Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

7-2015

Abstract

With perhaps a few exceptions per day, we are seldom fully aware of our thoughts, actions, emotions, and what is happening around us. Even when it comes to making decisions, an activity that is often quite conscious, deliberate, and intentional, people are typically not as aware as they could be. We argue that as a result, decision quality may suffer. Consequently, mindfulness, most often defined as the state of being openly attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present, both internally and externally (e.g., Brown and Ryan 2003; Kabat-Zinn 1982; 1990), can help people make better decisions. Making judgments and decisions is a fundamental human activity in both personal and organizational contexts. Decisions hold the potential for great gains: marrying the right person, accepting a job that fits well, putting one's savings into the right investments, or choosing the appropriate strategy for an organization. Decisions also hold the potential for great loss, pain, and suffering. Wrong decisions can destroy people, families, and organizations. People are haunted by rumination, even depression, looking back with regret at some of the decisions they made. Organizations are also a place of great decision blunders, such as the “merger” between Daimler Benz and Chrysler, or Coca Cola's decision to introduce New Coke.

Keywords

Mindfulness, Decision Making, Judgment, Awareness, Biases

Discipline

Leadership Studies | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Mindfulness in organizations: Foundations, research, and applications

Editor

Jochen Reb & Paul W. B. Atkins

First Page

163

Last Page

189

ISBN

9781107064805

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

City or Country

Cambridge

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://worldcat.org/isbn/9781107064805

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