This book shows, on numerous examples, how to make decisions in realistic situations when we have both uncertainty and constraints. In most these situations, the book's emphasis is on the why-question, i.e., on a theoretical explanation for empirical formulas and techniques. Such explanations are important: they help understand why these techniques work well in some cases and not so well in others, and thus, help practitioners decide whether a technique is appropriate for a given situation. Example of applications described in the book ranges from science (biosciences, geosciences, and physics) to electrical and civil engineering, education, psychology and decision making, and religion-and, of course, include computer science, AI (in particular, eXplainable AI), and machine learning. The book can be recommended to researchers and students in these application areas. Many of the examples use general techniques that can be used in other application areas as well, so it is also useful for practitioners and researchers in other areas who are looking for possible theoretical explanations of empirical formulas and techniques.

This book investigates in detail large-scale group decision-making (LSGDM) problem, which has gradually evolved from the traditional group decision-making problem and has attracted more and more attention in the age of big data. Pursuing a holistic approach, the book establishes a fundamental framework for LSGDM with uncertain and behavioral considerations. To address the behavioral uncertainty and complexity of large groups of decision-makers, this book mainly focuses on new solutions of LSGDM problems using the interval type-2 fuzzy uncertainty theory and social network analysis techniques, including the exploration of uncertain clustering analysis, the consideration of social relationships, especially trust relationships, the construction of consensus evolution networks, etc. The book is intended for researchers and postgraduates who are interested in complex group decision-making in the new media era. Authors also investigate the similar features between LSGDM problems and group recommendations to study the applications of LSGDM methods. After reading this book, readers will have a new understanding of the LSGDM study under the real complicated context. 

Faced with ever-increasing complexity on a daily basis, the decision-makers of today are struggling to find the appropriate models, methods and tools to face the issues arising in complex systems across all levels of global operations. Having, in the past, resorted to outdated approaches which limit problem-solving to linear world views, we must now capitalize on complexities in order to succeed and progress in our society. This book provides a guide to harnessing the wealth inherent to complex systems. It organizes the transition to complex decision-making in all business spheres while providing many examples in various application domains. The authors offer fresh developments for understanding and mastering the global uberization of the economy, the post-modern management of computer-assisted production and the rise of cognitive robotics science applications.

This book explores clustering operations in the context of social networks and consensus-reaching paths that take into account non-cooperative behaviors. This book focuses on the two key issues in large-scale group decision-making: clustering and consensus building. Clustering aims to reduce the dimension of a large group. Consensus reaching requires that the divergent individual opinions of the decision makers converge to the group opinion. This book emphasizes the similarity of opinions and social relationships as important measurement attributes of clustering, which makes it different from traditional clustering methods with single attribute to divide the original large group without requiring a combination of the above two attributes. The proposed consensus models focus on the treatment of non-cooperative behaviors in the consensus-reaching process and explores the influence of trust loss on the consensus-reaching process.The logic behind is as follows: firstly, a clustering algorithm is adopted to reduce the dimension of decision-makers, and then, based on the clusters' opinions obtained, a consensus-reaching process is carried out to obtain a decision result acceptable to the majority of decision-makers. Graduates and researchers in the fields of management science, computer science, information management, engineering technology, etc., who are interested in large-scale group decision-making and consensus building are potential audience of this book. It helps readers to have a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of clustering analysis and consensus building in large-scale group decision-making.

