1st Edition
Wisdom, Analytics and Wicked Problems Integral Decision Making for the Data Age
The challenges faced by 21st-century businesses, organizations and governments are characterized as being fundamentally different in nature, scope and levels of impact from those of the past. As problems become increasingly complex and wicked, conventional reductive approaches and data-based solutions are limited. The authors argue that practical wisdom is required.
This book provides an integral and practical model for incorporating wisdom into management decision making. Based on a cross-disciplinary conceptualization of practical wisdom, the authors distinguish systematically between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom-based decision making. While they suggest that data, analytics, information and knowledge can assist decision-makers to better deal with complex and wicked problems, they argue that data-based systems cannot replace optimized human decision-making capabilities. These capabilities, the authors explain, include a range of qualities and characteristics inherent in philosophical, psychological and organizational conceptions of practical wisdom.
Accordingly, in this book, the authors introduce a model that identifies the specific qualities and processes involved in making wise decisions, especially in management. The model is based on the empirical fi ndings of the authors’ studies in the areas of wisdom and management.
This book is a practical resource for professionals, practitioners, and consultants in both the private and public sectors. The theoretical discussions, critical arguments, and practical guidelines provided in the book will be extremely valuable to students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as upper-level postdoctoral researchers looking at business management strategies.
Series Editor Introduction by Wendelin Küpers Foreword by David Rooney Introduction 1: Wisdom from Ancient Philosophy to Modern Psychology 2: Understanding Practical Wisdom in Business and Management: An Inter-disciplinary Perspective 3: Organizational Problems: Why Decision Situations Can be More Wicked than We Think 4: Trapped in the Past, Dealing with the Future: The Role of Knowledge in Dealing with Decision Situations 5: Big Data and Analytics: Is It a Game Changer for Decision Making? 6: Decision Making, the Core of What Managers Do 7: Wisdom Aspects in the Management Context 8: Wise Management Decision Making 9: The Path to Management Wisdom
Biography
Ali Intezari (PhD) is a Lecturer at UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia. His research studies are published in international journals such as Decision Sciences, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Knowledge Management, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, and Journal of Management Inquiry.
David Pauleen is a Professor in Technology Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand. His work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Management Information Systems, Sloan Management Review and Journal of Business Ethics.
"The intent behind business intelligence, big data, analytics, and the like was always to improve decision-making, but the connection to effective and wise decisions has, until this book, been poorly understood. This deep but highly readable volume finally brings purpose to our efforts to make sense of data." — Thomas H. Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor of IT and Management, Babson College, Fellow, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, Senior Advisor to Deloitte’s Analytics and Cognitive Practice
"Wisdom is rarely discussed in business, but Intezari and Pauleen present a new perspective needed for business today. With big data and analytics, decision making edges towards the province of computational analysis and artificial intelligence. The authors present a different approach from psychological research and philosophy of wisdom. Practical wisdom considers the importance of human flourishing in decision making requiring social and emotional intelligence. They argue that wise management is important for business, offering guidelines for developing the perspective taking, empathy, self-regulation, and reflection that wisdom requires, presenting the strong case that the wicked problems of managers may be best addressed through wisdom." — Howard C. Nusbaum, Stella M. Rowley, Professor of Psychology and Director Center for Practical Wisdom, The University of Chicago
"Intezari and Pauleen have made a valuable contribution to management literature with this new book on wise decision making. Their aim is to “provide an integral and practical framework for incorporating wisdom into business and management practices in both the private and public sectors...Finally, it should be noted that the book is well set out, with clear diagrams and extensive use of tables. The ebook edition also includes hyperlinks for ease of movement throughout the text...This book will be of most interest to business students and professionals,
