Which decision-making perspective assumes that consumers diligently gather information about purchases, carefully compare various brands of products on salient attributes, and make informed decisions regarding what brand to buy?

The correct answer is rational decision making perspective.

Explanation:

The "rational model" or "absolute rationality" of decision-making consists of five phases:

Define the objective Gather information Identify the possible options Evaluate alternatives Experience the effects

However, making a decision is not just an exercise in rationality, an orderly and effective execution of a sequence of actions. In the practice of organizations, taking into account the importance of risks and limitations (resources, time, available information, etc.) within which the decision must be made, it is often not possible or convenient to explore all alternatives and evaluate all the consequences analytically. We can rely on the experience and judgment of the decision makers, who renounce to pursue an optimal solution for a simply satisfactory one. We speak in this case, using an expression created by Herbet Simon, of "limited rationality."

Obviously, in the practice of decision-making processes, there is always the possibility that we should return to an earlier stage or even that the process does not reach the end (that is, choose not to decide). In addition, in an organizational context there are always social actors that guide their actions according to strategies aimed at maintaining or developing their power of decision and influence. Therefore it is questionable that adherence to the rational model is always the best way to make decisions.