Business decision-making : streamlining the process for more effective results / Milan Frankl.

What are heuristics? (Rules of thumb) -- How do business executives make decisions? (Do rules of thumb count?) -- When you do not decide, you have decided (Do not procrastinate) -- Why technology is not important--or is it? (Computers are dumb) -- Experience counts (What you do not know is important) -- Learn from your failures (Do not reinvent the wheel) -- Personal presence management (Your time is not yours) -- Safety first (Without it nothing else counts) -- People count (Show them) -- Quality is free (The devil is in the detail) -- Believe in numbers--but not too much (What you can measure, you might manage) -- The customer is always right (Most of the time) -- If it ain't broken, break it (Innovate) -- Managing errors (No blame) -- The dog ate my shipment (The inconceivable is not so) -- Let go of the banana (delegate) or (delegation pitfalls) -- Everybody knows the future (Is planning overrated?) -- Complexity is out--simplicity is in (Less is more) -- Meaningless choices (Decisions that do not matter) -- The bank manager is not your friend (Do not go to the bank with a problem) -- The government can help (This is not a joke) -- Do not quit your day job (Buying a lottery ticket is not winning the lottery) -- Endnotes -- Index.

I have summarized my 30-year experience as a business executive and professor of business in a book on business decision making on the basis of my professional experience and academic research. Rather than approaching this topic from an academic or a theoretical point of view, I have described a series of real-life business events that most executives encounter during their professional career. These events are written in form of "vignettes"--scripts, or sketch stories that illustrate the problem the executive (me or some of my colleagues in this case) faced, what was the decision that ensued, and the business consequences that followed (lessons learned). Each chapter contains some vignettes in form of anecdotal events that emphasize the decision-making process taking place, and lessons learned that ensued. This is not a book on theory or techniques--it is more a hands-on description of what happens when one encounters various "common" challenging business situations involving customers, employees, bankers, and so forth. I wrote this book over a period of about 3 years, hesitating to publish it because it relates to real-life events. Once modified to protect the "guilty," its material could be shared with others.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.

Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 22, 2015).