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the conceptual basis of departure is different. The
concept of CODSS sees conversations as a social
and ubiquitous resource for decision-making,
which leads to a global view of decision support
for an organization drawing upon the conversation
potential of all its members.
The concept of CODSS also intersects the con-
cept of Organizational Decision Support System
(ODSS) and attempts to go further. An ODSS
(George, 2008) is a “distributed computer-based
system employing advanced communication and
collaboration technologies to provide decision
support for organization tasks that involve multiple
organizational units, cross functional boundaries,
and/or cross hierarchical layers”. If one integrates
this definition with the collective intelligence in-
spired view of SDSSs and the acknowledgement of
conversations as a social and ubiquitous top-level
resource for decision-making, then one is led into
aiming a type of information system that can act
as the
supporting kernel
for the
global decision
process
of an organization.
I take the global decision process of an orga-
nization as the sum total of activities generating
decisions along time in the organization. The
global decision process is constituted by decision
processes that either run in parallel and do not
interact or interact in many ways. Often decisions
taken in one decision process trigger other decision
processes. The global flow of decision inside an
organization appears as a complex structure of
bundles, chains, trees or loops.
As referred above, decisions inside the flow
can be taken automatically by machines, individu-
ally by persons, or socially by groups of people
with conversations as mediators. Conversations
are the glue that makes the decision flux coherent
or incoherent. Even when people take decisions
alone, eventually with the support of machines, it
is undeniable that they are influenced by conversa-
tions. The choice of machines to decide automati-
cally or to support decision is itself conditioned by
conversations. Hence, the quality of conversations
is a crucial factor for the effectiveness of the global
decision process of an organization, as well as the
attention people give to them.
A classical analysis of a decision process
shows the importance of conversations if one
considers a person
x
facing the necessity of tak-
ing a decision alone. This happens
prima facie
because
x
perceives a situation
S
that does not
meet a criterion
r
and by this constitutes an
issue
for decision. To take a decision on the issue,
x
must perceive a set of available options
O
that, if
realized, conceivably can change
S
in a situation
S'
approaching the satisfaction of or satisfying the
criterion
r
. To decide,
x
must evaluate the options
in
O
and choose the most promising one. Then,
x
must actually take the decision, which means
to assume responsibility for the chosen option.
Furthermore, if the decision affects other people,
or if its realization depends on other people, it is in
the best interest of
x
that those people understand
why the decision was taken and comply with it. For
this to happen,
x
must develop additional effort.
Now, if
x
has the option of not taking the deci-
sion alone, but can resort to conversations with
other people, the task faced may be considerably
facilitated. First, other people can enlarge the
perception
x
has of the issue leading to validate
it as a
de facto
issue - or not. If the last case,
x
may spare time and energy. Second, other people
can enlarge the set of options
x
perceives to a set
O'
with a larger number of options. Third, other
people can help
x
to arrive to a more precise
evaluation of options. If any of these two things
happen, the probability of
x
taking a better de-
cision augments. Fourth, if people participate
in conversations, or are in principle allowed to
participate, the probabilities that they understand
the why of the decision and that they comply with
it - even if not agreeing with it - augment. Fifth,
x
can diminish its own responsibility in taking the
decision by changing it from an individual one to
a collective one.
These are potential gains of
x
in resorting to
conversations to take decisions. Surely, there are
also potential losses. Conversations require time
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