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It has often been proposed, or assumed, that improvisation is a useful metaphor to provide insight into managing and organizing. However, improvisation is more than a metaphor. It is an orientation and a technique to enhance the strategic renewal of an organization. The bridge between theory and practice is made through exercises used to develop the capacity to improvise, borrowed from theatre improvisation. This paper describes a typical improvisation workshop in developing six key areas that link improvisation exercises to the practice of management: interpreting the environment; crafting strategy; cultivating leadership; fostering teamwork; developing individual skills; and assessing organizational culture.

On several occasions, as an operations research analyst, I have been asked to work on project teams formed to address some particular problem, even though no specific need for operations research abilities had been identified at the outset. In this case, the Public Service Company of Colorado asked me to work on a project team formed to improve the availability of a coal-fired steam generator at an electric power plant. Plant personnel had been trying unsuccessfully for several years to reduce system downtime. I recognized that the plant could make immediate improvements by reducing the duration of breakdowns rather than their frequency. The company initially estimated the payoff for these improvements at $544,000 annually, but has since revised it upward, and it may be as high as $2 million annually. The insights that produced these process improvements were possible because of the hands-on approach to problem solving taught at Colorado School of Mines.

Item does not contain fulltext In the first decade of consumer neuroscience, strong progress has been made in understanding how neuroscience can inform consumer decision making. Here, we sketch the development of this discipline and compare it to that of the adjacent field of neuroeconomics. We describe three new frontiers for ongoing progress at both theoretical and applied levels. First, the field will broaden its boundaries to include genetics and molecular neuroscience, each of which will provide important new insights into individual differences in decision making. Second, recent advances in computational methods will improve the accuracy and out-of-sample generalizability of predicting decisions from brain activity. Third, sophisticated meta-analyses will help consumer neuroscientists to synthesize the growing body of knowledge, providing evidence for consistency and specificity of brain activations and their reliability as measurements of consumer behavior. 11 p.

Item does not contain fulltext The steroid hormone testosterone has been associated with behavior intended to obtain or maintain high social status. Although such behavior is typically characterized as aggressive and competitive, it is clear that high social status is achieved and maintained not only through antisocial behavior but also through prosocial behavior. In the present experiment, we investigated the impact of testosterone administration on trust and reciprocity using a double-blind randomized control design. We found that a single dose of 0.5 mg of testosterone decreased trust but increased generosity when repaying trust. These findings suggest that testosterone may mediate different types of status-seeking behavior. It may increase competitive, potentially aggressive, and antisocial behavior when social challenges and threats (i.e., abuse of trust and betrayal) need to be considered; however, it may promote prosocial behavior in the absence of these threats, when high status and good reputation may be best served by prosocial behavior. 9 p.

International audience; The social and neural sciences share a common interest in understanding the mechanisms that underlie human behaviour. However, interactions between neuroscience and social science disciplines remain strikingly narrow and tenuous. We illustrate the scope and challenges for such interactions using the paradigmatic example of neuroeconomics. Using quantitative analyses of both its scientific literature and the social networks in its intellectual community, we show that neuroeconomics now reflects a true disciplinary integration, such that research topics and scientific communities with interdisciplinary span exert greater influence on the field. However, our analyses also reveal key structural and intellectual challenges in balancing the goals of neuroscience with those of the social sciences. To address these challenges, we offer a set of prescriptive recommendations for directing future research in neuroeconomics.

When do we describe an experience with a product concretely, and when abstractly?Language abstraction in communication about products When do we describe an experience with a product concretely, and when abstractly?Language abstraction in communication about products A main property of language is its abstractness, and language abstraction is a valuable and useful communication signal which can be used by communicators to optimize their interactions. Research on language abstraction has primarily been focused on the language that is used to describe (interpersonal) behavior, while limited attention has been given to communication about inanimate objects. This paper found a systematic pattern in the use of language abstraction in descriptions of objects: experiences with products that are congruent with the attitude of the sender towards a product are communicated more abstractly than attitude incongruent experiences. More specifically, negative experiences with products are communicated more abstractly by people with an unfavorable (vs. favorable) product attitude, while positive experiences are communicated more concretely by consumers with an unfavorable (vs. favorable) product attitude.

