Stakeholder Actions and Their Impact on the Organizational Cultures of Two Tobacco Companies

We link the behaviors of executives and lawyers in two tobacco companies, in defending their tobacco products to the actions of stakeholders (e.g., the U.S. Government and Congress, medical researchers, consumers, public‐health organizations, tobacco‐control advocates, and insiders who have spoken out). Included in our analysis, which is based on publicly available documents spanning over a period of almost six decades, are critical incidents in which moral disengagement tactics were applied in the decision‐making process. We infer that the disengagement tactics applied by tobacco decision makers are indicative of what Schein and other organizational scientists describe as organizational culture. We equate the critical incidents to the espoused beliefs and values and underlying assumptions which comprise organizational culture and explain that the cultures of these two tobacco companies are not consistent with the stakeholder theory of management. We conclude that the critical incidents we analyze were immoral and the representatives were indeed accountable for these behaviors. From an organizational change perspective, we discuss how analyzing these critical incidents can serve to assess the extent to which an organizational culture is ethical. Furthermore, these critical incidents can be fed back to organizational decision makers and can then be used to initiate organizational changes.     

AN ADAPTIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ACADEMIC RESOURCE PLANNING

Institutions of higher learning are growing increasingly interested in the use of model-based approaches to their resource allocation problems. Recent modeling approaches, however, have failed to consider that resource allocation planning is not a well-structured decision process. Additionally, many decision makers are necessarily involved in the academic planning process and may assume dissimilar perspectives on the importance of achieving different goals and objectives. Furthermore, satisfactory allocation solutions can be expected to vary considerably from decision maker to decision maker as the individual's cognitive processes, perceptions, and evaluations are taken into consideration. This paper describes a decision support system (DSS) approach that attempts to adapt to a variety of academic decision makers with differing planning views in an environment of multiple conflicting objectives. This DSS, which was successfully tested on four academic decision makers in a large midwestern university, shows considerable promise for providing decision support to decision makers with varied problem-solving styles.     

PREFERENCE MAPPING OF PERCEIVED INFORMATION STRUCTURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS DESIGN

In a recent issue of this journal, Watkins [13] presented an approach for discovery of decision-maker perceptions of the complexity (dimensionality) of information items that might be supplied by a decision support system. Through use of multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, relatively homogeneous groups of decision makers, sharing common perceptions of various information items, were formed. This prior research was referred to as a first step in suggesting that information reports could be tailored to groups of decision makers classified on the basis of common perceptions of information. The current research extends the prior study by evaluating decision maker preferences for information in a variety of decision-making scenarios in relation to the previously identified perceptions of the information. Based on the results of the study, conclusions are made which suggest that the tailoring of information to groups of decision makers should be based on both perceptions and preferences for information. Even so, it is demonstrated that the decision tasks have an impact on the preferences for information which may affect the attempt to tailor information to groups of decision makers.     

Screening alternatives graphically by an extended case-based distance approach

Screening is a helpful process of multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) to reduce a larger set of alternatives into a smaller one containing the best alternatives; thereby, decision makers are able to concentrate on evaluating alternatives within a smaller set. Therefore, determining how to assist decision makers in screening is an important issue for MCDA. This study proposes an extended case-based distance approach incorporating the advantages of a case-based distance method, a mixed-integer programming approach of discriminant analysis, and a multidimensional scaling technique to help decision makers screen alternatives visually in MCDA. The proposed approach can screen alternatives by evaluating sets of cases selected by decision makers, providing visual aids to observe decision context, reducing the number of misclassifications, and improving multiple solution problems. An interactive screening procedure is also developed to provide flexibility so that decision makers can check and adjust screening results iteratively.     

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF INFORMATION UNDER TWO BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

Information economics models evaluate the value of information under the assumption that decision makers wish to maximize their expected payoff. This assumption has been criticized for not being realistic enough since decision makers usually consider more than one business objective and might be satisficers rather than optimizers. This paper attempts to apply an information economics model to decision situations where two business performance criteria, expected payoff and risk, are considered. In order to overcome the difficulty of unknown trade-off between the two criteria, one criterion is used as an objective to be optimized, while the other is set as a constraint. This may be interpreted as a combination of optimizing and satisficing approaches. It is shown how an information system can be evaluated in terms of both expected payoff and risk. The model suggests the trade-off between the two criteria as an additional trait of an information system. In the last part of the paper, a numerical example illustrates how a comparative evaluation of information structures is performed when risk minimization and expected payoff maximization are concurrently used as business performance criteria.     

