Decision-Making Models
Reflect on the past experiences, which required you to make an important decision. What were the skills that you utilized to solve the problem? Was the model for decision-making similar to the one in the course? Explore a recent decision you have made in your work environment. Use the steps of decision making as you reflect on that decision. Would you change anything about that decision? What was right and wrong about the decision you made? Conclude your discussion with a recommendation for why it is good to use a model for decision-making in your work.
Make sure that you include an introduction and conclusion to your post.
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Your initial posting should be addressed at 150-300 words. Submit your document to this Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Be sure to cite your sources using APA format.
Sample Answer
Decision-Making Models
Decision-making is a very involving process that requires gathering basic facts that help in weighing different situations to establish the most effective and favorable decision. I have made numerous decisions in life, most of which had successful outcomes while others produced negative or regrettable results. In my childhood, I admired two things that would define my career. I admired being an electrical engineer or anything to do with medical practice. I later joined college, specializing in healthcare administration after numerous considerations.
In deciding on my career, I utilized several skills in making the decision. One of the skills that helped me in solving the problem was listening skills. Even though I had a strong feeling to be a radiologist, I engaged various people and professionals who guided me into achieving that choice. Sreena & Ilankumaran (2018) support listening skills as a basis for the decision-making process to improve the quality of decision-making. Other skills included analytic skills, research, and communication. The model of decision-making was similar to the rational decision-making model. The decision involved defining the problem of making a career choice, generating possible alternatives, evaluating them, and determining the best solution to the problem. The fact-finding process in the decision-making process builds evidence and uses the research strategies to build enough data for establishing the basic facts that should be used to guide the decisions.
In a recent event, I was in the workplace when one of the nurse assistants complained about having personal differences with her colleague. She complained that her colleague in the workplace was always late in starting her shifts, thus causing the complainant to extend her shift while waiting for the colleague to arrive. She complained that the colleague was ignorant. In deciding on the situation, I referred them to the nurse manager for job rescheduling to reduce her issues. This is a recent experience in the workplace.
From the decision-making steps available in the decision-making model, I made some of the actions that should have been done differently concerning the event. I would have changed the action about the decision-making because I never sought facts about the event. I never involved the other nurse assistant in the conversation to discover her involvement in the challenging condition affecting the colleague: the fact-finding or research element in the decision-making plan. The decision would have been more effective if enough data, apart from the reported incidence, had been collected to establish the magnitude and nature of the issue different from delays in signing in for shifts. I also never established alternatives in defining the action to be taken by the nurse. Finding out alternatives such as requesting a meeting with the two nurse assistants to solve the problem, taking the issue to the nurse manager to address the issue as a whole in the organization, or ignoring the problem would greatly affect the action. When the data collected for evidence is used on each alternative action, the results would be different. This shows that apart from calling the nurse manager for rescheduling of the shifts, I would have asked for collaborative problem solving with the affected nurse assistants. I used a bounded rationality decision-making model, which is effective for quick decisions. The good thing about the decision I made was that it was fast and still functional in eliminating the issue within the workplace, especially between the two nurse assistants. The action would have been better if enough data had been collected and defined the main problem before the action. An engagement and collaborative strategy would have been effective compared to the immediate action without enough evidence.
In conclusion, decision-making models are important in guiding the type of decisions to be made concerning a situation. Some of the models, such as the rational decision-making model, are very effective in encouraging evidence-based decision-making and thus reducing faults in the process of decision-making. A higher dependency on relevant evidence or expertise in decision-making improves the quality of decisions being made (Poot et al., 2018).
