Variability of decisional ability and the essential order of decision rules

The paper examines how the optimal decision rule changes as one varies the decision-making ability of a group of individuals who have common preferences over two alternatives but who potentially differ in their ability to detect and identify the better alternative. The analysis is restricted to sets of rules which possess the property of an essential order. The main finding is that when the team members do not have their full 'competency' for choosing the better alternative, the optimal decision rule approaches the simple majority rule via the different stages on the ladder of the essential order.