Business Decisions, Human Choices

Business Decisions, Human Choices
Author: Lloyd C. Williams
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1996-07-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0313035121

Dr. Williams contends that over the last 20 years a change has occurred in organizations that has created a syndrome of dysfunctions that are neither good for businesses nor for the people who work in them. Williams sees businesses as living entities, and argues that how they act and react will have an impact on their employees, and often a devastating impact. In much the same way as businesses make decisions, people make choices, and seldom are these decisions and choices congruent. Unless disparate self-interests and goals can be reconciled—unless a partnership can be restored between people and their organizations—not only will employees be damaged, but the success of their organization, upon which they depend for their livelihoods, will be jeopardized. How this dangerous situation came about, what it means, and how it can be remedied is the subjet of Dr. Williams' book. Research-based and always in touch with the realities of commerce, Dr. Williams will make business people aware that organizations and their people must become reunited, and then show them how it can be done. Dr. Williams makes clear he is not simply speculating or theorizing. His goal is to make management aware of the dysfunctions that are damaging their organizations, and how these are reflected in the behaviors of their employees. When he calls for a focus on humanity, spirit, and context, Dr. Williams is actually offering a workable, real-world strategy to breathe new life into organizations of all kinds—a strategy he calls The Trinity Process. Its purpose: to help management restore the essential partnership between organizational entities and the people who make them succeed or fail. In Part One he shows what it means to be part of any organization and, with anecdotes and cases from his own research, helps readers grasp the dynamics of their own organizations. In Part Two he proposes new or reframed paradigms that provide an underpinning for the reestablishment of equality between organizations and their employees. Then, in Part Three he presents The Trinity Process itself. The result is a remarkably lucid, readable, engrossing exploration of organizational life today, important reading for decision makers in all types of organizations, public as well as private, and for academics concerned with how organizations behave.

The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice
Author: Barry Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0061748994

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Foreign entry commitment as a human choice

Foreign entry commitment as a human choice
Author: Maud Oortwijn
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2012-06-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1470916924

Firms increase commitment to foreign markets with growing experience in international business. The basic premise of the internationalization process theory is that knowledge is acquired through experience abroad. Maud Oortwijn's research work finds how this learning process within the firm is reflected in the managerial host country assessment. Managers perceive the new host country more optimistic with increasing experience in international business. International Business scholars often report on macro-economic factors and post-entrance business performance. This research studies 25 firms on 54 foreign entry commitment choices while in the process of decision making for foreign entrance. This also allows for unique insight in the Go/No-Go decision. Some firms decide to cancel or postpone plans, while others continue with different entry modes.

Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience

Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience
Author: Gabriel José Corrêa Mograbi
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2015-10-15
Genre: Decision making
ISBN: 2889196682

This introduction just aims to be a fast foreword to the special topic now turned into an e-book. The Editorial "Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience" alongside with my opinion article "Neurophilosophical considerations on decision making: Pushing-up the frontiers without disregarding their foundations" play the real role of considering in more details the articles and the whole purpose of this e-book. What I must highlight in this foreword is that our intention with such a project was to deepen into the very foundations of our current paradigms in decision neuroscience and to philosophically moot its foundations and repercussions. Normal Science (a term coined by Philosopher Thomas Kuhn) works under a research consensus among a scientific community: A shared paradigm, consolidated methods, widespread convictions. Pragmatically, winning formulas must be kept, although, not at any cost. What differentiates a gifted and revolutionary scientist from a more bureaucratic colleague is the capacity and willingness of constantly reevaluating, depurating and refining his/her own paradigm. That is best strategy to avoid that a paradigm itself would gradually come under challenge. In my view, some achievements, in this sense, were brought about in our project. The e-book will be inspiring and informative for both neuroscientists that are concerned with the very foundations of their works and for philosophers that are not blind to empirical evidence. Kant once said: “Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind”. Paraphrasing Kant we could say: Philosophy without science is empty, science without philosophy is blind.

Strategic Decisions

Strategic Decisions
Author: Vassilis Papadakis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1461561957

Over the past ten years, there has been growing interest in the process of strategic decision-making among both managers and researchers. Strategic decisions are important for five main reasons: They are large-scale, risky and hard to reverse; they are a bridge between deliberate and emerging strategies; they can be a major source of organizational learning; they play an important part in the development of individual managers and they cut accross functions and academic disciplines. Strategic Decisions summarizes the current state of the art in research on strategic decision-making, with chapters prepared by leading strategy researchers. The editors also present implications for current application and proposed directions for future research.

Contemporary Business

Contemporary Business
Author: Louis E. Boone
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 674
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119812631

Student-friendly, engaging, and accessible, Contemporary Business, 19e equips students with the skills to assess and solve today's global business challenges and succeed in a fast-paced environment. Designed to drive interest in business, our newest edition offers a comprehensive approach to the material, including a variety of resources to support today's students. Its modern approach, wealth of videos, relevant and up-to-date content, and career readiness resources keep your course current and engaging.

Monthly Labor Review

Monthly Labor Review
Author: United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Publisher:
Total Pages: 606
Release: 1996
Genre: Labor
ISBN:

Publishes in-depth articles on labor subjects, current labor statistics, information about current labor contracts, and book reviews.

Human Choice and Computers

Human Choice and Computers
Author: International Federation for Information Processing
Publisher: Amsterdam : North-Holland Publishing Company ; New York : American Elsevier
Total Pages: 378
Release: 1975
Genre: Choice (Psychology)
ISBN:

Conference report on the interface of human environment with EDP, computers and automation, with particular reference to freedom of the individual (human choice) in decision making - touches upon various issues of interaction, e.g. Use of information systems in workers participation and quality of working life, confidentiality of personal records and privacy, sociological aspects and value systems in the context of systems analysis, systems design, interdisciplinary research, etc. Illustrations and references. Conference held in Vienna 1974 April 1 to 5.

Behavioral Decision Theory

Behavioral Decision Theory
Author: Kazuhisa Takemura
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2021-09-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811654530

This book is the second edition of Behavioral Decision Theory, published in 2014. The main approach and structure of this book have been retained in the new edition. However, this second edition provides a fresh overview of the idea of behavioral decision theory and related research findings such as theoretical and empirical discoveries of preference formation, time discounting, social interaction, and social decision making. The book covers a wide range from classical to relatively recent major studies concerning behavioral decision theory, which, in brief, is a general term for descriptive theories to explain the psychological knowledge related to people’s decision-making behavior. It is called a theory but is actually a combination of various psychological theories, for which no axiomatic systems—such as those associated with the utility theory widely used in economics—have been established. The utility theory is often limited to qualitative knowledge; however, as the studies of Nobel laureates H. A. Simon, D. Kahneman, and R. Thaler have suggested, the psychological methodology and knowledge of behavioral decision theory have been applied widely in such fields as economics, business administration, and engineering and are expected to become even more useful in the future. Research into people’s decision making represents an important part in those fields, various aspects of which overlap with the scope of behavioral decision theory. This theory is closely related to behavioral economics and behavioral finance, which have come into greater use in recent years. This book will appeal especially to graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and researchers who are interested in decision-making phenomena.