Beyond the hype: a decision support framework for promoting critical thinking about the rationality of management practices

Abstract

ObjectivesIn an era of management hype, where management concepts and techniques quickly become buzzwords within the business community (e.g., chat GPT, Artificial Intelligence, pay transparency or Industry 5.0), the crucial skill of a manager is the ability to think critically about the rationality of all those new shiny management practices. To stimulate this, we present a heuristic decision support framework to assist managers in thinking more critically about management fashions - management practices that are intensively promoted and attract public attention but merely imitate rationality and progress.Material and methodsWe employ a method of conceptual analysis, drawing from Abrahamson's management fashion theory, self-determination theory, literature on management fads and evidence-based management.ResultsThe proposed decision-making support framework presents a decision tree based on three steps to evaluate management practices' rationality, involving critical thinking about their goals, importance, and efficiency.ConclusionsThe framework can be used not only to assist managerial decision-making but also to teach management students to think more critically and to empower the business community to question the rationality of mainstream management practices. Our decision support framework might act as a vaccine for the so-called shiny object syndrome, the tendency to chase novel, popular, or exciting management practices without evaluating if they deliver what they promise.