Evaluation CulturesSense-making in Complex Times

Evaluation CulturesSense-making in Complex Times PDF Author: Jean-Claude Barbier
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 141284892X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Evaluation Cultures draws upon a sample of reflections, drawn from organizational practices, nationally centered political cultures, and ethnic cultures, as a framework for understanding how culture influences the work of evaluation. Two main conclusions seem to emerge: first, that there exists no single, uniform, and homogenous national evaluation culture; second, that the idea of a unified transnational culture of evaluation is an illusion. The evaluation community includes a diverse group of professionals; a diversity that is not just represented in national or ethnic culture but also in academic backgrounds, public and private sector allegiances, and personal character. The contributors to this book represent, in part, this diversity by reflecting a range of views. Evaluation Cultures draws upon the experience of senior evaluation practitioners, who share their reflections on their practice and experience, in order to put forth challenges to purely academic analysis. Evaluation Cultures presents a consistent, if not exhaustive, attempt to give analytical and empirical sense to all of the cultures of the evaluation community.

Evaluation CulturesSense-making in Complex Times

Evaluation CulturesSense-making in Complex Times PDF Author: Jean-Claude Barbier
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 141284892X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
Evaluation Cultures draws upon a sample of reflections, drawn from organizational practices, nationally centered political cultures, and ethnic cultures, as a framework for understanding how culture influences the work of evaluation. Two main conclusions seem to emerge: first, that there exists no single, uniform, and homogenous national evaluation culture; second, that the idea of a unified transnational culture of evaluation is an illusion. The evaluation community includes a diverse group of professionals; a diversity that is not just represented in national or ethnic culture but also in academic backgrounds, public and private sector allegiances, and personal character. The contributors to this book represent, in part, this diversity by reflecting a range of views. Evaluation Cultures draws upon the experience of senior evaluation practitioners, who share their reflections on their practice and experience, in order to put forth challenges to purely academic analysis. Evaluation Cultures presents a consistent, if not exhaustive, attempt to give analytical and empirical sense to all of the cultures of the evaluation community.

Decision Making in Complex Environments

Decision Making in Complex Environments PDF Author: Jan Noyes
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1317153936
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Many complex systems in civil and military operations are highly automated with the intention of supporting human performance in difficult cognitive tasks. The complex systems can involve teams or individuals working on real-time supervisory control, command or information management tasks where a number of constraints must be satisfied. Decision Making in Complex Environments addresses the role of the human, the technology and the processes in complex socio-technical and technological systems. The aim of the book is to apply a multi-disciplinary perspective to the examination of the human factors in complex decision making. It contains more than 30 contributions on key subjects such as military human factors, team decision making issues, situation awareness, and technology support. In addition to the major application area of military human factors there are chapters on business, medical, governmental and aeronautical decision making. The book provides a unique blend of expertise from psychology, human factors, industry, commercial environments, the military, computer science, organizational psychology and training that should be valuable to academics and practitioners alike.

Decision Making in Complex Environments

Decision Making in Complex Environments PDF Author: Dr Jan Noyes
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1409484971
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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Book Description
Many complex systems in civil and military operations are highly automated with the intention of supporting human performance in difficult cognitive tasks. The complex systems can involve teams or individuals working on real-time supervisory control, command or information management tasks where a number of constraints must be satisfied. Decision Making in Complex Environments addresses the role of the human, the technology and the processes in complex socio-technical and technological systems. The aim of the book is to apply a multi-disciplinary perspective to the examination of the human factors in complex decision making. It contains more than 30 contributions on key subjects such as military human factors, team decision making issues, situation awareness, and technology support. In addition to the major application area of military human factors there are chapters on business, medical, governmental and aeronautical decision making. The book provides a unique blend of expertise from psychology, human factors, industry, commercial environments, the military, computer science, organizational psychology and training that should be valuable to academics and practitioners alike.

