MSLD 632 Module 3 - Reflections on Decision Making

Decision-making can be very complex and overwhelming. Rather than examining a situation as a whole, Hoch (2001), suggests framing our thinking to simplify and narrow our focus for faster, more efficient decision-making (p.133). Despite the benefits, there are also some risks involved. Since we’re narrowing our focus, there’s a risk of frame blindness: where information that may be valuable has little to no awareness. Other risks include the illusion of completeness, over confidence, and frame conflict.

Decision-making is an important and daily task as an academic advisor. To make effective decisions, I believe that it’s a matter of organizing. The idea is a lot like a flowchart. For example, if a student needs help figuring out what classes to take for the upcoming term, we begin the framing process by looking at what classes are available. To narrow the focus more, I might ask additional questions such as what modality or what subject they might be interested in. The key for my decision making is to prepare a set of questions that flows smoothly and help pinpoint the solution. With strong organization, we’re at less risk of going off course.

As Hoch (2001) mentioned, framing puts us at risk of frame blindness: where we put potentially important “in the shadows” (p. 137). To particularly avoid the overconfidence and illusion of completeness traps, I usually have a habit of telling myself to not get comfortable and that there’s always something to do. As leaders, it is important to keep in mind that change is constant. An example is when I share my experiences about a class with my students. While my information may be useful for the most part, I always remind myself and the tell the student that the course contents may not be the same as when I took the same class a few years back. By placing ourselves in an alert state, we can avoid being too confident about our decision-making.

In addition to constantly looking around, it is also important to consider the framings of others when making decisions. Just like the general ideas of framing, our own thoughts and opinions go in one direction. This was a mistake I made during my early days into my current job. Through training, I was taught that communicating via phone calls were the most effective ways to reach out to students. However, for my campus, this was not: as many of them work full time, travel, and generally wouldn’t not want to be bothered. Since I ended up upsetting a few people, I then got in the habit of placing myself in other’s shoes to make more effective decision-making.
 
References:
Hoch, S. & Kunreuther, H. (2001). Wharton on Making Decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.