Strategic Thinking

There will be 21 class sessions, each lasting a couple of hours.

21 Posts will follow, each corresponding to a class session. The order of presentation will likely change.

We will start with a quick overview of the field of Social Psychology.

There are two viewpoints that Social Psychologists use as lenses for examining the world. We can study the way individuals perceive and understand their social environment. Or we can study people in groups and seek to understand behaviors in the context of the social setting. In our OB class,we'll take both perspectives.

Topics to cover on this day include:

• Kurt Lewin and field theory
• Solomon Asch and conformity
• Stanley Milgram and obedience to authority
• Henry Murray and the TAT
• David McClelland’s nAch, nAff and nPow
• Irving Janis and groupthink
• Robert F. Bales and SYMLOG
• The Story of Kitty Genovese

On Day 1, we'll also discuss therules of engagement for the class, how we'll use technology, and what the group project will be about.

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The Milgram Study

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Poem about the Dutton and Aron study, called Rope Bridge, by Nan Cohen.

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The famous Solomon Asch Study on Conformity.

Topics include:
Four phase decision-making model:

• Framing your decision


• Gathering intelligence


• Coming to conclusions


• Learning from experience

The even swaps method
Biases in decision making
Selection and hiring systems in organizations
Decision traps
Analytic versus intuitive decision making

Three types of organizational decisions:

• Strategic decision making


• Operational decision making


• Tactical and micro decision making

Articles and Books:
Even Swaps: A Rational Method for Making Trade-Offs, Harvard Business Review, 1998, by Hammond, Keeney & Raiffa.
Sources of Power, by Gary Klein.
Decision Traps, by Russo & Schoemaker.
Groupthink, by Irving Janis.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin.
State of Denial, by Robert Woodward.
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks
Strategy & Decision, Chapter 1: "The Strategic Decision," by Mark Rhodes.
blink, by Malcolm Glaser.