Better Decision Making in Complex, Dynamic Tasks

Better Decision Making in Complex, Dynamic Tasks PDF Author: Hassan Qudrat-Ullah
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319079867
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Computer simulation-based education and training is a multi-billion dollar industry. With the increased complexity of organizational decision making, projected demand for computer simulation-based decisional aids is on the rise. The objective of this book is to enhance systematically our understanding of and gain insights into the general process by which human facilitated ILEs are effectively designed and used in improving users’ decision making in dynamic tasks. This book is divided into four major parts. Part I serves as an introduction to the subject of “decision making in dynamic tasks”, its importance and its complexity. Part II provides background material, drawing upon the relevant literature, for the development of an integrated process model on the effectiveness of human facilitated ILEs in improving decision making in dynamic tasks. Part III focuses on the design, development and application of Fish Bank ILE, in laboratory experiments, to gather empirical evidence for the validity of the process model. Finally, part IV presents a comprehensive analysis of the gathered data to provide a powerful basis for understating important phenomena of training with human facilitated simulation-based learning environments, thereby, help to drive critical lessons to be learned. This book provides the reader with both a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena encountered in decision making with human facilitated ILEs and a unique way of studying the effects of these phenomena on people’s ability to make better decision in complex, dynamic tasks. This book is intended to be of use to managers and practitioners, researchers and students of dynamic decision making. The background material of Part II provides a solid base to understand and organize the existing experimental research literature and approaches.

Winning Decisions

Winning Decisions PDF Author: J. Edward Russo
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0385504942
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Business revolves around making decisions, often risky decisions, usually with incomplete information and too often in less time than we need. Executives at every level, in every industry, are confronted with information overload, less leeway for mistakes, and a business environment that changes rapidly. In light of this increased pressure and volatility, the old-fashioned ways of making decisions–depending on intuition, common sense, and specialized expertise–are simply no longer sufficient. Distilling over thirty years of groundbreaking research, Winning Decisions, written by two seasoned business advisers and world leaders in behavioral decision studies, is a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind guide to the proven methods of making critical business decisions confidently, quickly–and correctly. Decision-making is a business skill which managers often take for granted in themselves and others–but it's not as easy as some might think. The authors, whose expertise has been sought out by over a hundred companies, including Arthur Andersen, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Unilever, contend that decision-making, like any other skill, must be developed and honed if it is to be used effectively. Winning Decisions offers step-by-step analyses of how people typically make decisions, and provides invaluable advice on how to improve your chances of getting your next big decision right the first time. The book is packed with worksheets, tools, questionnaires, case studies, and anecdotes analyzing major decisions made by organizations like British Airways, NASA, Shell Oil, and Pepsi. Some of the proven, straightforward techniques covered in Winning Decisions include how to: Reframe issues to ensure that the real problem is being addressedImprove the quality and quantity of your options Convert expert yet conflicting opinions into useful insights Make diversity of views and conflict work to your advantage Foster efficient and effective group decision-making Learn from past decisions--your own and those of others With Winning Decisions, managers and other professionals now have access to a proven set of skills and strategies they need for making the right decision, right away.

Simple Rules

Simple Rules PDF Author: Donald Norman Sull
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0544409906
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Outlines an approach to high-performance problem solving and decision making that draws on insights from survival guides, pop culture, and other sources.

Wharton on Making Decisions

Wharton on Making Decisions PDF Author: Stephen J. Hoch
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Incorporated
ISBN: 9780471382478
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
"Wharton on Making Decisions provides a unique blend of theory and practical experience. The authors' insights are at many times humorous, always instructive, and definitely thought provoking. This book should be recommended reading for decision makers in today's fast-moving world where alternative choices are increasing in number, complexity, and importance."-Arthur D. Collins Jr., President and COO, Medtronic, Inc. "This is a superb book that provides valuable insights for managers at all levels. No matter how many critical decisions we make, it is useful to be reminded of the intricacies of the process. Wharton on Making Decisions does just that."-Rakesh Gangwal, President and CEO, U.S. Airways "Wharton on Making Decisions takes a thorough look at the hard and soft sides of decision making-the intuitive as well as the analytical. With the frenetic pace and complexities of decision making today, this is reading that no manager should miss."-Robert S. Morrison, Chairman, President, and CEO, The Quaker Oats Company "The depth and breadth of the Wharton collection will help establish the case for the decision sciences to become a new major field of undergraduate and graduate studies at many universities (including my own at Harvard). Thanks, Wharton!" -Howard Raiffa, Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Managerial Economics Emeritus, Harvard Business School "As managers, we would be pretty disappointed if someone could give us our batting average on the decisions we make. I have no doubt this book can improve your average."-Jean-Pierre Rosso, Chairman, CNH Global N.V. "Wharton on Making Decisions offers penetrating insight into the art and science of decision making. Relevant to both business and personal life, it's a must read for any decision maker."-Alfred P. West Jr., Chairman and CEO, SEI Investments

