Foundations of Complexity

  Foundations of Complexity Have you ever tried discussing the Renaissance period with your managers and leadership? The idea of collaborative decision making can be traced back to the Italian Renaissance and the passions that existed at that time. Think for a moment about the collaborative teams of the Renaissance period that worked together as painters, craftsmen, and sculptors who benefited from the diversity of their classmates. The high rates of collaboration with these peers allowed them to learn from one another, exchange ideas and techniques, and make decisions building off one another’s diverse accomplishments (Ferrari & Goethals, 2010). Consider the painting of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling in Vatican City or the design and building of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo, for short) as examples from which we can learn. Decisions to create and innovate are not only driven by probabilistic models but can also come from peer collaboration. This week and last week you considered a PwC survey and the hybrid forms of gut decision making and data-driven analysis. As you prepare for this week’s Discussion, will you th​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​ink outside the box as to the assembly of a toolbox and draw upon multiple approaches, or will you stay within the comfort zone of your preferred decision-making style? Focus on your assessment of the validity of using probability techniques as an alternative, or in addition to, gut reactions for assessing uncertainty. Remember, software and data scientist experts with strong backgrounds in statistics do the programming. As a current and future manager and leader, you will drive the assumptions and interpretations of output as a consumer of data. To prepare for this Discussion, build your toolbox of various tools and methods for problem solving and decision making. Address the following questions: What five tools would you include for the purpose of decision-making related to your identified management problem or opportunity? Evaluate the utility of those tools with references to the literature. What typical tools would you likely exclude for the purpose of decision-making related to your identified management problem or opportunity? Evaluate the utility of those tools with references to the literature. Day 3: Initial Post Post the answers you pr​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​epared.