IT security planning under uncertainty for high-impact events

While many IT security incidents result in relatively minor operational disruptions or minimal recovery costs, occasionally high-impact security breaches can have catastrophic effects on the firm. Unfortunately, measuring security risk and planning for countermeasures or mitigation is a difficult task. Past research has suggested risk metrics which may be beneficial in understanding and planning for security incidents, but most of these metrics are aimed at identifying expected overall loss and do not directly address the identification of, or planning for, sparse events which might result in high-impact loss. The use of an upper percentile value or some other worst-case measure has been widely discussed in the literature as a means of stochastic optimization, but has not been applied to this decision domain. A key requirement in security planning for any threat scenario, expected or otherwise, is the ability to choose countermeasures optimally with regard to tradeoffs between countermeasure cost and remaining risk. Most of the planning models in the literature are qualitative, and none that we are aware of allow for the optimal determination of these tradeoffs. Therefore, we develop a model for optimally choosing countermeasures to block or mitigate security attacks in the presence of a given threat level profile. We utilize this model to examine scenarios under both expected threat levels and worst-case levels, and develop budget-dependent risk curves. These curves demonstrate the tradeoffs which occur if decision makers divert budgets away from planning for ordinary risk in an effort to mitigate the effects of potential high-impact outcomes.     

User Perceptions of Decision Support Effectiveness: Two Production Planning Experiments*

Decision support systems continue to be very popular in business, despite mixed research evidence as to their effectiveness. We hypothesize that what-if analysis, a prominent feature of most decision support systems, creates an “illusion of control” causing users to overestimate its effectiveness. Two experiments involving a production planning task are reported which examine decision makers' perceptions of the effectiveness of what-if analysis relative to the alternatives of unaided decision making, and quantitative decision rules. Experiment 1 found that almost all subjects believed what-if analysis was superior to unaided decision making, although using what-if analysis had no significant effect on performance. Experiment 2 found that decision makers were indifferent between what-if analysis and a quantitative decision rule which, if used, would have led to significant cost savings. Thus, what-if analysis did create an illusion of control: decision makers perceived performance differences where none existed, and did not detect large differences when they were present. In both experiments, decision makers exhibited difficulty realizing that their positive beliefs about what-if analysis were exaggerated. Such misjudgments could lead people to continue using what-if analysis even when it is not beneficial and to avoid potentially superior decision support technologies.     

A Goal Programming Model for Effective Segment Determination: A Comment and Application

This note presents a model for the effective market segment determination problem. The integer goal programming model was developed for a nonprofit health care organization. The approach is an alternative application of a model presented by McClure and Wells [7]. The model includes input from the organization's clients as well as the organization's decision makers. A distinctive element is the simultaneous development of market segments and the consideration of management, institutional, and resource constraints. The purpose of the model was to aid the decision makers in determining if effective market segments exist which can be reached with information and educational materials concerning infant nutrition and breastfeeding. The model was tested and found to be effective in helping the decision makers segment their clients.     

一种新的基于双前沿面的交叉效率方法及其应用

本文将双前沿面效率评价的思想引入到传统交叉效率模型中，同时，针对双前沿面交叉效率方法中仁慈型和激进型交叉效率策略无法抉择，以及这两种交叉效率策略的应用范围有限的不足，提出了一种新的基于双前沿面的交叉效率方法。该方法的基本思想是选取一个理想决策单元和负理想决策单元，使用被评价决策单元的权重来计算理想决策单元和负理想决策单元的效率，并使被评价决策单元的效率尽可能接近理想解的效率，同时，尽可能远离负理想解的效率。根据该思想，分别在乐观前沿面和悲观前沿面下求解交叉效率值并进行集结，避免了由于前沿面的选择不同导致的差异以及决策者对仁慈型和激进型交叉效率策略进行抉择的困难。最后，将本文方法与现有方法进行对比分析，并将本文方法应用于我国东部地区10个省(直辖市)的创新效率评价中，以验证方法的有效性。     

