania, Poznań
[email protected]
Joanna Ziomek2
Politechnika Poznańska
Wydział Inżynierii Zarządzania, Poznań
[email protected]
STRESZCZENIE
Celem niniejszego opracowania jest wyjaśnienie roli poznania rozumowego i intuicyjnego w teorii
i praktyce zarządzania. W artykule przedstawiono syntetyczny przegląd definicji i sposobu
interpretowania pojęcia intuicji. Następnie zaproponowano aparat pojęciowy dotyczący sądów
rozumowych, sądów intuicyjnych oraz intuicji jako szczególnego typu umiejętności. W oparciu
o czterofazowy model pracy twórczej oraz model systemu 1 oraz systemu 2 wyjaśniono rolę intuicji w
pracy teoretyka zarządzania. Posługując się czterofazowym modelem kompetencji wyjaśniono rolę
intuicji w procesie podejmowania decyzji kierowniczych. W opracowaniu wykazano, że intuicja stanowi
kluczową umiejętność zarówno w teorii, jak i praktyce zarządzania.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to explain the role of rational and intuitive cognition in the theory and practice
of management. The article presents a synthetic review of definitions and ways of interpreting the
concept of intuition. Subsequently a conceptual apparatus for rational judgments, intuitive judgments,
and intuition as a special type of skills is proposed. On the basis of the four-stage model of the creative
process and the model of System 1 and System 2, the role of intuition in the work of the theoretician of
management is explained. Using the four-stage model of competence, the role of intuition in the process
of making managerial decisions is explained. The study shows that intuition is a key skill in the theory
and practice of management.
SŁOWA KLUCZOWE: intuicja, sąd intuicyjny, poznanie intuicyjne decyzje kierownicze,
epistemologia nauk o zarządzaniu
KEYWORDS: intuition, intuitive judgment, intuitive cognition, managerial decisions,
epistemology of management sciences
JEL: D20, M20, B40
CYTOWANIE / CITATION: wydawnictwo wstawi stosowny zapis w późniejszym etapie
1 ORCID (https://orcid.org)
2 ORCID (https://orcid.org)
1
1. Introduction
One of the most important issues in the area of management science is the
decision-making process (Simon 2013), (Sinclair & Ashkanasy 2005). Managers
must make decisions under time pressure, in the absence of recognized algorithms
for resolving management problems or the lack of developed standards for
assessment of measures taken (Laszczak 2010). Therefore, the decision-making
process takes place in conditions of permanent uncertainty, manifesting itself,
inter alia, in limited amount of information or incomplete database (Hodgkinson
et al 2009).
In the literature on the subject it is claimed that managers perceive their work
more like art than science (Sułkowski 2015, Micklethwait and Wooldridge 1996,
Sudoł 2014). One of the fundamental reasons for this status quo is the inadequacy
of management theory in relation to the decision-making problems faced by
practitioners of management. In the practice of management, the key role has
intuition – the use of classical management theory based on analytical processes
which require a lot of information becomes limited (Akinci & Sadler-Smith 2012).
It seems that the perception of intuition is the pivotal cause of the discrepancy
between the theory and practice of management (Ghoshal 2005). It is often stated
that while intuition can be manager’s working tool, it should not be the domain of
the theoretician of management. Management theorists often perceive intuition as
something unspecified and irrational. Intuition is, however, an important cognitive
tool for managers, as well as theoreticians of management. This study presents
intuition as a common feature of the practitioner and theoretician of management.
The article explains the role of intuition in the theory and practice of
management. Thus, the indication of the similarities and differences in the
perception of intuition by theoreticians and practitioners of management in the
context of their work can contribute to a better understanding and, consequently,
to reducing the discrepancy between the theory and practice of management.
Considering the above, the aim of this study is to explain the role of rational and
intuitive cognition in the theory and practice of management. Achievement of this
objective is conditioned by using the following methods and models:
− conceptual construction methods – to develop a terminology for intuition;
− the four-stage model of the creative process and the model of System 1 and
System 2 – to explain the role of intuition in the work of the theoretician of
management;
− the four-stage model of competence and the model of System 1 and System 2
– to explain the role of intuition in the work of a management practitioner.
