Lesson 11 - MsArgos/RMI_2501_Fall_2026 GitHub Wiki
After carefully reading Chapter 8, find your group here, and then write a 100-word paragraph on the chapter's main limitation(s). Cite, at least, one authoritative source in-text to support your critique and add the full reference(s) at the end of the paragraph.
PS. Be ready to briefly share in class what you think is the best critique and why.
Group 1
The limitation of this chapter is that it does not explain how attribute weights can be strategically manipulated in Group Decision Making (GDM) (Liu et al., 2019).The outcome can be different depending on how much importance someone puts to a feature even with the products being the same. For example, people can weigh appearance differently and end with a different product. Someone in the group could also exaggerate how much they care about a feature to push the group toward the product they want. The group may not notice, because the products and the information are exactly the same and only the weights have changed.
Reference: Liu, Y., Dong, Y., Liang, H., Chiclana, F., & Herrera-Viedma, E.(2019). "Multiple Attribute Strategic Weight Manipulation With Minimum Cost in a Group Decision Making Context With Interval Attribute Weights Information"(https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8510916)
Group 2
A limitation in this chapter is how it speaks on individuals emotionless shopping tendencies. It is said that people can avoid wasting money by simply scheduling your purchases, however, depending on the situation some people may not be able to do so. Instead of calculating the effect, many people tend to make unplanned purchases for a myriad of reasons, whether that be because they're tired, stressed, excited, or even tricked. In authors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's 2008 book "Nudge", they discuss how emotional manipulation and display effect human spending habits, warning people of deceitful advertising or possible scams.
Their conclusions about buying planning and things like that are also insufficient to deal with multiple macro and micro factors that impact pricing and effects the consumer habits of customers as well. One such factor is "surge pricing" which is actively harming consumers to such an extent that legislators are now trying to write laws to regulate it (Salvucci, 2024). Surge pricing is most famous with Uber but now there are even grocery stores rolling it out in multiple locations throughout the U.S. If retailers are allowed to change prices instantly and based on consumer habits or distance they are from home, what will prevent the retailers from scalping every consumer of every dollar they make?
Reference: Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press. Salvucci, J. (2024, March 21). Surge pricing: Examples, history & how it works (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash & more). TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/surge-pricing-definition-examples-how-it-works-uber-lyft-doordash
Group3
Chapter 8 places too much emphasis on informed consumers protecting themselves through research. Although the chapter recognizes online research as a way to become an informed customer, it gives insufficient attention to how platforms manipulate consumer choices. For example, the Federal Trade Commission (2026) reported that Amazon allegedly enrolled millions of consumers in Prime without informed consent and made cancellation difficult. The settlement included a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds. This shows that online research may not protect consumers from manipulative practices.Therefore protecting consumers may require stronger regulations and oversight rather than relying only on consumeres to make informed decisions.
Reference: Federal Trade Commission. (2026, April 15). Testimony of the Federal Trade Commission before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/p994811-ftc-oversight-testimony-senate-commerce-committee-2026.pdf
Group4
Since the textbook is published in 2009, Chapter 8 does not fully reflect modern consumer financing as it overlooks Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). This is an important limitation, because BNPL can create financial risk by encouraging overspending and damaging credit scores. According to the Federal Reserve 2026 , 16% of U.S. adults used BNPL in 2025, and 26% of users made a late payment. The number of people using BNPL is gradually increasing because they want to spread out payments and also because it is the only way for them to afford the purchase.
Reference: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (2026). Economic well-being of U.S. households in 2025. Federal Reserve.