I. On the basis of analysis of available literature, findings of own researches and practical experience of the author, in PART ONE of the monograph is formulated a new paradigm of businesslike decisions. They are defined as a systematically bound basic process, ensuring survival and development of any organization, indifferent to its nature, on the basis of steady priority of common goals and results, appropriate combination of economic, social, structural, personal and technical conditions and conscious “communication“ with different types of risk as a source of new opportunities.
This approach gives scope for practical integration of the relevant knowledge accumulated not only in the economic theory, management, cybernetics, mathematics and informatics, but also involves concepts (about the organization as a group of people) developed by sociology, psychology, and anthropology. This new scheme of applied strategic thinking is considered as a basis for better orientation and practical activity under conditions of uncertainty and risks, in which the organizations of contemporary society operate.
The author also grounds the idea about the power as a leading but insufficiently examined aspect of the process of businesslike decision-making in organizations.
The basic concepts developed during recent years in the main-stream directions of theory of decisions (descriptive and normative) are also analysed. Surveys are largely based on accumulated author’s longitude experience and previous findings, related to organization of information’s backing up of businesslike decisions in different spheres of society, allowing extension of the approach towards contemporary conditions of uncertainty and risks.
As theoretical conclusion is argued a certain convergence of analysed mainstream directions via the theory of effectiveness. The basic system ideas, setting up its beginning are outlined; the basic notions and means, which are to be used in the methodology and organization, with a view of efficiency of businesslike decisions in the conditions of uncertainty and risks, are defined, too.
II. In PART TWO of monograph the paradigm of businesslike decisions as a new scheme of applied management thinking is concretized by five principles and a number of specific techniques, which themselves are mental tools for solving problems of organizations.
II. 1. As qualities and merits of the mentioned above approach it could be pointed out:
A. The attempt to outline some systematic methodological principles developed on the basis of available literature, results of own surveys and experience. In more details it is ment the following:
1. The principle of integrated ruling influence. This principle al-lows to take into account the attribute of “orderliness” of risks, that exemplifies how the attempts to escape one risk could change the susceptibility of organization to another one, and how the “play” with positive risk could lead to a negative one. It is grounded how the complex influence upon the quality of resources, methods and terms of its application changes the total exposure and susceptibility to risk — from negative to positive one — by maintaining continuous priority of the common goals of organization over the individual ones.
2. The principle of well-balanced responsibilities in the process of choosing decision and its consequences. Here is argued such a combination of levels and forms of management-decisions’ orga-nization, that implies not only mobilization of all participants and groups in the system for their fulfilment, but also takes into consideration the consequences on organization’s market positions, in the presence of clear appraisal of timing.
3. The principle of flexible information ensuring. The principle requires that decision-makers provide compatibility of sources and methods for mobilization of the necessary information, on the one hand, and nature of solved problems as well as the role and functions, which they perform, on the other hand. For this purpose are reasoned the characteristics of information, which drive the decision-maker when chooses/uses one or another way of its mobilization.
4. The principle of formulation of a system of preferences and pretensions of the decision-maker. This principle reveals how to get definiteness of individual’s attitude to the decision-making method and fulfilment of one or another action of the organization. It is recommended how by knowing own psychological features, the leader can formulate her/his own individual decisionmaking style, through which to use her/his best qualities, and to compensate those ones, which are not well developed.
5. The principle of real situating mechanism. It requires that in the process of analysis of each problem situation the decisionmaker keeps in mind the interrelation and interaction of all factors, and chooses those ones that influence at most the achievement of goals and thus — to get impact on reduction of negative effect caused by impeding factors, and to reinforce the positive influence of factors contributing to reach the goals. Types of contingencies that accompany factors of external and internal environment are also revealed. The application of this principle is supplemented by grounded typology of mechanisms (from point of view of nature of contingency), with which different levels of management in big companies may collide. It will help managers purposefully to direct themselves to the possible methods for quantitative and/or qualitative designing of the situation.
B. Another set of useful tools are the developed specific tech-niques for organization of the process at stages of both preparation of businesslike decisions, and choice, realization and control over decisions. With that regard are commented: symptoms of risky situations and their monitoring, “goals tree”; diagnosis of mental dispositions and individual specific qualities of decisionmaker; searching for ideas and alternatives; appraisal of their value while choosing decision; prolonged decisions in case of sophisticated problems; techniques for control in the process of realization of decisions.
The explanation of techniques is based on tangible cases derived from the Bulgarian and world practice. Interrelations between them are analyzed in details.
