Enhancing Organizational Decision Making with Analytical Data and Conceptual Thinking

The below terms are the verbs present in your assignment tasks and their definitions. A verb is an action word which frames what exactly you need to do within your assignment to answer the task.  

Explain Clarify a topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurs, or what is meant by the use of this term in a particular context. Your writing should have clarity so that complex procedures or sequences of events can be understood, defining key terms where appropriate, and be substantiated with relevant research.

This assignment takes the form of an essay.  You are required to:

Part 1

Using your learning from this module and relevant examples from your own organisation, explain how analytical data and conceptual thinking can be used to enhance organisational decision making.

Part 2

Using a reflective model of your choosing, provide two examples that demonstrate how you have used analytical and conceptual thinking to enhance your decision making and problem solving.

Requirement

Part 1

Part 1 requires you to explain how organisations make decisions and through the use relevant theories, concepts and principles from the module (as well as your wider reading) on decision making, how analytical data and conceptual thinking can enhance this.  This is initially looking for a broad review rather than specifically at your organisation BUT the question then asks you to use relevant examples from your own organisation.  Thus, it starts with a more general review (supported by relevant literature) then is contextualised to reflect how your organisation makes decisions and how they use analytical data and conceptual thinking to enhance this.

Deconstructing this part of the brief you will note the following:

What do you need to do?

Explain.  University of Roehampton defines explain as “Clarify a topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurs, or what is meant by the use of this term in a particular context. Your writing should have clarity so that complex procedures or sequences of events can be understood, defining key terms where appropriate, and be substantiated with relevant research”.

What is the topic area?

Organisational decision making generally and within the context of your organisation.

Limiting factors?

Commentary is centred on how organisations can use analytical data and conceptual thinking to enhance their decision making.   

Part 2

This part is all about you.  It is your opportunity to reflect on how you are making decisions in your organisation and the part that analytical data and conceptual thinking have played.  You may choose one example of each or both examples may be of either analytical data use or conceptual thinking.  However, if you are not doing one of each you need to justify this.  Is it that you are not currently in a role where conceptual thinking is used or vice versa or some other reason?  This is to demonstrate to the reader that your choice of example is considered and meaningful.

Using a reflective model allows you to structure your comments which can help ensure that you do not lapse into a descriptive account of the event rather than reflecting on it.  Make sure to briefly justify your choice of model (what is your rationale, why does this model resonate with you).

Deconstructing this part of the brief you will note the following:

What do you need to do?

Demonstrate.  University of Roehampton defines demonstrate as “Show how, with examples to illustrate”.  This means your examples must show how you have used analytical data and conceptual thinking to enhance your decision making.

What is the topic area?

How you have used analytical data and conceptual thinking to enhance your decision making.

Limiting factors?

Use of a reflective model.  This will ‘bound’ your discussions, providing a framework for them.