Chapter 7

Observing Decision-Maker
Behavior and the Office
Environment

Systems Analysis and Design

Kendall and Kendall
Fifth Edition
Major Topics
 Observation
 Sampling
 Recording observation
 Office environment
 STROBE
 Applying STROBE

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Observation
 Observation provides insight on what
organizational members actually do
 Gain information about decision makers
and their environments that is
unavailable through any other method
 Help confirm what has been found
through other methods

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Observing Decision Makers
 Guidelines
Decide what is to be observed (activities)
Decide the level of concreteness of the
activities
Create categories that adequately capture
key activities
Prepare appropriate scales, checklists, or
other materials for observation
Decide when to observe
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Basic Approaches
 Two basic approaches to observation
are
Time sampling
Event sampling

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Time Sampling
 Observing at specific time intervals
 Advantages
Reducing bias from random observing
View of activities that occur frequently
 Disadvantages
Gathering piecemeal data that may not
give the entire picture
Rare or infrequent data may not be
represented
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Event Sampling
 Sampling a single event
 Advantages
Observe behavior as it unfolds
Observe an important event
 Disadvantages
Takes a great deal of time
Misses representative sample of frequent
decisions
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Body Language
 It is important to observe body
language
 Difficult to do correctly
 Varies across cultures

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Recording Observations
 Systematic techniques for recording
observations include
Adjective pairs
Category systems
Checklists
Scales
Field notes
Play scripts
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Adjective Pairs
 A popular way to record behavior
 Use adjectives like
decisive/indecisive
confident/not confident
assertive/unassertive
calm/excited
articulate/inarticulate
self-started/unmotivated
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Category Systems
 Determine activities before observations
 Count times behavior occurs
 Category examples
Instructs subordinates
Questions superiors
Opens mail
Reads external information
Processes own information
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Analyst’s Playscript
 Involves observing the decision-makers
behavior and recording their actions
using a series of action verbs
 Examples
talking
sampling
corresponding
deciding
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STROBE
 STRuctured OBservation of the
Environment
 A technique for observing the decision
maker's environment

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STROBE
 Provides a standard methodology and
classification for the analysis of the
elements that influence decision making
 Other analysts can apply the same
framework to the same organization
 Limits analysis to the organization as it
exists during the current life cycle stage

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STROBE Elements
 Analyzes seven environmental elements
Office location
Placement of the decision maker's desk
Stationary office equipment
Props
External objects
Office lighting and color
Clothing

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Office Location
 Accessible offices
Main corridors, open door
Major traffic flow area
Increase interaction frequency and informal
messages
 Inaccessible offices
May view the organization differently
Drift apart from others in objectives
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Placement of the Decision
Maker's Desk
 Visitors in a tight space, back to wall,
large expanse behind desk
Indicates maximum power position
 Desk facing the wall, chair at side
Encourages participation
Equal exchanges

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Stationary Office Equipment
 File cabinets and bookshelves
 If not present, person stores few
items of information personally
 If an abundance, person stores
and values information

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Props
 Calculators
 Personal computers
 Pens, pencils, and rulers
 If present, person processes data
personally

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Trade Journals and
Newspapers
 Trade journals or newspapers present
indicate the person values outside
information
 Company reports, memos, policy
handbooks indicate the person values
internal information

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Office Lighting and Color
 Warm, incandescent lighting indicates
A tendency toward more personal
communication
More informal communication
 Brightly lit, bright colors
Indicates more formal communications
(memos, reports)

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Clothing
 Male
Formal 3 piece suit - maximum authority
Casual dressing (sport jacket/slacks) -
more participative decision making
 Female
Skirted suit - maximum authority
Dress, less formal

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Applying STROBE
 Applying STROBE includes
Analysis of photographs
Checklists
Anecdotal list with symbols
Observation/narrative comparison

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Analysis of Photographs
 Advantages
Helpful when visits are limited by time,
distance, or expense
Analyst may focus on pertinent elements
May do a side-by-side comparison
Photograph may supply details missed in
person
May be put onto Web for team member
viewing
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Drawbacks to Photographs
 Limited to what they can take in
 May be posed, changing the
environment of the decision maker

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Checklist/Likert Scale
 Five-point Likert-type scales related to
STROBE
Office houses many pieces of equipment used for
storing information
No storage cabinets Four or more
in office cabinets or shelves
1 2 3 4 5

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Anecdotal List With Symbols
 Five symbols used to evaluate how
observation of the elements of STROBE
compared with interview results

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Anecdotal List With Symbols
 Five symbols
A checkmark, the narrative is confirmed
An “X” means the narrative is reversed
An oval or eye-shaped symbol serves as a
cue to look further
A square means observation modifies the
narrative
A circle means narrative is supplemented
by observation
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Observation/Narrative
Comparison
 The least structured method
 If analyst is aware of the elements and
they are consciously observed, valuable
insights can be gained

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