scholarly journals Medicine and interest politics a study of decision-making processes in the area of vascular surgery in Norway

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-447
Author(s):  
Kjersti Wendt ◽  
Bjørn Erik Mørk ◽  
Ole Trond Berg ◽  
Erik Fosse
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Vascular Surgery ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rational Distribution ◽  
Decision Making Processes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of organizational challenges when decision-makers try to comply with technological developments and increasing demands for a more rational distribution of health care services. This paper explores two decision-making processes from 2007–2019 in the area of vascular surgery at a regional and a local level in Norway.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws upon extensive document analyses, semi-structured interviews and field conversations. The empirical material was analyzed in several steps through an inductive approach and described and explained through a theoretical framework based on rational choice (i.e. bounded rationality), political behavior and institutionalism. These perspectives were used in a complementary way.FindingsBoth decision-making processes were resource-intensive, long-lasting and produced few organizational changes for the provision of vascular services. Stakeholders at both levels outmaneuvered the health care planners, though by different means. Regionally, the decision-making ended up in a political process, while locally the decision-making proceeded as a strategic game between different departments and professional fields.Practical implicationsDecision-makers need to prepare thoroughly for convincing others of the benefits of new ways of organizing clinical care. By providing meaningful opportunities for public involvement, by identifying and anticipating political agendas and by building alliances between stakeholders with divergent values and aims decision-makers may extend the realm of feasible solutions.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the understanding of why decision-making processes can be particularly challenging in a field characterized by rapid technological development, new treatment options and increasing demands for more rational distribution of services.

A multicriteria assessment model for countries’ degree of preparedness for successful impact investing

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 2455-2471
Author(s):  
Teresa León ◽  
Vicente Liern ◽  
Blanca Pérez-Gladish
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Multiple Criteria ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
Impact Investing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose In recent years there has been a significant acceleration in the market growth of social impact investing. Policy makers, regulatory bodies and national decision-makers should base their decision-making processes on multiple criteria. These criteria are, by nature, imprecise, ambiguous and uncertain. The purpose of this paper is to provide decision-makers with a mathematical tool which aids them in their decision-making processes identifying the degree of appropriateness of less developed countries in terms of potential success of investment in vaccination campaigns. Design/methodology/approach In this work, the authors have developed a decision-making tool within the framework of multiple criteria decision making and Fuzzy Logic, which aims to aid decision-makers for vaccinations campaigns in less developed countries. In particular, the authors have proposed a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution-based method which is able to work in fuzzy environment in order to assess and rank countries based on their fuzzy degree of appropriateness for impact investing in vaccines. Findings The impact investing market provides capital from private sources to address many pressing global challenges such as access to basic services as health. Governments have, therefore, an essential role in supporting the development of this market by improving the risk/return profile of investments through access to credit facilities, tax credits or subsidies or defining the regulation of the supply of investments, provision of technical assistance to investing private companies and co-financing. The proposed framework permits funding decision making taking into account the degree of preparedness and adequacy for impact investing in vaccines of the selected countries. Research limitations/implications Impact investing can play a key role in the reduction of immunization gap offering suitable strategies for both, governments and private investors for the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in order to make good financial decisions managers should take into account not only health, income, education and other social criteria but also the degree of basic preparedness of the countries in order to ensure the success of the immunization campaigns which means taking into account availability of basic infrastructures, access to electricity, political stability among other criteria. Practical implications However, in order to make good financial decisions managers should take into account not only health, income, education and other social criteria but also the degree of basic preparedness of the countries in order to ensure the success of the immunization campaigns which means taking into account availability of basic infrastructures, access to electricity, political stability among other criteria. Originality/value The proposed model will allow public and private decision makers to make better investment decisions in terms of effectiveness as the provided ranking of countries candidates for the investments is more realistic and takes into account more decision dimensions.

