A632.9.3.RB_HansardCarey

One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life was marrying my husband. I remember when he asked me and how wonderful it felt to say yes and think that we would be able to share our lives together. There was no back and forth decision making necessary in that situation. It is not as if we had discussed it ahead of time, I just knew it was what I wanted. Baba Shiv talks about being confident in your decisions because if you are not, this can have a negative impact on the way that other people respond. Because I was so sure and quick to answer, my husband was also confident that he had made the right decision for both of us. A positive outlook on the future, on my husband, and his family were helpful in being so confident. Obviously, when you are a young couple in love there will be passion which is a strong emotional reaction. In addition, excitement about the future and planning a wedding played a part in the emotional part of this decision. March 25^th we will celebrate our 18 year anniversary and although there have been rough patches, I know I made the right decision for me and have never looked back.

A major life decision that I made that I was not as confident about was my decision to leave teaching and come to ERAU. I am not a spontaneous person in that regard. I had been at my previous job for 18 years, married for 16 at the time, and lived in the same house for 15 years; a stable person by all accounts. One day, a good friend tried to get me to come to ERAU. I was afraid to make the change and although I thought I was ready, in the end, the emotions of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty I was feeling were enough to keep me from making the leap. However, when she approached me again 2 years later, I was ready. I was emotionally done with public schools. It is all about the parents and students, meaning that they control the schools and teachers rather than the teachers and schools being able to make rules and lessons that work for the betterment of the school. Having said that, I still felt all of the same emotions I had before, but this time, they were amplified because I knew I wanted to leave. As you already know, I left teaching to come to ERAU. I am still not 100% confident in my decision, though. I have learned so much more here about technology and professionalism working here than I did at the school; however, I have also seen many people be let go here since I started 2 years ago. My friend keeps telling me it is because they were underperformers and that everyone is thrilled with the quality of my work and that will not happen to me. But, the thought is always in the back of my mind. Professionally, I have more confidence in the decision than I do personally. The growth I have experienced makes me more employable. Personally, I do not feel as secure here as I would like to but I feel like I have a lot more freedom here than I ever did in the school system.

Reference: Shiv, B. (Performer). (2011). Brain research at stanford: Decision making. [Web Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRKfl4owWKc

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The Cynefin framework is supposed to be a sense-making model according to its creator, David Snowden. I understand that situations are different and going from the chaotic to simple, complex, and complicated could be helpful in decoding which technique should be used to deal with them. According to Kurtz and Snowden (2003) the Cynefin framework is designed to be used, “ to consider the dynamics of situations, decisions, perspectives, conflicts, and changes in order to come to a consensus for decision-making under uncertainty” (p. 4).  There are two sides to the framework, one side is considered and ordered domain and the other un-order. In my dealings, I have operated in each of these quadrants at one time or another.

In dealing with the impending upgrade to EagleVision, we have been in several of these quadrants, mostly in the middle of the quadrants known as disorder, but we have also been in the ordered and un-ordered quadrants. For example, we began in the known quadrant by understanding that Java was necessary to attend sessions in the new version. We prepared documents explaining how to upgrade while operating in this zone. Suddenly, some wonderful people with nothing better to do decided to hack Java and then, we were thrown into an entirely different are of the framework, disorder. After briefly operating in the area of disorder, we finally were able to allay some of our fears while Java updated to a newer, supposedly securer, version moving into the complicated realm. What we did not know, though, was that their vulnerability would cause problems with browsers, as well. Some newer versions of Firefox, for instance, would automatically disable Java and the user would have to click on an obscure icon on the address bar to enable it. Each time we think we have the right path figured out, an unknown leads us in a different direction. In this instance, the framework proved helpful in decision-making during the process. We were able to sense what was happening based on feedback from users in the field trying to log in to the program. Once we had that data, we analyzed it by creating a panel of experts to determine why the problems arose and what to do about them. Finally, the experts were able to respond with the best course of action and disseminate this information to the field. The experts were able to make decisions based on the facts that they were given regarding the Java problems. Although the situation remains somewhat fluid, we are able to move between the two quadrants and make timely, prudent decisions.

