ABSTRACT
Understanding that good decision-making is paramount for the success of an organization and recognizing that strategic decision-making inside museums is a topic that has been over-passed by researchers, this paper intends to contribute to the relevance of the subject through the implementation of an innovative tool. Decision-making in museums is normally focused on the intuition, subjectivity, and experience of the curator, who brings all his knowledge to the exhibition programming. However, museums' management and environment are constantly changing, thus the application of this tool would aim to make decisions in a more democratic, transparent, inclusive, and accurate manner. Besides, it will be easier to understand how distinct subjects can work together, demonstrating successful results to improve the decision-making process when programming and measuring temporary exhibition seasons in museums. This paper describes the design and implementation of the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) for the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC). It also analyzes and evaluates the decision-making process when scheduling exhibitions for a season.
Subject(s)
Knowledge , Museums , Humans , Program EvaluationABSTRACT
Museum directors play a fundamental role in the management of arts institutions, and they need to constantly adapt to the changes and requirements of the society. Questions have been raised about how decisions are made in museums, and if any specific method exists to analyze and select exhibitions for a complete annual program. Interviews conducted with several directors and experts have confirmed that, in general, the decision-making process within cultural institutions is intuitive and based on the experience and subjectivity of the director, who has an artistic background but sometimes lacks experience in arts management. In order to address this subject, this study applied the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) to CaixaForum Barcelona, an important cultural institution in Spain, and analyzed the decision-making process followed while selecting artists and topics for a temporary exhibition. This research contributes to a new decision-making method and the improvement of exhibition scheduling in arts organizations.