An Interactive Framework for Multi-Person,Multiobjective Decisions

Group decision making in the presence of multiple conflicting objectives is complex and difficult. This paper describes and evaluates an iterative technique to facilitate multiple objective decision making by multiple decision makers. The proposed method augments an interactive multiobjective optimization procedure with a preference ranking tool and a consensus ranking heuristic. Two multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) solution approaches, the SIMOLP method of Reeves and Franz [39] and the interactive weighted Tchebycheff procedure of Steuer and Choo [49], are recommended optimization strategies to be used independently or in concert. Computational experience suggests that the proposed framework is an effective decision-making tool. The procedure quickly located excellent compromise solutions in a series of test problems with hypothetical decision makers. In addition, human decision makers gave positive evaluations of the procedure and the production plans the procedure provided for a resource allocation case problem.     

System dynamics: Portraying bounded rationality

This paper examines the linkages between system dynamics and the Carnegie School in their treatment of human decision making. It is argued that the structure of system dynamics models implicitly assumes bounded rationality in decision making and that recognition of this assumption would aid system dynamicists in model construction and in communication with other social science disciplines. The paper begins by examining Simon's ‘principle of bounded rationality’ which draws attention to the cognitive limitations on the information gathering and processing powers of human decision makers. Forrester's ‘Market Growth Model’ is used to illustrate the central theme that system dynamics models are portrayals of bounded rationality. Close examination of the model formulation reveals decision functions involving simple rules of thumb and limited information content. Finally, there is a discussion of the implications of Carnegie philosophy for system dynamics as it affects communication, model structuring, model analysis and future research.     

COGNITIVE STYLE AND THE USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION*

The desirability of a merger/acquisition alternative depends in part on the perceptions of the decision maker. What sources of information are “useful” to the decision maker & Does the set of useful information remain constant for all decision makers; if not, do individuals using similar information sets have similar information processing characteristics? Do these sets vary as feedback is obtained during the decision process? To answer these questions, graduate students participated in a modified Delphi experiment, and the resulting data were analyzed by the two-way aligned-ranks nonparametric test. These test results affirm that in a merger/acquisition scenario, decision makers with different cognitive styles prefer different sets of information and these sets vary dynamically as feedback is incorporated in the decision-making process. Furthermore, information that contains worker and community welfare considerations is identified as “useful” five times more frequently by decision makers with a “feeling” cognitive style than those with a “thinking” style.     

“I feel and think,therefore I am”: An Affect-Cognitive Theory of management decisions

I propose an Affect-Cognitive Theory to comprehensively understand how decisions occur in organizations. To this aim, I first review the assumptions of sensemaking and decision-making streams of research, especially the influence of bounded rationality, affective states and their relationships with cognition; then, I integrate them on the common basis of socially situated cognition. This new theory emphasizes the role of affective states in determining/being determined by cognition and its errors, pointing out decision makers’ affect as the result of multi-level adaptations to the physical and social environment. Management decisions are path dependent but not immutable; they, indeed, bank on the predominant feeling resulting from the modifying interactions and regulations of decision makers with their physical and social environment. Here, decision makers are proposed as “emotional cognizers” overcoming the thinking-feeling dichotomy that has often featured in the study of management decisions. This theory is beneficial for behavioral strategy, offering the needed assumptions to intertwine human cognition, emotions, and social behavior.     

The Influences of User Characteristics on Performance in a Logistics DSS Application

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are widely used in logistics decision applications, and a large number and variety of systems are commercially available. We investigate the contributions of user characteristics including experiences, data preferences, intuition, and effort to decision performance in a logistics DSS context. The study includes a laboratory experiment in which decision makers with varied experiences used a DSS to make facility network design decisions for problems of varying complexity. Two variants of the DSS are utilized in order to examine the interactions of a DSS decision aid with user characteristics. We find that intuition and effort are associated with decision-making performance. High analytic ability is not related to intuition, however. Education and previous experience are associated with performance. Yet these characteristics are also unrelated to intuition. Decision makers who highly value disaggregated data provided by the DSS tend to perform poorly. Also, the results suggest that the effects of users' experiences and preferences on performance are influenced by an analytical decision aid.     

