Administrative model is defined as "a decision-making model that describes how managers actually make decisions in situations characterized by nonprogrammed decisions, uncertainty, and ambiguity" (Daft 1999, p. 284). This approach to decision-making recognizes that not all decisions are able to be considered and judged based on quantitative methods. While it may be preferred that decisions be made by a process where the outcomes are known and can be compared, it is not always possible to know the outcomes. For these types of decisions, a new kind of model is needed that takes into account the uncertainty. This model is the administrative model.

Herbert A. Simon is the founder of the administrative model. He considered the economic model of decision-making and noted that one major element was missing. This element was the human element. Taking the human element into consideration, Simon rejected the idea that people make decisions based on rational...
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