Contains fulltext : 95828.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) We often change our behavior to conform to real or imagined group pressure. Social influence on our behavior has been extensively studied in social psychology, but its neural mechanisms have remained largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that the transient downregulation of the posterior medial frontal cortex by theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces conformity, as indicated by reduced conformal adjustments in line with group opinion. Both the extent and probability of conformal behavioral adjustments decreased significantly relative to a sham and a control stimulation over another brain area. The posterior part of the medial frontal cortex has previously been implicated in behavioral and attitudinal adjustments. Here, we provide the first interventional evidence of its critical role in social influence on human behavior.

Contains fulltext : 81685.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) We often change our decisions and judgments to conform with normative group behavior. However, the neural mechanisms of social conformity remain unclear. Here we show, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, that conformity is based on mechanisms that comply with principles of reinforcement learning. We found that individual judgments of facial attractiveness are adjusted in line with group opinion. Conflict with group opinion triggered a neuronal response in the rostral cingulate zone and the ventral striatum similar to the "prediction error" signal suggested by neuroscientific models of reinforcement learning. The amplitude of the conflict-related signal predicted subsequent conforming behavioral adjustments. Furthermore, the individual amplitude of the conflict-related signal in the ventral striatum correlated with differences in conforming behavior across subjects. These findings provide evidence that social group norms evoke conformity via learning mechanisms reflected in the activity of the rostral cingulate zone and ventral striatum.

Two major approaches to measuring risk attitude are compared. One, based on the expected utility model is derived from responses to lotteries and direct scaling. The other measure is a psychometric approach based on Likert statements that produces a unidimensional risk attitude scale. The data are from computer-assisted interviews of 346 owner-managers who made decisions about their own businesses. While the measures demonstrate some degree of convergent validity, the measures based on lotteries predicted actual market behavior better than the psychometric scale. In contrast the psychometric scale showed more coherence with self-reported measures such as innovativeness, market orientation, and the intention to reduce risk. In the light of the apparently higher predictive validity of the lottery-based measurements, we recommend elicitation methods based on the expected utility paradigm for understanding managerial decision making under risk.

Based on measurements among 332 owner-managers, we investigate how the global shape of the utility function (i.e., S-shaped versus concave or convex over the total range of outcomes) relates to choice behavior. We find that the global shape of the utility function differs across decision makers (about one-third of the owner-managers exhibit an S-shaped utility function) and that the global shape is linked to organizational behavior (i.e., the production system employed), a result that does not change when using different methods to identify the decision maker's global shape of the utility function. The decision maker's risk attitude (risk averse or risk seeking) does not affect the choice of the production system. Whereas the degree of risk aversion, based on the local shape of the utility function, may be important in explaining owner-managers' trading behavior (Pennings and Smidts 2000), more structural organizational behavior appears to be linked to the global shape of the utility function.

In this paper we conceptualize the impact of information technology on marketing decision-making. We argue that developments in information technology affect the performance of marketing decision-makers through different routes. Advances in information technology enhance the possibilities to collect data and to generate information for supporting marketing decision-making. Potentially, this will have a positive impact on decision-making performance. Managerial expertise will favor the transformation of data into market insights. However, as the cognitive capabilities of marketing managers are limited, increasing amounts of data may also increase the complexity of the decision-making context. In turn, increased complexity enhances the probability of biased decision processes (e.g., the inappropriate use of heuristics) thereby negatively affecting decision-making performance. Marketing management support systems, also being the result of advances in information technology, are tools that can help marketers to benefit from the data explosion. These systems are able to increase the value of data and, at the same time, make decision-makers less vulnerable to biased decision processes. Our analysis leads to the expectation that the combination of marketing data, managerial judgment, and marketing management support systems will be a powerful factor for improving marketing management. Implications of our analysis are discussed.

