What Were They Thinking?

When Organizations Say One Thing But Do Another

ISBN: 978-3-639-04370-9
Verlag: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller

Buch, Englisch, 68 Seiten, Gewicht: 108 g

The research question for this study was, "What are thecognitive or emotional mechanisms that enable people to pursuestrategy that is contrary to their stated goals, even in light ofevidence that suggests that their strategy is failing to achievethose goals"? The phenomena under study were people in systems thatpursued strategies contrary to their desired goals. The peopleunder study were driven by activities contrary to their ownself-interest?until massive failure occurred. An examination ofeach of these cases revealed what the participants were thinking asthey rushed to their own demise. The study identified 6 patterns ofthinking that were present in the cases. These error-prone patternswere the magic answer, tyranny of the immediate, strategic inertia,strategic muddling, wooden-headedness, and invulnerability. Acommon fundamental error was found to underlie each of thepatterns. The fundamental error was the denial ofcomplexity?reducing the complex issues into simplistic perspectivesthat hamstrung their stated goals.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ollhoff, Jim