The Decision Making Process

1. The Decision Making Process

2. What are some decisions you are currently making on your own?

3. What decisions do you WANT to make on your own? In other words—what decisions would you like to make but are not able to?

4. The Decision Making Process • A series of steps that one should make when faced with a decision.

5. Step 1 • 1- State the PROBLEM  What is the PROBLEM? (what, where, when, why?)  Who is INVOLVED? (all persons involved)

6. Step 2 • List the OPTIONS  How could I SOLVE the problem?  What choices do I have?

7. Step 3 • Weigh the possible OUTCOMES  What are the CONSEQUECNES of each option?  How will my CHOICE affect me/other people?

8. Step 4 • Consider your VALUES  What do I feel STRONGLY about? How will my VALUES influence my decision?

9. Step 5 • Make a DECISION and act  What DECISION will I make?  What do I need to do to FOLLOW THROUGH with my decision?

10. Step 6 • EVALUATE the decisions  What were the CONSEQUENCES of my decision  Did the result turn out as I PLANNED? If I had to do it again would I make the SAME decision?

11. 1. What is the problem • 2. What are my options to help solve this problem? • 3. What are the consequences of these options if I decide to choose one? • 4. What are my values based on the scenario I choose? • 5. What decision did I make?

12. Scenario • 1. Cindy is 18 years old. Cindy's parents and her 23-year old brother Rich are going away for the weekend. Renee, Cindy's best friend, is pressuring her to throw a huge Saturday night party for all their friends since no one will be home. Renee even asked Rich if he could pick up a few kegs for them. Rich brought back two kegs of beer, a case of Zima, a bottle of Vodka, and a few bottles of wine, which he hid in the basement. Renee also spread the word around school for everyone to show up. Cindy now has over $100 worth of alcohol hid in the basement, an empty house for the weekend, and fifteen friends expected to show. What should she do?

13. Scenario • 2. Cindy, 18, is hosting the biggest high school party of the year. Her parents have gone away for the weekend. Her brother bought more than enough alcohol, and her friend Renee invited all of their friends. Everything is going well at first, but eventually Cindy becomes aware of a few problems: What should Cindy do?- her friends invited friends, and there are now close to 100 people at the house- some of her guests are getting sick in inconvenient places- some of her guests are getting too friendly in inconvenient places- the neighbors have threatened to call the police if the noise continues- her parents changed plans, and are now coming home at 7:00 a.m. the next day

14. Scenario • 3. Bill and Tom, both 18, are driving around on a Saturday night looking for something to do. Tom stops at his house to make some phone calls and pick up some beer for the road. He hands the 6-pack to Bill, who immediately cracks one open and tosses the rest in the backseat. Tom, distracted by Bill, drives through a stop sign. The next thing the boys notice is the siren from an approaching police car? What should they do?

15. Scenario • 4. Julie, 21, and her friends go out to a frat party. Julie is spending most of her time dancing and socializing with a few guys, some of whom she knows. The guys are taking turns getting her drinks when she starts to feel a little woozy. She notices that she needs to refocus her eyes every time she blinks. She also can't seem to hear everything that's being said. Looking around, she can't locate any of her friends. What should she do?

16. Scenario • Problem: The track star • You are training for the Olympics as a runner. A friend offers you some steroid drugs, which will increase your strength and make it more likely that you will win. What goals and outcomes should you consider? How could you make this decision in a single-minded way? • Answer: The two main goals in conflict here are success in the Olympics and your future health. You would be single minded if you don't think about them both. You would be single minded if all you think about is winning, or if you think only about your health. Even if you decide not to take the drugs, you might later regret your decision, if you fail to make it to the Olympics, unless you have thought in advance about what you might be giving up.

17. Scenario • Sam is going with Lisa and has already asked her to the homecoming dance. Sam has been thinking for a while that he might want to break up with Lisa, but he hasn't said anything to her. Now there's this new girl, Luanne, and Sam really likes her. Sam told his friend Jack that he's going to break up with Lisa so he can go to the dance with Luanne. "Don't you think Lisa might feel bad?" asked Jack. "I don't want to think about that," said Sam. "I have to do what's best for me."