Another example of this is trying to decide which school my son will attend next school year. We have been in a state of indecision for many weeks. . We have been in the complex quadrant of flux and unpredictability. There is no right answer and we realize this. However, the path he chooses now will ultimately affect his future. Increased communication is an aspect of this quadrant that I have utilized with my son. I have tried to put patterns in place to understand his feelings about the situation. Even though this quadrant calls for time for reflection, this has not been a luxury afforded to us by the school system. Unfortunately, we have to make a decision by March 15^th. Through communication and careful reflection, we will come to a decision and move into the zone of known unknowns about the next school year. 

A632.7.4.RB_HansardCarey

It has been my experience that all too often, decisions are made in business without consulting those who the decision affects. When this happens, feelings are hurt, conflict arises, and productivity falls. I know I have talked about my days as a high school teacher many times. I have also mentioned how unhappy I was. One of the reasons I was so unhappy, and ultimately left the school system, is that decisions are made that directly affect teachers and students every day and their opinions are not taken into account. The school board and state give the illusion that everyone’s opinion is taken into consideration, but I do not believe this is the case.

Since I know how this feels, I have made an effort to take the opinions of others into consideration when I am making an important decision. Levine (2009) outlines 10 essential elements to reaching an agreement, most of which are used when making a decision (pp. 164-165) One such recent decision was the hiring of a new employee, my co-trainer. This decision, even though affecting me more than others, still had an affect on others in the department. Our vision was to hire someone who had more experience teaching than with technology, but someone who was still able to use technology effectively. The decision-making process in this case was a collaborative effort including me, my supervisor, and my former co-trainer. The process began with the formulation and posting of a job description and sorting of résumés.  My supervisor weeded through them and sent several prospective candidates’ applications to me to get my opinion.  One of the issues that I had with this step was that, after I provided my thoughts, he interviewed who he wanted to anyway. Many Worldwide employees knew someone who they thought would be perfect for the position and I had an acquaintance ask me about applying as well. To further narrow the field, all of these people were interviewed by phone and a few who he thought were worthy contenders, too. Finally, my supervisor narrowed down the candidates to four for us to interview face-to-face. The three of us interviewed all of the candidates together asking questions that we thought were relevant to the position. After all of the interviews had been conducted, we were able to sit and discuss the interviewees. This was an important process because as Levine (2009) mentions, “As you work with others in pursuit of common goals, opportunity abounds for resolving conflict and reaching clear agreements” (p. 188). It turned out that there was one candidate we all liked and the second choice for everyone was different. We had conflicting opinions about the second choice and were able to effectively talk through the concerns. In the end, the person we all liked was the acquaintance of mine. She ultimately took the position. I have been happy working with her and think we made the right choice. She reminds me a lot of myself when I started.

Collaboration with my colleagues on this decision was crucial. First, there were over 50 candidates and I would have been unable to sort through them all on my own. Second, each of us had different ideas about the skill set ideal candidate would possess. Therefore, the ability for each of us to form our own questions for the interview was essential. My colleagues included questions that may not have occurred to me, but still provided me with important information with which to make the decision. Third, during this process, my co-trainer was already doing his new job. Luckily, he was still in the same department and was able to continue to train and certify new instructors with me. He was invaluable when it came to making the transition to a new employee easy. Fourth, having their opinions about the face-to-face interviews provided me with helpful insight into each of the candidates. What one person sees and hears another may miss. This was the case with the interviews. One of us might focus on one aspect of the interview while the others are able to look past that issue. Collaborating on the decision for the final choice allowed me to be more confident with the decision I had made. After hearing all of the candidates, I knew I wanted the person that I knew. I wasn’t sure if it was because I knew her (albeit it not very well) or whether she was the most desirable person for the job. Once I heard that the others also liked her the most, I felt more confident that I had made the right decision for the right reason.

I do not believe that there are any other stakeholders I would have added to that decision-making process. If you have too many people involved, issues like this can become more complicated than they need to be. This situation was a learning experience for me making decisions in the future. First, I have validated my opinion that including the opinions of others in an important decision is crucial to making a good decision. In addition, I have also learned that I should trust my viewpoints because they are valid. Not just in this situation but also in others, I have raised concerns that others echoed as well. Knowing that my thoughts and opinions are legitimate is helpful to me as a decision maker. Finally, I have learned that the hiring of an individual is much harder that it seems from the outside. Having others help in that process was something that I will definitely continue in the future. It is very hard to tell whether someone will be a good fit by simply talking to them for 30 minutes and looking at their information on paper. I was glad to be able to dialogue with my colleagues about our concerns and likes for each candidate.

