Organizational Decision-making Processes Research Articles

What ‘special relationship'? How the state department's intervention in Northern Ireland 2003–2007 strained the Anglo-American alliance

ABSTRACT The close bonds of cooperation between the US and UK are highly institutionalised and are exemplified across a range of closely aligned areas of mutual interests. These are namely intelligence, nuclear and military collaboration. The Anglo-American Special Relationship, however, has been severely strained by events over the last seventy years. This article will examine the validity of any special relationship that may exist between the US and UK. In doing so it will reveal how State Department-led intervention in Northern Ireland between 2003 and 2007 strained the workings of this alliance even as it enjoyed a resurgence under George W. Bush and Tony Blair during the Global War on Terror. It will also establish how the unusual organisational framework and decision-making process at the State Department, vis-à-vis Northern Ireland, exacerbated transatlantic relations. The autonomous freedom to direct US foreign policy in the region brought the George W. Bush administration's Northern Ireland special envoys into direct diplomatic conflict with the most senior actors inside the British government. This article will expand on the extent of this fall-out and provide original first-hand accounts on how diplomatic relations between these old allies became so fraught.

Teaching Monte Carlo Simulation with Python

It has become increasingly important for future business professionals to understand statistical computing methods as data science has gained widespread use in contemporary organizational decision processes in recent years. Used by scores of academics and practitioners in a variety of fields, Monte Carlo simulation is one of the most broadly applicable statistical computing methods. This article describes efforts to teach Monte Carlo simulation using Python. A series of simulation assignments are completed first in Google Sheets, as described in a previous article. Then, the same simulation assignments are completed in Python, as detailed in this article. This pedagogical strategy appears to support student learning for those who are unfamiliar with statistical computing but familiar with the use of spreadsheets. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Product development, fashion buying and merchandising

This issue of Textile Progress provides a critical literature review and reflection relating to academic research in the field of fashion buying and merchandising, with a specific focus on the fashion product development process. As the topic has not been reviewed before in Textile Progress, the paper follows the process of fashion product development, a key task that forms one of the many responsibilities of fashion buyers and merchandisers and explores the literature from its origins to the present day, capturing the significant elements that have changed and shaped the process over time. Establishing the challenges and changes in contemporary fashion retailing enables the development of an understanding of how and why these fundamental factors impact not only the process of getting products from idea to concept, but also the roles and responsibilities of the buyers and merchandisers; added to this, the review provides a critical overview of the Buying Cycle. The review further explores the external and internal components and participants influencing the fashion product development process, thereby updating what can be found in the existing product development literature to reflect the current state-of-play in the industry. By illustrating and reviewing the process models of new product development and fashion product development from their original and early forms to the present day, the review establishes the links, connections, and differences across both the more-general and specific areas of research. Subsequently, there is a review of the roles and responsibilities of the fashion buyer and merchandiser, alongside a discussion of how the developments, advancements and transformation of the industry have changed the nature of the involvement of these crucial personnel in the fashion product development process over time. This aspect of the review provides a base upon which to analyse the contemporary fashion-retail buying cycle, establishing its early connection to organisational decision-making process models and the implications and challenges that product assortment planning, development, and retailing pose on the cycle. The last two chapters of this review are dedicated to two crucial areas of the contemporary fashion industry, namely sustainability and technology and address how they have become key drivers in determining the roles of the fashion buyer and merchandiser and how the fashion product development process is now addressed.

Teachers’ perception of the characteristics of an evidence-informed school: initiative, supportive culture, and shared reflection

ABSTRACT The article analyses the characteristics of schools according to the perception teachers have regarding their commitment to using research evidence within their practice. A questionnaire focused on issues such as the use of research evidence to improve schools, as well as factors known to influence this practice, such as organizational culture, leadership style, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making processes, was administered to a sample of 462 teachers from 204 primary schools in two Spanish autonomous regions. The questionnaire responses were analysed using a two-stage factor analysis. Three clusters of schools were identified. Although teachers from a large number of schools were enthusiastic regarding the use of research evidence, others were sceptical, and most declared themselves undecided. In all cases, we observed that organizational commitment to the use of research evidence, leadership support, and debate regarding decisions were significant characteristics of those schools oriented towards the use of research evidence.

