Cognition and Decision Making in Complex Adaptive Systems: The Human Factor in Organizational Performance

✍ Scribed by Meghan Carmody-Bubb

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 241
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book explains the role of human behavior research, from both a historical and modern perspective, in improving objective, measurable performance outcomes to include safety, strategic decision making, and organizational performance. The book builds upon empirically supported foundations of human cognition, but with a focus on applying this knowledge in a manner that can improve human decision-making to enhance safety and performance. It includes explanations of how the human mind processes information, including differences in novice versus expert information processing, and tools to combat various cognitive biases. Explained within the framework of complex adaptive systems, this book builds upon resources developed through the author’s years of combined applied research and graduate teaching and includes chapters on the roles of uncertainty and complexity within scientific research. Finally, the book offers tools that are rooted in empirical research and demonstrated within the context of contemporary, real-world scenarios, with a focus on improving organizational effectiveness through improved strategic decision making and the development of learning cultures within organizations.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
About This Book
What You Will Learn
Intended Audience
Contents
List of Figures
About the Author
Part I: Common Origins: Applied Human Factors, Systems Engineering and Complexity Science
Chapter 1: Introduction
Complex Adaptive Systems
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 2: What Is a Complex Adaptive System?
Defining Systems
Criticisms and Cautions of Complexity Theory
Why Should People Interested in Organizational Decision ­Making Be Aware of Complex Adaptive Systems?
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 3: Evolution from Linear to Systems Thinking
Linear Versus Nonlinear
Jurassic Park, Complex Adaptive Systems, and Covid: What Do They Have in Common?
The Law of Unintended Consequences
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 4: Emergence of a New Discipline for the Twentieth Century: Human Factors and Systems Engineering
Early Developments
The Role of World War II
When Things Go Wrong: The Study of Human Error in Decision Making
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 5: Complexity Science in Organizational Behavior
Applying Complexity Science to Organizational Behavior Research
Emergence in Complex Adaptive Systems
Applications in the Social Sciences
Chaos Versus Complexity
Detecting Emerging Patterns in a Complex World
Chapter Summary
References
Part II: Science, Uncertainty, and Complex Adaptive Systems: The Search for Underlying Patterns
Chapter 6: The Scientific Method Applied to Complex Adaptive Systems
The Scientific Method
Knowledge Is Power: The Role of “What-If?” Thinking in the Scientific Method
Conceptual and Operational Definitions
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 7: The Challenge of Uncertainty in Complex Adaptive Systems Research
The Role of Uncertainty
The Role of Probability and Statistical Reasoning in Complexity Science
Politics and Science
Embracing Uncertainty in Science
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 8: Beauty and the Beast: The Importance of Debate in Science
1816: The Year Without a Summer
Beware of Groupthink in Scientific Research
The Spirit of the Times
The Role of Debate in Complex Adaptive Systems
The Wisdom of Crowds
Chapter Summary
References
Part III: Cognitive Psychology: Understanding the Lens Through Which We Process Information in a Complex World
Chapter 9: Cognitive Psychology: What Is In The Box?
The Brave New World of Behavioral Research
The Behaviorists
The Role of Quantum Mechanics
The Role of Human Factors and Computer Science
The Proverbial “Black Box”
Sister Mary Kenneth Keller
Brief History of Cognitive Psychology
How the Brain Retains Information
Data Versus Information
The Magic Number Seven
Memory Stores
Schemas and Scripts
Cognitive Maps
Mental Models
Rule-Based
Knowledge-Based
Skill-Based
Automatic Versus Controlled Processing
Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of Thought and Behavior
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 10: Is Perception Reality?
The Role of Perception
Bottom-Up Versus Top-Down Processing
The Perils of Perception
Perceptual Illusions
The Role of Uncertainty and Ambiguity in Perception
Ambiguous Figures
How The Brain Processes Information
Filling in the Gaps
Expectations and the Black Box
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 11: The Nature of Human Error in Decision Making
To Err Is Human
The Vigilance Decrement
What Is Error?