Does scheduling matter? When unscheduled decision making results in more effective meetings

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Eisenbart ◽  
Massimo Garbuio ◽  
Daniele Mascia ◽  
Federica Morandi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Real World ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Distributed Information ◽  
Critical Design ◽  
Meeting Scheduling ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Potential Impact

Purpose – Managers spend a great deal of time in meetings making decisions critical to organisational success, yet the design aspects of meetings remain largely understudied. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the potential impact of one critical design aspect of meetings – namely, whether a decision to be taken (or the meeting in general) was scheduled or not – on the use of distributed information, information elaboration, conflict, speed of decision making, and, ultimately, decision-making effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The research presented in this paper combines a literature review with empirical data obtained from questionnaires and direct observation of decision making meetings on organisational issues in a hospital. One meeting was scheduled, the other two were unscheduled. A second questionnaire was administered 12 months after the respective decision making meetings to explore and evaluate the efficiency of the decisions made and their implementation. Findings – This paper suggests that a scheduled meeting with a shared agenda of all decisions to be taken may induce decision makers to form opinions upfront at the meeting, with these opinions eventually serving as sources of conflict during group discussion. Because of the nature of the conflict generated, these meetings are more likely to run long and to not deliver the expected outcomes. Originality/value – The study contributes to the debate on group decision-making processes by examining the effect of meeting scheduling on information elaboration and conflict in real-world decision-making settings. Although robust evidence has supported the existence of relationships between information elaboration, conflict, and decision-making effectiveness, previous studies have mainly focused on the effects of these processes during scheduled meetings and experimental settings. The findings of the present study show the effect of meeting scheduling on decision-making effectiveness in real-world settings.

scholarly journals Proposal of a Holistic Model to Support Local-Level Evidence-Based Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1520-1529
Author(s):  
Said Shahtahmasebi ◽  
Luis Villa ◽  
Helen Nielsen ◽  
Hilary Graham-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Local Evidence ◽  
External Evidence

In response to a central drive for evidence-based practice, there have been many research support schemes, setups, and other practices concentrating on facilitating access to external research, such as the Centre for Evidence Based Healthcare Aotearoa, the Cochrane Collaboration, and the York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Very little attention has been paid to supporting internal research in terms of local evidence and internal research capabilities. The whole evidence-based practice movement has alienated internal decision makers and, thus, very little progress has been made in the context of evidence informing local policy formation. Health and social policies are made centrally based on dubious claims and often evidence is sought after implementation. For example, on record, most health care practitioners appear to agree with the causal link between depression and mental illness (sometimes qualified with other social factors) with suicide; off the record, even some psychiatrists doubt that such a link is applicable to the population as a whole. Therefore, be it through misplaced loyalty or a lack of support for internal researchers/decision makers, local evidence informing local decision making may have been ignored in favour of external evidence. In this paper, we present a practical holistic model to support local evidence-based decision making. This approach is more relevant in light of a new approach to primary health care of “local knowledge” complementing external evidence. One possible outcome would be to network with other regional programmes around the world to share information and identify “best” practices, such as the “Stop Youth Suicide Campaign”(www.stopyouthsuicide.com).

Reducing biases of decision-making processes in complex organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Cristofaro
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Decision Processes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Problem Structuring Methods ◽  
Complex Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Control Tool ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose This paper aims to study how biases in decision-making processes could be reduced. In this vein, over the past 30 years, scholars interested in decision-making have been raising their interest in the development of quality control tools to mitigate the effects of cognitive distortions. However, they have often neglected the use of psychological instruments for understanding the role of decision-makers’ personality in the quality of the decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach This is an intrinsic case study about an Italian complex organization (i.e. Consorzio ELIS) which tries to shed light on the identified research question. Three decision-makers responsible for the decision processes of three new business initiatives were interviewed using a recent quality control tool (i.e. checklist) and their personality types were tracked by performing MBTI® tests. The thematic analysis, approached by using NVivo software, and after six months of direct observations inside the organization, allowed an understanding of the decision processes and their distortions. Findings The results of this study show how initiatives with frequent quality control mechanisms and different stakeholders are more able to pass the decision phase than initiatives with no controls, few participants and little difference between personalities. Originality/value The results of this work show how reducing biases of decision-making processes in complex organizations can benefit from the simultaneous use of the checklist and MBTI® test. As demonstrated, when used together, they can make more effective use of and provide better results for both, as well as providing a better quality control of the decision-making processes. From that, an approach is proposed that both takes into account the two perspectives and can work together with other cognitive problem structuring methods.