Reference: Levine, S. (2009 ). Turning conflict into collaboration (2nd edition). Williston, VT,: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

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Conflict in life is unavoidable. Sometimes, when those involved are willing to work together to resolve disputes, conflict actually leads to productivity and a better exchange of ideas. When the involved parties are unable to do this, work and personal relationships suffer and efficiency goes down. The reason for this, according to Levine (2009), is that, “people in conflict posture. They play games. They horse around. The focus is more about being right than being effective” (p. 71). Lack of communication at the beginning of collaboration leads to this type of behavior.    

Two years ago, I made the move the Embry-Riddle as an Academic Technology Trainer. I had to learn how to use EagleVision, Smart Boards, and Blackboard, none of which I had previous experience with. The person who had the same job as I did was a teleworker. Therefore, much of our communication happened via email or Skype and was fairly impersonal in nature. Obviously, being new and unfamiliar with the technology, I had a lot of questions. I would frequently request time to Skype with her. She would tell me that she was really busy and did not have time to meet with me. Other times, she would meet but clearly had an attitude with me that made me think I was bothering her. I felt as though I was not welcome and more of an annoyance rather than a help to her. Levine (2009) mentions that if you find yourself in a conflict that cannot easily be resolved, you may find yourself in court (p. 54). In my case, I found myself in my boss’s office pleading my case. As I was a new employee, I was hesitant to share what was happening between the other trainer and me because I thought it would make me look like a gossip. I shared bits and pieces of what was happening with him until one day, the situation turned. I had asked to Skype with her because I wanted to try to talk through the communication problems. It was getting to the point where I wondered why I left teaching and was thinking that I might need to go back. During the course of the discussion where I told her what I was thinking, she appeared very reflective and apologized for making me feel that way. The next day, she resigned. Certainly this resolution was not what I had hoped for. Several issues exacerbated the conflict. One of the main problems was that she was not physically in the office. It is my opinion that she was jealous of the time I was spending with the rest of our coworkers. In addition, our supervisor shared with me that prior to hiring me for the position, she stated that she did not believe that she needed any help.  Levine (2009) says that one of the best ways to deal with conflict is to come to an agreement early in the process about how you will deal with disagreements (p. 55). This communication never took place for us.

Although I was sad to see her go, the situation allowed for a more positive environment at work and it also allowed me to stop focusing on the conflict and move forward with learning about the processes and programs I needed to do my job. Had we employed Levine’s 10 principles of new thinking, we might have had a very different outcome (Levine, 2009, p. 46). Creating a partnership, coming to an understanding about how to communicate effectively, and sharing what our needs were at the beginning of the process would have eliminated the many frustrations that I am sure we both experienced during our time as colleagues. The disclosure of information and feelings came too late in the process and the damage had already been done.

As a result of this event, I made an effort to create a partnership with the person we hired to replace her. We were open with each other about our ideas and feelings toward the job and used the opportunity to learn from each other’s creativity. Although he is currently not in that position anymore, we still work together and have built a relationship that results in little to no conflict. When conflict does arise, we know how to effectively express that to each other and work through the issues to a resolution.

Reference: Levine, S. (2009 ). Turning conflict into collaboration (2nd edition). Williston, VT,: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

A632.5.5.RB_HansardCarey

The protected values that I mentioned in the Brain assignment this week were: protection of children, stability, and kindness. One of the most important things to me in life is stability. This is a value that I cherish so much so that I have lived in the same house for 16 years, worked at the same job for 18 years, and follow a similar routine every day. Sometimes, this means that I miss out on opportunities, I am sure, because I do not like to venture out of my comfort zone. Leading a stable lifestyle means that I always know that I will have a home, that my children will live in a safe, loving environment, and that I will work for my wants and needs now as well as in the future. I go to great lengths to protect this value. Foe example, my husband and I are currently thinking of purchasing a new home. Where many people would start shopping around for a mortgage company, I have only talked to one, the company we currently use. I do not want to have my credit run multiple times because my credit score would go down and I may seem unstable…not a good candidate for a loan. Sometime, I think that I enjoy stability so much that when there is a wrench thrown in, like searching for a new house, I feel uncertain and anxious about the issue.

