1. The Use of Organizational Stories and DSS to Achieve Strategic and Behavioral Market Objectives Dr. David Paradice Florida State University dparadice@cob.fsu.edu

2. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Agenda Framing Questions. Why Stories? Organizational Research on Stories. A Theoretical Basis. Which story? When? By Whom? Some Ideas on Story / DSS Integration.

3. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Framing Questions Can story types be leveraged to improve decision making? Can the knowledge embedded in organizational stories be leveraged in a DSS to achieve ? How might one design a DSS to incorporate stories in decision making?

4. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Stories Are Fundamental Patients Doctors Victims Police CEO’s Investors Salespersons Customers Preachers Parishioners Witnesses Juries Applicants Interviewers Politicians Voters Daters Datees

5. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Business Involves Stories 28% of the GNP in the US is accounted for by persuasion (law, public relations, marketing, psychology, ministry, etc.) (Brown et al. 2005), which often involves storytelling in some sense.

6. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Why Stories? Stories are (can be) extremely “efficient”. Stories have durability and endurance. Stories can carry lessons about behavior. Stories can be difficult to “unlearn”. Powerful stories can shape the future. People learn how to live by hearing stories about other people. Stories help people “make sense” of their environment.

7. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Organizational Research Entertainment Conveying information Nurturing communities Promoting innovation Preserving organizations Changing organizations Brown et al. 2005; Denning 2006

8. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Organizational Research Appraisals Goodall Jr. et al. 1986 Communities / networks of practice Wasko and Faraj 2005 Organizational culture Eisenberg & Riley 2001; Weick & Browning 1986; Lyotard 1984; Deetz 2001

9. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Organizational Research Integrity Arts, Inc. i.d.e.a.s. Knowledge Management Gossip or knowledge transfer? Brown et al. 2005 Control To legitimize control systems Jehensen 1984 Enable dominant coalitions Deetz 1998

10. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Organizational Research Generally speaking, stories in organizations function to Reduce uncertainty Manage meaning Facilitate identification and bonding Brown 1985; Weick 1979; Weick & Browning 1985; Brown et al. 2005

11. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Identification & Unobtrusive Control (Tompkins & Cheney 1985) Control mechanisms Simple, technical, bureaucratic, concertive Obtrusive Unobtrusive As control moves from obtrusive to unobtrusive, organizations rely more on a member’s identification with the firm to guide behavior.

12. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS What About Customer Behavior? “Branding” efforts are another form of identification building. If a customer identifies with a particular brand, then the opportunity exists to influence the customer’s behavior.

13. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Identification & Premises Identification with the firm leads to shared values Value systems codify the premises one uses to formulate problems Premises determine which alternatives are considered when decisions must be made (Simon 1947)

14. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Premises (Simon 1947) Smallest unit of analysis Premises recognized as relevant control what alternatives are considered Managers control behavior by controlling decisions

15. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Acceptance of organizational premises Members will accept organizational premises as their own Joining an organization requires relinquishing some autonomy Adequate compensation leads to behavior that gets rewarded Perceived legitimacy of authority of managers

16. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS What About Customer Behavior? Purchasing a product at least temporarily “connects” the customer to the product. Loyalty programs reward a particular behavior. “Truth bias” makes people want to believe what they are told.

17. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS The Power of Premises Identification with the organization is a coping mechanism for handling complexity Simon 1947 Decision makers satisfice, so premises determine alternatives considered Simon 1947 By inculcating premises, “control is pre- established” in decision makers Tompkins & Cheney 1985

18. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Stories & Premises Stories that “ring true” can act to inculcate premises. Which story? When? Told by whom?

19. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Story Patterns (Denning 2006) Communicate who you are Tame the grapevine Share knowledge Transmit values Communicate who the firm is Foster collaboration Spark action Lead into the future

20. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Stories not considered Communicate who you are Story should provide engaging drama, reveal strength or vulnerability from your past. Taming the grapevine Story should emphasize some aspect of rumor that reveals it to be untrue or unreasonable. Use humor.

21. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Stories not considered Sharing knowledge Story should focus on mistakes made and show, in detail, how they were corrected, with an explanation of why the solution worked. Case-based reasoning can provide this.

22. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Transmitting Values Story must feel familiar to the audience. You want it to prompt discussion about the issues raised by the value being promoted. Use believable characters and situations and never forget that the story must be consistent with actions.

23. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Communicate Who the Firm Is The story is usually told by the product or service itself, or by customer word- of-mouth, or by a credible third party. Be sure that the firm is actually delivering on the brand promise.

24. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Fostering Collaboration Recount a situation that listeners have also experienced and that prompts them to share their own stories about the topic. Ensure set agenda does not squelch the swapping of stories.

25. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Integrating Stories in DSS (Values, collaboration, who we are) Does this decision involve corporate values? Are all of the stakeholder’s needs accounted for? Are the stakeholder’s values reflected in the analysis? How would the stakeholders describe the situation? Hear StoriesWrite Stories Is this solution consistent with whom we claim to be? How would the decision stakeholders describe this solution?

26. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Sparking action (springboard) The story should describe how a successful change was implemented in the past, but allow listeners to imagine how it might work in their situation. Avoid excessive detail that will take the audience’s mind off its own challenge.

27. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Integrating Stories in DSS Decision Characteristics (context, purpose, ???) Stories Templates? Editing Data Constraints? User Presentation Decision Task DSS

28. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Lead into the Future Story must evoke the future you want to create without providing excessive detail that will only turn out to be wrong. Be sure of storytelling skills (otherwise, use springboard story).

29. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Integrating Stories in DSS DSS in Reverse? Have decision makers write the story they desire. (Choice) Work backwards from story to design the solution that supports the story. (Design) Examine (implement?) assumptions needed to support the design. (Intelligence)

30. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS Some ideas Transmit Values Communicate who firm is Foster collaboration Spark actionLead to future Warehouse Location XXX Career Choice XXX Purchasing / Scheduling XXX Emergency Response XXXX Business Travel Planning XX Negotiation XXXX

31. Florida State University The C OLLEGE of B USINESS DSS / GDSS Blogs Decision Maker(s) E-Social Networks (FaceBook) Search Engines Mobile Devices Digital Canopies DSS Discussion Boards