Evidence-Based Management: Three New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of Management

Postgraduate CoursePostgraduate Course

Evidence-Based Management: Evidence-Based Management:

Three New Approaches to Teaching the Three New Approaches to Teaching the

Practice of ManagementPractice of Management

PDW, Annual AOM 2012, BostonPDW, Annual AOM 2012, Boston

Eric Eric BarendsBarends

Blake Blake JelleyJelley

Denise Denise RousseauRousseau

Wendy Wendy CarrollCarroll


1.1. Denise Rousseau: Denise Rousseau: IntroductionIntroduction

2.2. Wendy Carroll & Blake Jelley: Wendy Carroll & Blake Jelley: Push ApproachPush Approach

SubgroupsSubgroups

3.3. Eric BarendsEric Barends: : Pull approachPull approach

4.4. Video (9 min)Video (9 min)

SubgroupsSubgroups

5.5. Denise Rousseau: Denise Rousseau: Process ApproachProcess Approach



Definition

Evidence-based management means making decisions Evidence-based management means making decisions

about the management of employees, teams or about the management of employees, teams or

organizations through the conscientious, explicit and organizations through the conscientious, explicit and

judicious use of four sources of information:judicious use of four sources of information:

1. The best available scientific evidence1. The best available scientific evidence

2. Organizational facts, metrics and characteristics2. Organizational facts, metrics and characteristics

3. Stakeholders’ values and concerns3. Stakeholders’ values and concerns

4. Practitioner expertise and judgment4. Practitioner expertise and judgment


Four sources

Teaching EBMgt: The “Push” Approach

R. Blake Jelley & Wendy R. Carroll

Barends, Rousseau, Carroll, & Jelley2012 Academy of Management PDWEvidence-Based Management: Three New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of Management

Overview

• Our Perspectives and Context

• Importance of the “Push” Approach

• Principles and Resources

Our Perspectives and Context• Our backgrounds

– Education– Applied experiences

• Teaching in the UPEI School of Business– Undergraduate– EMBA (launched 2008)

• Oxford Handbook of EBMgt chapter– Jelley, Carroll, & Rousseau (2012). Reflections on teaching evidence-

based management.• Less about the “push” approach

Importance of the “Push” Approach• Bounded Rationality, Heuristics, Biases

• Kahneman (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow– “System 1” (fast; automatic)– “System 2” (slow; deliberate)

• See also Kahneman & Klein (2009). Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to Disagree(2009, American Psychologist)

Importance of the “Push” Approach• A path toward the development of expertise in management?

• Developing expert skill and intuition (see Kahneman & Klein, 2009; Kahneman, 2011)

– A sufficiently regular, predictable environment– Opportunities to learn regularities through prolonged

practice and feedback• The management domain is not highly favourable to skilled

intuition– Intuition is an important consideration, not the final word– Managers need to avoid overconfidence in intuition

Importance of the “Push” Approach

• System 1 will engage!

• Expert intuition is not magic…– “You can feel [Herbert] Simon’s impatience with the

mythologizing of expert intuition when he writes: ‘The situation has provided a cue; this cue has given the expert access to information stored in memory, and the information provides the answer. Intuition is nothing more and nothing less than recognition’” (Kahneman, 2011, p. 11).

Importance of the “Push” Approach• Making intuition more friendly to EBMgt.

– “You do as much homework as possible beforehand so that the intuition is as informed as it can be” (Kahneman, In Kahneman & Klein, 2010, McKinsey Quarterly).

– “It is easier to make good decisions quickly if managers are educated and evidence savvy” (John Zanardelli, 2012, p. 196; President & CEO, Ashbury Heights).

– Program System 1 with evidence-based principles.

• Think fast, well, and set triggers for System 2.

• Bolster, not replace, more deliberate processing.

Importance of the “Push” Approach• Practitioners are not well-informed about management-

related knowledge– E.g., Senior SHRM members = 57% correct (Rynes et al., 2002)

• Are educators much better?

• Various ways to “push” EB knowledge.– Management education as a key.

