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David McGavock

Can neuroscience inform management accountants? | CIMA Financial Management Magazine - 1 views

  • In business we regularly have to consider what level of risk is acceptable to the organisation. Management control systems typically assume that people adhere to some rational decision rules and are able to estimate the probabilities and values of future outcomes.
  • Pre-neuro behavioural studies have shown that this is most often not the case. Moreover, the way in which alternatives to a decision are presented to people affects their opinion about them and their choice between them.
  • Behavioural economics shows that if alternatives are framed as gains, decision-makers usually opt for safer options, thereby exhibiting risk-averse behaviour, but they reverse their choice when alternatives are framed as losses.
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  • Management accountants need to consider what kind of presentation of information may reduce hidden fear and anxiety.
  • Management accountants need to provide management with overviews of the inter-temporal consequences of managerial decisions
  • People simply have such a strong preference for sooner rather than later (positive) outcomes that it appears to be hard to change that.
  • people barely make a difference between two outcomes that lie in the distant future.
  • Neuroscientific research may provide a starting point in the analysis and solution of this problem, as its results suggest that humans’ preference for short-term outcomes is the consequence of the emotional system’s strong response to immediate, rather than to delayed, rewards.
  • When applying neuroscientific methods for fundamental or applied research, management accountants have to deal with at least four challenges.
  • First, neuroscience requires a mastery of observation techniques that are not the normal repertoire of social researchers
  • Second, given the technological complexities of neuroscientific research, it is crucial to develop cooperation in multidisciplinary teams consisting of neurologists, economists and psychologists, as well as management accountants.
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    A new pilot study has been looking at how neuroscience can be used to understand how business decisions are arrived at, and the role it can play in management accountancy by evaluating the decision-making process and the role that emotional responses play their part in this
David McGavock

Beyond the Brain - NYTimes.com - 7 views

  • This is what’s happening right now with neuroscience.
  • you get captivated by it and sometimes go off to extremes, as if understanding the brain is the solution to understanding all thought and behavior.
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    "It's a pattern as old as time. Somebody makes an important scientific breakthrough, which explains a piece of the world. But then people get caught up in the excitement of this breakthrough and try to use it to explain everything." Good to read and raise your radar. Simplistic arguments for a complex topic. He offers 2 alternative views. What's that about?
David McGavock

How To Develop Your Critical Thinking Skills - 3 views

  • Andrea Kuszewski, in an article for Scientific American, debunks the myth that intelligence is about the amount of information you know.
  • That is called crystallized intelligence, and is not nearly as important as fluid intelligence,
  • Brain training games like those on Lumonisity.com and in brain training books can help
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  • Meditation has been shown to increase cognitive thinking skills, perhaps because it enhances concentration and focus.
  • Working on a creative outlet like art or music
  • try something new.
  • Think of your brain as a muscle like any other. Just like you have to up your reps to get the same results when you workout, you have to increase the challenge level to keep your brain working out and getting stronger.
  • Social interaction, especially of the non-virtual variety, is another way to stimulate and challenge your cognitive thinking skills
  • every so often you do something the hard way. Use a map instead of a GPS when you go somewhere new, do long division with paper and pencil instead of using a calculator
  • Attend inexpensive college courses online or through iTunes U.
  • Stephen Pinker writes that if everyone could have only one ‘tool’ for improving their thinking skills, it should be practice with scientific thinking. Understanding the scientific method—how a hypothesis is developed and tested—can help you think critically about everything you read and see, making you a more informed customer and a better critical thinker.
  • as you read and take in new information, you create a web of knowledge that can make it easier to remember new information and apply it to creative problem solving.
  • Stress can inhibit cognitive function, so relaxation techniques such as massage or meditation can help you reach your full potential of intelligence.
  • Caffeine boosts mental performance, but studies show that it works best when it is taken in smaller doses over a longer period of time.
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    No matter why you want to do it, there are simple and effective methods you can use to increase your cognitive thinking skills in useful and lasting ways.
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