Grading of architectural heritage using AHP and TOPSIS methods: a case of Odishan Temple, India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Partha Sarathi Mishra ◽  
Soumi Muhuri
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Architectural Heritage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ideal Solutions ◽  
Order Preference ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Distinct Dimension ◽  
Hierarchy Process ◽  
Selection Of

PurposeRanking and grading of architectural heritage (AH) are common for the conservation process. Decision-makers are often intuitively made decisions for the selection of the AH. However, on many occasions, these decisions are not transparent and sometimes focused only on a few aspects of the AH.Design/methodology/approachA transparent and robust methodology must be adopted to select and manage AH for the present and future generations. Selecting the list of parameters that are affecting the AH, and assessing their significance can strengthen the holistic assessment. From the literature, parameters and dimensions are identified for the evaluation of AH and its application for Odishan temple architecture (OTA). For minimizing biasedness associated with assessment, the research considered the opinion of experts, researchers and various stakeholders. For objective decision-making, the Delphi, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solutions (TOPSIS) methods were adopted.FindingsLater, by observing the dimension-wise ranks and comparing the obtained grading of OTA with the existing state of protection, it was found that some temples, though having higher values with distinct dimension, lack significantly in other dimensions. However, for unbiased evaluation, all the possible dimensions should be considered. This methodology will also be useful for other decision-making processes concerning the same.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to the OTA. However, this methodology can be adopted by changing the definitions of the parameters according to the contextual needs.Practical implicationsThis methodology may be helpful for the further policy-making process for the conservation and management of such AH.Originality/valueTo date, OTA is not graded through such a methodology. Also, limited studies are found in similar line worldwide.

In Search of Informed Input: A Systematic Approach to Involving the Public in Community Decision Making

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Abelson ◽  
Jonathan Lomas
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Decision

Given the task of distributing scarce resources, decision makers are faced with the question of how to involve an increasingly threatened and disenfranchised public in decisions affecting their communities. This article introduces a systematic approach to public involvement in community decision-making and identifies key elements in the design of institutionally driven public participation exercises. Examples are drawn from the health care system restructuring experiences of three Ontario communities.

Service decision-making processes at three New York state cooperative public library systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 418-432
Author(s):  
Xiaoai Ren
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New York ◽  
New York State ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
York State ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the organizational structure and service provisions of cooperative public library systems in New York State. The study also seeks to ask questions of how cooperative public library systems decide what services to provide. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis were applied on New York State public library systems’ 2008 annual reports to generate quantitative profiles of public library systems and their service transactions. Three cooperative public library systems displaying different service features were purposefully selected for further study of their service decision-making processes. The face-to-face and phone interviews were adopted in the study. Findings – Research findings from this study provide information on specific service variations across cooperative public library systems. The findings also provide differences of service decision-making processes in addition to the factors that might cause these differences. Originality/value – This study adds knowledge of public library systems’ management and organizational structures, therefore fills a knowledge gap on public library systems. It can also serve as the baseline for future studies using newer annual report data and therefore to study the changing roles and services of cooperative public library systems in New York State.

The hidden power of language

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-206
Author(s):  
Philipp Hummel ◽  
Jacob Hörisch
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current Accounting ◽  
Cost Reductions

