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Are We Prone to Bias in Our Business and Recruiting Decisions?

We chronically evaluate others to determine status as a friend or foe. When such decisions are made on superficial information this can create large problems for organizations that push and promote those who were favored by their environment versus their skills.   The same concept can apply to companies that look at grade point average for recruiting without looking at the difficulty of earning that grade. Research by Swift et. al. (2013) delves into how these superficial decisions are made and how they can impact corporate recruiting. Research has indicated that the majority of employers look at a candidates GPA without delving into the difficulty of obtaining those grades thereby limiting their recruiting potential. For example, a student who obtains an easy A without having to work for it is not inherently better than a student who earns a C from a school with high standards. One could make the argument that the student with an A is likely to be less prepared for success or

The Essential Skills of Strategic Leadership

Strategic thinkers are important for the success of organizations as well as the nation. When influential power, strategic thinking, and resources are aligned the possibilities and potential solutions to complex problems are endless. Through the Wharton school and consulting practices the researchers Schoemaker , Krupp & Howland have identified six leadership skills that apply to any leader that wants to capitalize on uncertainty (2013).   Their conclusions state that strategic leadership, based upon 20,000 executives, is a result of the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align and learn.   Anticipation: It is the ability of leaders to see the market and the possible changes and challenges the organization will face in the future. They do this through staying ahead of market trends, learning about market adaptations, and connecting with those who are leading the field. The majority of leaders are poor at understanding ambiguous threats and challenges ar

Decision Making of Kuwaiti Business Students

Decision-making is an important skill for young college graduates to learn. The concept of decision making can be seen as the ability to evaluate alternatives in order to develop appropriate methods to obtaining goals (Edwards & Tversky, 1967). The more effective a person is in developing their decision making skills the more effective they will be in designing strategy.  One of the main criteria for any executive is to develop and implement strategy. One must think through all of the possible outcomes, understand the situation in it’s entirely, and then implement a program that effectively makes its way to an appropriate outcome. This is a complex and informational laden task that can be difficult on a macro scale.  Decision making skills can be improved with time and effort. For college students they learn these concepts in strategic management while others may learn them in corporate training. Improvement of such skills depends on the strength of that instruction