Lee Roy Beach – författare

Decision making plays a major role in virtually every theory of organizational behavior. However, decision theory has not provided organizational theorists with useful descriptions of how decisions are made, either by individuals or by individuals in organizations. The earliest offering came from economics in the form of the "normative" rational view of decision making. The underlying presumption was that decision makers are all striving to maximize return or minimize loss, that decisions are based upon unlimited information, and that they have the capacity to use the information efficiently. They know the options open to them and the consequences of pursuing one or another of those options. The optimal course of action is revealed by applying the appropriate analysis and choosing the most profitable option. The key concepts are rationality, analysis, orderliness, and maximization, and even a moment''s thought demonstrates the gap between these concepts and real-life experience. From the viewpoint of organizational theory, the primary problem with the normative view of decision making, and by analogy with much behavioral decision research, is its reliance on the "gamble metaphor." That is, decisions are characterized as gambles in an effort to capture the inherent risk. This metaphor has the advantage of simplicity, but it is a flawed simplicity. This book is about a different kind of behavioral theory -- image theory. It is a psychological theory of decision making that abandons the gamble metaphor and the normative logic that the metaphor supports. Instead it sees decision making as guided by the beliefs and values that the decision maker, or a community of decision makers, holds to be relevant to the decision at hand. These beliefs and values dictate the goals of the decision. The point is to craft a course of action that will achieve these goals without interfering with the pursuit of other goals. The book begins with an overview of image theory that outlines the basic concepts of the theory and a little of its history. The next two parts correspond to the theory''s two decision mechanisms, the compatibility test and the profitability test. The final section contains extensions and developments of the theory as well as cognate ideas that have their basis in the theory. This book''s purpose is to provide -- in one place -- the theoretical and empirical work that has been done up to now and to suggest directions for future work.

Decision making plays a major role in virtually every theory of organizational behavior. However, decision theory has not provided organizational theorists with useful descriptions of how decisions are made, either by individuals or by individuals in organizations. The earliest offering came from economics in the form of the "normative" rational view of decision making. The underlying presumption was that decision makers are all striving to maximize return or minimize loss, that decisions are based upon unlimited information, and that they have the capacity to use the information efficiently. They know the options open to them and the consequences of pursuing one or another of those options. The optimal course of action is revealed by applying the appropriate analysis and choosing the most profitable option. The key concepts are rationality, analysis, orderliness, and maximization, and even a moment''s thought demonstrates the gap between these concepts and real-life experience. From the viewpoint of organizational theory, the primary problem with the normative view of decision making, and by analogy with much behavioral decision research, is its reliance on the "gamble metaphor." That is, decisions are characterized as gambles in an effort to capture the inherent risk. This metaphor has the advantage of simplicity, but it is a flawed simplicity. This book is about a different kind of behavioral theory -- image theory. It is a psychological theory of decision making that abandons the gamble metaphor and the normative logic that the metaphor supports. Instead it sees decision making as guided by the beliefs and values that the decision maker, or a community of decision makers, holds to be relevant to the decision at hand. These beliefs and values dictate the goals of the decision. The point is to craft a course of action that will achieve these goals without interfering with the pursuit of other goals. The book begins with an overview of image theory that outlines the basic concepts of the theory and a little of its history. The next two parts correspond to the theory''s two decision mechanisms, the compatibility test and the profitability test. The final section contains extensions and developments of the theory as well as cognate ideas that have their basis in the theory. This book''s purpose is to provide -- in one place -- the theoretical and empirical work that has been done up to now and to suggest directions for future work.

Many, if not most, of one''s important decisions are made in the context of one''s work. However, because workplace decisions cover such a broad range of issues, it often is difficult to detect underlying commonalities in how they are made, and in how things go wrong when they do go wrong. As a result, there are nearly as many different descriptions of workplace decisions as there are decisions themselves. In this volume, the best features of these diverse descriptions are unified in a new, intuitively compelling view of decision making called "Image Theory." The result is a clear picture of real-life, day-to-day workplace decision making that allows us to think constructively about how such decisions are made and about how to improve them when improvement is necessary.

Many, if not most, of one''s important decisions are made in the context of one''s work. However, because workplace decisions cover such a broad range of issues, it often is difficult to detect underlying commonalities in how they are made, and in how things go wrong when they do go wrong. As a result, there are nearly as many different descriptions of workplace decisions as there are decisions themselves. In this volume, the best features of these diverse descriptions are unified in a new, intuitively compelling view of decision making called "Image Theory." The result is a clear picture of real-life, day-to-day workplace decision making that allows us to think constructively about how such decisions are made and about how to improve them when improvement is necessary.

Most books on leadership and organizational change focus on descriptive theory and research, simplistic and questionable gimmicks, or biographical sketches of successful leaders whose character and exploits students are encouraged to emulate. Leadership and the Art of Change avoids pedantry, gimmicks, and hero worship while addressing the complex issues involved in trying to lead an organization. It does not bury the reader in abstractions, nor does it offer quick fixes.   Leadership and the Art of Change is a unique book in that it focuses on a leader's central and most daunting task—achieving organizational change that successfully addresses external and internal threats and opportunities. Author Lee R. Beach uses six prime responsibilities as the framework for discussing change leadership: external and internal environmental assessment to identify required changes, organizational culture as a constraint on change, vision for motivating change; plans as a map for change, implementation to produce change, and follow-through for institutionalizing achieved changes and making ongoing change a part of the culture.    Key Features:

Written in a conversational manner, Leadership and the Art of Change is an engaging textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying management in a variety of programs including Business, Public Administration, Health Care Management, and Social Work. It will also be of interest to professional managers looking for a unique perspective on organizational change.

Most books on leadership and organizational change focus on descriptive theory and research, simplistic and questionable gimmicks, or biographical sketches of successful leaders whose character and exploits students are encouraged to emulate. Leadership and the Art of Change avoids pedantry, gimmicks, and hero worship while addressing the complex issues involved in trying to lead an organization. It does not bury the reader in abstractions, nor does it offer quick fixes.   Leadership and the Art of Change is a unique book in that it focuses on a leader's central and most daunting task—achieving organizational change that successfully addresses external and internal threats and opportunities. Author Lee R. Beach uses six prime responsibilities as the framework for discussing change leadership: external and internal environmental assessment to identify required changes, organizational culture as a constraint on change, vision for motivating change; plans as a map for change, implementation to produce change, and follow-through for institutionalizing achieved changes and making ongoing change a part of the culture.    Key Features:

Written in a conversational manner, Leadership and the Art of Change is an engaging textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying management in a variety of programs including Business, Public Administration, Health Care Management, and Social Work. It will also be of interest to professional managers looking for a unique perspective on organizational change.