The Role of Intuitive Capabilities in Strategic Decision-Making and Planning in Future Management - Literature review Example

Running Head: Intuitive Management Building Intuition as a Managerial Competency A Discussion Paper Submission Introduction The profession of management has been existent since the earliest civilizations. Similarly, intuition has been with humanity from the beginning. And currently there has been an emerging interest on the importance of intuition in management, particularly in surmounting the weaknesses of logic in ‘loosely structured situations’ (Gamage & Pang, 2003, 156). In this framework intuition could be described as “a cognitive conclusion based on decision maker’s previous experiences and emotional inputs” (Gamage & Pang, 2003, 156). These previously learned blueprints initiates the execution of decisions, usually very quickly, upon the source of an ‘unconscious reasoning’ mechanism which could have an emotional element, such as a ‘hunch’ (Mani, 1995, 365). On the other hand, management is becoming identified more and more as a way by which manager put into action and push in strategic change within organisations. Managing has been recognised as a fusion of creativity and intuition. In the context of strategic management intuition involves diverging from an arranged plan so as to speed up the execution of actions (Smith & Hitt, 2005). The objective of this study is to argue that intuition is important in modern management and effective strategies in training managers to become more intuitive. Intuitive Management The following empirical evidence that will be discussed in this section are included to provide concrete support for the thesis. At present the different constructs that merge to elaborate on organisational management have been extended to comprise components of innovation, adaptation and firmness. Strategic management in the 1960s has been viewed by intellectuals as an organisational pathology, in the sense that it deviated from the conventional incremental course of action, and then put into practice (Thomas, 2007). Nonetheless, Weick was one of the pioneering supporters of strategic action, and the rising interest in and recognition of this facet of management has led to intuition being more broadly recognised as an ability that can help in corporate planning activities (Thomas, 2007). In the 1990s this progress has sped up in intensity, and given the necessity for more rapid cycle periods and more ground-breaking solutions and ideas to gain or maintain competitive leverage; these changes exhibit hardly any indications of subsiding (Nichols, 2006). The advancement toward managerially advocated intuitional activity seems to be influencing how organisations deal with both the manner in which work task is accomplished, and the manner in which it is controlled. Numerous organisations are encouraging employees to devote time and opportunity to devise and try original, inventive, and expectantly more successful means of performing work task; one outcome of this is fresh and difficult management challenges (Nichols, 2006). If managers are allowing time and opportunity for the workforce to make use of strategic working habits to improvise new means of performing tasks, this creates challenges for the management and administration of work, as well as for the creation of opportunities for learning and knowledge within the organisation (Chhajed & Lowe, 2008). Furthermore, the suggestions for the education, training and development of managers could be important (Gamage & Pang, 2003). A great deal of literature, from the mid-1990s onwards, on intuitional work habits within organisations adopted this idea and used it to organisational practices and procedures. The description of intuition previously mentioned is formulated by Burke and Miller who obtained it from a research that used exhaustive, semi-structured interviews with managers of companies in the United States (Pidd, 2003). Most of the research participants were of the belief that intuition was “decision making based upon experience” (Pidd, 2003, 34) and half of the respondents admitted employing intuition habitually in the workplace. For most of the participants it was external rather than internal variables that triggered intuition; for instance, if a circumstance had no fixed parameters to be adhered to, objective information seemed to be inadequate, or where there was an irresistible heap of data. It was those circumstances that are deficient of open cues, practices or processes where intuition that is based on experience was depended upon (Pidd, 2003). Ironically in the research of Burke and Miller too much information also surfaced to result into intuition being used, seemingly in an effort to cut through sheathe of complete data, perceive the bigger picture and prevent ‘analysis paralysis’ (Statt, 2000, 65). Although Burke and Miller did not openly verify the value of the intuitive decisions or choices made by managers, they did invite them to articulate their views the quality or value of such decisions or choices. A significant portion of the sample population detailed the perception that intuition had resulted in better choices or decisions (Statt, 2000). The particular gains revealed were in relation to