Customer Reviews

Making Hard Decisions: An Introduction to Decision Analysis (Business Statistics)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the best book available today for individuals interested in an introduction to normative (as opposed to descriptive) decision analysis. Although it's accessible to readers with minimal mathematical training, it is also very satisfactory for those with more mathematical sophistication, and I use it regularly as a reference in my own professional work. Clear explanations, excellent problems and exercises, and very well-organized. I highly recommend it. Michael S. Johnson, Arete Consulting, Portland, OR

This is a very accessible book. My classes routinely commend it. It begins by emphasizing the importance of clearly distinguishing between values, decisions and facts. It discusses the need to clarify one's values and then determine the decisions and facts that are relevant. It then discusses sensitivity analysis techniques for identifying which facts are crucial to your analysis. It discusses techniques for deciding when to gather further information. Finally it provides a very accessible discussion of how probability theory can be used to assess your payoff from different decisions. Dr. Robert F. Bordley, General Motors

A perfect balance for those with mathematical expertise and those without - this book provides a well written and comprehensive view of decision making. Lots of easy to understand and relevant case studies - complete with answers.

I needed to get on top of this subject for my MBA course and, although there is a lot to this subject, in one book there is everything one could possibly need to know.

For corporate decision makers needing to get on top of the subject, this book provides a detailed enough insight to the subject to get started straight away. Its strength is that it is not trying to sell a Microsoft Excel add-in - in fact, it shows how to do without Excel add-ins (although these do make the job a lot easier).

Five stars.

I am interested in succint yet exhaustive/substantive coverage of the topic for use in real-world corporate finance applications. I found the book to be verbose and not sufficiently to the point. The author peppers a few key insights in endless dialogue, which I find a bit tiresome. The text could be better organized to highlight key points and provide greater substance and less fluff. Definition of terms could be far better written even for an introductory text.

I suspect I am the wrong target audience.

The book is good and useful in learning Decision Analysis. However, I received an earlier edition with a different cover than what is depicted in the advertisement. Great book, not impressed with my seller.