ERIC Number: EJ852817
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Oct
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-1629
EISSN: N/A
A Feedback Learning and Mental Models Perspective on Strategic Decision Making
Capelo, Carlos; Dias, Joao Ferreira
Educational Technology Research and Development, v57 n5 p629-644 Oct 2009
This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term success. We present a set of hypotheses about the influence of feedback information and systems thinking facilitation on mental models and management performance. We explore, under controlled conditions, the role of mental models in terms of structure and behaviour. A test based on a simulation experiment with a system dynamics model was performed. Three out of the four hypotheses were confirmed. Causal diagramming positively influences mental model structure similarity, mental model structure similarity positively influences mental model behaviour similarity, and mental model behaviour similarity positively influences the quality of the decision.
Descriptors: Feedback (Response), Models, Decision Making, Learning Processes, Systems Approach, Hypothesis Testing, Correlation, Educational Technology, Computer Assisted Instruction, Electronic Learning, Computer Simulation, Simulated Environment, Cognitive Structures, Administrator Effectiveness, Management Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A