Recommendations for empowering early career researchers to improve research culture and practice.

Early career researchers (ECRs) are important stakeholders leading efforts to catalyze systemic change in research culture and practice. Here, we summarize the outputs from a virtual unconventional conference (unconference), which brought together 54 invited experts from 20 countries with extensive experience in ECR initiatives designed to improve the culture and practice of science. Together, we drafted 2 sets of recommendations for (1) ECRs directly involved in initiatives or activities to change research culture and practice; and (2) stakeholders who wish to support ECRs in these efforts. Importantly, these points apply to ECRs working to promote change on a systemic level, not only those improving aspects of their own work. In both sets of recommendations, we underline the importance of incentivizing and providing time and resources for systems-level science improvement activities, including ECRs in organizational decision-making processes, and working to dismantle structural barriers to participation for marginalized groups. We further highlight obstacles that ECRs face when working to promote reform, as well as proposed solutions and examples of current best practices. The abstract and recommendations for stakeholders are available in Dutch, German, Greek (abstract only), Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Serbian.

Nurturing a Democratic Planning Process: A Qualitative Case of Every Student Succeeds Act Requests for School Library Funding

Abstract Using bounded rationality in decision-making by Simon, H. A. 1957. Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations, 2nd ed. New York: Free Press; Simon, H. A. 1976. Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations, 3rd ed. New York: Free Press) and planning theory by Cervero, R. M., and A. L. Wilson. 1994a. Planning responsibly for Adult Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; Cervero, R. M., and A. L. Wilson. 1994b. “The Politics of Responsibility: A Theory of Program Planning Practice for Adult Education.” Adult Education Quarterly 45 (1): 249–68; Cervero, R. M., and A. L. Wilson. 1996. What Really Matters in Adult Education Program Planning: Lessons in Negotiating Power and Interests. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; Cervero, R. M., and A. L. Wilson. 1998. “Working the Planning Table: The Political Practice of Adult Education.” Studies in Continuing Education 20 (1): 5–22; Cervero, R. M., and A. L. Wilson. 2006. Working the Planning Table: Negotiating Democratically for Adult, Continuing, and Workplace Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, this case study explored 2017 Every Student Succeeds Act (Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESEA) 2015. Pub. L. No. 114-95 § 114 Stat. 1177) grant application documents submitted by state education agencies (SEAs). Specifically explored was the presence or absence of requests in the grant applications for funds that can be used to support school library programs and employ and/or provide professional development funding for licensed school librarians. The purpose was to provide a description of decision-making and planning at the level of state administrators who functioned in the context of SEA and Local Education Agency organizations and were responsible for writing 2017 ESSA plans. Collected was data in four phases. The findings of this research informed a new model that illustrate sources of power relationships among legitimate interests in 2017 ESSA planning. A second proposed model can be applied to all types of libraries and their decision-making and planning. Both models can be tested in future research studies.

Women in Management: Decision-making Process under Psychosocial Pressing

The discussion on women’s participation in the decision-making process is closely related to quality of such decisions directly connected with possible risks and advantages. Although it is clear that workplace gender equality has advanced substantially in recent history, some barriers remain. These two factors raise an important topic of women’s decision-making quality under psychological pressing. This study provides a relevant contribution to the literature on mechanisms and strategies to improve gender equality in organisational decision-making processes. Descriptive qualitative and quasi‐experimental quantitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. The theoretical base is drawn from relevant psychological and social work theories and is harmonized with the empirical data. As expected, men demonstrate higher stress resistance and usually take more advantageous and precise decisions. At the same time, women under pressing are more inclined to make mistakes. In their case, the situation becomes quite the opposite in more suitable psychological climate. In this work we describe the proportions and conditions in details, as well as suggest reasonable recommendations. The paper will be of high interest both for academicians and practitioners.

