Recalls that the collapse of Baring’s bank showed what may lie behind an apparently successful organization. Barings was destroyed by the unauthorised activities of a trader named Nick Leeson. For almost three years Leeson deceived the bank by appearing to earn phenomenal profits, while in...

Someone tells you there is a problem. Is there – how do you know? Someone says there are three options – how do they know? Decisions turn upon what people believe is reality, yet reality is a resource which can be manipulated to make power. Explores some of the techniques whereby decision...

Impressions are potentially decisive. Preferment often accrues to individuals who succeed in creating “the right impression”, regardless of their competence or capacity for hard work. Explains the psychology of impression management and outlines some techniques for creating a powerful...

Explains why, of all organizations at risk in the current economic recession, small businesses are the most vulnerable. Confirms that downturns are typically rapid and the prognosis poor, and that the emotional and financial hardships of personal bankruptcy are often severe. Challenges the...

Organizations often seem to persist with decisions long after any sensible person might have given up. It is thought that such persistence results from foolhardy behaviour by decision makers motivated mainly by emotional factors such as pride and fear of failure. Analyses a case of a failing...

Reports how two years ago, Management Decision readers were left in suspense concerning the mystery of two solicitors’ firms facing impending bankruptcy. Explains that the two firms responded to their respective crises by adopting diametrically opposed survival strategies, although both seemed...

The collapse of project Taurus, the London Stock Exchange’s £500 million IT venture, ranks as one of the major fiascos of business history. This paper highlights key mistakes in the project’s design and construction and discusses their implications for management.

The traditional image of a good leader is someone who is resolute and decisive. Research, however, indicates that the so‐called “macho manager” approach to decision making is potentially counterproductive because it not only leads to hasty choices but prevents withdrawal when decisions...