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Why Corporate Functions Stumble
Kunisch, Sven; Muller-Stewens, Gunter; Campbell, AndrewArticle HBS-R1412H-ELeadership and People ManagementA survey of 761 of the largest corporations in North America and Europe showed that the number of corporate functions had increased at about a third from 2007 to 2010. Leaders at three out of four companies believed that their functions' influence had grown. At the same time, complaints about the performance of those functions were increasing. The authors combined their survey data with insights from structured interviews at large European mult...Starting at €8.20
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Inappropriate Attachments: How to Avoid Letting Personal Attachments Lead Decision Making Astray
Finkelstein, Sydney; Whitehead, Jo; Campbell, AndrewBook Chapter HBS-3612BC-EPersonal attachments surround us and can have a major role in any decision, sometimes to our extreme detriment. Attachments are very important to consider. They bring meaning and joy to our lives--they include attachments to our friends and families, to communities, to places, and even to objects that have taken on significance for us. It would be virtually impossible not to be affected by these attachments as we make decisions, but, under certai...Starting at €8.20
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Reducing Risks with Safeguards: Techniques for Guarding Against the Mental Distortions that Lead to Bad Decisions
Finkelstein, Sydney; Whitehead, Jo; Campbell, AndrewBook Chapter HBS-3613BC-EThe Bay of Pigs was a military and political fiasco, but President Kennedy learned from his mistake and created a process that reduced the risk of a flawed decision when faced with the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year. He recognized the potential to prejudge the situation, draw on misleading experiences, and be over-influenced by self-interest, so safeguards were put in place to guide his decision making. Safeguards can involve a wide rang...Starting at €8.20
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One Plan at a Time: How Our Mental Processes Increase the Likelihood of Making Flawed Decisions
Finkelstein, Sydney; Whitehead, Jo; Campbell, AndrewBook Chapter HBS-3608BC-EIf our brains naturally questioned and challenged our assessments and judgments or compared multiple solutions to a problem, we would be much better at spotting errors in our thinking and correcting them. But we do not. We have evolved a brain that assesses the situation, comes up with a plan of action, and then evaluates that plan. We do not consider alternative unless we imagine that our first plan won't work. The authors describe this process ...Starting at €8.20
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Emotional Tagging: How Our Mental Processes Increase the Likelihood of Making Flawed Decisions
Finkelstein, Sydney; Whitehead, Jo; Campbell, AndrewBook Chapter HBS-3607BC-EWhen someone makes a bad decision, it is often said that that person let his emotions get in the way of clear judgment. According to the authors, it is true that the brain's decision making processes rely heavily on emotions. When the brain stores a memory of an event or action, it also stores an associated emotion with it. This is called "emotional tagging," an unconscious process that helps us assess a situation and identify a suitable action p...Starting at €8.20
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Inappropriate Self-Interest: A Beguiling and Unconscious Influence on Decision Making
Finkelstein, Sydney; Whitehead, Jo; Campbell, AndrewBook Chapter HBS-3611BC-EThe demise of Enron stands out as an iconic story of self-interest and its corrosive effect on decision making. This story of corruption, however, is extreme, and we might be tempted to think that self-interest is a rare influence on decision making, limited to a few dishonest or misguided people. Not true. In fact, the impact of self-interest is much more pervasive. It can affect the decisions of the most thoughtful and upstanding leaders. It ca...Starting at €8.20