Use of Modeling to Inform Decision Making in North Carolina during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has popularized computer-based decision-support models, which are commonly used to inform decision making amidst complexity. Understanding what organizational decision makers prefer from these models is needed to inform model development during this and future crises. Methods. We recruited and interviewed decision makers from North Carolina across 9 sectors to understand organizational decision-making processes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 44). For this study, we identified and analyzed a subset of responses from interviewees (n = 19) who reported using modeling to inform decision making. We used conventional content analysis to analyze themes from this convenience sample with respect to the source of models and their applications, the value of modeling and recommended applications, and hesitancies toward the use of models. Results. Models were used to compare trends in disease spread across localities, estimate the effects of social distancing policies, and allocate scarce resources, with some interviewees depending on multiple models. Decision makers desired more granular models, capable of projecting disease spread within subpopulations and estimating where local outbreaks could occur, and incorporating a broad set of outcomes, such as social well-being. Hesitancies to the use of modeling included doubts that models could reflect nuances of human behavior, concerns about the quality of data used in models, and the limited amount of modeling specific to the local context. Conclusions. Decision makers perceived modeling as valuable for informing organizational decisions yet described varied ability and willingness to use models for this purpose. These data present an opportunity to educate organizational decision makers on the merits of decision-support modeling and to inform modeling teams on how to build more responsive models that address the needs of organizational decision makers.HighlightsOrganizations from a diversity of sectors across North Carolina (including public health, education, business, government, religion, and public safety) have used decision-support modeling to inform decision making during COVID-19.Decision makers wish for models to project the spread of disease, especially at the local level (e.g., individual cities and counties), and to help estimate the outcomes of policies.Some organizational decision makers are hesitant to use modeling to inform their decisions, stemming from doubts that models could reflect nuances of human behavior, concerns about the accuracy and precision of data used in models, and the limited amount of modeling available at the local level.

Collusion, Shading, and Optimal Organization Design

Abstract We introduce a behavioral contract theory idea, “shading” (Hart and Moore (2008). “Contracts as Reference Points.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 123 (1): 1–48)) as a component of ex-post haggling (addressed by Coase (1937. “The Nature of the Firm.” Economica 4 (16): 386–405) and Williamson (1975. Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications. New York: Free Press)) into the collusion model à la Tirole (1986. “Hierarchies and Bureaucracies: On the Role of Collusion in Organizations.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 2: 181–214, 1992. “Collusion and the Theory of Organizations.” In Advances in Economic Theory: The Sixth World Congress, edited by J. J. Laffont. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), thereby constructing a new model of hierarchical organization. By integrating the two ideas, i.e. collusion and shading, we enrich the existing collusion model, thereby obtaining a new result for Collusion-proof versus Equilibrium Collusion. The basic idea is that the increase in shading pressure strengthens the incentive for collusion, thereby making it difficult to implement collusion-proof incentive schemes, which leads to the Equilibrium Collusion. In addition, we also provide a micro-foundation for ex-post haggling costs, where we view rent-seeking associated with collusive behavior and ex-post haggling generated from aggrievement and shading as the two sources of the costs. This model is used to examine the optimal organizational design problem as an optimal response to the trade-off between gross total surplus and ex-post haggling costs, and to take a step further the idea of efficient organization design (Milgrom (1988. “Employment Contracts, Influence Activities and Efficient Organization Design.” Journal of Political Economy 96: 42–60)). We believe that our model could help provide a deep understanding of resource allocation and decision processes in hierarchical organizations.

Participative Leadership: A Literature Review and Prospects for Future Research.