Kindness has gotten me where I am today. I believe in treating others as you would like to be treated. People are more likely to be accommodating to you if you treat them with kindness and respect. There was recently an incident at work where one of the directors walked into the office of another yelling at him about how his team had made too many last minute requests of her team. She did not bother to ask questions about the requests or explain why these requests were burdening her team. Instead she was angry and confrontational which, in turn, made him behave the same way. Now there appears to be lingering animosity between them. Unless someone has that attitude with me, I make every effort to be kind, sympathetic, and obliging when dealing with other. I try to put myself in their shoes and imagine what their situation is. Some things are beyond our control. We all have setbacks, idiosyncrasies, and annoying habits. Being understanding and accepting of others in these circumstances means that they will do the same for you when the situation is reversed.

The protection of children is very important to me. Being an educator, I was able to see first hand the consequences of children who were abused, neglected, living in unsafe environments, and those who live in environments where there is a lack of love and attention. It is sad. The parents are the only ones to be blamed in these situations. Kids cannot control what happens to them as babies and young children. Even when they do have some control over their lives, it is not as if they can simply leave and start a new life. They need people to stand up for them. Although this is a value that I believe very strongly in, I am not the type of person to push my values on others. Hoch & Kunreuther (2001) say that even though I may not act on my values, they are still important and relevant (p. 253). Even though I hold these beliefs, I will not be the one to go out telling other people how to behave and raise their children.

As for my decision-making abilities, I feel as though the first two values affect this process greatly. The fact that I like stability often means that I either make the decision not to change anything, or I delay making a decision erring on the side of caution.  Kindness also plays a major role because I like to please everyone. Because of this, I tend to ask people who may be affected by my decision what they think and include their ideas when the final conclusion is reached. There is a benefit in being kind and including others who have a vested interest in my decision. As Yukl (2010) mentions, “Involving other people in making a decision is likely to increase the quality of a decision when participants have information and knowledge lacked by the leader” (p. 89).

References:

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations. (7th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson College Div.

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In just about every negotiation I have been involved in, I have used facial expressions as a judge of how the other person is feeling.  McKay, Davis and Fanning (2009) point out that if you look at a magazine picture of several people and cover everything by their faces, you can still tell a lot about how they are feeling. You may not be able to tell what they are doing, but you can certainly tell a lot about how they are feeling (p. 62).  As a very animated teacher, I used a lot of facial expressions to let the students know how I was feeling. In situations at work where I have had to negotiate, I have found it difficult to control my own facial expressions.  Recently, I was involved in a negotiation of sorts with my supervisor. We are getting ready to upgrade some software that I train on. During this negotiation, I explained to him that I did not feel comfortable training in the new environment because it was not functioning as expected. In the past, he has indicated that he “had my back” with upper management. However, I feel as though I was misled about his feelings about the situation. I feel as though he was on my side until his boss had a different vision. Although I understand why he would feel that way, it still makes it difficult to trust in him next time.

Understanding how I am viewed by others is another important tool in negotiations. The easier an individual is to read, the more likely someone else is to gain the upper hand in the negotiation.  Hoch and Kunreuther (2001) mention that managing your reputation will help you manage the negotiation better (p. 184). Getting input from others about what they think my style is allows me to reflect and adapt. During a conversation with a co-worker last week, he mentioned that I needed to calm down. He said that, in his opinion, I was overly anxious about the topic we were discussing. I do not see myself that way and this was an interesting perception. I was able to step back after this interaction and assess my reaction to the situation. Although I did not feel anxious, I could see where others might think that. Next time I go into a similar situation, I will be forced to consideration whether or not I am overreacting.

Body language is another indicator in negotiations. McKay, et al. (2009), explains that body language involves arms, hands, legs, feet, posture and even breathing are associated with nonverbal communication (pp. 63-64).  If the person I am talking to has their arms crossed, it gives the impression that he/she is not open to what I am offering. Heavy or erratic breathing can indicate that someone is nervous because he/she is lying.

Finally, the tone of someone’s voice can also give away a lot during negotiations. Hoch & Kunreuther (2001) list other verbal cues to look for such as hesitation in speech, changes in tone, slower speech, hesitation in answering questions and the use of filler words (p. 195).  These verbal cues can mean that the negotiator is using deceptive tactics with you. My goal in negotiations is to be as honest as I can be. I may occasionally exhibit some of these same indictors but not because I am lying, simply because I am nervous.

