Peter Tingling, Associate Professor, Management Information Systems at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, was a guest speaker at prominent Vancouver forum the Public Salon recently.

The Public Salons are a continuing series of gatherings hosted by the Global Civic Policy Society, a non-profit organization committed research and reflection on civil society, local government and citizenship. Founded by former Mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan, the Public Salons are used to present public policy ideas and promote public discussion of them through a number of guest speakers.

Tingling was one of the guest speakers at the September 20 Public Salon, where he shared some of his insights on the decision-making procedure and why he believes that the evolution of this process is necessary.

Tingling opened his presentation with an explanation of decision-making, which he revealed is based largely upon instinct and intuition rather than rationality. He explained how this process is a throwback to the stone age, where humans were faced with basic decisions requiring little more thought than that which was needed to ensure survival.

Moving on to demonstrate examples of how rational decision-making can be influenced by external factors, Tingling then concluded with an explanation of the evolving nature of decision-making, and why it is important for our dominant strategy to change in order to satisfactorily tackle the problems of today.

The Public Salons originated as private dinners attended by a small number of invited guests from a broad cross-section of the community, who each spoke about a topic in which they were passionate. The Public Salons are now open to the general public, attracting average audiences of approximately 500 to the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, with highlights broadcast on Shaw TV Channel 4.

Previous speakers at recent Public Salons have included Andrew Petter, President of Simon Fraser University, Beedie School of Business Professor Mark Wexler, Ryan Holmes, CEO and founder of HootSuite Media, and Dennis “Chip” Wilson, founder and Chairman of Lululemon Athletica.

For more information on the Public Salons, visit http://globalcivic.org/public-salons/

Tags: Beedie School of Business, decision-making, Global Civic Policy Society, Mayor of Vancouver, Peter Tingling, Sam Sullivan, sfu, Shaw TV Channel 4, The Public Salons, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre