Abstract of Judgement & Decision Making Topics
Reading 1.3 (Jackall, R. (1988)) : Looking Up and Looking Around
In every corporation the crux of a manager’s charisma is his decision making prowess. Though there is an abundance of scientific theories and myths related to decision making, generally decisions are made in a highly rationalized context.
A manager would prefer taking decisions that are based on well-formulated and generally agreed upon strategies rather than evaluating all the possible solutions to the problem in hand and then taking a well reasoned decision. In contrast, managers are highly uncomfortable when faced with situations in which there are no specific procedures. Managers vouch for their own safety, safety in terms of reputation and therefore tend to look around and see what others opinions are, the perspective of their superiors. In situations where their reputation is at stake, or huge sums of money involved, or even the company’s goodwill is at stake managers tend to hesitate and wait for an opinion not due to lack of experience but due to fear of failure.
Another aspect why managers tend to look around is the accusation or blame time after a problem occurs because there is no means to track down responsibility. As a result of bureaucratic structure higher authorities can easily sneak out of such situations leaving the subordinates hung out to dry.
A negative aspect in an organization would be milking a plant which is generally performed by a top level authority in order to maximize gains. The negative aspect in this is of course the organisation bears the brunt of it, moreover at the end of it all, the person assigned the charge of the milked plant eventually becomes the scapegoat.
Another aspect is that if focus remains on short term profit it may not be the key to lasting achievements though it may be profitable for a short duration. Likewise individuals look out for their own interests instead of the organisations when there are immediate personal benefits.
In every corporation the crux of a manager’s charisma is his decision making prowess. Though there is an abundance of scientific theories and myths related to decision making, generally decisions are made in a highly rationalized context.
A manager would prefer taking decisions that are based on well-formulated and generally agreed upon strategies rather than evaluating all the possible solutions to the problem in hand and then taking a well reasoned decision. In contrast, managers are highly uncomfortable when faced with situations in which there are no specific procedures. Managers vouch for their own safety, safety in terms of reputation and therefore tend to look around and see what others opinions are, the perspective of their superiors. In situations where their reputation is at stake, or huge sums of money involved, or even the company’s goodwill is at stake managers tend to hesitate and wait for an opinion not due to lack of experience but due to fear of failure.
Another aspect why managers tend to look around is the accusation or blame time after a problem occurs because there is no means to track down responsibility. As a result of bureaucratic structure higher authorities can easily sneak out of such situations leaving the subordinates hung out to dry.
A negative aspect in an organization would be milking a plant which is generally performed by a top level authority in order to maximize gains. The negative aspect in this is of course the organisation bears the brunt of it, moreover at the end of it all, the person assigned the charge of the milked plant eventually becomes the scapegoat.
Another aspect is that if focus remains on short term profit it may not be the key to lasting achievements though it may be profitable for a short duration. Likewise individuals look out for their own interests instead of the organisations when there are immediate personal benefits.