Thinking in uncertain terms - The proper use of expected utility

3 important questions on Thinking in uncertain terms - The proper use of expected utility

What are the problems in using the expected utility maximization in HR?

  1. It is impossible to form large groups of issues in which all decisions can be appraised according to one and the same, one-dimensional criterion
  2. There are not always reliable probabilities available

What do the "symmetric error tendencies" and "asymmetric error tendencies mean in expected utility?

  • symmetric: if over- and underestimates of the same size are equally likely. In that case, the uncertainty of the probability estimate has no impact on the expected utility
  • Asymmetric: if over- and underestimates of the same size are not equally likely. An expected utility may then be misleading.

Which conditions must be satisfied for expected utility maximization to be justified?

  1. There should be no conflicts of interest or issues of justice that need to be taken into account
  2. One and the same type of action or decision is repeated sufficiently many times to make the law of large numbers applicable
  3. The probability estimates have balanced error tendencies

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