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  • 1.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-09-2003 11:30
    Colleagues,

    Jay Warner seems to have stalled any response to my question with his
    comment...
    "As I understand the meaning of 'paradigm,' we are _always_ operating
    from paradigms. A certain amount of self awareness is necessary to
    understand the outlines of the key ones involved. But to operate without
    _any_ paradigms? I don't really think so."

    Of course we always operate through paradigms. Lots of them.

    The problems are the ones we don't know about. Decisions can become very
    biased.
    As the adage says, "A fish doesn't know its environment is wet."
    Most human males don't know how seriously their decision making is
    biased by gender.
    Many industrial managers believe that academicians don't understand the
    real world of business.

    To make effective decisions, we need to uncover our paradigms.

    What questions can we ask that will help us recognize our biases?
    The term "situational awareness" was brought up.
    What questions can we ask to make us aware of paradigms we don't know we
    use?

    Perhaps more simply, what can we ask to identify our blind spots?

    Best,

    Gary



    ----------------------------
    Innovation and Branding - done Strategically

    Gary Lundquist - The Accelerator
    Market Engineering International
    303-840-9929 www.market-engineering.com
    garyl@market-engineering.com

    Making and keeping satisfied customers,
    at a profit, over time,
    in a competitive environment.


  • 2.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-09-2003 11:32
    Hmmm. Is it possible to identify your paradigms without using another
    paradigm?

    Steven Henderson


  • 3.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-09-2003 11:54
    Colleagues,

    Steven Henderson notes: "Is it possible to identify your paradigms without
    using another paradigm?"

    Therein lies the conundrum.

    This isn't easy, yet it makes a huge impact on quality of decisions and,
    therefore, effectiveness of actions.

    Best,

    Gary


    ----------------------------
    Innovation and Branding - done Strategically

    Gary Lundquist - The Accelerator
    Market Engineering International
    303-840-9929 www.market-engineering.com
    garyl@market-engineering.com

    Making and keeping satisfied customers,
    at a profit, over time,
    in a competitive environment.


  • 4.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-09-2003 12:25
    It is a conundrum, as you say. It is also the case that the judgement on
    whether one decision has more quality than another also depends upon a
    paradigm. Articulating the nature of the paradigm does not, in itself,
    change this.

    I have never found it possible to identify my own paradigm consistently -
    much seems to depend upon my mood at the time. However, I have surprised
    myself by deliberately thinking through a problem from several well
    articulated views - Whittington's four strategy Schools work very well for
    strategic management decisions, and Burrell and Morgan's four paradigms
    enable one to make wider social judgements.

    All good wishes

    Steven


  • 5.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-09-2003 20:06
    From: Tom Hawk [mailto:thawk@frostburg.edu]

    Steve. But who is to say that Whittington or Burrell and Morgan is all
    inclusive? B&M uses a two by two in an either/or fashion that implies mutual
    exclusivity of the two dimensions on both axes. And why those four
    particular
    dimensions for B&M and not some others? I could construct a three
    dimensional
    box to add richness to the visual but even that would be limited. I like the
    approach used by Ken Wilber in his books, particularly "no Boundaries,"
    "Integral Psychology," and "A Brief Theory of Everything." Inclusivity seems
    to be an important criterion. Finally, I have found for myself that
    sometimes
    the only way I can move out of my "frames of knowing" is to have them
    challenged by others. On the other hand, having at least some frames and an
    understanding their limitations and assumptions is a good start. Tom Hawk.

    Steven Henderson wrote:

    > It is a conundrum, as you say. It is also the case that the judgement on
    > whether one decision has more quality than another also depends upon a
    > paradigm. Articulating the nature of the paradigm does not, in itself,
    > change this.
    >
    > I have never found it possible to identify my own paradigm consistently -
    > much seems to depend upon my mood at the time. However, I have surprised
    > myself by deliberately thinking through a problem from several well
    > articulated views - Whittington's four strategy Schools work very well for
    > strategic management decisions, and Burrell and Morgan's four paradigms
    > enable one to make wider social judgements.
    >
    > All good wishes
    >
    > Steven


  • 6.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-10-2003 10:06
    It would be more helpful to me to have several people describe in detail how THEY made a recent decision than to go round and round about paradigms. I need to start with what we DO before I think about theories.

    Edryce



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  • 7.  Paradigm impact on Decision Making

    Posted 12-10-2003 10:13
    Edryce wrote

    "I need to start with what we DO before I think about theories".


    I wish I could do irony that well


    Steven