MBAs Pay off Doug Melvin

[Warning Track Power]

Doing MBA homework today for an Organizational Stucture class and lo and behold I come across Brewer-relevant data. Bear with me if some of you know this, but I was rather excited to apply some knowledge in a school subject to a Brewer subject...

 

In an article written by John S. Hammond in January 2006, entitled "The Hidden Traps in Decision Making", Mr. Hammond indirectly, yet very succinctly sums up Mr. Melvin's problem with letting go of Jeff Suppan. In what he terms the Sunk-Cost Trap, Hammond states that: ..."in business, a bad decision is often a very public matter, inviting critical comments from colleagues or bosses. If you fire a poor performer whom you hired, you're making a public admission of poor judgment. It seems psychologically safer to let him or her stay on, even though the choice only compounds the error."

 

It's understood that all professional sports activity is subject to public judgment but talk about an accurate portrayal of reality.

 

The remedy:

 

As Warren Buffett put it: "When you find yourself in a hole, the best thing you can do is stop digging."

[carniesandrubes]

GMs in all sports have kept "their guys" too long for as long as I can remember. No MBA needed :p

[PeaveyFury]

We have a dedicated Suppan thread already (and numerous discussions embedded in other threads), so further discussion about the topic should belong there.