This book illustrates how to access the right information for making the best decisions during turbulent times. It is written from an experienced-based perspective that is beneficial for those looking for the development and improvement of the decision-making process. The approach is centered on the author's experience in developing and implementing effective and efficient approaches to decision-making in business and government. Based on those experiences, this book provides insights into how to improve the decision making process of your organization, whether it be large or small. For decision makers and those providing market information for making decisions, this book provide guidelines for a framework which includes systems thinking. For those interested in change management and corporate governance, the book presents examples where it was done well and some examples where it was not and the ensuring consequences. Praise for Systems Thinking Decision-Making Process... "This is an absolutely incredible book by a distinguished practitioner. The range of knowledge and experience that Vince Barabba has had is astounding. I urge everyone who is interested in complex, messy problems to read this amazing book." --Ian I. Mitroff "...Vince has masterfully blended the art of organizational respect with the science of data inquiry to drive change and realize strategic vision. A master storyteller, he does not just teach, his book brings his learnings to life in a meaningful way that if carefully listened to, can change the course of a career." -- Paul D'Alessandro Principal, Health Industries, PwC US "In his latest book, Vince Barabba integrates his vast knowledge from 50 years of dedicated work in both the public and private sectors in order to provide leaders with an actionable framework for radically improving how their organizations collect and use information to make the best decisions for all the wicked messes that now appear in our global village... This book can save your company from living in the dark with false assumptions about all your key stakeholders." -- Ralph H. Kilmann, Ph.D. CEO, Kilmann Diagnostics Co-Author, The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) "Absorbing just a few of the many smart ideas in this book will make you a better leader and decision maker. Thinking systemically about how the hard-earned lessons from Vince Barabba's brilliant career apply to your enterprise could make you a great one." - Chunka Mui Co-Author, A Brief History of a Perfect Future and Billion Dollar Lessons "...if you are interested in 'thinking in systems,' this book is for you. The 'On Star' story demonstrates to you how the initial product-centered thinking was proselytized to 'thinking in systems'." -- John Pourdehnad Visiting Professor, IESE Business School and Faulty of Systems Leadership, Thomas Jefferson University "In writing Systems Thinking Decision-Making Process: How to Avoid Burnt Toast, Vince Barabba is addressing the limits of knowledge management systems which enable 'organizations as usual' to share best practices on how to scrape toast faster and cheaper... The examples shared by Vince, from his first-hand experiences in corporate America or his services as a marketing consultant, contribute invaluable clarity to his goal of providing a "sketch of an Inquiry Center Learning and Support System" for those with the ambition to lead efforts to work smarter, not harder, firmly against the grain of 'organizations as usual'..." -- Bill Bellows, Ph.D., President, InThinking Services Adjunct Professor, California State University, Northridge and Southern Utah University Advisory Council Member and Former Deputy Director, The W. Edwards Deming Institute (R) "In his 'last book', Vince weaves the experiences and learning of a lifetime into whole cloth of insight and wisdom. He helps us to find relevant information from a rapidly changing world and apply it to making good decisions. This is a masterpiece of knowledge presented in a very entertaining way." -- Carl Spetzler Chairman, Strategic Decisions Group International LLC "This is a truly inspiring and mind changing book directly relevant for our times... Vince has shown through his remarkable work that business and government are a force for good when leaders think long term, work with, not against nature, and use their influence and resources for the many, not the few..." -- Osvald Bjelland Founder and President, Xynteo Founder, The Performance Theatre Foundation

Success in Evaluation takes a fundamentally different approach to the mainstream supply side discussion of evaluation quality, utilization, and learning. The contributors believe that a systematic focus on success will lead to increased awareness of evaluation and its findings, a more positive attitude, and a greater chance of actual evaluation use. This book offers many different lessons on how to improve evaluation design, research processes, and reporting. It is a realistic look at performance management, the evidence movement, and the demand barriers that so often block the role evaluators can play in organizational learning and decision-making. International case studies and lessons are included that both explain success-oriented methods and share insightful lessons from the real world. Together, they present a convincing case that evaluation for success allows for increased constructive interaction amongst both stakeholders and evaluators and, as a result, learning processes and outcomes will improve.

This work combines 50 years' experience of two managers, and the experiences of other managers who have been interviewed and observed. Each real world idea has been tried and tested. The best ones are here, in an easy to understand form for you to use.

