The economic crisis of 2008–2009 was a transformational event: it demonstrated that smart people aren't as smart as they and the public think. The crisis arose because a lot of highly educated people in high-impact positions— political power brokers, business leaders, and large segments of the general public—made a lot of bad decisions despite unprecedented access to data, highly sophisticated decision support systems, methodological advances in the decision sciences, and guidance from hig...

Why are group decisions so hard?Since the beginning of human history, people have made decisions in groups—first in families and villages, and now as part of companies, governments, school boards, religious organizations, or any one of countless other groups. And having more than one person to help decide is good because the group benefits from the collective knowledge of all of its members, and this results in better decisions. Right?Back to reality. We’ve...

Quality work that fosters job satisfaction and health enjoys top priority in industry all over the world. This was not always so. Until recently analysis of job attitudes focused primarily on human relations problems within organizations. While American industry was trying to solve the unsolvable problem of avoiding interpersonal dissatisfaction, problems with the potential for solution, such as training and quality production, were ignored. When first published, 'The Motivation to Work' c...

Presents new methods in scenario thinking, based on a mix of high-level research and top-level consultancy experience. The authors describe the logical bases of a range of scenario methods and provide detailed 'road maps' on how to implement them - together with practical examples of their application.

"The best book on change I've ever read..." (Bank CEO)"The best book on change in fifteen years, perhaps longer..." (Organization Development consultant)Leaders need guidance on leading change grounded in the latest science, not 20th-century myths. In this updated 2019 edition of The Science of Organizational Change, Paul takes us on a journey from change mythology, from New Age change ideas, from "reports in drawers", and from pop psychology up to the present.In th...

A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Dr. Zeigler has taught, coached, researched, and administered programs at four universities (Western Ontario [twice]; Illinois, UIUC; Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Yale). He has published 55 books and 432 articles. The top six awards in his field in North America have been bestowed on him. He has received three honorary doctorates and is listed in Whos Who in Canada, Whos Who in America, and Whos Who in the World. In this monograph, Dr. Zeigler dr...

Building upon the work of Donald Schon, this edited collection expands the research into the idea of the reflexive practice - understanding how to create better solution-oriented practices for business during turbulent and chaotic situations.

In Basic Social Policy and Planning, Burch presents a generic process for professional intervention and social work leadership that is required of those who desire to achieve improvements in the lives of those they serve. Burch developed this text and guide so that even persons with no prior formal training in social planning can apply these principles in their practices. Because few social workers are content with simply repairing the damages caused by inequities, inadequacies, and injust...