Influencing Decisions

MOVE YOUR BUTTS HERE

MOVE YOUR BUTTS HERE

MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING AND NEGOTIATIONS

MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING AND NEGOTIATIONS

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of morality, authority and social proof on people’s behaviour to throw cigarette butts in the bin instead of the ground. The disposal of cigarette butts near the entrance of buildings is a common form of pollution with a large environmental impact as a result of the non-biodegradable litter (Novotny, 2009). The designed campaign measures the influence of each persuasion factor but the effect of external factors such as weather and placement of bins influenced the results unexpectedly. The results of this experiment can be used to conduct future research by considering external conditions to measure findings more accurately. However, it can be concluded that authority and social proof does have an influence on people’s behaviour but is also highly regulated by the environmental factors and the placement of the bins.

THEORY

Introduction to the problem:

Pollution takes on many forms, and nearly everyone contributes to pollution while being less or more aware of doing so. One of the major form of this pollution is the trillions of cigarette butts that are littered every year (Arafat et al., 2007). Especially the disposal of cigarette butts near the entrances of buildings is a common form of environmental pollution (Lee et al., 2013), as the butts are composed of non-biodegradable filters (Novotny, 2009; Arafat et al., 2007). Consequently, by being able to persuade more people to dispose their cigarette butts in bins instead of throwing them on to the ground, a positive impact on the environment can be made, at a relatively small expense.

Background of the current study:

It is a well-known fact that...