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Patrick Noonan

Patrick Noonan
Associate Professor in the Practice of Decision & Information Analysis
Email: Patrick_Noonan@bus.emory.edu
Phone: 404-727-0549

Goizueta Business School
Emory University
1300 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30322 USA

Biography

Professor Noonan came to Goizueta in 1993 from the faculty of the Harvard Business School, where he earned his Ph.D. in Decision Sciences. He served as Goizueta's Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Programs from 1996-2000.

Patrick's field is "decision analysis," which draws on both the wisdom and the analytical methodologies of economics, psychology, statistics, sociology and engineering to provide prescriptions for improving decision making in business, in the professions, in health sciences, in politics and in life. The objective of decision analysis has been described as "facilitating a high-quality conversation about a decision situation," thus marrying rigorous analytical thinking with the native human strengths of judgment and intuition, embedded in the interactivity of decision making in real world organizations.

Patrick's research and teaching in the area of managerial decision making combines his academic training with his real-world experience as a management consultant. He learned the profession at McKinsey & Company in the 1980s, and later as a Director at Planning Technologies Group (which he co-founded in 1990 and sold to Knowledge Universe in 1998), and offers workshops in the "craft skills" of consulting and problem-solving. He also is an expert on teaching & learning, especially in the business school context, and is a frequent facilitator of workshops for B-school and engineering faculty in the techniques of case teaching and other active learning techniques.

Publications

  • Decision & Information Analysis, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2011.
  • "Spreadsheets in B-Schools:  What's a Guru to Do?" OR/MS Today, Dec. 2009 & Feb. 2010.
  • "Building, Operating a Hybrid Course," OR/MS Today, Oct. 2007
  • "Designing, Selling a Hybrid Course," OR/MS Today, Aug. 2007
  • "Your Next Teaching Vehicle may be a Hybrid ," OR/MS Today, June 2007
  • "Are We on the Same Wavelength? Measures of 'Concord' for Verbal Expressions of Uncertainty." Proceedings of the Decision Analysis Society Cluster, INFORMS San Diego, 1997
  • "How Information Technology Helps Scenarios," Learning from the Future: Competitive Foresight Scenarios, L. Fahey & R. Randall, eds.; John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997 (with M. S. Tenaglia)
  • "Them vs. Me vs. Us." Journal of Marketing, April 1996
  • "Scenario-based Strategic Planning: A Process for Building Top Management Consensus." Planning Review 20:2, March/April, 1992 (with M. S. Tenaglia)

Working Papers

  • Modeling Strategically: Supporting Executive Decisions
  • Caveat Educator: Friendly Amendments to the INFORMS Task Force Report on OR/MS in MBA Education
  • Finding Higher Ground: Sustainable Strategies for Professional Development in Management

Areas of Specialization

  • Decision making, data analysis, game theory, and the economics of negotiation & bidding
  • Production, distribution, and consumer behavior in the media & entertainment industries
  • Improving communication about risks and uncertainties
  • Strategic planning and executive decision processes
  • Management education and professional development

Achievements and Honors

  • Evening MBA Distinguished Educator, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2004
  • MBA Distinguished Educator, 2008, 2005, 2002, 2000, 1995
  • Fulbright Senior Scholar, 2005 (Montevideo, Uruguay)
  • Leadership Atlanta, 2004
  • MBA Last Lecture award, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996
  • Marc Adler Prize for Excellence in Teaching, 2001
  • Donald R. Keough Award for Excellence, 1999
  • Great Teachers Lecture Series, Emory University, 1998

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Council Member, INFORMS Decision Analysis Society
  • American Statistical Association
  • NARAS
  • Leadership Atlanta

Selected Consulting Clients

  • Microsoft
  • Accenture
  • Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
  • News International plc
  • Viacom
  • Bertelsmann Music Group
  • Cox Communications
  • New York Daily News
  • Network Solutions
  • 3S Venture Alliance (Kuwait)
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Sea-Land
  • Greenpeace USA

Academic Background

Ph.D., Decision Sciences, Harvard University, 1992
SM, Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 1989
MBA, Public & Private Management, Yale School of Management, 1984
BS (magna cum laude), Engineering & Applied Science (distinction in major), Yale College, 1977