Errors Versus Violations
Active Versus Latent Human Failures
Potential Future Applications
Risk Management in Complex Adaptive Systems
Expectation and Human Error
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 12: Seeing What We Expect to See: Cognitive Bias and Its Role in Human Error and Decision Making
The Role of Cognitive Bias
Dealing with Uncertainty in Decision Making
Normative Versus Descriptive Decision Making
Heuristics and Biases
The Most Common Heuristics and Biases
Representative Heuristic
Availability, Anchoring, and Adjustment
Overconfidence
Cognitive Tunneling
Framing and Prospect Theory
Prospect Theory Applied to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Response Sets, Cognitive Bias, and the Deadliest Aviation Accident in History
Confirmation Bias
The Role of Evolution in Cognitive Bias: Fast Versus Slow Thinking
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 13: How Polarization Impacts Judgment: We Are More Emotional and Less Rationale Than We Would Like to Believe
Polarization Research
Partisan Perceptions and Biased Assimilation
What Can We Do About It?
Relationship as the Basis for All Negotiations
Chapter Summary
References
Part IV: Decision Making in a Complex World
Chapter 14: Naturalistic Decision Making
The Intuition of Charlemagne
Experts and Their “Guts”
Naturalistic Decision Making
Problem Solving
Training for NDM
Attributes of Effective NDM Decision Makers
Underlying Cognitive Mechanisms to Effective Decision Making Attributes
Mental Simulation
United Flight 232
Strategy Modulation and Reasoning Skills
Real-World Implications for NDM Training
Training for Stress Management
Applications of Human Factors to Training Expert Decision Making
Metarecognition
Goals of After-Action Reviews and Incident Investigations
What Might the Tragedy in Uvalde Have in Common with the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown?
Distributed Decision Making
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 15: The Stages of a Decision
What Is a Decision?
The OODA Loop
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 16: Situational Awareness and Situational Assessment
The Role of Situation Assessment
The Role of Internal Cognitive Models in Decision Making Within Complex Adaptive Systems
The Role of Situation Assessment in Developing Internal Cognitive Models in Dynamic Environments
The Modern Flight Deck Remains a Real-World Laboratory for Studying Situational Awareness in Complex Adaptive Systems
Chapter Summary
References
Part V: The Wrench in Newton’s Machine: Applying Models from Cognitive Science, Human Factors and Systems Engineering to Decision Making Within Complex Adaptive Systems
Chapter 17: The Human Factor in Complex Adaptive Systems
Learning from Disaster
The SHEL(L) Model
Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS)
Unsafe Acts of Operators
Preconditions for Unsafe Acts
Unsafe Supervision
Organizational Influences
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 18: Strategic Decision Making Through the Lens of Complex Adaptive Systems: The Cynefin Framework
What Is Strategic Decision Making?
The Cynefin Framework
Ordered Domains: Simple and Complicated
Unordered Domains: Complex and Chaotic
Chaotic Domains
Disorder
Houston, We Have a Problem
Applying Cynefin to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Chapter Summary
References
Part VI: Behavioral and Social Aspects of Team Decision Making in Complex Adaptive Systems
Chapter 19: Team Decision Making and Crew Resource Management
Crew Resource Management
Assessing Effectiveness of CRM
Effectiveness of CRM Beyond Aviation
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 20: The Importance of Learning Cultures in Organizations
Organizational Learning
Information Flow
Creating Cultures of Learning
Single- vs. Double-Loop Learning
Single-Loop Learning
Double-Loop Learning
Relationship Between Learning Cultures and Conflict Management
Triple-Loop Learning
Similar Models of Organizational Learning
Cultures of Indecision
The Culture of Yes
The Culture of No
The Culture of Maybe
The Impact of Organizational Culture on Decision Making
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 21: Fostering Diversity of Thought in Strategic Decision Making
Lessons from Cyrus the Great
The Leader’s Role in the Strategic Decision Process
How Leaders Can Guide the Decision Process Toward Implementation
Decision Quality
Implementation Effectiveness
Roberto’s Managerial Levers in the Decision Making Process
Composition
Context
Communication
Control
Chapter Summary
References
Part VII: The Leader’s Role in Innovation and Implementation
Chapter 22: Innovation in Complex Adaptive Systems
What Is Innovation?
Diffusion of Innovation (Fig. 22.3)
Diffusion of Innovation
Tipping Points in Innovation
The Social Benefits of Diffusion of Innovation: Wireless Leiden Project
The Nepal Wireless Networking Project
A Note of Caution with Respect to Case Studies
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 23: The Dark Side of Innovation
Acknowledging the Risks Associated with Technological Advancement
Chapter Summary
References
Index