In your business culture, what is one key characteristic of how decisions are made?
“Tommy needs a car.”
The summer is just around the corner. You and your spouse don’t want to continue driving your son, Tommy (age 18), and his two younger sisters around town to their various activities. Since Tommy has a driver’s license and drives responsibly, the two of you will sit down together on Sunday evening and plan your search for a reliable, safe and economical used car.
Put yourself in the shoes of Tommy’s parents. In your culture. Map out your decision-making process.
Scope
When in your respective culture do people take a systematic or a particularistic approach to a situation? In other words, when does your culture prefer to build a system or keep it simple by breaking a situation down into its component parts (particulars)?
Analysis
In your culture, how do people know what is too much or too little analysis? What criteria to they use?
Resources
Name an example from your respective culture when a decision should be made conservatively (protect resources) and when a decision should be made aggressively (exploit an opportuntiy)?
Time
In your business culture is a timely decision more important than good decision vs. a good decision more important than speed?
Risk
How does your culture define risk? Describe a decision you made where you underestimated the risk and got burned. Now describe a decision where you overestimated the risk and missed an opportunity.
