Task 2 - Inputs to decision making – data, information & knowledge; systems analysis Identify a recurring or annoying problem or inefficiency at work. Consider the business analysis and mapping tools presented in the lecture. 1. Define the problem clearly 2. Map the processes and show where the problem occurs. 3. Annotate the map with information inputs / outputs and knowledge inputs / outputs 4. Can you explain the problem in terms of poor information or knowledge, lack of information or knowledge transfer, and where bad decisions are being made? Task 3 – Decision making issues – uncertainty, biases, in personal and group decision making Personal 1. Consider the lecture information about personal decision making. 2. Write down an important decision you have been responsible for at work 3. Consider how you felt: comfortable or uncomfortable, in control not in control 4. Reflect on the experience and make sense of the situation using the theories in the lecture Task 4 - Methodologies and tools for solving complex problems: soft systems, dialogue mapping, IBIS, satisficing. Consider the various tools and methodologies presented in the lecture about complexity, wicked problems and group deliberation: in this exercise you will identify a problem at work and collect a group of colleagues to resolve the issue and consensually decide a course of action. You should: 1. Identify a genuine, but not necessarily major, issue which may contribute to improvement at work or home 2. Select a group of colleagues, some friends or a partner to work on this. 3. Decide upon a workshopping tool such as soft systems, brainstorming, decision quadrant etc. You may download or use from the cloud a free piece of software to project on the screen, such as Dialogue Manager or MindMeister. 4. Conduct the workshop for about one half to one hour 5. Document any outcomes, new knowledge, decisions or consensus to emerge 6. Reflect upon and write up the results and what you learned. Task 5 - Contemporary technology responses – Personal Decision Making tools Read the two articles loaded into the Task 5 Module: Certo, S. T., Connelly, B. L.,• & Tihanyi, L. (2008). Managers and their not-so rational decisions. Business Horizons, 51, 113-119. (Especially section 2.5) Russo, J. E.,• & Schoemaker, P. J. (1992). Managing Overconfidence. Sloan Management Review, 33(2). Answer the following two questions: 1. What are the 2 most interesting things you learn about overconfidence and how it influences decision making? 2. What will you do to reduce the influence of over-confidence on decision making in your workplace (or some other institution you are part of)?