Handling a crisis and knowing how to manage the potential reputational damage that can occur has become a top priority for all businesses. Learn from international brands like Nestle, Unilever, McDonalds, Cadbury, RBS and more, to discover the value of reputation management and how to effectively and proactively approach the Corporate Social Responsibility of your business. Whether it is an internal or external crisis, now more than ever brands and organizations are having to understand and respond rapidly to shifting public values, rising expectations, demands for public consultation and increasingly intrusive news media. Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management defines and explores the value of reputation, providing practical guidelines for effective reputation management that will resolve issues with minimum damage and disruption to the business. Showcasing a variety of crises through a range of case studies from international brands including Nestle, Unilever, General Electric, McDonald's, Coca-cola, Cadbury, Tesco, Pan Am, RBS and more, this definitive handbook provides a new and broader perspective on the topic for new and seasoned practitioners alike. Practical and accessible, it outlines a comprehensive approach to managing situations that may turn into crises - and handling crises once they occur.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and cross-cultural contexts gain prominence, leaders can no longer ignore the global dimensions of leadership. The way we study leadership must be informed by processes that take place beyond and across borders. The way we practice leadership cannot ignore the cultural basis of our thoughts and actions. This book provides cutting-edge perspectives on the impact that globalization is having on the study and practice of Global Leadership. To explore these various facets of Global Leadership, The Study and Practice of Global Leadership has been divided into three parts. In part I, we define what is meant by globalization and its facets, including political, economic, and social integration. In part II, the authors examine the proliferation of Leadership Programs in schools across the globe, focusing on initiatives in China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. In part III, the book highlights the challenges that practitioners face when they translate theoretical insights into on-the-ground action. In the spirit of offering a wide variety of applied topics, the reader will have an opportunity to see how Global Leadership plays a role in the multinational corporate setting, Sub-Saharan African countries, international development, immigration, and gender equality.

Servant Leader Human Resource Management provides a comprehensive conceptual framework based on a dignity enhancing stewardship model that integrates and balances mission achievement with motive, means and ends integrity from both a line manager and human resource department perspective.

Knowing everything you can about each click to your Web site can help you make strategic decisions regarding your business. This book is about the why, not just the how, of web analytics and the rules for developing a "culture of analysis" inside your organization. Why you should collect various types of data. Why you need a strategy. Why it must remain flexible. Why your data must generate meaningful action. The authors answer these critical questions--and many more--using their decade of experience in Web analytics.

This book presents a rich collection of studies on the analysis of sustainable development from a multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) perspective, written by some of the most prominent authors in the field of MCDM/A. The book constitutes a unique international reference guide to the analysis, measurement, and management of sustainability in a multidimensional decision analysis context. Chiefly intended for academics and policymakers, it reflects some of the latest methodological advances in decision-making, which are illustrated in real-life applications to sustainability-related topics in both the private and public sector.

An organisation's fate hinges on its CEO - right? Not according to the authors of Senior Leadership Teams. They argue that in today's world of neck-snapping change, demands on leaders in top roles are rapidly outdistancing the capabilities of any one person - no matter how talented. Result? Chief executives are turning to their enterprise's senior leaders for help. Yet many CEOs stumble when creatinga leadership team. One major challenge is that senior executives often focus more on their individual roles than on the top team's shared work. Without the CEO's careful attention to setting the team up correctly, these high-powered managers often have difficulty pulling together to move their organisation forward. Sometimes they don't even agree about what constitutes the right path forward.The authors explain how to determine whether your organisation needs a senior leadership team. Then, drawing on their study of 100+ top teams from around the world, they explain how to create a clear and compelling purpose for your team, get the right people on it, provide structure and support, and sharpen team members' competencies - and your own. Timely and practical, this book enables you to create and sustain a leadership team whose members learn from one another while collaborating to pursue your company's objectives.