Changes in the external market environment put forward objective requirements for the formulation of organizational strategic plans, making it difficult for the organization’s leaders to make the right and effective decisions quickly on their own. As a result, participative leadership, which encourages and supports employees to participate in the decision-making process of organizations, has received increasing attention in both theory and practice. We searched the literature related to participative leadership in databases such as Web of Science, EBSCO, ProQuest, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Based on this, we clarify the concept of participative leadership, propose a definition of participative leadership, summarize measurement scales for this type of leadership, and compare participative leadership with other leadership styles (empowering leadership and directive leadership). We also present a research framework for participative leadership that demonstrates its antecedents; the mechanisms for its development based on social exchange theory, conservation of resources theory, social cognitive theory; social information processing theory, and implicit leadership theory; and outcomes. Finally, we identify five potential research areas: Connotation, antecedents, outcomes, mediators and moderators, and study of participative leadership in China.

Investigation of the Relationship between Organizational Cynicism and Job Burnout with the Mediating Role of Organizational Silence in Lifeguards of Tehran Municipal Pools

Introduction: The complexity of working conditions in organizations, including employees' distrust, and challenging working conditions combined with a negative feeling, has led to a sense of frustration in organizations, which can be due to the conditions regarding the community and the organizational climate. The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between organizational cynicism and job burnout with mediating role of organizational silence in lifeguards of Tehran municipal pools.
 Methods: The research method was causal, and applied in terms of purpose.A survey approach was used to collect data. Tools of collecting data were Kalagan Organizational Skepticism Questionnaire (2009), Dain et al.'s Organizational Silence Questionnaire (2003) and Maslach Questionnaire (1985) for Job Burnout. The statistical population of this study included 436 active lifeguards in Tehran municipal swimming pools. Sampling method was simple random. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data, and LISREL 8.8 software was used for modeling structural equations.
 Results: Results demonstrated that organizational cynicism through organizational silence, affects job burnout among lifeguards in Tehran municipal pools. The effect was estimated to be 0.56 (z=4.96, ρ≤0.01). It seems that negative attitude of lifeguards, due to their fewer roles in decision-making and lack of information in the organization, causes them to react through silence, and the consequence of such silence, leads to job burnout
 Conclusion: As a result, the attitude of lifeguards towards their workplace can be negatively accompanied by unpleasant feelings, helplessness and anger, which seriously affects their performance Therefore, it is suggested that management, along with the presence of lifeguards in organizational decision-making processes and transparency, reduce burnout regarding this vital profession.

Online self-regulated learning, academic performance, and well-being of Senior High School Students in the NCR: A mediation analysis

Online self-regulated learning, academic performance, and well-being of Senior High School Students in the NCR: A mediation analysis

Supporting Innovation in Early-Stage Pharmaceutical Development Decisions

Pharmaceutical companies have frequent portfolio reviews to monitor development progress and prioritize development assets. The earliest assets are drug candidates whose efficacy is unknown and whose effects on the human body have yet to be fully investigated. These assets are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty in reaching the market and in being used in clinical practice. In addition, not all potential applications are foreseen and can often be very different. In the absence of satisfactory methods for making decisions on resource allocation among early development assets, decision makers focus almost exclusively on assessments of an asset’s probability of technical success. This study proposes a more holistic methodology to support early-stage pharmaceutical development decisions using value-focused thinking and multicriteria decision making. The methodology operates within the decision quality framework and provides a consistent evaluation of various early development assets across a diverse set of disease areas. This combination of concepts and methodologies has been implemented and proven valuable at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which needed a new, more robust decision-making process for early development. Thus, this study discusses how to enable concrete trade-offs at the level of corporate objectives to align, communicate, and translate corporate strategy into portfolio strategy. In addition, this study presents learnings for decision analysts and decision makers in the pharmaceutical industry on how to develop a set of fundamental objectives, how to create scales to operationalize these objectives, and how to take steps to debias an organizational decision-making process. History: This paper has been accepted for the Decision Analysis Special Issue on Emerging Topics in Health Decision Analysis.

