1. Decision Making and Creativity

2. Decision Making at Radical
Ron Sangha/ BC Business
Radical Entertainment founder Ian Wilkinson (third from right) meets with employees every week to reinforce the electronic games developer’s emphasis on creative decision making and employee involvement.

3. Decision Making Defined
Ron Sangha/ BC Business
Decision making is a conscious process of making choices among one or more alternatives with the intention of moving toward some desired state of affairs.

4. Rational Choice Decision Process

5. Problem Identification Process
Problems and opportunities are not announced or pre-defined
need to interpret ambiguous information
Problem identification uses both logical analysis and unconscious emotional reaction during perceptual process
need to pay attention to both logic and emotional reaction in problem identification

6. Famous Missed Opportunities
The top-rated television commercial in history -- the Apple Macintosh “Why 1984 won’t be like 1984” -- almost wasn’t aired because every outside director on Apple’s board despised it. The ad violated the mental models that they held of what a good ad should look like.
Apple Computer Inc. Used with permission

7. Problem Identification Challenges
Stakeholder framing
Perceptual defense
Mental models
Decisive leadership
Solution-focused problems
Apple Computer Inc. Used with permission

8. Identifying Problems Effectively
Be aware of perceptual and diagnostic limitations
Understand mental models
Discussing the situation with colleagues -- see different perspectives
Apple Computer Inc. Used with permission

9. Making Choices: Rational vs OB Views
Goals
Rational: Clear, compatible, agreed upon
OB: Ambiguous, conflicting, lack agreement
Processing
Information
Rational: People can process all information
OB: People process only limited information
Evaluation Timing
Rational: Choices evaluated simultaneously
OB: Choices evaluated sequentially
more

10. Making Choices: Rational vs OB (con’t)
Standards
Rational: Evaluate against absolute standards
OB: Evaluate against implicit favorite
Info Quality
Rational: People rely on factual information
OB: Rely on perceptually distorted information
Decision Objective
Rational: Maximization -- the optimal choice
OB: Satisficing -- a “good enough” choice

11. Emotions and Making Choices
Emotional marker process forms preferences before we consciously think about choices
Moods and emotions influence the decision process
affects vigilance, risk aversion, etc.
We ‘listen in’ on our emotions and use that information to make our choices

12. Intuitive Decision Making
Ability to know when a problem or opportunity exists and select the best course of action without conscious reasoning
Intuition as emotional experience
Gut feelings are emotional signals
Not all emotional signals are intuition
Intuition as rapid unconscious analysis
Uses action scripts

13. Making Choices more Effectively
Systematically evaluate alternatives
Balance emotions and rational influences
Scenario planning

14. Escalation of Commitment
Escalation of commitment occurred when the British government continued funding the Concorde supersonic jet long after it’s lack of commercial viability was apparent. Some scholars refer to escalation of commitment as the “Concorde fallacy.”
© Corel Corp. With permission

15. Escalation of Commitment Causes
Self-justification
Prospect theory effect
Perceptual blinders
Closing costs
© Corel Corp. With permission

16. Evaluating Decisions Better
Separate decision choosers from evaluators
Establish a preset level to abandon the project
Involve several people in the evaluation process

17. Employee Involvement Defined
The degree to which employees influence how their work is organized and carried out
Level of control over decision making
Different levels and forms of involvement

18. Employee Involvement Model
Potential Involvement Outcomes
Better problem identification
More/better solutions generated
Best choice more likely
Higher decision commitment
Employee Involvement
Contingencies
of Involvement

19. Contingencies of Involvement
Higher employee involvement is better when:
Decision Structure
Problem is new & complex (i.e nonprogrammed decision)
Knowledge Source
Employees have relevant knowledge beyond leader
Decision Commitment
Employees would lack commitment unless involved
Risk of Conflict
Norms support firm’s goals
Employee agreement likely

20. Creative Process Model
Verification
Insight
Incubation
Preparation

21. Characteristics of Creative People
Above average intelligence
Persistence
Relevant knowledge and experience
Inventive thinking style

22. Creative Work Environments
Learning orientation
Encourage experimentation
Tolerate mistakes
Intrinsically motivating work
Task significance, autonomy, feedback
Open communication and sufficient resources
Team competition and time pressure have complex effect on creativity

23. Creative Activities Review abandoned projects
• Explore issue with other people
Redefine the Problem
• Storytelling
• Artistic activities
• Morphological analysis
Associative
Play
• Diverse teams
• Information sessions
Internal tradeshows
Cross- Pollination

24. Decision Making and Creativity

25. Solutions to Creativity Brainbusters

26. Double Circle Problem

27. Nine Dot Problem

28. Nine Dot Problem Revisited

29. Word Search
FCIRVEEALTETITVEERS

30. Burning Ropes One Hour to Burn Completely After first rope burned
i.e. 30 min.
One Hour to Burn Completely

31. Chapter 8 Extras

32. Levels of Employee Involvement
High involvement
Employees have complete decision making power (e.g.. SDWTs)
Full consultation
Employees offer recommendations (e.g.. gain sharing)
Selective consultation
Employees give information, but don’t know the problem
High
Medium
Low