Muhammad Fahmi Ibrahim

Thesis: Modelling of Organizational Decision Making Process with Consideration of Human Factors

Name:

Supervisors:

Dr. Michael Emes
Dr. Raul Leal

Research Theme:

Abstract:

Organizational decision making process has largely been supported by systematic and rational methods. However, studies have shown that human factors in organizational settings have an influence in the decision making process, which somehow altered the intended outcome of the decision made. This thesis aims to quantify and model the contribution of organizational behaviours in organizational decision making process using systems engineering principles.
Organizational behaviours, especially group dynamics, play important roles in organizational decision making. Behaviours such as groupthink and group cohesiveness, together with personality traits such as self-efficacy and risk-taking among different age, culture and, hierarchical groups may influence the outcome of a decision. Different group dynamics can produce different decision outcomes even though they all start with the same strategic decision. Therefore, it is crucial to model these factors into decision making processes so that the computed decisions can reflect the organic component of decision making.
Organizational decision making process model can be developed using systems engineering principles which incorporates organizational behaviour variables. Organizational strategic decisions can be analysed using requirement analysis to derive strategic requirements; which is then fed into the decision making process as quantitative inputs. The decision making and the operational processes are modelled using system architecture design framework. The model takes organizational behaviour variables as inputs to capture the human factors in decision making.

Biography:

Muhammad Fahmi Ibrahim is a Stuttgart-based system architect working for Robert Bosch Automotive Steering. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio University in the United States and Masters Degree in Mechatronics from University of Applied Science Weingarten in Germany.
Fahmi started his career as a mechanical design engineer, before continuing as systems engineer. Due to his work experience in systems engineering, he developed an interest in system thinking and strongly believes that systems engineering can also be applied to non-technical domains.

Publications:

Development of a Networked Embedded System for a Multi‐Robot Application, Ibrahim, M. F.; Nourghassemi, B.; Voos, H., Embedded World Conference, Nurnberg, Germany, March 2009.
Mitigating Research Failure in a Resource Constraint Environment: A Leadership Tool, Mohd Salleh, Lailawati; Ibrahim, M. F., at Leadership Academy of Higher Education, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 2016.