The IT Outsourcing Guide provides invaluable, practical advice to both guide the novice and inform the veteran on how to effectively navigate through the IT outsourcing minefield once they have decided this is the route their business needs to take.
Advance praise for The IT Outsourcing Guide:
"A well researched and refreshingly practical look at how and where outsourcing might assist modern business harness the power of IT - written in an articulate and engaging style."
Peter Hine - International Data Corporation
"If your organisation has already decided to outsource some or all information technology, Aalders Guide to IT Outsourcing provides a vital "how to" toolkit. Rob Aalders has assembled a set of IT outsourcing templates, checklists, and success criteria for which consultants would charge customers thousands of dollars. This book is recommended to any manager who wants to quickly understand how to make IT outsourcing work."
Mary Lacity, Associate Professor of MIS, University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA
"Rob Aalders has provided a strong practical framework for going about IT outsourcing. Along the way he provides many insights into the do's and don'ts. The book draws upon considerable experience, and it shows. Clear and accessible, it's a real handbook for the practitioner."
Leslie Willcocks, Arthur Andersen Professor of Information Management and E-Business, Warwick Business School, UK

"Outstanding business insights in a work brimming with energy and vitality." -Kirkus Reviews In this visual guide to thriving in the midst of chaos, scientist, entrepreneur and "Reinvention Guru" Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva brings together the insights from a community of 3000+ "reinventors" to offer a bold new method for business resilience during disruptive times. Running a successful business amidst constant change is overwhelming. Just as we handle one disruption, another crisis looms on the horizon. How do you survive and even thrive? 4-time TEDx speaker Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva and her global Chief Reinvention Officer community understand the struggle and helped countless companies and leaders deal with change by reinventing their products, processes, and leadership practices. Now she brings to you a powerful blend of cross-disciplinary research and battle-tested tools to help you diagnose, design, and implement a reinvention system that allows your company to stop combatting or resisting change - and instead helps you turn every disruption into your greatest opportunity.

Proven set of best practices for security risk assessment and management, explained in plain English

This guidebook sets forth a systematic, proven set of best practices for security risk assessment and management of buildings and their supporting infrastructures. These practices are all designed to optimize the security of workplace environments for occupants and to protect the interests of owners and other stakeholders. The methods set forth by the authors stem from their research at Sandia National Laboratories and their practical experience working with both government and private facilities.

Following the authors' step-by-step methodology for performing a complete risk assessment, you learn to: Identify regional and site-specific threats that are likely and credible
Evaluate the consequences of these threats, including loss of life and property, economic impact, as well as damage to symbolic value and public confidence
Assess the effectiveness of physical and cyber security systems and determine site-specific vulnerabilities in the security system

The authors further provide you with the analytical tools needed to determine whether to accept a calculated estimate of risk or to reduce the estimated risk to a level that meets your particular security needs. You then learn to implement a risk-reduction program through proven methods to upgrade security to protect against a malicious act and/or mitigate the consequences of the act.

This comprehensive risk assessment and management approach has been used by various organizations, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bonneville Power Administration, and numerous private corporations, to assess and manage security risk at their national infrastructure facilities. With its plain-English presentation coupled with step-by-step procedures, flowcharts, worksheets, and checklists, you can easily implement the same proven approach and methods for your organization or clients. Additional forms and resources are available online at www.wiley.com/go/securityrisk.

This book is about increasing team performance. It focuses on building system dynamics models when tackling a mix of interrelated strategic problems to enhance team learning, foster consensus, and create commitment. The book is intended to be applied in the organizations of today. As the "command and control" organization evolves into one of decision-making teams, so these teams have become the critical building blocks upon which the performance of the organization depends. The team members face an increased complexity of decision making with the interrelation of several strategic problems. What this means is that people have different views of the situation and will define problems differently. However, research shows that this can in fact be very productive if and when people learn from each other in order to build a shared perspective. Learning in this way might prove to be the only sustainable competitive advantage for organizations in the future. As a result, team leaders want to create "learning teams" and are confronted with issues such as how to:

• create a situation where people doubt their ideas rather than stubbornly cling to dearly held views
• create a learning atmosphere rather than trying to "win" the discussion
• create a shared understanding of a problem in a team
• foster consensus and create commitment with a strategic decision
• facilitate Group Model Building

Those who will benefit most from Group Model Building: Facilitating Team Learning Using System Dynamics are those who are familiar with systems thinking or organizational learning, or those who are working in groups and are coming up against the common difficulties.

