TROY, Mich., Dec. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Complex and Strategic Decisions (CCSD) at Walsh College has launched a website supporting its role as a key research unit for government, business, and other organizations faced with making better decisions in an increasingly complex global environment. The web address is http://ccsd.walshcollege.edu.
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The CCSD, established by the College's Management department in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, provides research in complexity, judgment, and decision sciences that can be applied to improve organizational effectiveness and decision-making. These efforts can benefit federal, state, and local governments, as well as multinational corporations headquartered in Michigan and across the country.
Other organizations of various types and sizes also participate in testing and further developing CCSD research tools in the decision-support arena. The project-based CCSD is establishing partnerships with many organizations to conduct and apply research.
"The speed and agility of global commerce, political relationships, and information technology has challenged many leaders' ability to make quick, reasoned, and accurate decisions," said Sheila R. Ronis, Ph.D., professor and chair, Management, Walsh College, and director, CCSD.
"Through its academic, business, and government relationships, the CCSD seeks to understand the dynamics and rationale behind the decision-making process and how it can be enhanced, strengthened, and accelerated," she added.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding, Argonne collaborates with Ronis and Richard Chasdi, Ph.D., professor, Management, Walsh College, to advance systems science and to develop integrated computational analytics solutions to increase understanding of physical, social, economic, and technologic interrelationships; to enable anticipation of possible futures; and to support decision-making and policy making in complex environments.
The CCSD is one of four Walsh research centers of expertise. The others are the Center for Cyber Security Leadership, the Information Assurance Center, and the Mark Solomon Tax Research Center. Each Center specializes in the development and dissemination of knowledge in specialized areas.
The involvement of Dr. Ronis and Dr. Chasdi in global academic and business arenas raises the College's visibility to key decision-makers at large organizations and governments. Insights gained through this network are incorporated into the graduate Management course curriculum, building students' knowledge and understanding of complex decision-making.
Dr. Ronis is also president of The University Group, Inc., a management consulting firm and think tank specializing in strategic management, visioning, leadership, national security, and public policy. Dr. Ronis holds a special term appointment with Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, and serves as vice chairman of the board, National Defense University Foundation.
Her professional affiliations include The Ohio State Alumni Association as former vice-chairman, Board of Directors; life memberships in The Economic Club of Detroit, Association of the U.S. Army, National Defense Industrial Association, and the World Future Society; member, Academy of Management; and fellow, Inter-University Symposium of Armed Forces and Society. In 2013, Dr. Ronis was awarded the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Outstanding Public Service Award in a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C.
She served as guest speaker on the use of foresight methodologies to improve public policy in September 2014 at the Royal Society in London, U.K. On that visit to the U.K., Dr. Ronis also presented a paper at the University of Hull on "Strategy, Policy, and Complexity: Lessons from the Study of National Security Systems." She is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar and has written/edited six books including proceedings from conferences she has chaired at the National Defense University. Her B.S. is in physics, mathematics, and education, and her M.A. and Ph.D. are in social system behavior from The Ohio State University.
Dr. Chasdi joined Walsh in September 2013 following teaching positions at Wayne State University and the University of Windsor. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.A. from Boston College, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Political Science.
Dr. Chasdi has a long, distinguished career in consulting and international problem-solving in the security arena, in particular international conflict resolution and mediation. He is the author of three books and several articles and book chapters in refereed publications.
For more information, visit ccsd.walshcollege.edu.
WALSH COLLEGE
Founded in 1922, Walsh College is an all-business, private, independent, not-for-profit, fully accredited college. It offers 19 undergraduate and graduate business and technology degrees, as well as certificate programs. One of the region's largest business schools and one of Michigan's top three graduate business schools, Walsh has locations in Troy, Novi, Clinton Township, and Port Huron, as well as online.
Walsh degree programs include accounting, finance, information technology, management and leadership, marketing, taxation, and other fields. The faculty integrates theory and application to prepare graduates for successful careers. It includes four Fulbright Scholars, the most of any business school in the state of Michigan. There are about 27,000 alumni, most of whom live or work in Michigan.
Walsh is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org). The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (www.acbsp.org) accredits specific degree programs.
CONTACTS:
Brenda Meller/Assistant Vice President, Walsh College [email protected] or
248-823-1205.
Elaine Green/Account Supervisor, Airfoil Public Relations [email protected] or
248-304-1456.
SOURCE Walsh College
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