A mindset, in decision theory and general systems theory, refers to a set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people which is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviours, choices, or tools. Decision theory in Mathematics and Statistics is concerned with identifying the Values uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given Systems theory is an Interdisciplinary field of Science and the study of the nature of Complex systems in Nature, Society, and This phenomenon of cognitive bias is also sometimes described as mental inertia, "groupthink", or a "paradigm", and it is often difficult to counteract its effects upon analysis and decision making processes. For an article about the conceptual problems of the mind see Cognitive closure (philosophy. Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing analyzing and evaluating ideas The word paradigm ( Greek:παράδειγμα (paradigmacomposite from para- and the verb δείχνυμι "to show" as a whole -roughly- meaning "example"
A well-known example is the "Cold War mindset" prevalent in both the U.S. and USSR, which included absolute trust in two-player game theory, in the integrity of command chain, in control of nuclear materials, and in the mutual assured destruction of both in the case of war. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Game theory is a branch of Applied mathematics that is used in the Social sciences (most notably Economics) Biology, Engineering, In a Military context the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within a Military unit and between different Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale Although some consider that this mindset usefully served to prevent an attack by either country, the assumptions underlying deterrence theory have made assessments of the efficacy of the Cold War mindset a matter of some controversy. This article refers to deterrent theories of punishment For the legal theory of justice see Deterrence (legal.
Most theorists consider that the key responsibility of an embedded power group is to challenge the assumptions which comprise the group's own mindset. According to these commentators, power groups which fail to review or revise their mindsets with sufficient regularity cannot hold power indefinitely, as a single mindset is unlikely to possess the flexibility and adaptability needed to address all future events. For example, the variations in mindset between Democratic Party and Republican Party Presidents in the US may have made that country more able to challenge assumptions than the Kremlin with its more static bureaucracy. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The Moscow Kremlin ( Russian: Московский Кремль Moskovskiy Kreml) usually referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified
Modern military theory attempts to challenge entrenched mindsets in dealing with asymmetric warfare, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Asymmetric warfare originally referred to War between two or more belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion A weapon of mass destruction ( WMD) is a weapon which can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures (e In combination, these threats represent "a revolution in military affairs" and require very rapid adaptation to new threats and circumstances. In this context, the cost of not implementing adaptive mindsets cannot be afforded.
Naturally, the question regarding the embodiment of a collective mindset comes to mind. Erikson’s (1974) analysis of group-identities and what he calls a life-plan seems relevant here. He recounts the example of American Indians, who were meant to undergo a reeducation process meant to imbue a modern ‘life-plan’ which aimed for a house and a richness expressed by filled bank account. Erikson writes that the Indians’ collective historic identity as buffalo hunters was oriented around such fundamentally different reasons/goals that even communication about the divergent ‘life plans’ was itself difficult.
There is a double relation between the institution embodying for example an entrepreneurial mindset and its entrepreneurial performance. An entrepreneurial mindset is described by a conglomerate of meta-physical dispositions also known as entrepreneurial spirit meant to cause the innovative and energetic practice to identify or create Firstly, an institution with an entrepreneurial philosophy will set entrepreneurial goals and strategies as a whole, but maybe even more importantly, it will foster an entrepreneurial milieu, allowing each entity to pursue emergent opportunities. In short, philosophical stance codified in the mind hence as mindset lead to a climate which in turn causes values which lead to practice.
Collective mindsets in this sense are described in such works as Hutchin’s “Cognition in the wild” (1995), who analyzes a whole team of naval navigators as the cognitive unit or as computational system, or Senges' Knowledge entrepreneurship in universities (2007). There are also parallels to the emerging field of ‘collective intelligence’ (e. g. (Zara, 2004)) and exploiting the ‘Wisdom of the crowds’ (Surowiecki, 2005) of stakeholders . Zara notes that since collective reflection is more explicit, discursive and conversational it therefore needs a good gestell – especially when it comes to information and communication technology.
Erikson, E. H. (1974). Identitaet und Lebenszyklus: Surkamp
Hutchins, E. (1995). Cognition in the wild. Cambridge, Mass. ; London: MIT Press.
Senges, M. (2007). Knowledge entrepreneurship in universities: Practice and strategy in the case of internet based innovation appropriation
Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds : why the many are smarter than the few. London: Abacus.
Zara, O. (2004). Managing collective intelligence: Towards a new corporate governance: www. axiopole. com. http://www.axiopole.com/pdf/Managing_collective_intelligence.pdf