This book presents recent advances in the theory and application of the Best-Worst Method (BWM). It includes selected papers from the Second International Workshop on Best-Worst Method (BWM2021), held in Delft, The Netherlands from 10-11 June, 2021, and provides valuable insights on why and how to use BWM in a diverse range of applications including health, energy, supply chain management, and engineering. The book highlights the use of BWM in different settings including single decision-making vs group decision-making, and complete information vs incomplete and uncertain situations. The papers gathered here will benefit academics and practitioners who are involved in multi-criteria decision-making and decision analysis.

"Empowerment Evaluation in the Digital Villages" analyzes a $15 million community change initiative designed to bridge the digital divide in East Palo Alto, East Baltimore, and San Diego. Involving a partnership between Hewlett-Packard, Stanford University, and three ethnically diverse communities, this initiative enabled its constituencies to build their own technology-oriented businesses, improve their education systems, and improve their economic health. While examining this large-scale, multi-site case, Fetterman highlights the potential for empowerment evaluation to build local capacity and sustain improvements within communities. He provides deep insights into key steps in empowerment evaluation by exploring the way that each of these phases took place in the digital villages. Additionally, the text provides evaluators with real-world stories and practical advice from the front lines. The Digital Village case also demonstrates the social value of combining corporate philanthropy, academic prowess, and community empowermentOCohighlighting the role of evaluation in this process."

From three partners at Google Ventures, a unique five-day process for solving tough problems, proven at more than a hundred companies.

Entrepreneurs and leaders face big questions every day: What’s the most important place to focus your effort, and how do you start? What will your idea look like in real life? How many meetings and discussions does it take before you can be sure you have the right solution?

Now there’s a surefire way to answer these important questions: the sprint. Designer Jake Knapp created the five-day process at Google, where sprints were used on everything from Google Search to Google X. He joined Braden Kowitz and John Zeratsky at Google Ventures, and together they have completed more than a hundred sprints with companies in mobile, e-commerce, healthcare, finance, and more.

A practical guide to answering critical business questions, Sprint is a book for teams of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to nonprofits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today.

The tools needed to make a better, more informed decision.

Decision analysis (DA) is the logic of making a decision using quantitative models of the decider's factual and value judgments. DA is already widely used in business, government, medicine, economics, law, and science. However, most resources present only the logic and models rather than demonstrating how these methods can be effectively applied to the real world. This book offers an innovative approach to decision analysis by focusing on decision-making tools that can be utilized immediately to make better, more informed decisions. It uses no mathematics beyond arithmetic.

Examining how deciders think about their choices, this book provides problem-solving techniques that not only reflect sound modeling but also meet other essential requirements: they build on the thinking and knowledge that deciders already possess; they provide knowledge in a form that people are able and willing to provide; they produce results that the decider can use; and they are based on intimate and continuous interactions with the decider. The methods outlined in this text take into account such factors as the use, the user, the organization, available data, and subjective knowledge.

Replete with exercises, case studies, and observations from the author's own extensive consulting experience, the book quickly engages readers and enables them to master decision analysis by doing rather than by simply reading. Using familiar situations, it demonstrates how to handle knowledge as it unfolds in the real world. A term project is presented in the final chapter, in which readers can select an actual decision-making problem and apply their newfound tools to prepare a recommendation. A sample report is provided in the appendix.