18. Scenario • Problem: Amy • Amy loves sports and plays on her high school basketball team. Lately she has been having trouble with her knee. Her family doctor referred her to a specialist who told her she has a hereditary knee problem. "If you keep on abusing your knee by playing basketball, you'll make the knee worse, and I expect you'll have real problems when you get older," the doctor told her. Amy's grandmother had the same knee problem, and, at seventy, she walks with a cane and is often in a great deal of pain. Amy says, "I don't want to think about what happens when I get older. I'm going to play basketball now."

19. Scenario • Problem: The cafeteria • You are put in charge of a school cafeteria for a week. You must decide what to serve. How should you think about this decision? • Answer: You should think about all the goals that matter. The ones that most people think of are the cost of the food, nutrition and health, and how much kids like it. (Ease of preparation is another goal.) A single-minded decision would think about only one of these goals.

20. What would you advise Marian to do. • Problem: Marian • Marian loves music and has played the flute since she was seven years old. She practices every night for at least an hour, and her music teacher thinks that she has the talent to make it into a good music school like Juliard when she reaches college age. Marian also likes sports and often joins the boys in her neighborhood for a game of pick-up basketball. Now that she is starting seventh grade, Marian has to decide whether to join the school band or the girls' basketball team. She is afraid that her music might suffer if she plays basketball because basketball practice and homework might squeeze out flute practice. Being in the band would be good for her music, but she doesn't want to be too one-sided. Also, Marain's best girlfriend is going out for basketball and wants Marian to play with her. Marian's flute teacher is strongly for her joining the band.

21. Risk Factors (negative decision-making) • dysfunctional family- low self-esteem- being unable to resist peer pressure or influence- lacking faith experiences- genetically predisposed to chemical dependency- experiencing family disruptions- experiencing depression- experiencing academic and/or athletic pressure

22. Protective Factors:(positive decision-making) • being reared in a loving, functional family- being involved in school activities- having positive self-esteem- having clearly defined goals and plans to reach them- having close friends- regularly practicing one's faith- feeling a sense of accomplishment at school- having a role model- having a healthful attitude about competition and athletics- being committed to following community rules- having a plan to cope with life's stressors

23. Survival Scenario Exercise • Scenario Type 1: Choose Survival Equipment • Your plane crashed...your group needs to choose the 12 most useful items to survive... • Choose / rank equipment items in terms of their relative survival value: • Participants choose/rank the items individually • Discuss choices/rankings in small group and come to a group consensus • Score answers against "expert" opinion • Possible scenarios: • Lost at sea or island survival (shipwreck) • Desert (plane crash) • Space or Moon

24. Scenario Type 2: People Survival Scenario (Who will be saved?) A nuclear bomb has been dropped...a radiation-free shelter is available, but can only take 6 people; choose who will survive... Choose / rank people in terms of who will get to live or die in situations with limited survival resources: Participants role play characters (a bit like a Murder Mystery) Can lead to high emotions; people get intensely engaged, particularly when choosing who will survive, and none of the decisions are easy. No right answers - any so-called "correct" answers are based on debatable values (e.g., ageism, sexism, racism) Highlights individual's dispositions, group processes and decision making Possible scenarios: Nuclear war shelter Oxygen dwindling (space, moon, mars) Lifeboat / Sinking ship (sea) Survival Scenario Exercise

25. Possible Debrief Questions • How were decisions made? • Who influenced the decisions and how? • How could better decisions have been made? • How was conflict managed? • How did people feel about the decisions? • How satisfied was each person with the decision (ask each participant to rate his / her satisfaction out of 10, then obtain a group average and compare / discuss with other groups' satisfaction levels) • What have you learnt about the functioning of this group? • How would you do the activity differently if you were asked to do it again? • What situations at work/home/school do you think are like this exercise?