II. 2. As theoretical conclusions are developed different classi-fications, which refer to: types of appraisal models, choice and fulfilment of decisions; categories of businesslike decisions; types of tasks to be solved in different situations, sorts of options in multi-optional decisions, etc. Their purpose is to support everyone who has any stand on businesslike decisions to orient him/her easily and to direct to the right choice.
III. PART THREE of the book is devoted to the shaped in pre-vious parts bridges of interaction between the “explicit knowledge” and “implicit knowledge” when problems in companies and other organizational structures of the contemporary society are resolved.
III. 1. On the basis of critical analysis of concepts of leading scholars, directly related to the businesslike decisions, the following trends are formulated, in the light of further development of the paradigm of businesslike decisions:
- the conception of “limited rationality” of the Nobel prize winner H. Simon will be used more and more as a background for development of the methodology and organization of businesslike decisions in the new conditions of hyper-competition;
- the analysis of the model called “waste-basket” of D. March shows the tendency to a larger use of the principle of “play” in businesslike decisions, in order to “unlock” the individual capacities of personality in the process of learning as well as in resolving particular practical and R&D problems;
- the analysis of the model of V. Vroom, made from the per-spective of system approach to businesslike decisions as a group- dynamic process to exercise the power, allows to formulate tangible requirements to learning and adoption of the organizational culture — a fundamental factor of the internal environment for effectiveness of decisions;
- the theoretical conclusions of conflict-play conception of organizations (“play ensembles”) of M. Croisier shows that handling via indefmiteness and uncertainty is an important element in the fight for power/influence in each structural entity. Therefore, the approach to businesslike decisions as “social games” will acquire higher importance in the process of their practical improvement. On the basis of fundamental positions of this conception and the principles of theory of players (von Neuman and Morgenstern) are elaborated and examined series of recommendations for improvement of businesslike decisions in the organizations of banking-financial field;
- some positions of “strategy of key growths” can be applied even more successfully in the conditions of hyper-competition, if in capacity of key growths are used “key competencies” reasoned by the author. Such positions are in harmony with the prevailing during last years trends to network decisions and network combining of resources through “clusters”.
III. 2. On the basis of conclusions of advanced researches, be-longing to the school of “economic behaviourism” are revealed the nature and reasons for usage of some heuristics during preparation, choosing and fulfillment of decisions, which differ from the classical view on maximum utility. They explain how both the explicit and “contextual” information interact in humans’ behaviour in the process of businesslike decisions.
- The analysis of “administrative behaviourism” of H. Simon and D. March as well as the “conception of multicriterion choice” allows managers to become aware of the fact that several rules aiming to simplify the choice, which are used “spontaneously” in the practice can be applied purposefully and efficiently in the future;
- The analysis of conceptions of “perspective” and “unfortu-nately” allows managers to understand why people pay more attention to losses than to gains while make decisions; why the attitude towards risk depends on the formulation of the task; why low but not medium or/and high probabilities for success are exaggerated; what kind of fear of disappointment has to be overcome in case of inappropriate choice, etc.;
- The analysis of conceptions of “anchor”, and “inertness and reactive resistance to choice” is directed against prejudice during the choice of alternatives. At the same time it helps to become aware of different personal value of decisions (of voluntary or imposed choice), which is an important starting condition for shaping organizational culture that guarantees success of the personality as well as of the organization;
- On the basis of analysis of personal appraisals, which are usually elaborated by experts and specialists, regarding probabilities and issues of accidental events, are outlined simple rules, which could be applied if the decision does not require high precision. Therefore, the heuristics of appraisals should be studied carefully;
- The analysis of events in discord after the choice of decision — cognitive dissonance, excessive or insufficient confidence — allows managers to become more conscious of what should do in order to decrease such dissonances and to introduce necessary corrections in the statements — their own or of the experts — even before decision making;
- The phenomena in collective decision making — polarization of risk, social facilitation, “group thinking”, conformism, etc. — all they are analyzed from the standpoint, according to which they often perform the role of real mechanisms of interaction. To take into account the possibility of emergence of each of analyzed events will become more and more an important principle in the methodology and organization of businesslike decisions.
IV. Having in mind these phenomena, and on the basis of ac-cumulated and systematically classified experience in different (by nature) organizations, in the book is elaborated and presented a scenario of stages and elements of interaction for organizing meetings, considering the latter as a basic form of collective decisions. For analyses and conclusions in the present monograph is used a number of practical examples as well as results from experiments, carried out especially for the purposes of this monograph.