Beginning with qualitative structuring, the text advances to sophisticated quantitative skills that can be applied in both public and private enterprise, including:

- Modeling decision-making under conditions of uncertainty or multiple objectives

- Risk analysis and assessment

- Communicating and justifying controversial decisions

- Personal life choices and political judgments

- Adapting decision aid to organizations

The book's broad applicability makes it an excellent resource for any organization or as a textbook for decision-making courses in a variety of fields, including public policy, business management, systems engineering and general education.

An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available from the Wiley editorial department (email [email protected]) or directly from [email protected].

This is the state-of-the-art, international handbook for a field of inquiry that is still emergent and yet occupies a central position in contemporary management and organization theory. Mark Easterby-Smith and Marjorie Lyles have drawn together in their authoritative reference work original essays from the leading scholars in organizational learning and knowledge management around the world.

Not least in importance is the linkage they make between these two adjacent areas: learning and knowledge are often debated separately despite their close relationship. In this volume leading scholars from the fields of organizational learning, the learning organization, knowledge management and organizational knowledge, examine the issues and debates, as well as the processes and management implications, that are key to each of these approaches. The resulting set of essays offers researchers and students an invaluable guide.

Tracing the roots of learning and knowledge debates across the disciplines of economics, psychology, and social theory, and charting the key contributions scholars have made, this is a major, in-depth overview which all scholars of organizational learning and knowledge management will need on their shelves.

The last five years have witnessed a great momentum in the research into measures of financial risk. After many years of ad-hoc and non-consistent measures, now the problem is finally well formulated and some useful and very user-friendly solutions have been proposed. These new measures of risk should be of great interest for investors, financial institutions as well as for regulators.

Under the editorship of Professor Giorgio Szego of the University of Rome "La Sapienza," this book is a collection of the revised and updated papers from prestigious international specialists who are leaders in their field, amongst whom is Robert Engle, a newly-announced Nobel prize-winner in finance. These authors bring a broad perspective across a wide selection of topics, ranging from the critique of some currently used methods, like Value at Risk, to the presentation of some correct risk measures and of some advanced application

The book provides a detailed and up-to-date reference for researchers within academia, and risk managers or financial engineers.

This book discusses machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for agricultural economics. It is written with a view towards bringing the benefits of advanced analytics and prognostics capabilities to small scale farmers worldwide. This volume provides data science and software engineering teams with the skills and tools to fully utilize economic models to develop the software capabilities necessary for creating lifesaving applications. The book introduces essential agricultural economic concepts from the perspective of full-scale software development with the emphasis on creating niche blue ocean products. Chapters detail several agricultural economic and AI reference architectures with a focus on data integration, algorithm development, regression, prognostics model development and mathematical optimization. Upgrading traditional AI software development paradigms to function in dynamic agricultural and economic markets, this volume will be of great use to researchers and students in agricultural economics, data science, engineering, and machine learning as well as engineers and industry professionals in the public and private sectors.

This book provides research results and shares experiences in the area of supply chain management. It addresses topics such as risk reduction of lesser marginal profits, disrupted supply chain management, and potential points of business failure. This book explores the "new normal" of the business supply chain. The didactic approach informs global enterprises on how to deal with the most significant issues in the current supply chain management. The book shows an in-depth analysis of post-COVID opportunities and challenges and acts as an initiative for readers to understand the risks, opportunities, and concerns resulting from the pandemic situation and is a key driver for business management among industry professionals and enterprises. Readers will learn new insights and procedures to better manage multitier supply chains, predictability, and estimation of binding capacity. The book details modeling and technology-based customer demand and response management solutions. New techniques, methods, and perspectives dealing with the estimation, acceleration or deceleration, and flexibility of logistics capacity are particularly emphasized throughout the manuscript. Real-world cases dealing with various aspects of the new normal for supply chains are analyzed. The book is useful for industry professionals and enterprise firms in business management to effectively understand risks, opportunities, and concerning the pandemic situation.