The article is organized in the following way. Section (1) presents the current
theoretical problem related to the use of intuition in the theory and practice of
management. Section (2) presents a synthetic overview of the definitions and the
way of interpreting the concept of intuition. In section (3), on the basis of the
traditional theory of knowledge, the concepts of the rational judgment and the
2
intuitive judgment are defined, presenting them as two components of the
knowledge of the subject of cognition. Subsequently there is presented my own
definition of intuition as a specific type of skills. Section (4) explains the role of
intuition in the work of the theoretician of management on the basis of the fourstage model of the creative process and the model of System 1 and System 2.
Section (5) explains the role of intuition in the decision-making process in
management practice on the basis of the four-stage model of competence and the
model of System1 and System 2. In section (6), the achieved research results were
summarized and further research directions were indicated.
2. The essence of intuition
The word ‘intuition’ comes from two Latin words: ‘intueri’, meaning to look
at, gaze upon, and ‘intuitio’, meaning premonition (Krąpiec 2003). Intuition is the
subject of interest in many fields of science, including philosophy, psychology,
cognitive science, or neurocognitive science. The concept of intuition occurs in
literature as a word defining the type of cognition, the type of knowledge, or the
power of the mind enabling a specific type of cognition (Rorty 1967).
One of the basic philosophical approaches is to treat ‘intuition’ as a specific
cognitive tool. According to Plato, intuition is an extra-rational tool enabling
people to get to know the world of ideas. Plato distinguished two types of reality
– a perfect and unchangeable world of ideas and an imperfect and changeable
physical world. According to Plato, intuition is a kind of bridge between the two
worlds. Knowledge that has no sources in rational cognition is the effect of
intuition (Wolfsdorf 2011). Descartes, on the other hand, indicated that intuition
is, despite reason, a component of the intellect. Intuition in this sense is the tool
of direct cognition, which does not require either perception or the use of
reasoning methods. Intuition is the opposite of reason, which is the tool of indirect
cognition, which requires perception and necessary reasoning (Descartes 2018).
Leibniz divided the objects of cognition into two categories – necessary truths and
contingent truths. Examples of necessary truths include certain mathematical
axioms, identity relation or contradictions. According to Leibniz, learning
necessary truths is possible only through intuition. Thus according to Leibniz,
intuition is a cognitive tool that enables to learn necessary truths. I. Kant, however,
perceived intuition differently. According to Kant, intuition belongs to senses, not
mind. Sensory intuition is a cognitive tool in the sense that it enables to develop
concepts by one’s mind that become the object of the synthesis of reason. In
addition to sensory intuition, I. Kant also distinguished the so-called pure form of
intuition, which included two a priori forms of sensibility – time and space
(Thompson 1972). For E. Husserl, intuition is the source of knowledge. Reasoning
without intuition is not possible because intuition is its foundation by providing
premises for reasoning. According to E. Husserl, the role of intuition in cognition
prevails over reason. A similar position on the role of intuition in the process of
cognition is expressed by J.M. Bocheński, who distinguishes two types of
3
intuition. The first of these is intuition preceding reasoning, and the second is
intuition manifested in the vision of the entire system created in the process of
reasoning. According to C.G. Jung, intuition is a kind of organ functioning outside
the consciousness of a person. Intuition is an opposition to reason, functioning on
the level of consciousness. C.G. Jung attributed intuition the superior role over
reason in creative processes. Intuition in this sense is a necessary basis for the
creative process, without which reason remains useless (Dane & Pratt 2007).
