Future Decisions/Choices

What would you do in a given situation?

Written by Barbara Mackessy

MSCM8-2: Students will develop management skills that lead to academic and career success.

• Analyze the impact of stress and the importance of time and money management skills for academic, social, and career success.

• Analyze how specific life role changes (e.g. personal, leisure, community, learner, family, and work roles) would affect the attainment of career goals.

Steps of Decision Making

• 1. Define the Problem/Want/Need

• 2. Gather Information about the problem, want or need

• 3. Evaluate all of the Information (pros & cons)

• 4. Select Best Choice for you

• 5. Take Action – Do it

• 6. Review Your Choice

How to make you own decision

• What is the Situation

• Think about it and the choices

• Evaluate

• Make a Pros and Cons List

• Select a Solution

• Review your choice afterwards

Another example for the steps to decision making

• Define your want or need• Analyze your resources• Identify your choices• Compare your choice• Choose the best alternative• Make a plan to get started• Do the plan• Review the plan afterwards

Another example for the steps to decision making

• Define problem

• Look at choices

• Compare choices

• Select best choice

• Carry out choice

• Review choice and change as needed

Responsible Decision Making

• Identify the Problem

• Identify ways to deal with the problem

• Think about the possible results of each action

• Make a responsible decision

• Evaluate that decision

• Make changes if needed

Think about possible results

• Is it unhealthy?

• Is it safe to me and others?

• Is it legal?

• Does it show respect for self and others?

• Does it follow parent’s guidelines?

• Would my parents and teachers approve?

What are your life roles now?

• Student• Eighth grader• Brother/sister• Daughter/son• Granddaughter/grandson• Cousin• Middle school student• What other ones do you have now?

What will your life roles be in the future?

• Son/daughter• Grandson/daughter• Employee• Supervisor• Parent• Post secondary student• Graduate student• What others can you think of for the future you?

Types of Decisions

• Automatic Decisions- automatic, routine, never think about it before deciding

• Thought Decisions – think about it but don’t study or investigate it.

• Study Decisions – think about it, study it, ask others before making decision.

• Investigative Decisions – Think, study, ask questions, and research, read about it before making decision.

Investigate Decision Making to find out more about making the best decision possible for you.

Additional References

• http://www.mindtools.com/index.html

• http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/prb_bsc.htm

• http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook5.htm• http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/• http://www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.ht

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Evaluation• Make a list of the topic items listed in this

PowerPoint. Write the hardest decision or question that you can think of that you might have to make in the future for each one of them. You may use any of the ones from the slides of this PowerPoint or you may think of some on your own.

• You will not have an answer to the questions now but need to know that people must make hard decisions daily.

• Turn in your list of 20 questions and label it as “Hardest Decisions” for your assessment.

Future Influences on Family• Child care – day care options• Elderly care options• Social Security• Economic status• Amount of stress at work• Adjustments to surroundings• Amount of energy required• Relationships with family• Scheduling family activities• Time with family• Time with children• Time with spouse• Time with friends• Time for household tasks• Leisure time

Future Demands• Work requires travel

• Physical Conditions at work

• Work Layoffs

• Psychological conditions at work

• Work Schedule

• Work Hours

• Work Overtime

• Work Requires Relocation

Child Care/Day care• Do you need day care in the future?• Would you want a day care center on your work site?• Would it matter if the day care center was 25 miles

from you worksite?• Would you pay more money to have the daycare close

to your worksite?• Would you take a lesser paying job if they provided

daycare?• Would you want to stay home with your children?• Would you be willing to move into a smaller house,

spending less money to stay home with your children?

Elderly Care options• People are living longer than ever before, someone will

have to take care of them.• You may be responsible for a relative in the future.• Who will look after them while you are at work?• Elderly care centers, Home health aids – what are

these?• What would you do with an older relative?• What about Social Security?• U.S. average cost of nursing homes $181 per day for a

private room (Alaska $420, Louisiana $96)

Social Security• Will Social Security be around when I need it?

• When can I retire with Social Security? 67?

• What will I do in the 2040’s when Social Security no longer has any funds to mail the checks to the people over the age of 67?

• Will decisions about Social Security today have an impact on me in the future?

Economic status

• Is money important to you?• Do you care what other people think of you?• Would you be willing to live in a smaller house to

drive a new car every two years?• Would you be willing to live paycheck to

paycheck to live in a swim/tennis community?• Would you put in long hours at work to earn a

large paycheck? This means less time with the family.

Amount of stress at work• What is stress?• Do you have any stress?• Do you think there is any such thing as a stressful

job?• What are some stressful jobs?• Meeting deadlines – newspaper, magazine• Surgery – patients life in your hands• Administrator – responsible for an entire building

and people• Could you design or invent something that no one

else has before?

Adjustments to surroundings• Would it matter in what neighborhood that you worked?• Would you ever be embarrassed to tell someone where

you worked?• Would you work where you had no contact with people

all day?• Would you work where you could never be by yourself?• Would you work in a very small space?• Would you work in a lower income section of town?• Is cleanness, attractiveness, and comfort important to

you?

