I'm writing a workshop on 'Using Information for Decisions' as part of an ongoing management qualification. I have researched on the net and there's not a lot on there.
Anybody written/delivered a programme on this before? If so, any help/tips you can offer for content please?
Lisa Birch
3 Responses
Information and decision-making
Stanton, N. (1982) What do you mean ‘communication’? An introduction to communication in business. Pan: London. Chapter 4 includes the importance of information in decision-making and influencing.
An interesting perspective on the importance of information to managers is given by Peter Drucker in his book The Practice of Management.
“The manager has a specific tool: information. He does not ‘handle’ people; he motivates, guides and organises people to do their work. His tool – his only tool – to do all this is the spoken or written word. No matter whether the manager’s job is engineering, accounting or selling, his effectiveness depends on his ability to listen and to read, on his ability to speak and to write. He needs skill in getting his thinking across to people as well as skill in finding out what other people are after.”
See http://www.decision-making.co.uk/index.html
Several things
I’ve just written a book for Pergamon (“Information in Management”) that includes an entire chapter’s worth of text and exercises on “Using information for decisions”.
This is aimed at very junior managers (ILM Super Series, new edition). I don’t know if it is out yet. See http://www.bh.com/pergamonfl/uk/subindex.asp, though all the links on that page seem to be broken!
At a more advanced level you might like to try textbooks for ACCA or CIMA (I wrote most of the BPP ones relevant to this subject: oh dear, I seem to be blowing my own trumpet!)
I’m surprised you didn’t find more on the web: it’s a pretty bog-standard topic.
I might be able to help you out with some material if you let me know more precisely what you need: mail me.
Can you be more specific?
Hi Lisa
If you can be abit more specific I may be able to help. I have materials on decision making tools and techniques based on the evaluation of information, and some on commercially focused decision making which may be of use. I might also be able to point you to something on the web as, I too am surprised you did not find more there.
Try http://www.goalqpc.com as a starter.