• Also, ME can integrate push, pull, and process approaches

Principles and Resources• Use of Diagnostic Quizzes

– Examples…• HRM (Rynes et al., 2002)• “100 things… & 50 more things you need to know” books• Advertising (Armstrong & Green’s adprin.com)

– Discussion of dissemination vs. exposing students as uninformed

– Links to critical thinking and the “pull” approach

Principles and Resources• Concerns about what and how we teach… and who does the

teaching

– Our body of knowledge• Benefits of systematic research• Volume of research• Focus on novelty over integration, etc.• Pluralism

– Textbooks– Instructors– Teaching methods

Principles and Resources

Other References:• Existing research syntheses;• Individual synthesis and translation articles

– E.g., Allen, Bryant, & Vardaman (2010). Retaining Talent: Replacing Misconceptions with Evidence-based Strategies. AOM Perspectives [Best Paper]

• SHRM Effective Practice Guidelines; • SHRM-SIOP’s new collaborative series.

Principles and Resources• Identify and teach the “core” management body of

knowledge; less content, more practice

• Focus on topics, theories, and principles that:– (a) Have a solid evidence-base– (b) Are practical to apply

• Are role-relevant• Have implications for practice; address important practice issues• Involve procedural as well as declarative knowledge

– (c) Are durable• Over time• Applicable in various situations

(Miner, 2003; Rousseau & McCarthy, 2007)

Since we can’t teach everything, what are the most important evidence-based things we need to program into our students?

ReferencesAllen, D. G., Bryant, P. C., & Vardaman, J. M. (2010). Retaining talent: Replacing misconceptions with evidence-based strategies.

Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(2), 48-64.Armstrong, J. S., & Green, K. C. (2012). Advertising principles: Evidence-based knowledge on persuasion through advertising.

Retrieved from http://advertisingprinciples.com/ [see http://advertisingprinciples.com/en/try/test-your-advertising-iq]Charlier, S. D., Brown, K. G., & Rynes, S. L. (2011). Teaching evidence-based management in MBA programs: What evidence is

there? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(2), 222-236.Eichinger, R. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Ulrich, D. (2004). 100 things you need to know: Best people practices for managers & HR

(Vol. 1). Minneapolis, MN: Lominger.Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux.Kahneman, D. & Klein, G. (2009). Conditions for intuitive expertise: A failure to disagree. American Psychologist, 64(6), 515-526.Kahneman, D. & Klein, G. (2010). When can you trust your gut? McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 2, 58-67. Jelley, R. B., Carroll, W. R., & Rousseau, D. M. (2012). Reflections on teaching evidence-based management. In D. M. Rousseau

(Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Management (pp. 337-355). New York: Oxford University Press.Latham, G. P. (2009). Becoming the evidence-based manager: Making the science of management work for you. Boston: Davies-

Black.Locke, E. A. (2009). Handbook of principles of organizational behavior: Indispensable knowledge for evidence-based management

(2nd ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley.Miner, J. B. (2003). The rated importance, scientific validity, and practical usefulness of organizational behavior theories: A

quantitative review. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2(3), 250-268.Pearce, J. L. (2009). Organizational behavior: Real research for real managers. Irvine, CA: Melvin & Leigh.

http://advertisingprinciples.com/

http://advertisingprinciples.com/en/try/test-your-advertising-iq

ReferencesPearce, J. L. (2012). Creating evidence-based management textbooks. In D. M. Rousseau (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-

Based Management (pp. 377-386). New York: Oxford University Press.Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Hard facts, dangerous half-truths, and total nonsense. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School

Press.Rousseau, D. M. (Ed.) (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Management. New York: Oxford University Press. Rousseau, D. M. (2012). Designing a better business school: Channelling Herbert Simon, addressing the critics, and developing

actionable knowledge for professionalizing managers. Journal of Management Studies, 49(3), 600-618.Rousseau, D. M., & McCarthy, S. (2007). Educating managers from an evidence-based perspective. Academy of Management

Learning & Education, 6, 84–101.Rynes, S. L., Colbert, A. E., & Brown, K. G. (2002). HR professionals’ beliefs about effective human resource practices:

Correspondence between research and practice. Human Resource Management, 41(2), 149–174.Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (2012). Effective practice guidelines series.

http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/pages/default.aspxSociety for Industrial and Organizational Psychology & Society for Human Resource Management (2012). Publication and

dissemination of science to practice: A research collaboration between the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). http://www.siop.org/SIOP-SHRM%5Cdefault.aspx

Ulrich, D., Eichinger, R., Kulas, J., & De Meuse, K. (2007). 50 more things you need to know: The science behind best people practices for managers & HR professionals (Vol. 2). Minneapolis, MN: Lominger.