Marketing decision makers are confronted with an increasing amount of information. This leads to a complex decision environment that may cause decision makers to lapse into using mental-effort-reducing heuristics such as anchoring and adjustment. In an experimental study, we find that the use of a marketing decision support system (MDSS) increases the effectiveness of marketing decision makers. An MDSS is effective because it assists its users in identifying the important decision variables and, subsequently, making better decisions based on those variables. Decision makers using an MDSS are also less susceptible to applying the anchoring and adjustment heuristic and, therefore, show more variation in their decisions in a dynamic environment. Low-analytical decision makers and decision makers operating under low time pressure especially benefit from using an MDSS.

A major concern for service managers is to counteract negative effects of waiting. In this study, the effects of objective waiting time and waiting environment on satisfaction with the service were investigated. Two elements of the waiting environment were distinguished: the attractiveness of the waiting room and the presence of television (TV) as an explicit distracter. The mediating role of three subjective variables (perceived waiting time, acceptable waiting time and the (cognitive and affective) appraisal of the wait) was explored. Waiting appears to influence satisfaction quite strongly. The adverse effects of waiting can be soothed more effectively by improving the attractiveness of the waiting environment than by shortening the objective waiting time. Objective waiting time influences satisfaction mainly via a cognitive route: through perceived waiting time (in minutes) and the long/short judgment of the wait. Perceived attractiveness of the waiting environment operates mainly through affect, and thus serves as a mood inducer. The acceptable waiting time appears to be a critical point of reference, since surpassing it provokes strong affective responses. Although the presence of TV did not result in the expected effect of distraction, the tendency to watch it was found to be dependent on the length of the wait (and thus, boredom).

In a field study, the concept of intrinsic risk attitude is investigated. Intrinsic risk attitude concerns the relationship between risk attitude, measured by the utility function u(x), and strength of preference, measured by the value function v(x). We study farmers' decision-making vis-à-vis price risk and obtain assessments of risk attitude and strength of preference in two consecutive years in a sample of 253 respondents. This design enables us to investigate the temporal stability of intrinsic risk attitude. Our findings show that risk attitude and strength of preference are two distinctive constructs. More specifically, the hypothesis of a linear relationship between u(x) and v(x) is clearly rejected in favor of an exponential relationship. This exponential relationship implies that our respondents exhibit a constant absolute intrinsic risk attitude for different price levels, during a time period. Differences between respondents in direction and degree of intrinsic risk attitude are substantial and the majority of the respondents are intrinsically risk seeking. No statistically significant change in intrinsic risk attitude could be detected between the two years of measurement. However, the correlation between measures across time appears to be low. In the discussion, issues for further research are identified.

In this paper we present the results of an experimental study of the impact of the quality of a marketing decision support system (MDSS). The experiment was conducted in the MARKSTRAT environment. The quality of an MDSS was operationalized as the predictive precision of its simulation models. The results show that marketing decision-makers using a high-quality MDSS outperform marketing decision-makers using a medium-quality MDSS. The superior performance with the high-quality MDSS was obtained for both low and high time-pressure.

When comparing the expected utility models of Bernoulli (Bernoulli 1954) and von (1947), a clear difference comes up with respect to the definition and measurement of the evaluation function. In the Bernoulli model the function v(x) is measured in riskless conditions and it encodes strength of preference for outcomes. To Bernoulli, the diminishing marginal value for outcomes explains why decision makers are risk averse. The utility function u(x) in the vNM-model, however, is measured by means of lotteries and it does not have a strength of preference interpretation. This difference gives rise to the question whether v(x) and u(x) are one and the same function (i.e. a linear relationship).