Ancient Book Company has a problem with new book projects. Even when others are aware that a book is far behind schedule and may engender little public interest, sponsoring editors are reluctant to terminate contracts with authors whom they have signed. The result is that editors invest more time with these projects than on more fruitful projects. As a form of escalation of commitment, describe two methods that Ancient Book Company can use to minimize this problem.

Four strategies to improve decision evaluation:


Separate chooser from implementers. The most effective strategy is to separate decision choosers from decision implementers. This minimizes the problem of saving face because the person responsible for implementation and evaluation would not be concerned about saving face if the project is cancelled.

Establish a stop-loss decision rule. Another way to minimize escalation of commitment establish a preset level at which the decision is abandoned or reevaluated. The problem with this solution is that conditions are often so complex that it is difficult to identify an appropriate point to abandon a project. However, this approach may work if a stopping point can be determined and it is established by someone other than the decision maker.

 Find systematic and clear feedback. The clearer the feedback, the more difficult it is to deny that the project has problems. Unfortunately, this solution is rarely available because many decisions have only ambiguous feedback.

Involve more than one person in the initial decision. It may be less likely two or more people would be similarly attached personally with the decision. However, this action is also likely the least effective among these four.

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