The strategic/tactical model for resolution of complex decision situations (SANTA)

A new categorization of types of decision situations includes those which have come to be known as complex decision situations. In such situations there are two or more participants, each with individual perceptions of the situation and with their own objectives, preferences and assessments of courses of action that could be taken to resolve the situation. No single participant can bring about a resolution of the situation individually. The resolution must result from a process of explicit or implicit negotiation between the participants. The prime factor in the process of resolution is the power of each individual participant to persuade or coerce the others to accept an outcome that is not necessarily most preferred by them. Complex decision situations do not lend themselves to treatment by the methods of classical game theory. However, the concept of an equilibrium described in game theory and later developed in metagame theory can be used to investigate outcomes that might be acceptable to participants in a complex decision situation. A technique known as metagame analysis can be used to explore these outcomes. However, the use of this technique is usually restricted in practice to those with considerable analytical training and experience. A method of exploring solutions to complex decision situations based on game theory and concepts in metagame theory is called the strategic/tactical model (SANTA). This model contains three stages, namely (i)information gathering; (ii)analysis, made up of strategic analysis and tactical analysis; and (iii)interaction between the participants. Strategic analysis of consists of consideration of possible outcomes of the situation under study and of participants’ preferences for them. Tactical analysis comprises a study of courses of action that individual participants can employ to ensure that the eventual outcome of the situation is one that they prefer to other possible outcomes. The strategic/tactical model can be used in decision conferencing to study complex decision situations. In such activity, members of the staff of a participant can simulate resolution of the situation and thereby formulate courses of action that can be taken in real life endeavour to ensure a desired outcome to a situation.