I was asked by some students this week about their assignment and the difference between inductive and deductive reports.
An inductive report involves moving from the specific issues of the case you are using to general summarised information shown usually in the conclusion and recommendations at the end.
In an inductive report you move from the specific to the general and the structure of the report looks like:
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
References
These reports are best for a reader who will read the whole report – from beginning to end. If the findings can be disputed or are controversial then you need to lay out a clear path from your propositions and arguments to the conclusion – the recommendations following from the conclusion are meant to be acted upon.
In a deductive report you move from the general to the specific and the structure of the report looks like::
Introduction
Conclusions
Recommendations
Discussion
References
This order is aimed at an audience who may not read the entire document but need to review just the conclusions and recommendations and then the discussion if further enlightenment is needed. These reports generally are best used for non controversial subjects.
The report asked for in a management report is an amalgamation of the two approaches above. In effect the Executive Summary of 1 to 2 pages is the deductive part of the report and the main body an inductive component.
Risk reduction in decision making comes down to two main considerations:
Increasing our knowledge of the problem by such techniques as soft systems engineering, SODA or any of the many tools that enable us to gain a foothold on the nature of the issue and dealing with the uncertainly of the risk. Here is a simple approach that puts some rigour in our thinking when it comes to breaking down a complex problem and deciding what to do next.
There are Ten Commandments in risk reduction (Morgan & Henrion 1990)
Do your homework
Problem drives the analysis
Make analysis simple (but not too simple)
Identify all relevant assumptions (and write them down)
Be explicit in your decision making criteria (and write them down)
Be explicit in the uncertainties (and the unknown unknowns thanks to rumsfelt)
Do sensitivity and uncertainty analysis
Iteratively refine the problem statement and the analysis
Document clearly and completely…
… And expose your work to peer review
If analysis can be understood it becomes more acceptable and people will buy in and have more faith in the outcome – but be careful and do not make the work over complex and avoid over simplifications as well. Both stop people making an informed decision based on what evidence you have. Also as seen above document what you do during the process that way when it goes wrong (as it often does) we can learn and move forward and get it right next time – it is particularly important to set down assumptions and what you think are ‘givens’ – these are the points that we most often get wrong.
Seven ways to enhance your experience of flow and enjoyment at work
Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced CHICK-sent-me-high-ee) coined the concept of flow experience defining flow as a state of optimal experience – which he described in his books: ‘Flow – the Psychology of Optimal Experience” and the sequel ‘The Evolving Self’. He asserts that life is shaped as much by the future as by the past and the best moments of experience occur when a person’s mind and body are stretched in a voluntary directed effort to achieve something difficult or challenging. Optimal flow experience is something that we can consciously make happen – we can control how our personalities can be applied to achieve rewarding and enjoyable performance. This idea of flow therefore shares many ideas with self-regulation.
Csikszentmihalyi suggested ways of enhancing your experience of flow for example by picking an enjoyable activity that is at or slightly above your skill level and continuously extending the challenge as your performance improves. In this regard he agrees with other psychological theories for the development of expert performance that tells us always to have an element of challenge in what we do – like constantly striving to improve that golf swing and not just satisficing and accepted something that is good enough. By these means we extend performance towards that of an expert and not just a good amateur. He goes on to say that to enhance our performance as well as concentrating on the specific context of the problem we should screen out distractions from the outside world as much as possible and focus on the emotional and sensory qualities of the activity as well as looking for regular feedback on how we are doing.
Seven ways to achieve FLOW
Set clear and challenging goals that although they should be attainable should always extend the current level of performance – raise the bar as your performance improves.
Focus on the task in hand with directed thought – define the area of work and go deeply into it.
Lose your self awareness and self-consciousness, and merge action and awareness to become absorbed. We have all been told to ignore those looking on whilst we perform something – the performance is for us not them.
When we experience flow, time is unimportant and our subjective experience of time is altered – time flows quickly. Let the task dictate the time it needs you to take.
Seek feedback from the performance of the task and from others – regulate your work based on feedback and take corrective actions.
Take personal control and authority over a situation or activity.
Look for the intrinsic rewards of the action, the new learning, the sense of achievement or the acknowledgement of peers – this is where true enjoyment is found.
So do you experience flow and enjoyment at work?
Take a simple test and find out.
Based on our work on flow experience in teaching I have created a simple flow experience survey that you can take and find out if you experience flow in your work. We found when we worked with over a thousand teachers and other professional groups that the experience of peak experience and flow was a common characteristic of professional performance.