A framework of evidence-based decision-making in health system management: a best-fit framework synthesis

BackgroundScientific evidence is the basis for improving public health; decision-making without sufficient attention to evidence may lead to unpleasant consequences. Despite efforts to create comprehensive guidelines and models for evidence-based decision-making (EBDM), there isn`t any to make the best decisions concerning scarce resources and unlimited needs. The present study aimed to develop a comprehensive applied framework for EBDM.MethodsThis was a Best-Fit Framework (BFF) synthesis conducted in 2020. A comprehensive systematic review was done via six main databases including PUBMED, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE, and ProQuest using related keywords. After the evidence quality appraisal, data were extracted and analyzed via thematic analysis. Results of the thematic analysis and the concepts generated by the research team were then synthesized to achieve the best-fit framework applying Carroll et al. (2013) approach.ResultsFour thousand six hundred thirteen studies were retrieved, and due to the full-text screening of the studies, 17 final articles were selected for extracting the components and steps of EBDM in Health System Management (HSM). After collecting, synthesizing, and categorizing key information, the framework of EBDM in HSM was developed in the form of four general scopes. These comprised inquiring, inspecting, implementing, and integrating, which included 10 main steps and 47 sub-steps.ConclusionsThe present framework provided a comprehensive guideline that can be well adapted for implementing EBDM in health systems and related organizations especially in underdeveloped and developing countries where there is usually a lag in updating and applying evidence in their decision-making process. In addition, this framework by providing a complete, well-detailed, and the sequential process can be tested in the organizational decision-making process by developed countries to improve their EBDM cycle.

Implementation of Decision Making in the Public Sector in Indonesia

In the organization, decision-making is based on the authority governed by the organization's needs. Inaccuracies in decision-making regarding the forum, process, approach, and the decision results will reduce the power of cohesion between organization members in supporting the decision. This study aims to identify, review, evaluate, and interpret research related to the decision-making process in organizations. With the Systematic Literature Review approach pattern in journals that have been published from 2016 to 2021, the results show that current decision-making implementation research focuses on two topics and trends: supervision and the role of leaders. The method that is often used in research on the implementation of decision-making is a quantitative approach of 75% and a qualitative approach of 25%. The cause of the low performance of decision-making in the public sector is a leader who allows himself to be overwhelmed by doubts controlling his way of thinking and acting.
 Keywords: Systematic Literature Review, Implementation, Decision Making.

Giving Employees a Voice in Times of Digital Transformation: Modelling Employee Representation Voice in Algorithm-Based Decision-Making

Digital transformation goes hand in hand with profound changes to company structures. One aspect of digital transformation are algorithm-based decisions which strongly affect decision-making processes in general but also those between the company and employee representatives. This changes where employee representation can be introduced in decision-making, as well as how it is implemented and what competencies are required to do so. This conceptual article looks into how employee representation voice can be kept alive in organisational algorithm-based decision-making processes. To do this, employee (representation) voice will be derived from the German co-determination model. Analogue decision-making is then initially described as a social negotiation process, and modelling is used to show how it is linked to sensemaking in order to back up this claim. In contrast, it is highlighted how algorithm-based decision-making influences this analogue process. To face the resulting changes and challenges, the concept of “big judgement” is described. This concept proposes both structural problem-solving approaches as well as employee representative qualification requirements to provide scope for employee representation voice in algorithm-based decision-making and to avoid a culture of silence.

Hierarchical Fuzzy Signature and Neuro-Fuzzy Hybrid System for QMS Control

Recently, the Quality Management System (QMS) control supports organizations managers identifying the best practices to upgrade the efficiency and effectiveness. This control has become a successful tool to improve the organization decision-making process. However, QMS encloses several performance indicators inputs that necessitate to be managed. In fact, it may include as inputs, customers requirements, quality policies, standard procedures and many other criteria. Hence, to provide the control of QMS problem insurance, two approaches are investigated which are Hierarchical Fuzzy Signature (HFS) and NeuroFuzzy Hierarchical Hybrid system (NFHH), respectively. These approaches are applied in the case of an industrial company operating in the electromechanical sector. This company has to be creative, agile, responsive and especially ready for fierce competition. Then, the obtained results are compared to Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference and Neural Network Systems, regarding the learning phase. Consequently, all of them help the company to assess its overall performance. However, NFHH reaches the best accuracy, reduces the number of neurons and uses the parameters that keep the universal approximated property of neural networks and fuzzy systems. Keywords—Quality management system, Fuzzy logic, Neuro-Fuzzy, hierarchical structure, fuzzy signature