more measured decision making, enhanced value of decision, and cultivation of personal growth. As Burke and Miller assumed, integrating intuition into managerial decision making is applicable when the situation is under time pressure, open cues are absent, doubt exists and when intuition is employed as a complement to rational thoughts (Thomas, 2007). Dane, Rockman and Pratt discovered that critical decision-making functions better in activities that are highly structured, whereas intuition is most powerful compared to critical thinking when decision makers are area specialists who are confronting activities that are loosely structured (Witzel, 2003). Epstein’s and his associates’ cognitive experiential self-theory (CEST) is useful in defining and clarifying the intuitive and rational features of managerial cognition. Theoretically they assert that information processing of human beings is performed by two comparable cognitive mechanisms: the intuitive mechanism which is related to emotion and functions at a mechanical, preconscious stage; and the rational mechanism which is free of emotion and works at the conscious stage (Smith & Hitt, 2005). Conscious behaviours and thoughts of managers are a role of the interface of these two mechanisms and the level of control of either mechanism (Smith & Hitt, 2005). The intuitive and rational mechanisms as well as the degree to which a person depends upon one or the other could be viewed as favoured means of decision making and processing of information. Thus far there are no earlier investigations that have particularly explored the function of intuition as such in the framework of strategic management (Thomas, 2007). A research by Tullet explored the innovative and flexible cognitive approaches of female and male managers and the repercussions for change management. This research was grounded on the adaptor-innovator theory of Kirton which conceives a variety of approaches ranging from adaptation to innovation. Tullet discovered the Kirton Adaption-Innovation inventory mean score of strategic managers to be considerably more inventive than that of the overall population of managers (Chhajed & Lowe, 2008). The primary suggestions that Tullet obtained from this result was that once a fairly inventive strategic manager discovers him/herself working with a fairly flexible client manager there could be differences and disagreements in judgments. In the lack of clients mediating their inclinations, the strategic manager could be compelled into using a coping mechanism, such as by giving more interest to detail, making well-though out decisions and being more knowledgeable of agreed policies (Chhajed & Lowe, 2008). The Importance of Intuition in Management Is intuition really needed in management? Extensive studies on brain capabilities suggests that those who achieve a score as very intuitive on such test tools as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator have a tendency to be the most inventive and resourceful in strategic decision-making and planning. They have a tendency to be more perceptive and better at devising new means of accomplishing tasks (Mani, 1995). In management, they are the individuals who can feel or sense whether an innovative product proposal will flourish in the marketplace. These are the individuals who will create creative solutions to previous problems that could have lingered for years. These are the managers that every company or organisation would be happy to find (Mani, 1995). However, unexpectedly, organisations frequently frustrate, hamper, or expel this talent, the core talent they need for their survival. Most organisations do not have well-founded programmes for the enhancement of human capital intended to look for and consciously make use of the intuitive skills of their employees in the strategic decision making and planning process. Consequently, this skill is ignored, held back, or lost in general (Cappon, 1994). Normally, managers who are highly intuitive work in an organisational culture that is the contrary of that which would allow them to thrive and to enthusiastically apply their talents for strategic planning and decision making; this culture can be typified as follows (Cappon, 1994): (1) novel insights are not enthusiastically supported; (2) senior managers prefer others who sense much as they do for rank-and-file employees; (3) eventually, the intuitive manager starts to emotionally leave, gradually but certainly lessening his/her contribution and frequently withdrawing from the organisation altogether (Cappon, 1994). In order to attain higher output in the strategic decision-making and planning process, apparently what is required is an organisational culture in which intuitive brain capabilities and approaches can thrive and be incorporated with more-conventional management strategies (Nichols, 2006). The leadership in an organisation should have an exceptional understanding to the importance of intuitive contribution in strategic planning and decision making and learn how to construct an organisational climate in which the use of intuition will develop, incorporating it into the main strategic planning process of an organisation (Nichols, 2006). Training Managers to Become Highly Intuitive An intuitive-skill