Sessie 1: Setting the stage
The Case of the Floundering Expatriate (Adler)
?
Evidence-Based Management (Pfeffer & Sutton)
It’s time to start an evidence-based movement in the ranks of managers. Admittedly, in some
ways, the challenge is greater here than in medicine.
The evidence is weaker
Companies vary so wildly in size, form, and age
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What makes it hard to be evidence based?
There’s too much evidence
There’s not enough good evidence
The evidence doesn’t quite apply
People are trying to mislead you
You are trying to mislead you
The side effects outweigh the cure
Stories are more persuasive, anyway
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What passes for wisdom?
Seasoned practitioners sometimes neglect to seek out new evidence because they
trust their own clinical experience more than they trust research.
Another alternative to using evidence is making decisions that capitalize on the
practitioner’s own strengths.
Hype and marketing, of course, also play a role in what information reaches the
busy practitioner.
Numerous other decisions are driven by dogma and belief.
Ideology is also to blame for the persistence of the first-mover-advantage myth. Yet
empirical evidence is actually quite mixed as to whether such an advantage exists,
and many “success stories” purported to support the first-mover advantage turn out to
be false.
o Beliefs rooted in ideology or in cultural values are quite “sticky,” resist
disconfirmation, and persist in affecting judgments and choice, regardless of
whether they are true.
Finally, there is the problem of uncritical emulation and its business equivalent:
casual benchmarking (= manier om prestaties te vergelijken)
o Benefit: saves time and money
o Disadvantage: at maximum, you reach the same level as the person you
mimic.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Can benchmarking produce evidence?
Ask yourself the following questions:
1
The Case of the Floundering Expatriate (Adler)
?
Evidence-Based Management (Pfeffer & Sutton)
It’s time to start an evidence-based movement in the ranks of managers. Admittedly, in some
ways, the challenge is greater here than in medicine.
The evidence is weaker
Companies vary so wildly in size, form, and age
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What makes it hard to be evidence based?
There’s too much evidence
There’s not enough good evidence
The evidence doesn’t quite apply
People are trying to mislead you
You are trying to mislead you
The side effects outweigh the cure
Stories are more persuasive, anyway
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What passes for wisdom?
Seasoned practitioners sometimes neglect to seek out new evidence because they
trust their own clinical experience more than they trust research.
Another alternative to using evidence is making decisions that capitalize on the
practitioner’s own strengths.
Hype and marketing, of course, also play a role in what information reaches the
busy practitioner.
Numerous other decisions are driven by dogma and belief.
Ideology is also to blame for the persistence of the first-mover-advantage myth. Yet
empirical evidence is actually quite mixed as to whether such an advantage exists,
and many “success stories” purported to support the first-mover advantage turn out to
be false.
o Beliefs rooted in ideology or in cultural values are quite “sticky,” resist
disconfirmation, and persist in affecting judgments and choice, regardless of
whether they are true.
Finally, there is the problem of uncritical emulation and its business equivalent:
casual benchmarking (= manier om prestaties te vergelijken)
o Benefit: saves time and money
o Disadvantage: at maximum, you reach the same level as the person you
mimic.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Can benchmarking produce evidence?
Ask yourself the following questions:
1