Purpose Stakeholder theory research identifies changes in language as one possible mechanism to overcome the deficiencies of current accounting practices with regard to social aspects. This study aims to examine the effects of the terms used for specific accounts on company internal decision-making, drawing on the example of “value creation accounting”. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a survey based-experiment to analyze the effects of terms used for specific accounts on decision-making, with a focus on social aspects (in particular expenditures for staff) in cost reduction and expenditure decisions. Findings The findings indicate that wordings, which more closely relate to value creation than to costs, decrease cost reductions and increase the priority ascribed to the social aspect of reducing staff costs in times of financial shortage. The effects of terms used on cost reductions are stronger among female decision makers. Practical implications The analysis suggests that conventional accounting language best suits organizations that aim at incentivizing decision makers to primarily cut costs. By contrast, if an organization follows an approach that puts importance on social aspects in times of financial shortage and on not doing too sharp cost reductions, value creation-oriented language is the more effective approach. Social implications The study suggests that the specific terminology used for accounts should be chosen more carefully and with awareness for the possible effects on cost reduction decisions as well as on social consequences. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the relevance of language in accounting. It suggests that the terms used for accounts should be chosen purposefully because of their far-reaching potential consequences for stakeholders as well as for the organization.

The role of agency in project initiation decisions

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Mullaly
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
Substantive Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Board Level

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of decision rules and agency in supporting project initiation decisions, and the influences of agency on decision-making effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The study this paper is based upon used grounded theory methodology, and sought to understand the influences of individual decision makers on project initiation decisions within organizations. Data collection involved 28 participants who were involved in project initiation decisions within their organizations, who discussed the process of project initiation in their organization and their role within that process. Findings – The study demonstrates that the overall effectiveness of project initiation decisions is a product of agency, process effectiveness or rule effectiveness. The employment of agency can have a direct influence on decision-making effectiveness, it can compensate for organizational inadequacies of a process or political nature, and it can be constrained in the evidence of formal and effective organizational practices. Research limitations/implications – While agency was recognized by all participants, there are clearly circumstances where actors perceive the ability to exercise agency to be externally constrained. The study is exploratory, contributing to the development of substantive theory. Theory testing as well as a more in-depth investigation of the underlying drivers of agency would be valuable. Practical implications – The study provides executives and individuals supporting the initiation of projects with insights on how to effectively influence the effectiveness of project initiation decisions, and the degree to which personal characteristics influence organizational dynamics. Originality/value – Most discussions of agency has been framed the subject as an executive- or board-level phenomenon. The current study demonstrates that agency is in fact being perceived and operationalized at all levels. Those demonstrating agency in the majority of instances in this study do so in exercising stewardship behaviours. This has important implications for how agency is perceived by executives, and by how agency is exercised by actors at all levels of the organization.

ERP software selection using intuitionistic fuzzy and interval grey number-based MACBETH method

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Said Yurtyapan ◽  
Erdal Aydemir
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Software Selection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intuitionistic Fuzzy ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
Erp Software

PurposeEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software which is a knowledge-based design on the interconnective communication of business units and information share, ensures that business processes such as finance, production, purchasing, sales, logistics and human resources, are integrated and gathered under one roof. This integrated system allows the company to make fast and accurate decisions and increases its competitiveness. Therefore, for an enterprise, choosing the suitable ERP software is extremely important. The aim of this study is to present new research on the ERP software selection process by clarifying the uncertainties and find suitable software in a computational way.Design/methodology/approachERP selection problem design includes uncertainties on the expert opinions and the criteria values using intuitionistic fuzzy set theory and interval grey-numbers to MACBETH multi criteria decision making method. In this paper, a new interval grey MACBETH method approach is proposed, and the degree of greyness approach is used for clarifying the uncertainties. Using this new approach in which grey numbers are used, it is aimed to observe the changes in the importance of the alternatives. Moreover, the intuitionistic fuzzy set method is applied by considering the importance of expert opinions separately.FindingsThe proposed method is based on quantitative decision making derived from qualitative judgments. The results given under uncertain conditions are compared with the results obtained under crisp conditions of the same methods. With the qualitative levels of experts reflected in the decision process, it is clearly seen that ERP software selection problem area has more effective alternative decision solutions to the uncertain environment, and decision makers should not undervalue the unsteadiness of criteria during ERP software selection process.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the relevant literature by (1) utilizing the MACBETH method in the selection of the ERP software by optimization, and (2) validating the importance of expert opinions with uncertainties on a proper ERP software selection procedure. So, the findings of this study can help the decision-makers to evaluate the ERP selection in uncertain conditions.

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