The objective of this paper is to provide a fresh look at use of heuristics in management accounting from a process-oriented perspective. In experimental study 1 participants facing an accounting decision mostly ignored advice to decide rationally (e.g. in the sense of strictly following the instructions of the equal weights rule) and instead used heuristics in an ostensibly rational decision task. A detailed process analysis of these heuristics is provided through a verbal protocol analysis in study 2, which showed the typically involved phased strategy. Accountability, as introduced in study 3, is however one external factor that is strongly linked with the use of available cues and departing from (at least reported) non-compensatory rules. Overall, it is suggested that participants facing a management accounting task may not always act according to the laws of (economic) rationality, but under certain circumstances, their decision making can be seen as an adaptive strategy to cope with a complex and uncertain environment. A theoretical framework of this sort of heuristic reasoning in management accounting is suggested, together with possibilities of future research.

Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart invites readers to embark on a new journey into a land of rationality that differs from the familiar territory of cognitive science and economics. Traditional views of rationality tend to see decision makers as possessing superhuman powers of reason, limitless knowledge, and all of eternity in which to ponder choices. To understand decisions in the real world, we need a different, more psychologically plausible notion of rationality, and this book provides it. It is about fast and frugal heuristics--simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and deep thought an unaffordable luxury. These heuristics can enable both living organisms and artificial systems to make smart choices, classifications, and predictions by employing bounded rationality. But when and how can such fast and frugal heuristics work? Can judgments based simply on one good reason be as accurate as those based on many reasons? Could less knowledge even lead to systematically better predictions than more knowledge? Simple Heuristics explores these questions, developing computational models of heuristics and testing them through experiments and analyses. It shows how fast and frugal heuristics can produce adaptive decisions in situations as varied as choosing a mate, dividing resources among offspring, predicting high school drop out rates, and playing the stock market. As an interdisciplinary work that is both useful and engaging, this book will appeal to a wide audience. It is ideal for researchers in cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and cognitive science, as well as in economics and artificial intelligence. It will also inspire anyone interested in simply making good decisions.

Theses on any subject submitted by the academic libraries in the UK and Ireland.

This book contains the most sustained and serious attack on mainstream, neoclassical economics in more than forty years. Nelson and Winter focus their critique on the basic question of how firms and industries change overtime. They marshal significant objections to the fundamental neoclassical assumptions of profit maximization and market equilibrium, which they find ineffective in the analysis of technological innovation and the dynamics of competition among firms. To replace these assumptions, they borrow from biology the concept of natural selection to construct a precise and detailed evolutionary theory of business behavior. They grant that films are motivated by profit and engage in search for ways of improving profits, but they do not consider them to be profit maximizing. Likewise, they emphasize the tendency for the more profitable firms to drive the less profitable ones out of business, but they do not focus their analysis on hypothetical states of industry equilibrium. The results of their new paradigm and analytical framework are impressive. Not only have they been able to develop more coherent and powerful models of competitive firm dynamics under conditions of growth and technological change, but their approach is compatible with findings in psychology and other social sciences. Finally, their work has important implications for welfare economics and for government policy toward industry.

The central goal of this volume is to bring the learning perspective into the discussion of intuition in judgment and decision making. The book gathers recent work on intuitive decision making that goes beyond the current dominant heuristic processing perspective. However, that does not mean that the book will strictly oppose this perspective. The unique perspective of this book will help to tie together these different conceptualizations of intuition and develop an integrative approach to the psychological understanding of intuition in judgment and decision making. Accordingly, some of the chapters reflect prior research from the heuristic processing perspective in the new light of the learning perspective. This book provides a representative overview of what we currently know about intuition in judgment and decision making. The authors provide latest theoretical developments, integrative frameworks and state-of-the-art reviews of research in the laboratory and in the field. Moreover, some chapters deal with applied topics. Intuition in Judgment and Decision Making aims not only at the interest of students and researchers of psychology, but also at scholars from neighboring social and behavioral sciences such as economy, sociology, political sciences, and neurosciences.

Management accountancy has a dynamic role to play in the competitive strategy of modern global businesses. This book sets out key strategic principles and then assesses how management accountancy can affect and direct these strategies. Engaging case studies reveal how theories and concepts translate into real business practice. Throughout, the book emphasizes: - how accounting initiatives can trigger assessment and improvement of performance management - the importance of managerial decision making to good business practice - how today's management accountancy measures against current research Written for advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA students taking courses on management accounting and performance measurement and management, the book will be also of interest to management and business consultants, professional accountants and accounting academics.