SBIR Phase II: Strategic Model for Manufacturing Organizations (DSMMO)

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project proposes a dynamic modeling technology that helps decision makers visualize and calculate the top and bottom line financial impact of changes made at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels of a business. The proposed research will make intellectual contributions regarding how technologies extend complex cognitive capabilities in high-performance business settings. The resulting tool promises to address two well-known problems faced by business executives: decision-making rigidity and the inability to think simultaneously on strategic and tactical levels. The broader impacts of the proposed technology have already been indicated by the increased use and measurable success of these models in client engagements. However, the models in their current form, are not widely or easily accessed although demand for them is high. This tool will have important pedagogic value to university programs because it will enable students to think through the multi-level issues in organizations. The models themselves may also add to the understanding of how the different levels and functions in an organization interact.