Zanardelli, J. (2012). At the intersection of the academy and practice at Ashbury Heights. In D. M. Rousseau (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Management (pp. 191-197). New York: Oxford University Press.

http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/pages/default.aspx

http://www.siop.org/SIOP-SHRM/default.aspx


Eric BarendsEric Barends


Part 2: Part 2:

The 5-step pull approachThe 5-step pull approach

Evidence-Based Management: Evidence-Based Management: Three New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of ManagementThree New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of Management


Trust me, I’m a manager.Trust me, I’m a manager.


Push vs PullPush vs Pull

Push: Push: teaching management principles teaching management principles

based upon a convergent body of based upon a convergent body of

research and telling students what to do.research and telling students what to do.

Pull: Pull: teaching students how to find, teaching students how to find,

appraise and apply the outcome of appraise and apply the outcome of

research (evidence) by themselvesresearch (evidence) by themselves


Why do we need a Why do we need a

pull approach?pull approach?


Problem I: too much ‘evidence’Problem I: too much ‘evidence’

HRM: 1,400 articles in 2011 (ABI/INFORM). For an HR HRM: 1,400 articles in 2011 (ABI/INFORM). For an HR

manager to keep up this means reading 3 to 4 articles manager to keep up this means reading 3 to 4 articles

every day (for a ‘general’ manager more than 50!)every day (for a ‘general’ manager more than 50!)


Half of what you learn will be shown to be either dead Half of what you learn will be shown to be either dead

wrong or out-of-date within 7 years of your graduation; wrong or out-of-date within 7 years of your graduation;

the trouble is that nobody can tell you which halfthe trouble is that nobody can tell you which half

Problem II: false informationProblem II: false information


5 years? 5 years? 7 years? 7 years? 10 years?10 years?

Problem III: half time valueProblem III: half time value


PullPull

Pull: Pull: teaching students how to find, appraise teaching students how to find, appraise

and apply evidence by themselvesand apply evidence by themselves


Starting pointStarting point

Problem basedProblem based

Real live caseReal live case

Just in timeJust in time

Start with a practical question,Start with a practical question,

(not with an academic answer)(not with an academic answer)


The 5 steps of ‘pull’ EBPThe 5 steps of ‘pull’ EBP

1.1. Formulate a focused question (Formulate a focused question (AskAsk))

2.2. Search for the best available evidence (Search for the best available evidence (AcquireAcquire))

3.3. Critically appraise the evidence (Critically appraise the evidence (AppraiseAppraise))

4.4. Integrate the evidence with your managerial Integrate the evidence with your managerial

expertise and organisational concerns and apply expertise and organisational concerns and apply

((ApplyApply))

5.5. Monitor the outcome (Monitor the outcome (AssessAssess))


1. Formulate a focused question1. Formulate a focused question

Asking the right question?Asking the right question?

Does team-building work?Does team-building work?

Does the introduction of self-steering teams work?Does the introduction of self-steering teams work?

Does management development improve the Does management development improve the

performance of managers?performance of managers?

Does employee participation prevent resistance to Does employee participation prevent resistance to

change?change?

Is 360 degree feedback effective?Is 360 degree feedback effective?



What is a ‘team’?What is a ‘team’?

What kind of team?What kind of team?

In what contexts/ settings?In what contexts/ settings?

What counts as ‘team-building’?What counts as ‘team-building’?

What does ‘work’ mean?What does ‘work’ mean?

What outcomes are relevant?What outcomes are relevant?

Over what time periods?Over what time periods?

Focused question?Focused question?

Does team-building work?Does team-building work?


PP == PopulationPopulation

I I = = Intervention or success factorIntervention or success factor

CC = Comparison = Comparison

OO = Outcome= Outcome

CC = Context = Context

Answerable question: PICOCAnswerable question: PICOC


PP == PopulationPopulation

I I = = Intervention or successfactorIntervention or successfactor

CC = Comparison = Comparison

OO = Outcome= Outcome

CC = Context = Context

Focused question: PICOCFocused question: PICOC

Employee productivity?

