Strategies, Essay Example

Faced with decision-making situations, leaders in all fields clearly possess different strategies in regards to how to most efficiently and successfully pursue this process, in so far as there is a contextual element to every decision. This contextual element operates on two levels: firstly, there is a context across fields, i.e., the process is dependent upon the nature of the problem, and secondly, every decision within a particular context will be constituted by its own unique problems. It seems that one of the key ways to combat this difficulty is to employ results of research to make important decisions: namely, to the extent that such decision making processes are relative to context, quality research provides a counter-balancing objective viewpoint to minimize the heterogeneity of this entire process. This is not to say that research in itself provides an absolutely objective viewpoint, which would clearly be a grandiose epistemological claim. Nevertheless, using research based on statistical or mathematical models or research conducted by experts who employ tools such as the standard scientific method and have had their work published in peer-reviewed scientific journals can increase the confidence in the decision. Relying on this work increases to a degree certainty in a situation that is uncertain by definition, since it requires a choice.

As an example of the importance of such research, one can see how it is present in radically different areas. The Department of Defense has used operational research to help make crucial military decisions. Even in more trivial matters such an approach is used, for example, sabremetrics is a statistical and mathematical model that baseball general managers use to help them in their personnel decision-making. This approach has proven so successful that it has also been incorporated by football general managers. The sense in which leaders recognize the importance of research is thus demonstrated in the diverse fields in which it continues to be incorporated.