Chapter 12
MAKING MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE DECISIONS
Snapshot
Good decision-making matters in all organizations. Today there are even more pressures on decision-makers to reflect the priorities of many different people and institutions, so “good” decision-making can be even harder to achieve. Decision-making is a knowledge-intensive activity. Consequently, initiatives may be needed to help decision-makers to access and use the best available knowledge. An integrated approach has been developed that draws on essential knowledge-related practices that affect decision-making. It is organized around five broad factors: using experts, using technology, using internal and external collaboration, organizational learning about decision-making, and developing individuals as decision-makers.
Evaluating how well your organization performs against these five factors is a useful starting point. You can do this by working with the maturity model that describes five levels of performance for each factor. It provides a systematic framework for examining your current position and planning how to improve. If one part of the organization is better than another at one of the factors, then managing a peer learning process can help build the capability of the whole organization.
Helping individuals to become more effective decision-makers requires particular attention. The research also offers a framework of five useful personal competencies: linking the big picture with the detail required for action, ...