Intuition is an important subject of interest for representatives of management
sciences (Khatri & Ng 2000). One of the first researchers in this discipline who
undertook to define and interpret the concept of intuition was Ch. Barnard. In the
1930s, he proposed two ways of decision-making – logical and non-logical (Agor
1989). The logical process of decision-making was based on reasoning expressed
in words or symbols. The non-logical way of making decisions cannot be
expressed in words. This is a reasoning that can only be learned by making a
decision, expressing judgment or as the effects of an action. In the opinion of Ch.
Barnard, non-logical decisions are the result of intuition. According to W.H. Agor,
intuition is a way of thinking at the interface of consciousness and
unconsciousness (Agor 1989). This mechanism is launched in the face of the
decision-making situation, giving ready answers. H. Simon states that the
decision-making processes are twofold. In this process two mechanisms are used
– analytical thinking and intuitive thinking. Intuition is treated by H. Simon as a
rational process, based on the work of the mind, which searches memory and
previous experiences in aim to find analogies to current decision problems (Simon
2013). I. Nonaka and H. Takeuchi, however, proposed the concepts of tacit
knowledge as an opposition to explicit knowledge (Nonaka et al., 2009). The tacit
knowledge consists of three elements: intuitive knowledge, instinctual knowledge
and emotional knowledge. J. Parikh pointed out that intuition is a form of
intelligence whose source lies in cumulative experience beyond the consciousness
of the subject. The result of the operation of intuition are ready assessment and
decisions (Parikh 1994). Currently, in the literature of management science there
are more and more studies, in which the subject of intuition is taken up, especially
in relation to issues such as (Laszczak, 2010):
− decision-making procedures in an organization;
− intuitive abilities of managers;
− the impact of intuitive decisions on the organization’s effectiveness;
− factors influencing the intuitive way of making decisions;
− presence of intuition in making decisions at various levels of management.
3. Intuition as a skill
On the grounds of epistemology, the starting point to define the word
‘knowledge’ is the analysis of the sentence: S knows that P (Łukasiewicz 2018).
According to the most common understanding knowledge is defined as justified
4
true belief (JTB). In accordance with the presented conception S knows that P, if
and only if:
1. S believes that P.
2. P is true.
3. S is justified in believing that P (Gettier 2017, pp. 69-70).
In the source literature there are indicated the disadvantages of the JTB
concept, mainly related to the condition of truth (condition 2.) and the condition
of justified belief (condition 3.). One of the most important objections to the truth
condition of knowledge is the lack of universal consent in terms of the definition
of truth. It is even commonly believed that formulating a definition of truth seems
to be impossible in principle. The presented situation is a strong premise to
exclude the truth condition from the definition of knowledge. In the case of
adopting ex cathedra one of the concepts of truth, such as the consensus theory of
truth (conventionalism), in which true statements are considered to be true when
the majority of specialists in a given field consider them as true, there also appears
a fundamental problem. It is based on the discrepancy between the common use
of the word ‘know’ and the assumed concept of truth. It is thus impossible to
eliminate from common use statements such as:
− I know that the Earth is flat;
− I know that you can cure cancer using vitamin C;
− I know that there exists a perpetual motion machine.
In the context of the consensus theory of truth, all of the indicated statements
are obviously untrue. On the one hand, one who utters such sentences is, on the
whole, convinced of his truth and may consider them as components of their
knowledge. On the other hand, external observers usually consider all of the
indicated sentences as untrue and on this basis they call such knowledge untrue.
The common use of the statement “I know that…” shows, therefore, the existence
of two types of knowledge – true and false. A separate group of sentences
constitute sentences such as: “God exists”, the truth of which seems to be
unverifiable on the grounds of the correspondence theory of truth. Although
people who recognize such a judgment are often not conscious of the inability to
verify its truth, they consider it as a component of their knowledge (often one of
the most important of them). Regardless of the adopted concept of truth, it should
be recognized that in the common use the concept of knowledge is not immanently
attributed to the truth condition. Thus, in this article it was decided to propose a
concept of knowledge deprived of a necessary truth condition. In the article, there
is also assumed that the statement that one of the conditions of knowledge is
sufficient justification of a given sentence (P) by the subject of cognition (S) is in
disagreement with the common use of the word ‘know’. There are often situations
in which the subject formulates the phrase “I know this and that, though I do not
know why.” Such a situation is sometimes described as intuition or the sixth
Sense. It was assumed that the statement that these types of judgments do not
constitute the subject’s knowledge seems to be incompatible with the
commonsense and common meaning of the word ‘know’. Thus, in this article, there
5
was proposed a concept of knowledge deprived of the necessary condition of both
truth and sufficient justification.
The classical definition of knowledge understood as Justified True Believes,
devoid of two conditions, i.e. truth and sufficient justification, amounts to the set
of believes. As a result, the following definition of knowledge is proposed (Nowak
2019):
Definition 1. Knowledge is a set of judgments about the reality of the subject of
cognition
Judgment is understood as a sentence that makes statements about reality.
Thus, both an interrogative sentence and an imperative sentence do not meet the
requirements of knowledge. If a subject asks a question, then his intention (if it is
not a rhetorical question) is to acquire knowledge. If, on the other hand, one forms
a command, he intends to influence on reality rather than to make statements about
it. Another issue to consider is the origin of judgments, i.e. on what basis the
subject of cognition makes certain statements. Basically, two types of judgments
can be distinguished (due to the origin criterion): judgments based on other
judgments of the subject of cognition and judgments not based on other judgments
of the subject of cognition. This assumption enables to formulate the definition of
logical judgment and intuitive judgment.
Definition 2. Logical judgment is judgment based logically on other judgments
of the subject of cognition
Judgment which is logically justified on the grounds of other statements of the
subject of cognition can also be called rational judgment.
Definition 3. Intuitive judgment is judgment not based on other judgments of the
subject of cognition
As intuitive judgment is not based on other judgments, it is judgment without
logical justification, thus it is alogical judgment. Each subject of cognition has a
certain set of judgments at a given moment – some of them can be classified as
rational judgments, and some of them as intuitive judgments. Both types of
judgment constitute the knowledge base of the subject of cognition. Every subject
of cognition, apart from knowledge, possesses a certain set of skills. Skills
associated with making logical judgments (the ability to think logically) is a
component of the intellect. The conducted analysis allows to define intuition as a
specific type of skills.
Definition 4. The ability to form intuitive judgments is called intuition
The indicated definition does not refer to the accuracy (compliance with
reality) of intuitive judgments. This does not seem, however, to be necessary.
There exists a group of intuitive judgments for which it is impossible to determine
their accuracy or compliance with reality at the given moment. An example of this
type of judgments are all forecasts. Not assigning accuracy or compliance with
reality to intuition also seems consistent with the common understanding of
intuition. In everyday speech, the term good or bad intuition is commonly used.
In such understanding, good intuition characterizes a person who has the ability
6
to form accurate intuitive judgments. On the other hand, bad intuition
characterizes a person whose intuitive judgments are generally inaccurate.
The juxtaposition of the theory with the practice of management, in the
context of the occurrence of different types of cognition (rational and intuitive),
requires prior definition of the concepts of practice and theory. A reflection of
reality in the form of a system of sentences can be called a theory (Pszczołowski
1978, pp. 182). A scientific theory is a particular type of theory. A scientific theory
can be understood as a system of sentences making a statement about a certain
object of reality characterized simultaneously by the combined occurrence of
three attributes: intersubjective communicability, intersubjective verifiability and
cognitive or utilitarian validity. Practice, on the other hand, is the field of human
activity consisting in changing a certain object of reality (Pszczołowski 1978, pp.
182). The logical consequence of the adopted conceptual apparatus is that the
process of developing the theory is also a practice. Such an action is also itself a
change of reality, for example by writing on a white card with ink. At the same
time, the creation of theory (as a practice) is not a theory. Theorizing (practice) is
a certain activity whose creation is a theory. Theory as a system of sentences
reflecting the chosen object of reality creates a resource of the subject of cognition,
which is called knowledge. The resource of the subject, created as a result of
practice, becomes skills.
4. Intuition in management theory
The subject of Chapter 4 is the analysis of the action consisting in the creation
of a scientific theory including the participation of rational and intuitive cognition
in it. The aim of a theoretician is to develop a scientific theory (including
management theory). The theoretician’s means of action are knowledge and skills.
It was assumed that the action consisting in developing a scientific theory is of a
creative nature. This is due to the fact that this action consists in formulating and
verifying new judgments (previously unknown in science). In the presented
context, the development of a scientific theory can be presented as a creative
action consisting of the following stages (Sadler-Smith, 2015):
− Preparation – involving an increase of the knowledge base on the subject of the
theory;
− Incubation – remaining of the subject of the theory beyond the scope of
conscious reasoning;
− Illumination – making judgment not based on other known judgments using
logical reasoning;
− Verification – confirming a given judgment through its logical justification in
comparison to other previously recognized logical judgements.
The effect of the third stage of the creative process model is judgment that can
be called an idea. The mechanism of reaching such judgments is called heuristic.
From the point of view of the objectives of this article, the problem of the
mechanism of idea formulation will be omitted. Whereas the effect of this
7
mechanism in the form of an idea will be analyzed. This idea constitutes judgment
that has no confirmation in existing scientific theories. Thus, such judgment can
be called intuitive judgment, since it does not directly result from previously
recognized judgments. Indirectly, however, it results from the knowledge of the
theoretician broaden as a result of increasing the knowledge base about the subject
matter of the theory during the preparation stage. From the point of view of the
methodology of science, such judgment is called a hypothesis or a thesis. In order
for intuitive judgment to become part of a known or new scientific theory it must
be subjected to a rigorous scientific procedure: verification, or falsification (for
hypotheses) or proof (for thesis). Given intuitive judgment becomes an element
of a scientific theory after conducting reasoning aimed at its recognition. Through
experience, consisting in increasing the amount of knowledge and developing new
theories (or its elements, theoretical models, etc.), the theoretician acquires skills
in this area – intuition is being improved.
The theoretician’s activity can also be presented in the context of D.
Kahneman’s System 1 and System 2 theory (2011). D. Kahneman proposed the
distinction between two modes of thinking – System 1 and System 2. System 1,
so-called a fast thinking system works automatically, without the significant effort
of the subject of cognition. At the same time, there is no sense of conscious control
over it. System 2, so-called a slow system of thinking is a deliberate system,
consciously initiated by the subject of cognition. System 2 is responsible for
activities that require a significant effort of the cognitive entity. The functioning
of System 2, therefore, involves a subjective sense of focus and conscious action.
In the context of D. Kahneman’s theory it can be stated that System 1 is responsible
for formulating intuitive judgments, and thus, is responsible for the key stage in
the development of a new scientific theory – for formulating intuitive judgments ideas. This process takes place outside the mechanism of reasoning, inaccessible
to System 1. The role of System 2 is, thus, reasoning aimed at the rational
justification of intuitive judgment.
The following conclusions can be derived from the presented process:
− a necessary condition for formulating a thesis or hypothesis constituting an
element of a scientific theory is the acquisition of a means of action in the form
of knowledge, concerning the studied object of reality;
− intuition, as a skill, is a tool for formulating intuitive judgments – ideas in the
form of hypotheses or theses;
− intuition is a sine qua non condition for the development of scientific theories;
− reasoning is secondary to intuition in the development of scientific theories reasoning is a tool for logical justification of intuitive judgments formed with
the use of intuition;
− the effect of the theoretician’s activity is knowledge and ability in the form of
intuition;
− intuitive judgments are the effect of the functioning of System 1;
− rational judgments are the effect of the functioning System 2.
8
In conclusion, for a theoretician, intuitive cognition precedes rational
cognition. There is a causal link between both types of cognition. Making intuitive
judgment is the condition for making rational judgments. Therefore, the
researcher’s intuition constitutes the basis of theory, and reasoning confirms this
theory. The effect of theoretician’s work is given only in the form of a set of
rational judgments.
5. Intuition in management practices
The aim of the management practitioner is to improve the skill of making
effective management decisions (Simon 1987), (Griffin 2016), (Cleden 2017),
(Ceschi et al. 2017). A managerial decision is a specific type of judgment about
the optimal choice of one alternative against the other available alternatives. A
managerial decision may, therefore, be rational judgment (based logically on other
recognized judgments) or intuitive judgment (not logically based on other rational
judgments).
The process of shaping the ability to make effective decisions can be described
using the four-stage model of competence. This model includes the following
phases (Lynch 2017):
− unconscious incompetence;
− conscious incompetence;
− conscious competence;
− unconscious competence.
The transition from the phase of conscious incompetence to the conscious
competence phase takes place in the learning process. The learning process is
carried out using two mechanisms – learning about the subject of the decisions
taken and learning through decision-making practice (often for many years). The
manager improves his key skill on the basis of theoretical knowledge and
knowledge derived from experience (the effects of earlier decisions).
Improvement of the manager in the scope of decision-making skills results in the
fact that a wide range of managerial decisions previously taken consciously using
System 2 (and therefore the mechanism of reasoning) becomes decisions made by
System 1 (whose mechanisms cease to be realized). Therefore, in the case of a
typical, repeated decision, it is desirable that the manager should be guided not by
reason, but by the skill in the form of intuition. At the same time, it should be
noted that this applies to problems that the manager would solve analogically
using the reasoning mechanism. Thanks to the shift of a wide range of activities
from System 2 to System 1, managers gain a number of benefits. The most
important benefits are: reduced effort, lack of necessary attention and speed of
decision making. A particularly important advantage of the use of intuition
(System 1) is the speed of decision making – the need to make decisions under
time pressure is a fundamental problem in the work of managers (Beach &
Lipshitz 2017), (Luhmann 2018).
9
In the situation of non-typical decisions or those burdened with a high level of
uncertainty, reasoning becomes inadequate. Forecasting is an example of this type
of activity. To a large extent, decisions regarding the future are made on the basis
of the decision-makers’ intuition (Salas et al. 2010) . At the same time, it should
be noted that intuition and its effects in the form of intuitive judgments are built
on the basis of experience of the decision-maker and previous rational judgments
(based on both current practice and theory).
The following conclusions can be derived from the presented process:
− intuition is a skill built during the experience related to both the practice and
knowledge of the decision maker,
− for many typical managerial decisions, intuitive judgments have a number of
advantages over decisions based on rational judgments,
− intuition is a key tool for making non-standard decisions,
− intuition is the basic decision-making tool in the work of a management
practitioner.
In the case of a management practitioner, the situation is different than in the
case of a theoretician. Intuition is both the basis for making decisions (typical and
non-typical), as well as the result of earlier decisions. Intuitive decisions concern
a number of management actions related to planning, organizing, motivating and
controlling. Managerial decisions are not judged from the point of view of the
logic of judgments, but from the point of view of their effectiveness. Therefore,
considering the role of intuition in the decision-making process, management
practice can be perceived as a combination of elements related both to science and
art. The basic tool for making decisions by a manager is intuition. Intuition is a
skill that arises from the knowledge gained by the manager, which consists of two
sets of judgments: rational and intuitive. Knowledge is acquired by the manager
basically in two ways. One of them is learning the scientific theory, and the other
is gaining experience from the assessment of previous decisions.
6. Summary
The article proposes a new terminology for intuition. Intuition has been
defined as the ability to form intuitive judgments. By intuitive judgment, however,
was called judgment not based on other judgments of the subject of cognition. The
article also explains the role of cognition and intuitive cognition in the theory and
practice of management. The study shows that intuition is a key skill in the context
of theory and management practice. It was indicated that intuition is a prerequisite
for the formulation of scientific theories. Using the four-stage model of the
