ABSTRACT
A decision is an irrevocable allocation of resources to achieve a desirable payoff (Hazelrigg, 1996). It is irrevocable in the sense that reverting to the status quo will result in loss of time, money or something else tangible. It is an allocation of resources because a decision is a commitment to act and to invest resources such as money and manpower that could be invested elsewhere. A decision aims to achieve a desirable payoff for the decision-maker. The decision-maker must select that course of action among alternatives that will produce the best consequence. Below are some examples of decisions:
a) A venture capitalist considers the proposal of an inventor to fund a project that will develop a new computer mouse. The inventor offers a fraction of the future revenue from the project to the venture capitalist in return for funding the project. The venture capitalist wants to decide whether to fund the project and what fraction of the revenue to demand.