Super Deciders

Super Deciders PDF Author: Stefan Brusoni
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1394239777
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Dramatically improve the decisions you make every day using insights from the latest neuroscience We make hundreds of decisions daily, from small ones – such as what to wear today and how to drive to work – to big ones – such as the company strategy and whether to launch a restructuring program that may impact thousands of people. In business, studies suggest that company executives spend 40% of their time making decisions and that the effectiveness of their decisions largely drives the results of the companies that they lead. In Super Deciders: The Science and Practice of Decision-Making in Dynamic and Uncertain Times, a team of renown researchers and business advisors deliver an application of the latest advances in neuroscience to effectively making the most difficult decisions, those we make in dynamic environments, in situations of uncertainty when we need to predict outcomes, we’re missing relevant information, time is scarce, and the environment is constantly changing. The book is written in three parts. In the first part, the book offers a practical framework for making effective decisions under uncertainty. In the second part, the book discusses approaches to effectively implement those decisions, thus managing change at every level, from the individual to the organizational. Finally, the book develops suggestions on how leaders can diagnose and improve – in themselves and in the people they lead – the cognitive abilities relevant to decision-making. You’ll also find: An enlightening business narrative detailing the journey of a fictional leader of an international travel operator named Inuk. Six cases that put you into real-life situations of making difficult decisions and that help you assess your decision-making effectiveness. An accessible and fun introduction to the neuroscience of decision-making. Ideal for managers, executives, directors, and other business leaders, Super Deciders is a can’t-miss decision-making playbook that you’ve been waiting for.

Decision Time!

Decision Time! PDF Author: Richard Davidson
Publisher: Richard Davidson
ISBN: 1602640645
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Where you are in life today is the result of all of the past decisions which you have made or which have been made for you in response to the various situations and events, both expected and unexpected, that have impacted your life. The decisions that you will make from this point forward will determine the degree to which your future will be positive or negative. "Decision Time!" describes the subjective and multi-variable nature of real life decisions and demonstrates techniques for making complex decisions with ease and insight. "Decision Time!" provides guidance for many different decision-making situations with both personal and business aspects. Topics with examples from life include games, negotiation, the challenge of financing a college education, starting a small business, purchasing/shopping, family relationships, getting the government to listen to you, investments, and many more. "Decision Time!" gives you insight into the decision-making process as applied to both small and large choices you will face. It includes dynamic aspects, cultural effects, and morality as applied to decision-making for individuals, teams, and societies. "Decision Time!" prepares you to face the continuous impact of decision situations confidently and without hesitation.

Leadership and Strategic Management

Leadership and Strategic Management PDF Author: Paolo Boccardelli
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040090796
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Managers are facing unprecedented complexity, volatility, and ambiguity, quickly adapting their decision-making, leadership, vision, and strategies. Megatrends and forces of change have profound implications for business models, processes, and organizational structures, calling into question current paradigms and designing future change. Additionally, unprecedented disruptions, unforecastable in their nature, have increased the need for resilience and strategic flexibility. The book aims at tackling the potential interrelations among environmental transformations, strategic decisions, and leadership to better understand the role of external and internal factors on the effectiveness of managers. The book defines “change”: its extent, nature, and characteristics. Then, it focuses on decision-making, the role of potential cognitive biases, and how the interaction with the perception of determined environmental events affects the way in which decision-makers decide to implement specific strategies. Finally, in the light of waves of strategic change, it reviews theories on leadership and transformation by looking at the role and traits of leaders. Since environmental transformations have the potential to “disrupt” not only strategies but also decision-making processes and leadership, the book provides a review on the issue and propose an integrative framework which can be useful for both scholars and managers, especially in the fields of decision-making and strategy.