Role of organizational environment in sustained organizational economic performance

PurposeTherefore, this research study investigates the impact of business environment on the performance of the business organizations. (1) To understand the importance the environment in the success of the business entrepreneurship. (2) To explore the environmental factors that can affect the success of business entrepreneurship in Pakistan. (3) To establish relationship between the environmental factors and the sustained organizational performance of business entrepreneurships in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from the person–environment fit (PE fit) and the self-determination theory literature, this survey research study seeks to determine the impact of organizational environment upon sustained organizational economic performance. The main independent variable of the study encompasses its main three dimensions, i.e. leadership capacity, organizational culture and organizational politics. The dependent variable comprises the sustained economic performance of the organization. The research study hypothesized and tested a model in which the organizational environment (organizational culture, organizational politics and leadership) interplays with the organizational sustained performance.FindingsKeeping in view the outcomes of this research work the following implications can be drawn. A leader can yield maximum productivity of employees, if he/she has leadership capacity to provide directions, skilled to minimize the stress level of the employees and able to motivate them in achieving organizational goals. Therefore, capacity of leader to handle difficult situations and develop PE fit is the key to organizational success in current scenario. The study also revealed a positive effect of organizational culture on organizational performance. The culture of the organizations provides an environment of openness to think, share and contribute toward goals of the organization. It enables employees to express themselves, develop person-organization common goals with self-determination. The PE fit provides a platform to feel free, express their feelings and opinions, and contribute in the decision-making process of organizations. The involvement in organizational activities provide a sense of responsibility, ownership and motivation to produce better results for the organizations.Originality/valuePE fit perspective postulates that matching individual psychological needs and environmental supplies (provided by organization and society) generates positive attitudes and behaviors (Tepper et al., 2018). The effect between individuals and their environment is inherently reciprocal rather than a one-way effect (Goetz et al., 2021). The fundamental postulation support that the fit certainly improves performance, commitment and satisfaction of individuals in the context of organizations (De Cooman et al., 2019; Rau vola et al., 2020). Moreover, self-determination theory (SDT) is another perspective that emphasizes the attainment of autonomy, competence and relatedness in employees to outperform (Deci and Ryan, (2010). The self-determination theory revolves around the social-contextual conditions that support or obstruct the integral courses of self-motivation and psychological development, which will contribute toward organizational performance (Nazir et al., 2021).

CONTRIBUTION OF STRATEGIC INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION TO THE DECISION MAKING PROCESSES - AN EMPIRICAL

As an organizational asset, data is one of the great sources of competitive advantage of organizations, so that its publication and storageg, aligned with the organizations' strategic and operational metrics, has become a matter of great discussion and concern among decision makers. This study aims to carry out a study about the contributions of the strategic distribution of information to decision-making processes in organizations. The methodology used, of an exploratory qualitative nature, applied the study of multiple cases, through the collection and analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with several employees of organizations that use tools for collecting, processing and disseminating information. The research shows how the information and technologies applied to its treatment collaborate with decision-making processe.

The Individual and the Organizational Model of Quantum Decision-Making and Learning: An Introduction and the Application of the Quadruple Loop Learning

The new Post Accelerating Data and Knowledge Online Society, or ‘Padkos’, requires a new model of decision-making. This introductory paper proposes a model where decision making and learning are a single symbiotic process, incorporating man and machine, as well as the AADD (ánthrōpos, apparatus, decider, doctrina) amalgamated diamond model of individual and organizational decision-making and learning processes. The learning is incorporated by using a newly proposed quadruple loop learning model. This model allows for controlled changes of identity, the process of creating and the sense-making of new mental models, assumptions, and reflections. The model also incorporates the recently proposed model of quantum decision making, where time collapse of the opted past and the anticipated future (explicitly including its time horizon) into the present plays a key role in the process, leveraging decision making and learning by human as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms.