Make Better Business Decisions

In this article, the authors first examine the typical decision-making environment in organizations, highlighting the challenges executives face in their quest for better performance. Next, they introduce some of the basic tenets from the scientific method and describe how they can play a role in ov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research technology management 2008-07, Vol.51 (4), p.8-16
Main Authors: Friga, Paul N., Chapas, Richard B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Business structures
Case studies
Corporate strategies
Data collection
Decision making
Efficiency
Emerging technology
Engineering
Hypotheses
Intuition
Knowledge management
Methods
ONE POINT OF VIEW
Product development
R&D
Rationality
Research & development
Research & development expenditures
Science
Scientific method
Start up firms
Stockholders
Studies
Technology
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Summary:In this article, the authors first examine the typical decision-making environment in organizations, highlighting the challenges executives face in their quest for better performance. Next, they introduce some of the basic tenets from the scientific method and describe how they can play a role in overcoming several of the key decision-making deficiencies. The authors then describe a five-step process that can assist in the implementation of scientific method techniques in daily decision-making, illustrated by a case study relating to new technology development. The research suggests that business and research leaders who successfully implement theories from the scientific method cite two primary benefits: efficiency and objectivity. The efficiency results from the use of less resources throughout the entire business-making process as a result of investing more effort upfront in "framing" and "developing hypotheses." A hypothesis eliminates prejudice, promotes transparency and dialogue, and requires verification through experimentation and data gathering. The hypothesis leads to a decision based on experiments run in the marketplace.
ISSN:0895-6308
1930-0166
DOI:10.1080/08956308.2008.11657509