Regerences: Davis, M., Fanning, P., & Mckay , M. (2009). Messages, the communication skills book. (3rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Pubns Inc.

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc

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Frame blindness occurs when decision makers view an issue through one mental window (Hoch & Kunreuther, 2001, p. 139). The danger of doing this, of course, is that other points of view, ideas, or related issues may be missed. Three of the dangers posed with frame blindness are overconfidence, the illusion of completeness, and frame conflict (Hoch & Kunreuther, 2001, pp. 140-141). 

The illusion of completeness happens when the decision maker believes he/she has all of the necessary information to make the decision; the, “I’ve got this. I know exactly what to do” attitude. In my personal life, I had a situation like this with my son, who was 11 at the time. He is a shy kid and I am an overprotective mom. One day, he came home from school and told me that a kid was picking on him in school. My son’s friend, Keith, stood up for him and told the other kid to leave my son alone. This led to an invitation to meet behind the cafeteria to fight after school. My son was afraid and he and his friend decided not to go. However, when he got home, he told me all about what happened. I thought that the other kid told them to meet him behind the cafeteria and was afraid for my son and his friend. I wanted this boy and his parents contacted and talked to about bullying. So, I called the school and spoke with the assistant principal who, in turn, spoke with my son, Keith, and the other boy. While the boy admitted to calling my son names, he said that it was actually Keith who extended the invitation to fight. Keith reluctantly admitted it when confronted by the principal. The other boy was afraid to fight, too, and did not go to the cafeteria either. Looking back, had I known that it was Keith that was looking for a fight, I would have probably just called his mom and worked it out with her and our sons and asked the school to discuss the incident with the child. Instead, I probably appeared to school staff like a crazy woman demanding that something be done to this kid. Believing that I had the complete picture in this instance caused me to do something that I may not have done had I had all of the facts.

As for overconfidence, this occurs when we misjudge what we know. My husband and I are currently evaluating whether or not to sell our small 2 bedroom house and buy something larger. We are confident that we know what we can/cannot afford. We differ on some things, though. I would like to buy a piece of land in town and build a house on it. My husband, on the other hand, feels as though it will be too expensive to build a house. Neither of us has actually checked into the cost of building; we are simply making assumptions. We have also not checked into interest rates, etc… although we still think we know what we can afford and are looking for. I am sure that once we finally do contact professionals we will find out that we don’t know as much as we think we do about any aspect of buying, building, or financing.

Finally, there is frame conflict. This happens when individuals’ agendas clash.  This happens frequently in my current position. Unfortunately, people always think they know how other people’s jobs should be done based on the effects on their own. From my point of view, EagleVision training should be just-in-time training because, let’s face it, if you don’t use it, you lose it.  We want instructors to train in the term just prior to their scheduled EagleVision course. Many Directors of Academics feel as though instructors should receive training any time they want so that they are available whenever a campus needs them, even if it is at the last minute.  Instructors want to receive training because they have had experiences in the past with their courses being canceled due to low enrollment and they feel as though EagleVision training will help them solve that problem. This has caused friction and much discussion throughout the years but there have not been any changes made to when instructors train. I think that others are looking through a single mental frame…one that suits them. This frame conflict and lack of consideration of other frames can create problems.  I try to influence others to see the issue through my mental frame.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes, it doesn’t. My feeling is that you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

In these instances, I see the benefit of using other mental frames. They may not always change my mind but doing so will at least allow me to consider the perspectives of others and make more informed decisions. It is very tempting to make decisions solely on my first instinct. After reading this chapter, I think it is essential not to make decisions blind to the possible frames.  I have learned that there are many strategies that can help me eliminate my mental frames. Strategies such as focusing on the objective and not getting pulled in to other issues along the way can be helpful. Thinking about assumptions I already have about the issue that may or may not be accurate and trying to move past those. Asking others for their points of view will give me other ways to see the issue and allow me to make a better decision because of it.

Reference: Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.

