The workshop dilemma from a previous post is a dynamic we face a lot.
As we move through the decision making diamond, getting the right moment to shift from divergent to convergent thinking, takes some attention.
We think of it a bit like catching a wave when surfing. If you are successful, the group thinking and energy is easy and fun. Time it wrong, and it is a bit of a struggle! Rushing and dawdling can have similar results…
Tags: Decision-making
We know of a few people who have had laser eye surgery where what they could expect during and after the treatment wasn’t made clear. It made us think about what it takes to give informed consent – especially where a cash payment is involved.
We think this 5-level model applies to buying services like higher education and consultancy as well as any form of health care.
Are you given:
1) sufficient technical details to understand what the service involves
2) an accurate impression of what the experience will be like
3) a clear statement of the possible side-effects of the intervention
4) information on whether key practitioners delivering the service actually recommend it to others and use it for themselves
5) help to weigh the cost/benefit for yourself and what it means for you individually?
And as always, caveat emptor.
Tags: choices, Decision-making
One way of thinking about corporate social responsibility is to ask:
– what a business must do?
– what a business could do?
– what a business should do?
What are the reasons for adhering to ‘ethical’ values? If managers make the link to business goals (ie to help make money by pleasing customers or improve the experience for staff) then the CSR interests are aligned with those of the shareholders. Alex Oliver at Cambridge University calls this ‘impure’ CSR. Milton Friedman describes impure CSR as “hypocritical window dressing”.
Friedman says the social responsibility of for-profit businesses (as opposed to businesses like Divine chocolate who are set up with more than shareholder return in mind) is “to increase profit”. That is their utilitarian role and how they bring most benefit to society. So if a business pursues profit and stays within all laws and regulations, have they fulfilled their CSR? It can also be argued that a focus purely on shareholder interests is the legal obligation of the executives – their fiduciary duty laid out in company law.
‘Pure CSR’ sees the managers go against the desires of the shareholders in spending their money for social good. Friedman says this is taxation (of the shareholders) without proper representation.
Or maybe it’s ok for CSR to be ambiguous? Machiavelli would say its about looking good in the eyes of different audiences – telling them what they need to hear. So the City gets told one message and customers and staff another.
Perhaps that is the difference between the nature of ethical decisions for a company (the ‘collective corporate mind’) in contrast to the ethical positions we are able to take as individuals?
Tags: brand, Decision-making, ethics, values
Many companies are serious about their social responsibility…but find it hard to get to level 3 of this model:
1. Offering funding or staff time to worthy charitable projects
2. Entering into partnerships with social enteprises
3. Integrating ethical values (such as promoting biodiversity) into the heart of business decisions and reward structutures.
Practising what is preached matters, it really does – see www.idenk.co.uk/values
Tags: Decision-making, responsibility, values
Waitrose offers tokens which you can allocate to a charity or local organisation as you leave the store. They share £1000 according to the proportion of total tokens each organisation receives.
Which of these three would you allocate your token to?
For what reasons?
– I might need them or know someone who does
– they look popular already and I should support the one that most people think is important
– they seem under-supported and I want to help the underdog
– they already have enough support and mine won’t make much difference
– I won’t allocate at all as I can’t choose between them (or I’m late and need to rush!).
When people make quick decisions, it can be worth exploring the underlying reasoning.
PS – this accumulative and transparent way of expressing a preference (where you can see the relative support so far) is quite an efficient and possibly fairer way of allocating resources. It ensures that lower profile needs or those with weaker ‘brands’ or ‘voices’ don’t miss out completely. If you did this blind (ie the boxes were opaque), the most popular one could well get a much higher proportion of the votes as people are less informed and hence less inclined to make some of the alternative choices listed above.
PPS – the Hampsire search and rescue has consistently had the most support.
Tags: behaviour, choices, Decision-making, thinking
It’s that gardening time of year. Depending on your level of expertise, it can be hard to distinguish a plant you want to keep from a weed you want to get rid of.
And depending on the garden design, cultural norms and personal preferences, it is possible to categorise a plant one way or the other. The Rhododendron or Russian Vine can be loved or loathed in different parts of the world and different gardens.
Is this a prickly weed where it shouldn’t be? Or a prized species that will flower to delight all who see it?
Before cutting something down or pulling it out, being clear on what is of value is important.
What creative ideas could you hold onto before casting them aside? It took a while for the ineffectual glue that became essential for the Post-It Note to be appreciated.
PS it’s Berkheya purpurea, native of southern africa and growing happily in Cambridgeshire.
Tags: assumptions, choice, Decision-making, thinking
Finding a taxi around Elephant and Castle in south London has often proved hard.
Until yesterday, when one came along the road as I stepped out of a meeting. Chatting to the driver, I mentioned the challenge of finding a cab there. He said he went up that road regularly every day. Having dropped a passenger in central London or the City, his strategy is to return to the King’s Road in west London via Blackfriars bridge and Lambeth. And it works. He never has any problem “making his money”. Other cabbies, he said, often sit on ranks in the City for half an hour waiting for a fare to come along.
Everyone needs a strategy. If you are a high-tech company, are you going to licence your IP, provide a service or become a product company? If you are a hospital, how are you going to continue making life better for patients in the face of funding pressures?
Without a strategy, achieving your goals is just luck. How is your strategy working?
Tags: Decision-making, innovation, organisation, strategy
It seems so sensible. A band needs to agree 4 songs for a demo. “Let’s set up a Google vote – that will be fair”. A dissenting voice: “I prefer deliberation to democracy – your views change mine, your vote doesn’t.” The result? 10 minute later a reaffirming of the likely preferences of pub and party sponsors – with a restatement of what The Band wants to offer. The vote will now be chosen from a short list of 9, not 30. The options are narrowed but not eliminated through dialogue. There is more energy and commonality. The Lowest Common Denominator receeds…for the time being.
Tags: band, choices, Decision-making, decisions, deliberation, Democracy, voting
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