Workplace Decision Making Practicum in LPSCS

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What is a decision? The act of making a choice or coming to a solution The decision could be a personal one (buying something), or it could be deciding on a career and developing a 4-year plan of study for high school and beyond.

When do we make decisions? Personal life Relationships Driving Workplace Have students give examples of each listed situation.

How do we make decisions? Ignore that a decision needs to be made Blindly make a decision Make a plan Discuss that decision-making is a process which takes practice. Indecision is a decision not to decide.

7 steps in decision-making Recognize a problem Gather information and resources List the options Weigh and compare the options Make a decision Make a plan Evaluate the decision

Recognize a problem Define what needs to be decided Consider the influencing factors Identify the decision to be made. Your awareness that a decision must be made may be triggered by a number of things: interests, friends, family, career, etc. Decisions made will reflect what best suits your needs and the influencing factors surrounding your needs.

gather information and resources Books Internet Resources People Employer policy/procedures Training Training manuals On-the-job training Most decisions require collecting information that will let you know your options and make the best decision. You will need to know what information is needed, the best sources of information, and where to get it. You can research information from books, the Internet, people, and other resources. Some information will come from within, or a process of self-analysis.

List the options Project confidence Project a positive attitude As you are gathering information, you will probably identify a few possible options.

Weigh and compare the options Analyze each option Consider the consequences of each option Place the options in priority order Analyze each option and what would happen with each. You must evaluate whether the problem identified in the beginning of this process would be helped or solved through the use of each option. Eventually, you should be able to place the options in priority order, based on your own value system.

Make a decision Choose the best option Choose a combination of options Outside of work At this step you will choose among the options you have identified. Once you weigh all options, select the one which seems to be best suited to you. You may even choose a combination of options.

Make a plan Make the steps of the plan Take action Make a plan of action to reach your decision. What are the steps that you need to take?

Evaluate the decision Determine the results of your decision If the outcome was not what you expected, determine if you need to repeat any steps Review your decision and the consequences. In this step, you experience the results of your decision and evaluate whether or not it has solved or helped to solve the problem identified in step 1. If yes, you may stay with the decision you have made. If no, you may repeat certain steps of the process in order to make a new decision. You may not always make the right decision or you just may not get the results you expected. It’s just important that if you do make the wrong or a bad decision, that you learn from your mistakes.

Remember: You can always change your mind about a decision you have made!

Remember: There is probably not just ONE right choice – few decisions are totally wrong!

Remember: Deciding is a process, not a one-time event!

Remember: All decisions have an element of risk!

Remember: Think of the worst possible outcome. COULD YOU LIVE WITH THAT?

Remember: TRUST your intuition!

Resources Florida Department of Education http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/ced/ced_workplac e.asp