Why Decisions Fail: Avoiding the Blunders and Traps That Lead to Debacles. (Book Reviews).Assistant Professor of Education Leadership and Administration, College of Saint Rose Saint Rose may refer to: Women known as Saint Rose:
Boondoggles, fiascoes and debacles, oh my! No, this book is not about school superintendents in trouble with their boards, staff and communities. Paul Nutt, professor of public policy and management sciences at Ohio State University Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. , in his newest book, Why Decisions Fail, gives us a sobering compendium of 15 cases from the business world that he describes as "monumental fiascoes." These are not situations to emulate but rather traps to avoid to improve one's own decision making processes. The cases are extraordinary. They range from the Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto was a subcompact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market, first introduced on September 11 in 1971, and built through the 1980 model year. Like many Ford cars, it had a similar car sold under the Lincoln-Mercury brand. exploding gas-tank nightmare to Firestone's tire troubles to Quaker Oats's financially disastrous purchase of Snapple. The cases are analyzed with precision, looking at every factor within the corporate leadership culture contributing to the blunders and exacerbated by the lack of adequate understanding of potential traps. Every case becomes a collection of lessons that should give school administrators pause before trying to imitate the machinations of their corporate counterparts. The portrayal of huge executive egos and impatient temperaments among leaders and the mindless automatic responses by followers cause these world-class companies and governmental agencies to lose sight of their mission and to forget the ethical considerations needed to serve their constituencies. But Nutt's work is not an easy read. It can't be skimmed skim v. skimmed, skim·ming, skims v.tr. 1. a. To remove floating matter from (a liquid). b. To remove (floating matter) from a liquid. c. . Just as quick fixes were at the root of problems suffered by corporations described in the book, shortcuts See Win Shortcuts. in trying to understand these debacles just won't cut it. Tackle a chapter at a time and share the cases with colleagues and key staff. Better yet, buy each of them a copy and let them help you facilitate better decisions in your school district. (Why Decisions Fail: Avoiding Blunders and Traps That Lead to Debacles by Paul C. Nutt, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , 2002, 350 pp. including index, $22.95 softcover soft·cov·er adj. Not bound between hard covers: softcover books; a softcover edition. ) |
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