Effectiveness of advanced technologies in support of strategic decision making
Speaker: Shane Arnott, Boeing Australia
When: 2004-12-16 14:00:00
Venue: 78-612
Host: Peter Lindsay
Abstract:Is advanced technology worth investing in to improve decision making
at strategic levels?
Strategic decisions are characterised by the requirement for novel
solutions to non-routine complex problems that result in the
definition of, or changes to, the objectives of an organisation.
Often such decisions are focused on significant impending events, or
paths to the future and how to best position the organisation to
shape that future in the organisations favour.
Decision makers may turn to support systems that "generate"
forecasts, in an effort to provide greater understanding of the
problem space for more effective decision making. These
technological aids are typically referred to as Decision Support
Systems (DSS). Given the gravity attached to strategic decisions,
organisations may be well served by advanced technologies that
assist in forming predictions to populate the basis of information
towards making more effective strategic decisions for their
organisation. That said, incorrect choices in application of
decision support technology can result in retarding or misleading
the decision making process, as well as being an expensive exercise
in non-effective employment of technology.
Therefore, what are the important factors in determining the
effectiveness of advanced technologies in support of strategic
decision making?
The goal of the resultant research is to provide guidance on the
appropriateness of advanced technologies for decision makers looking
for better ways to understand their problem space within the context
of their decision type and organisational setting. Translating into
educated advice on the factors that will aid with an investment in
technology versus value-added to the decision making process in a
given organisation.
The forum for this research is the Boeing Australia Systems Analysis
Laboratory (SAL) and the context is provided by the Directorate of
Future Warfighting (DFW), Strategy Group, Australian Defence
Forces. DFW are currently using the SAL to review strategic force
structure issues with a view to better shaping the Defence force of
tomorrow.
Biography:Shane Arnott is the Lab Director of the Boeing Australia Systems
Analysis Laboratory (SAL) and holds B. Comp Eng (H1A) from Latrobe
University. He is a Boeing Technical Fellow and recognised as one
of the leading visualisation, simulation and analysis experts in The
Boeing Company. Shane is currently completing his PhD, part-time,
at the University of Queensland on the above topic.
Type: Ph.D confirmation
Contact:Peter Lindsay, seminar host (peter.lindsay@accs.uq.edu.au)
or Guido Governatori (ITEE seminar co-ordinator)
(guido@itee.uq.edu.au)