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Sometimes, choices can be overwhelming. Consider going to the hardware store in search of paint for your house. Standing in the paint aisle looking at the unbelievable number of vendors and paint colors could be enough to send you packing without paint, leaving your house to flake apart bit by bit. Sheena Iyengar, in her TED talk “How to Make Choosing Easier”, proposes four methods to make choosing less painful for people. First, she introduces the fact that less is more and some choices should be eliminated before introducing them to a decision maker. Second, she discusses linking the consequences of our choices to our emotions. Third, she claims that grouping choices into categories that make sense to the users helps people make decisions. Finally, group choices together, starting with few choices and gradually increasing the amount of choices in each subsequent group.

Cutting choices is something that I have learned to do in my professional life when scheduling training sessions for faculty. If you schedule them, they will come! When I offer too many training sessions, I inevitably end up with some sessions that only have one person and others where I have 8 or more. So I have learned to schedule sessions based on how many participants I have to train. I am sure to have plenty of sessions to include all and then add one or two more for convenience of rescheduling. Otherwise, there are too many choices for instructors and too many sessions to decide which trainers to schedule. From an organizational standpoint, you want to have plenty of sessions for instructors to chose from. From a personal standpoint, having to do the same thing 20 times is less appealing than doing it 10 times. Limiting the number of training sessions frees my time to concentrate on other types of training and special projects.

It is currently very difficult to find information in ERNIE. Recently, the Worldwide Web Services team made the decision to revamp all of the Worldwide pages and make them more user friendly. The first step to this process was organizing the Student Services tab. They wanted to categorize the links on this tab to better serve the needs of students. Therefore, they conducted a usability test, a survey type instrument that asks users where they would look for certain pieces of information. The results of this test allowed the team to decide which categories made the most sense to users and which links to include under each category. The organization needs categorization like this on the website to improve the users’ experience. This has been beneficial to my department as well. Our EagleVision information is now easier to find and more accessible to those who need it. I anxiously await the improvements to the rest of the site.

I agree with the techniques that Ms. Iyengar proposes. I think that another way to improve one’s decision-making is to inform oneself about the choices and consequences of a particular decision. I find that researching a topic, both by consulting with others who have experience with a similar issue and by searching for information on the Internet, I tend to make better decisions. Decisions will never be perfect in every situation; however, employing some of the methods that Ms. Iyengar proposes will eliminate many of the troubles associated with making decisions.

Reference: Iyengar, S. (Performer) (2012). Sheena iyengar: How to make choosing easier [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose.html    

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I can honestly say that I could not see myself ever using a mathematical equation to make decisions. There are several reasons for this; one being that I am not the greatest at math and think it would be much too confusing for me to identify variable mathematically, and the other being that too much can be left to chance that way. However, it appears that either way, I have a high likelihood of making a good decision. Hoch & Kunreuther (2001) argue that fact stating that, eventually, making a decision mathematically (optimally) and making the same decision with the way people would actually make them converge at some point (p. 51). To me, making the decision mathematically is like deciding who to employ simply by looking at a resume. Meeting people and taking other factors about them into account would help me make a better, more informed decision about who to hire.

The way in which I make decisions varies depending on the issue’s level of importance to me. I do notice a couple of trends, however. I frequently ask other’s opinions and consider them in my decision-making process. For instance, recently, I led a project at work to update some of the training materials we use. I use the software that I was creating training materials for every day; therefore, I asked other members of my department who were not as familiar with the software to evaluate my materials. The decisions made about what to include or omit from the training were a direct result of feedback from others on the team. The initial decisions about what to include and how to include it had been made based on my past experiences learning the software myself. Getting input from other people enabled me to make decisions based on many different perspectives.

Something else I do when making vital decisions is deliberate a long time. My tendency is to ask for opinions, consider them all, do more research, and then make my decision. This process involves multistage decision making on my part. This has occasionally led to problems because a decision needs to be made quickly. When forced, I can quickly make a decision but always second-guess myself. However, I need to learn to take all of the knowledge I have into consideration and make effective decisions in a more timely manner. I am always concerned with making the right decision…even though I know there is not truly a perfect decision.

The formula outlined by Hoch & Kunreuther (2001) may help in my forward planning, though. If the formula can narrow down my choices, it may help me focus my critical questions in only one or two areas, thereby making the decision easier and faster for me. On the other hand, Hoch & Kunreuther also state that, “everyday reasoning provides nearly optimal decisions” (p. 61). In my life so far, I have made adequate decisions. Although my opinion may change as the class progresses, I do not see myself making significant changes to the steps I normally follow. As they say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.