Job satisfaction?

Return on investment?

Market share?

Organizational commitment?


2. Finding the best available evidence2. Finding the best available evidence

Searching evidenceSearching evidence

Where Where do we search?do we search?


DatabasesDatabasesPostgraduate CoursePostgraduate Course

ABI/INFORMABI/INFORM

Business Source EliteBusiness Source Elite

PsycINFOPsycINFO

Web of KnowledgeWeb of Knowledge

ERICERIC

Google ScholarGoogle Scholar

Searching evidenceSearching evidence

How How do we search?do we search?

Search StrategySearch Strategy


Two types of search strategiesTwo types of search strategies

Search strategySearch strategy

Building blocks methodBuilding blocks methodSnowball methodSnowball method


Hands on instructionHands on instructionPostgraduate CoursePostgraduate Course


3. Critical appraisal of studies3. Critical appraisal of studies

Making sense of evidenceMaking sense of evidence


The best available evidence = The best available evidence =

Studies with the highest Studies with the highest internal validityinternal validity(does it work?)(does it work?)

Studies with the highest Studies with the highest external validityexternal validity(does it work for my employees / my organization?)(does it work for my employees / my organization?)


Which study for which question?Which study for which question?

Research designsResearch designs

The “best” evidence depends on the question type !The “best” evidence depends on the question type !


Which design for which Which design for which question?question?

Explanation


Best research design?Best research design?


Critical appraisalCritical appraisal

Critical appraisalCritical appraisalPostgraduate CoursePostgraduate Course

1.1. Is the study design appropriate to the stated aims?Is the study design appropriate to the stated aims?

2.2. Was a control group used?Was a control group used?

3.3. Was a pretest used?Was a pretest used?

4.4. Are the measurements likely to be valid and reliable?Are the measurements likely to be valid and reliable?

5.5. Could bias or confounding have occurred?Could bias or confounding have occurred?

6.6. How large was the effect size?How large was the effect size?


Step 4: Turning evidence into Step 4: Turning evidence into practicepractice


1.1. Is your organization / population so different from those in the Is your organization / population so different from those in the study that its results are difficult to apply?study that its results are difficult to apply?

2.2. How relevant is the study (or outcome) to what you are How relevant is the study (or outcome) to what you are seeking to understand or decide? seeking to understand or decide?

3.3. What are your organization’s potential benefits and harms What are your organization’s potential benefits and harms from the intervention?from the intervention?

4.4. Is the intervention feasible in your setting?Is the intervention feasible in your setting?

Organization concernsOrganization concerns

Always ask yourself to what extent the evidence Always ask yourself to what extent the evidence is applicable in your situation:is applicable in your situation:


Four sources


Feasible?

organizational facts and characteristicsorganizational facts and characteristics

cultural aspectscultural aspects

stakeholders’ values and concernsstakeholders’ values and concerns

political aspectspolitical aspects

financial aspects /cost-effectiveness / ROIfinancial aspects /cost-effectiveness / ROI

prioritiespriorities

change readiness / resistance to change change readiness / resistance to change

implementation capacity implementation capacity

timingtiming


Popular management book / guided field trip Popular management book / guided field trip

Surfacing assumptionsSurfacing assumptions

Needle & haystack assignmentNeedle & haystack assignment

Myth busters, snake oil symposiumMyth busters, snake oil symposium

Find the FlawsFind the Flaws

Persuasive paper / presentationPersuasive paper / presentation

CATCAT

Exercises / AssignmentsExercises / Assignments


CAT: Critically Appraised TopicCAT: Critically Appraised Topic


CAT: Critically Appraised TopicCAT: Critically Appraised Topic

A critically appraised topic (CAT) is a A critically appraised topic (CAT) is a

structured, short (2 pages max) summary structured, short (2 pages max) summary

of evidence on a topic of interest, usually of evidence on a topic of interest, usually

focused around a practical problem or focused around a practical problem or

question..question..


