On 24th June, 1982, Captain Eric Moody, in command of British Airways flight 9 having 263 souls on board hesitated to make one of the most elementary decisions in flying, ordering the switching off of an engine when it began to surge. His reason was that having lost all four engines during the same flight, he was reluctant to switch off any engine under any circumstances for the fear that all four engines might flame out again. This situation best defines framing in management based on a past event that creates a fear within the manager. Framing in management can therefore, be defined as the application of a cognitive bias in decision making thus making a decision or delaying the making of a decision premised on personal reasons or rationalizations that are beyond the material scope of the decision made (Rossel, 2009).
Most management decisions are premised on information from third parties. For instance, a procurement decision will be based on information from different suppliers while a human resource dispute will be solved based on the information received from the parties in the dispute (Rossel, 2009). Every person or party will always try to frame the information given in the aspect that best suits their side of the argument. It is incumbent on a good manager to focus on the information and remain rational and not have a frame created by the way the information is communicated. Failure to take a rational position is likely to result into wrong decisions that can cause adverse consequences.
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Whereas a manager is a human being first and manager seconds, the best decisions are those made based on merits of the situation. Sound managers ought therefore, to develop the capacity to overcome framing tendencies in decision-making. Whether the framing is cognitive and coming from the managers own fears or is from the nature and format of information received, a decision based on anything else but the merits of the situation of disastrous to any organization.
Reference
Rossel, P. (2009). Weak signals as a flexible framing space for enhanced management and decision-making. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 21 (3), 307-320. doi:10.1080/09537320902750616