多专家判断的模糊偏好信息集结规划方法

本文给出了一种群决策中通过专家判断矩阵集结专家判断信息的方法。在考虑各专家具有不同强度的偏好效用和容许部分专家给出不完整信息的情况下,将专家判断信息集结转化为一类模糊规划问题,通过最大化群组满意度获得最终的群决策结果。最后,本文通过一个算例说明该方法的可行性及有效性。     

基于心理阈值的多属性决策问题目标调整研究

将决策者在决策指标上存在心理阈值的现状应用到多属性决策问题,提出先对决策目标调整再进行决策的方法。首先,对效益型、成本型、中间型指标构建相应的指标满意度函数和算法,针对不同类型的指标选择相应的算法,计算决策者在每个备选方案存在心理阈值属性上的满意度;其次,根据决策者满意度与心理阈值,调整决策目标组建新的决策信息表;再次,提出基于决策者满意度的属性赋权与信息集结算法模型,获得最优决策方案;最后,通过一个实际生活中的决策者购房案例,表明该方法的科学合理性。     

Decision Making Using Rating Systems: When Scale Meets Binary

This article investigates how different decisions can be reached when decision makers consult a binary rating system and a scale rating system. Since typically decision makers use rating information to make binary decisions, it is particularly important to compare the scale system to the binary system. We show that the only N‐point scale system that reports a rater's opinion consistently with the binary system is one where N is odd and is not divisible by 4. At the aggregate level, however, we illustrate that inconsistencies persist regardless of the choice of N. In addition, we provide simple tools that can determine whether the systems lead decision makers to the same decision outcomes.     

权重信息未知情况下的多属性群决策方法及其拓展

本文针对群决策中专家权重及指标权重难以确定的问题,提出一种在权重信息完全未知情况下的基于证据距离和模糊熵权变换的多属性群决策方法,其核心在于如何仅通过决策矩阵客观地确定决策者权重及指标权重。通过信息熵和证据距离确定专家权重,并利用模糊变换原理,将专家权重向量与指标熵权矩阵合成,得到统一的群体决策指标权重;最后使用线性加权法集成所有专家对备选方案的评价信息,得到整个方案集的排序。实验结果及相关讨论表明,该方法概念清晰,计算量适中,具有较强的客观性,而且易于机器实现,是一种可行、有效的多属性群决策方法。最后将该方法推广到属性值由精确数、语言值、区间数、直觉模糊数等多种形式构成的混合型多属性群决策中。     

基于VIKOR和诱导广义直觉梯形模糊Choquet积分算子的多属性群决策方法

针对属性值为直觉梯形模糊数,决策者间和属性间存在相互关联的多属性群决策问题,引入模糊测度和Choquet积分的概念,在直觉梯形模糊数的运算法则基础上构建了诱导型广义直觉梯形模糊choquet积分平均(IG-ITFCA)算子和诱导型广义直觉梯形模糊choquet积分几何(IG-ITFCG)算子,探讨上述算子的若干性质及一些特例,进而提出了基于诱导型广义直觉梯形模糊Choquet积分算子和多准则妥协优化解(VIKOR)的直觉梯形模糊多属性群决策方法。实例分析验证该方法的有效性和合理性。     

基于有限合作机制的群决策熵模型研究

研究一类具有合作机制的群决策问题。提出两阈值的合作函数对决策人之间的合作关系进行模糊分类,采用模糊测度方法度量决策人和决策人集的权力指数,建立合作群决策的非线性规划熵模型集结权力指数,并基于极大熵的最优化原理求解该模型。利用Choquet模糊积分计算备选方案的综合评价值,并对备选方案排序选择最优方案。最后通过算例分析并验证合作群决策模型和运用模糊积分方法求解模型的合理性、有效性。