CAT: structureCAT: structure

1)1) Background / contextBackground / context

2)2) Question (PICOC)Question (PICOC)

3)3) Search strategySearch strategy

4)4) Results / evidence summaryResults / evidence summary

5)5) FindingsFindings

6)6) LimitationsLimitations

7)7) RecommendationRecommendation


CAT-walkCAT-walk


CAT: exampleCAT: example

See: www.cebma.org/presentations

(CAT Organizational Trust and Job Satisfaction)


What are the skills that are manifest in What are the skills that are manifest in

this video that are relevant to what you this video that are relevant to what you

are trying to teach at your classes?are trying to teach at your classes?

Denise M. Rousseau

Barends, Rousseau, Carroll, & Jelley2012 Academy of Management PDWEvidence-Based Management: Three New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of Management

The “Human” Problem

Bounded Rationality

The Small Numbers Problem of Individual Experience

Prone to See Patterns Even in Random Data

Evidence-Based Practice

Critical Thinking

Decision Supports

Research

• Large Ns > individual experience

• Controls reduce bias

The “Human” Problem

Bounded Rationality

The Small Numbers Problem of Individual Experience

Prone to See Patterns Even in Random Data

Evidence-Based Practice

Critical Thinking

Decision Supports

Research

• Large Ns > individual experience

• Controls reduce bias

Get critical “evidence” in advance• Prime your KSAs

Make the right decision as fast as needed• Not necessarily “as fast as possible”

Learn best (evidence-based) strategies for different decision types

• Identify the type of decision you face• Then, engage the right decision strategy

Routine decisions for which there is a “best evidence-based way” to do things• Hiring call center workers, management trainees• Giving periodic performance feedback• Running a geographically distributed meeting

Acquire science-based evidence and org facts to identify effective practices

Develop standard operating procedures with users Gather org-evidence to evaluate SOP effects Modify as needed Put in user-friendly form (Checklist, Diagram)

Non-routine Decisions (# Stakeholders & Goals)• New facility start up• Solving space problem in existing building• Developing a company-wide performance management system

Evidence-Based Pull Approach

Yates’s Cardinal Rules

Note: What is non-routine to one organization may be routine in another (e.g., new store start ups are routine in McDonald’s )

Beneficiary Interests/Values

DecisionOther

Contributors

Preliminaries1—Need 2—Mode

3—Investment

Core4—Options

5—Possibilities6—Judgment

7—Value8—Tradeoffs

Aftermath9—Acceptability

10—Implementation

Decision Processes: Cardinal Issue Resolution

Resolution Contributors: E.g., Resources, Tools, Biology, Habits, “Natural” Experiences, Training, History, Culture

A Big Picture

Hypercomplex Decision with High Risk and Many Unknowns (i.e. Black Swans)

Use Sensemaking

Weick and Sutcliffe’s Resilience Process• Gather information and check assumptions• Run experiments (in parallel if several alternatives are identified)• Multiple trials to learn by doing• Build on small wins• Continue to question assumptions

Routine Decisions• Atul Gawande

Novel Decisions (due # Stakeholders & Goals)• Frank Yates

Hypercomplex with Many Unknowns/Risky Decisions• Karl Weick & Kathleen Sutcliffe

Denise Rousseau

imagine pictured of books here!!!

What type of decision situation do you face?

DIAGNOSIS: Appropriate decision strategy?

Product of this is critical thinking that overtime helps you become more aware of assumptions and gaps in logic

Heath, C., Larrick, R. P., & Klayman, J. (1998) Cognitive repairs: How organizational practices can compensate for individual shortcomings. Review of Organizational Behavior, 20, 1–38.

Gawande, A. (2009). Checklist manifesto: How to get things right. New York: Henry Holt.

Larrick, R.K. (2009/) Broaden the decision frame to make effective decisions. In E.A. Locke (ed.), Handbook of principles of organizational behavior: Indispensable knowledge for evidence-based management. New York: Wiley (pp. 461-515).

Taleb, N. N. (2010). The black swan: The impact of the highly improbable. (2nd ed.) New York:: Penguin.

Weick, K.E, & Sutcliffe, K. (2007). Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty. New York: Wiley.

Yates, J. F. (2003). Decision management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Yates, J.F. & Potwoworski, G. (2012). Evidence-based decision management. In D,M, Rousseau (ed): Handbook of Evidence-Based Management: New York: Oxford University Press, this volume.

Documents

Evidence-Based Management: Three New Approaches to Teaching the Practice of Management