Uncovering the mechanisms of effective facilitated operational research using psychology

运筹学（OR）是应用先进的分析方法，如模拟建模，以作出更好的决策的学科。这一新兴领域已经影响了各种各样的组织部门，从医疗保健和能源效率到广告和产品流程。虽然研究一直报告说，促进或促进等形式的OR在改善组织内的决策方面是成功的，但很少有客观证据表明其有效性。利用群体决策中的心理学方法，我们可以概念化和客观地衡量促进或导致更好的群体决策的潜在过程。例如，在心理学中对群体决策的研究中，使用隐藏档案可能会揭示增加信息共享的潜在技术，据报道，这对群体表现有最显著的影响。在隐藏配置文件中，小组被提出一个决策任务，要求他们讨论所有未共享的信息以达成最优决策。使用这一范式的研究表明，由于倾向于验证并因此更频繁地讨论共享信息，以及优先考虑共识而不是最优决策，这两种情况在组织中都是由于严格的时间限制和大量信息而引发的。另外一些机制也被提出在个体层面上与这些群体层面的过程同时发生，比如个体偏好效应（IPE）。IPE是指个人倾向于优先考虑和更重视与他们基于个人知识的初始态度相一致的证据，而无视其他群体成员的知识。虽然一些研究发现这种不平等的信息分布在组织中很常见，但尚未有研究表明如何克服由此导致的组织环境中的不良决策。这样的见解是无价的，因为它们允许开发最优的促进或模型，可以最大限度地发挥组织群体的潜力。首先，研究将使用最近开发的虚拟群组隐藏档案范例在线进行，以经验评估提出的影响信息共享和保留的因素。将根据这项研究开发干预措施，以克服这些因素，首先在以学生群体为基础的实验室环境中进行，然后通过与肯特商学院的联系推广到真正的客户促进研讨会。这项研究将主要依赖于探索性的基于视频和文本编码，通过交互式过程分析方法。研究还将使用问卷来衡量诸如对所做决定的信心、对信任和合作的看法以及对所提供内容的理解等因素。本研究旨在借鉴现有的关于增加信息共享和改进决策方法的心理学理论，并在促进或模型中实施这些理论，旨在改善组织内的群体决策。

Operational Research (OR) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods such as simulation modelling to make better decisions. This emerging field has impacted a diverse range of organisational sectors, ranging from healthcare and energy efficiency to advertising and product flow. Whilst research has consistently reported that forms of OR such as facilitated OR are successful in improving decision making within organisations, little objective evidence exists for its efficacy. Drawing upon psychological methods in group decision making allows us to conceptualise and objectively measure the underlying processes of facilitated OR which lead to better group decisions. For example, research on group decision making within psychology using the hidden profile may reveal potential techniques for increasing information sharing, which has been reported to have the most significant impact on group performance. In the Hidden Profile, groups are presented with a decision-making task requiring them to discuss all unshared information to reach an optimal decision. Research using this paradigm has revealed groups consistently fail to reach the optimal decision, due to tendencies to validate and hence more frequently discuss shared information, and prioritising consensus over optimal decisions, both of which are primed in organisations as a result of strict time limits and large amounts of information. Additional mechanisms have been proposed to occur at an individual level simultaneous to these group level processes, such as the Individual Preference Effect (IPE). The IPE pertains to the tendency for individuals to prioritise and place greater worth on evidence that is consistent with their initial attitudes based on their personal knowledge, with disregard to the knowledge of other group members. Whilst some research has found that this unequal information distribution is common to organisations, no research has yet been conducted on how to overcome the poor decision making that results in organisational settings from this. Such insights are invaluable as they allow for the development of optimal facilitated OR models which can maximise organisational group potential. Initially, research will be conducted online using a recently developed virtual group hidden profile paradigm, to empirically assess factors which are proposed to influence information sharing and retention. Interventions will be developed based on this research to overcome such factors, firstly conducted in lab-based settings with student populations and then generalising to real client facilitated workshops via connections with Kent Business School. This research will primarily depend on exploratory video-based and transcripts coded via Interactive Process Analysis methods. Research will also use questionnaires measuring factors such as confidence in the decisions made, perceptions of trust and collaboration, and understanding of content provided. This research aims to draw upon existing psychological theories on methods of increasing information sharing and improving decision making and implement these in facilitated OR models with the aim to improve group decisions within organisations.