Value-Focused Thinking about Strategic Decisions at BC Hydro

Abstract

Clarity of the basic values of an organization will become increasingly important as organizations grapple with increasingly complex decisions in the 1990s. To structure and quantify basic values of the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, we elicited strategic objectives for the organization from three individuals, then refined and structured them into a hierarchy. We developed attributes and elicited a utility function to illustrate value trade-offs at the strategic level. The results have guided senior planners at BC Hydro in addressing a range of strategic issues. The work indicates that by carefully structuring values, one can provide significant insight for virtually all major decisions facing an organization.