Behavioural Models for Project Managers
There are several models of behaviour that the project manager can draw upon in his or her work. These include Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, Herzberg’s Hygiene theory and McGregor’s theory X and theory Y as applied to project management. All these behavioural models point to the ability of the project manager to motivate the people […]
Introduction to Flow Chart as BPI Tool
Business Process Improvement programs have become the major tools for Organizations to keep working on their internal operations to enhance the operational efficiencies, to implement new processes in line with business requirement and to eliminate redundancies and wastage. When the Organizations used to be managed and run based on hierarchy and centralized decision making, the […]
The Economics of E-Waste
The modern human society is hooked on electronic devices. As a result, there is an ever-increasing stream of televisions, computer screens, mobile phones, and cameras which are being thrown out since consumers want to upgrade to a newer version. This is generating a new type of waste called e-waste or electronic waste. In this article, […]
What Davos teaches us about Networking and Deal-making at the Highest Levels?
What is Davos and why it is so important for the Global Movers and Shakers? Davos, a small town in Switzerland, is otherwise famous for the Annual gathering of the world’s political, business, and celebrity elites hosted by the World Economic Forum or the WEF, a private think tank that has been founded by one […]
Globalization and the Trickle Down Theory: Does it Work ?
The underlying premise behind globalization is that the transfer of wealth from the developed countries to the developing countries would eventually result in a scenario where those at the bottom of the ladder in the developing countries would benefit from the wealth flowing into their economies. The theory behind this is that if a Billion […]
These are the top level processes that an organization is exposed to. These include tasks that need a high level of intellectual capability and will have wide spread effects in the structure and functioning of the organization. The nature of these processes can be compared to those that the human brain performs.
Here are some of the characteristic features of these processes and what makes them so challenging and interesting.
A strategic process is concerned with making decisions. Decisions are made only after data from various sources is received. This data is received from both within the organization as well as from the environment outside the organization. To add to this, it is the job of the management to ensure that the data is relevant and credible. Hence strategic processes face a data overload and also a possibility that the data may be incorrect. It is this decision making in the face of uncertainty that makes designing a strategic process challenging.
It is quite possible that an organization may have all the data related to the decision at hand, but it may not have the expertise to make sense of the data. For instance, in hindsight everyone sees the Sub-prime mortgage crisis as inevitable, but some of the brightest managers in the world could not see it coming despite the obvious signals in the data.
Strategic processes therefore must also ensure that the relevant skills are present in the system in the form of human or artificial intelligence that will help convert data into actionable information. A big leap forward in this regard is the idea of business intelligence systems.
Even when actionable information is available in front of the management in the form of alternatives, the payoffs are unknown and uncertain. This is what makes it difficult to create a science of decision making which is right now an art.
There are some who believe that strategic processes cannot be dehumanized. Although they are processes, they still are dependant on people and their intellectual capability. A standard operating procedure in this regard is only as possible as the standard operating procedure to attain greatness or nirvana!
Proponents of this theory believe that a skillful team is required at least at the top. This is justified as the reason behind outrageous executive compensations. However there are others in the field of artificial intelligence who are trying to find a mental model that can replicate the intelligence of these great business leaders and make it process oriented.
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Continuous Improvement and Business Process Re-Engineering
February 12, 2025
