REVISION & TUTORIAL

AITIC, IPM TERM IX, 2020

Sasanka Sekhar Chanda

1
Contents
I. An application of Satisficing
II. Means-Ends Analysis
III. Aristotle’s Four Causes
IV. Networks & Architecture of Complexity
V. Management and organizational applications of post-Newtonian
developments
VI. Synthesis based on the General Systems Theory, the Doctrine of
Levels and Complexity Science as Order Creation Science
VII. Inductive, Deductive and Abductive Reasoning
2
Satisficing

3
Satisficing
• I have to hire 2 MBAs for my company. I have 4 criteria and minimum
required score (out of 10 points) for each as follows:
• Teamwork 5/10
• Complexity Thinking 5/10
• Analytical Ability 4/10
• Attitude 7/10
• My team has interviewed 20 candidates and provided me the scores
of each candidate on all four parameters
• Which candidates should I select if I have very little time, i.e.,
I have to do the selection task as quickly as possible? Who
would I select if I had more time?
4
 Qualifying → 5 5 4 7
Teamwork Complexity Analytical Attitude
Candidate ID ↓
Thinking Ability
1 6 4 8 10
2 6 4 8 2
3 6 10 4 8
4 10 2 6 8
5 2 6 10 4
6 8 6 10 4
7 5 10 6 8
8 10 6 4 2
9 4 2 8 6
10 6 4 2 8
11 4 2 6 8
12 6 8 10 4
13 2 10 6 8
14 6 10 2 8
15 6 8 2 10
16 4 6 10 8
17 10 8 4 8
18 10 2 8 6 BACK
19 2 8 6 10
20 10 4 2 8
5
Means- Ends Analysis

6
Perform a means-ends analysis of the
statement below by outlining what and why
for the means and the end.
Elon Musk’s company sent a satellite-rocket
carrying a Tesla car to Space.

7
Ends: What ?

Ends: Why?

8
Means: What?

Means: Why?

BACK

9
Aristotle’s Four Causes

10
Aristotle’s Four Causes

•Provide your reflections on below statement

in terms of Aristotle’s four causes.

The magnificent pyramids—the resting place of

departed Pharaohs and high priests—is indeed a
wondrous sight to behold.

11
Aristotle’s 4 causes

Cause of what? Cause of change or movement.

The pyramids were not there earlier. The change is

that certain pyramids got built by the ancient
people.

12
Material Cause: Material that composes the
moving or changing things

Igloos in Greenland are made of ice; huts are made of grass in

the Steppe region.

The magnificent pyramids—the resting place of departed

Pharaohs and high priests—is indeed a wondrous sight to
behold.
13
Efficient Cause: Source of energy OR an
agency of the change or movement.

Hora is the provider of energy behind the assembling of

the watches.

The magnificent pyramids—the resting place of departed

Pharaohs and high priests—is indeed a wondrous sight to
behold.
14
Final Cause: Vision of the founder. “That for the
sake of which a thing is what it is.”

Why is the seed the way it is? It is that way because it is a good
starting point for finally transforming into an adult plant.
[Vision is becoming an adult plant].

The magnificent pyramids—the resting place of departed

Pharaohs and high priests—is indeed a wondrous sight to
behold.
15
Formal Cause: Management practices in place
(means for accomplishment) “Is a change or movement
caused by the arrangement, shape or appearance of the
thing changing or moving”.

• getting the job done on time, under cost, and consistent with
the vision
• use of hierarchy and technology,
• motivation of workers, etc.
BACK
The magnificent pyramids—the resting place of departed
Pharaohs and high priests—is indeed a wondrous sight to behold.
16
Networks & Architecture of Complexity

17
Networks & Architecture of Complexity
We learnt about Random Networks, Scale-Free Networks, and
Small World Networks. If humans could choose a network
configuration by which they would place themselves to
manage how many other humans they come in contact with
which kind of network configuration would be most suitable
for
I. Minimizing the risk of transmission of an infectious disease
II. Getting information about a surprise quiz in the other
section, before start of class on the same subject
18
The underlying idea:

In case [I] we wish to delay the spreading/

transmission of a signal as much as possible

In case [II] we wish to transmit the signal widely,

as fast as possible

BACK
19
Inductive, Deductive and Abductive Reasoning

20
Inductive, Deductive and Abductive Reasoning

• Employ 3 different manners of reasoning* to

find the number of school buses in Indore city.
• (I) Deductive Reasoning
• (II) Inductive Reasoning and
• (III) Abductive Reasoning

Please state your assumptions clearly!

21
Recall that the kind of reasoning to be employed is
a function of what are the givens (G) and what is
the unknown information (U) to be derived from:

Color of Marbles in the large box

Color of Marbles in the velvet bag
The possibility that the marbles in the velvet bag
originated from the box

22
Deductive Reasoning
• Recall the example: A box contains a large number of white
marbles. I pick up a small sample of marbles from the box,
and place it in a velvet bag. An inference by deductive
reasoning would be: All the marbles in the velvet bag are
white.

How many school buses are there in Indore city?

23
Inductive Reasoning
• Recall the example: A box contains a large number of
marbles of unknown color. With my eyes closed, I pick up a
large sample of marbles from the box, and place it in a velvet
bag. Later, I find that all the marbles in the velvet bag are
white. An inference by inductive reasoning would be: All
marbles in that box are white.
How many school buses are there in Indore city?

24
Abductive Reasoning

• Recall the example: A box contains a large number of white

marbles. I find a velvet bag full of white marbles next to the
box. An inference by abductive reasoning would be: The
marbles in the velvet bag came from that box.

How many school buses are there in Indore city?

BACK
25
Management and organizational applications
of post-Newtonian developments

26
Recall the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: It is
impossible to simultaneously determine the
position and the momentum of a sub-atomic
particle like the electron.

Draw on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

to describe two different implications for
managers or management.

27
Recall the class discussion on loose and tight
coupling of organizational sub-units.

List down 2 key upsides and 2 key

downsides for (a) loose coupling of
organizational sub-units and (b) tight
coupling of organizational sub-units.
BACK

28
Synthesis

29
By applying complexity thinking*, critique the
given passage (*by viewing the idea presented in the passage
through the prisms of the General Systems Theory, the Doctrine of
Levels, Complexity Science as Order-Creation Science, etc.)

30
Quote from Jack Welch, as CEO of GE, addressing
the company managers:

We want only A players. … Take care of your best.

Reward them. Promote them. Pay them well. …
Don’t spend all that time trying to work plans to
get Cs to be Bs. Move them out early. It is a
contribution.
A, B, and C are ratings received by GE employees in annual appraisal.
A>B>C. Welch required 10% of any team to be labelled C and moved out.
31
One company holds its operational reviews in a
room with no chairs. Forcing everyone to stand
signals that the meeting is not about passive
listening; it is about active and brisk problem-
solving. [Quote from an article on Leadership and Strategy]

32
From an economics book.

The fundamental condition for profit maximization

tells us that the level of output should be chosen
so that the production of one more unit of output
should produce a marginal revenue equal to its
marginal cost of production.
BACK

33
That’s it!

34