management course presents several payoffs in the strategic planning and decision-making process. Primarily, the course provides a methodical way by which significantly intuitive people in an organisation can be recognised and exposed to other intuitive forms, commonly on an individual foundation across mainstream departmental lines. In this case, the organisation has a fresh inner system of intuitive skill that can be applied for prospective strategic problem solving (Sternberg & Horvath, 1999). Generally, organisations are not aware of their intuitive skill, nor do very intuitive managers are aware of each other, particularly across department lines. Typically, there is an absence of a formal organisational process to determine and develop this skill for practical use. This takes place partly due to the fact that highly intuitive managers have a tendency to be cautious about how they exercise their talent for worry of being criticised by peers (Sternberg & Horvath, 1999). An intuitive-skill management course can assist in the surmounting of these hindrances and develop the skill recognised in a more constructive and productive manner (Maslow, 2000). Another course payoff that assists in orienting the strategic planning and decision-making process is that the ‘intuitive type’ managers have a potential to discern and asses directly the work of their perceptive co-workers and vice versa. Consequently, all groups obtain higher respect for the skills and capabilities of others, a respect that must improve the manner strategic decision-making and planning process work in the future (Statt, 2000). So as to enhance the future efficiency of the strategic decision-making and planning process, organisations must take into account employing a course that will assist in the development of intuitive skill for more practical use (Statt, 2000). In any attempt to exercise and enhance intuitive capacities, one should distinguish that this skill could be found throughout an organisation at all management levels and task. A framework of strategic management should be adequately adaptive and open to accommodate this fact. Highly structured management will cease to be useful as they once were. Prospectively, a dedication should be made to demanding and recognising responses from wherever intuitive individuals are located in an organisation, not merely from organisational heads (Thomas, 2007). As the exercise of intuitive skill by organisations develops, investigating entirely new means of realising goals will be not merely taken into account but also supported. In a current research of the most successful managers in the United States, it was found out that among their major attributes was a dedication to trialling instead of bureaucracy. These managers emphasise informality instead of a highly structured organisational climate, and they have the courage to resolve things before they rupture (Thomas, 2007). Conclusions The enhancement of intuitive brain capabilities within an organisation may be heartened by intuitive-skill programmes, whose main objective is to show how the application and enhancement of intuitive capabilities will enhance efficiency and job satisfaction. The future management environment will give importance on intuitive capabilities in strategic decision-making and planning process. Moreover, we will perhaps gain more knowledge in the near future through continuous brain studies about how to exercise and develop intuitive capabilities than people possess up to now in the history of the human race. These aspects indicate that committing organisational resources and time at present to enhance intuitive brain capabilities will probably present remarkable payoffs in the near future with regard to enhanced efficiency and improved strategic decision making and planning. References Cappon, D. (1994). Intuition and Management: Research and Application. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Chhajed, D. & Lowe, T.J. (2008). Building Intuition: Insights from Basic Operations Management Models and Principles. New York: Springer. Gamage, D. & Pang, N.S. (2003). Educational Leadership and Management. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. Mani, B. G. (1995). Progress on the Journey to Total Quality Management: Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Adjective Check List in Management Development. Public Personnel Management , 365+. Maslow, A. (2000). The Maslow Business Reader. (D. Stephens, Ed.) New York: Wiley. Nichols, J. L. (2006). Balancing Intuition and Reason: Tuning in to Indecision. The Journal of Rehabilitation , 40+. Pidd, M. (2003). Tools for Thinking: Modelling in Management Science. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Smith, K. G. & Hitt, M. (eds.). (2005). Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Statt, D. A. (2000). Using Psychology in Management Training: The Psychological Foundations of Management Skills. London: Routledge. Sternberg, R. & Horvath, J.A. (1999). Tacit Knowledge in Professional Practice: Researcher and Practitioner Perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Thomas, W. M. (2007). The Sales Managers Success Manual. New York: AMACOM. Witzel, M. (2003). Fifth Key Figures in Management. New York: Routledge. Read More