1,028 research outputs found
Integrating modes of policy analysis and strategic management practice : requisite elements and dilemmas
There is a need to bring methods to bear on public problems that are inclusive, analytic, and quick. This paper describes the efforts of three pairs of academics working from three different though complementary theoretical foundations and intervention backgrounds (i.e., ways of working) who set out together to meet this challenge. Each of the three pairs had conducted dozens of interventions that had been regarded as successful or very successful by the client groups in dealing with complex policy and strategic problems. One approach focused on leadership issues and stakeholders, another on negotiating competitive strategic intent with attention to stakeholder responses, and the third on analysis of feedback ramifications in developing policies. This paper describes the 10 year longitudinal research project designed to address the above challenge. The important outcomes are reported: the requisite elements of a general integrated approach and the enduring puzzles and tensions that arose from seeking to design a wide-ranging multi-method approach
Negotiation in strategy making teams : group support systems and the process of cognitive change
This paper reports on the use of a Group Support System (GSS) to explore at a micro level some of the processes manifested when a group is negotiating strategy-processes of social and psychological negotiation. It is based on data from a series of interventions with senior management teams of three operating companies comprising a multi-national organization, and with a joint meeting subsequently involving all of the previous participants. The meetings were concerned with negotiating a new strategy for the global organization. The research involved the analysis of detailed time series data logs that exist as a result of using a GSS that is a reflection of cognitive theory
From correlation functions to Wilson loops
We start with an n-point correlation function in a conformal gauge theory. We
show that a special limit produces a polygonal Wilson loop with sides. The
limit takes the points towards the vertices of a null polygonal Wilson loop
such that successive distances . This produces a fast moving
particle that generates a "frame" for the Wilson loop. We explain in detail how
the limit is approached, including some subtle effects from the propagation of
a fast moving particle in the full interacting theory. We perform perturbative
checks by doing explicit computations in N=4 super-Yang-Mills.Comment: 37 pages, 10 figures; typos corrected, references adde
From correlation functions to scattering amplitudes
We study the correlators of half-BPS protected operators in N=4
super-Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where the positions of the adjacent
operators become light-like separated. We compute the loop corrections by means
of Lagrangian insertions. The divergences resulting from the light-cone limit
are regularized by changing the dimension of the integration measure over the
insertion points. Switching from coordinates to dual momenta, we show that the
logarithm of the correlator is identical with twice the logarithm of the
matching MHV gluon scattering amplitude. We present a number of examples of
this new relation, at one and two loops.Comment: typos corrected, references adde
Collinear and Soft Limits of Multi-Loop Integrands in N=4 Yang-Mills
It has been argued in arXiv:1112.6432 that the planar four-point integrand in
N=4 super Yang-Mills theory is uniquely determined by dual conformal invariance
together with the absence of a double pole in the integrand of the logarithm in
the limit as a loop integration variable becomes collinear with an external
momentum. In this paper we reformulate this condition in a simple way in terms
of the amplitude itself, rather than its logarithm, and verify that it holds
for two- and three-loop MHV integrands for n>4. We investigate the extent to
which this collinear constraint and a constraint on the soft behavior of
integrands can be used to determine integrands. We find an interesting
complementarity whereby the soft constraint becomes stronger while the
collinear constraint becomes weaker at larger n. For certain reasonable choices
of basis at two and three loops the two constraints in unison appear strong
enough to determine MHV integrands uniquely for all n.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; v2: very minor change
Gauge-invariant correlation functions in light-cone superspace
We initiate a study of correlation functions of gauge-invariant operators in
N=4 super Yang-Mills theory using the light-cone superspace formalism. Our
primary aim is to develop efficient methods to compute perturbative corrections
to correlation functions. This analysis also allows us to examine potential
subtleties which may arise when calculating off-shell quantities in light-cone
gauge. We comment on the intriguing possibility that the manifest N=4
supersymmetry in this approach may allow for a compact description of entire
multiplets and their correlation functions.Comment: 35 pages, several figure
On super form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills
Open Access, (c) The Authors. Article funded by SCOAP3. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited
Strategic options development and analysis
Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) enables a group or individual to construct a graphical representation (map) or a problematic situation, and thus explore options and their ramifications with respect to a complex system of goals or objectives. In addition the approach aims to help groups arrive at a negotiated agreement about how to act to resolve the situation. It is based upon the use of causal mapping â a formally constructed means-ends network. Because the map has been constructed using the natural language of the problem owners it becomes a model of the situation that is âownedâ by those who define the problem. The use of formalities for the construction of the model makes it amenable to a range of analyses encouraging reflection and a deeper understanding. These analyses can be used in a ârough and readyâ manner by visual inspection or through the use of specialist causal mapping software. Each of the analyses helps a group or individual discover important features of the problem situation. And these features facilitate agreeing a good solution. The SODA process is aimed at helping a group learn about the situation they face before they reach agreements. Most significantly the exploration through the causal map leads to a higher probability of more creative solutions and promotes solutions that are more likely to be implemented because the problem construction process is more likely to include richer social dimensions about the blockages to action and organizational change. The basic theories that inform SODA derive from cognitive psychology and social negotiation, where the model acts as a continuously changing representation of the problematic situation (a transitional object) â changing as the views of a person or group shift through learning and exploration. This chapter jointly written by two leading practitioner academics and the original developers of SODA, Colin Eden and Fran Ackermann, describe the SODA approach as it is applied in practice
The last of the simple remainders
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited
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