Amount of energy required

• Would you work at a job that required a lot of physical activity?

• Would you work at a job that required a lot of emotional energy?

• Would you work at a job where you had to be aware all of the time?

• Would you work at job that made you so tired that it cut down on your social life?

• What if you were so exhausted when you got home from your job that you couldn’t do anything else?

Relationships with family

• Would your family schedule affect your family relationship?

• Does a family need quality time or quantity time?• Would you have a better relationship with your

family if you spend more time together?• Would you have a better relationship with your

family if you had a good paying job and could buy them everything they wanted?

• Which would you choose and why?

Scheduling family activities

• Does the family need time together as family time?

• Does the family need to eat one meal together each day?

• Does the family need a family outing per week?• How much time does the family need to spend

together?• Does the family need to play games or visit places

together as a family unit?

Time with family

• Does a family need time together?

• Family vacations?

• Family dinners?

• Family night?

• How much time on an average day?

Time with spouse

• How much time would you need with your spouse on an average day?

• Would it matter to you if you worked different hours and never saw each other except on weekends?

• Would you ever change you job to get the same hours as your spouse?

• Would you take a lesser paying job to get the same hours as your spouse?

• How much time on an average day would you need with your spouse?

Time with children• How much time do you need with your children on

an average day?• Would it matter to you if you worked different hours

and never saw your children except on weekends?• Would you take a lesser paying job to spend the

afternoons with your children?• Do you think it matters how much time you spend

with your children? Quality time or Quantity time?• Would your children be different if you could spend

more time with them? Better?

Time with friends

• Do you have any friends now?• Do you think you will still have friends in

the future?• Will you need time for your friends?• Will you need time to talk on the phone,

visits, write, etc.?• How much time will you need on average

day for your friends?

Time for household tasks• Do you need time for household task?• Do you need time to clean the house? Dust, sweep,

mop, wash dishes, clean bathrooms, change sheets & beddings, or vacuum

• Do you need time to mow the lawn?• Do you need time to wash the car or clean out the car?• Do you need time to do the laundry? Go to dry

cleaners?• Do you need time to grocery shop? Get gas?• Do you need to check the mail? Answer the mail?

Write out the bills?• Clean up after animals? Feed animals?• How much time would you need on an average day for

all household tasks?

Leisure time

• Do you need time for yourself?• Do you need time to do what you want to

do? Football, shopping, sports, hobbies?• How much time would you need on an

average day just for you?• How would you feel if you never had a

minute to yourself during the 24 hours of a day?

Work requires travel• Most businesses that require travel pay expenses – motel

bill, food allowance, air ticket, gas mileage etc. Sound good?

• Would you like to see a lot of other cities and countries at someone else’s expense?

• When single – great – but you just got married and will be gone a week – bother you?

• You just had a baby and will be gone – bother you?• Would you miss your child’s first day of kindergarten?• Would you miss your child’s high school graduation?• How much would you be willing to miss for a good

paying job that you love?

Physical conditions at work• Would you work in a place without air conditioning?• Would you work in a place without heat?• Would you work in a place where you would get dirty every day –

clothes and body?• Would you work in a place where you would have heavy lifting to

do every day?• Would you wear a face shield, glasses, goggles?• Would you wear ear plugs?• Would you wear protective coverings –apron?• Would you wear steel toed shoes?• Would you wear a hair net?• Would you work in a job where you had to stand all day?• Would you work in a job where you had to sit all day?

Work layoffs

• You have some bad luck, you just got laid off without notice.

• What will you do?• Who will pay the bills?• How will your family survive?• Will you take a lesser paying job or will you wait

to be called back to work?• How long would you wait before taking another

job?

Psychological conditions at work• What if you dislike the job you have to perform?• What if you dislike the people you work with but love

the job itself?• What if you dread going into work each day?• Would you continue to work there?• What could be some of your alternatives?• How would these alternatives make you feel?• Would or could your job affect your family

relationships?• Your family depends on your pay check to pay part of

the bills, all bills could not be paid each month without your paycheck. How do you feel?

Work schedule

• Work schedules can vary 8-4, 9-5, 7-3, 3-11, 11-7, 4-12 etc.

• Would it matter to you which schedule you worked?

• 3-11 and 11-7 usually are pay more per hour for working those shifts, would you work them?

• You work a different shift and only see your family on the weekends, would it bother you?

• What are your alternatives?

Work hours• Most people work 8 hours a day. Some are paid for

lunch and some much work a 9 hour day but have an hour for lunch to make their 8 hour day.

• Which one would you prefer?• Would you work 12 hours per day, 3 days one week

and four days the next week?• Would you work 24 hours on 48 hours off?• Would you work a job where you are on call all the

time?• What would this do to your family life?• Would you not take a job because of the hours that you

would have to work?

Work overtime• Overtime work pays time and a half.• Some companies ask for volunteers to work overtime – would

you ever volunteer to work overtime?• Some companies tell you that you must work overtime – you

have other plans – what would you do?• How would you feel if you had no choice about working

overtime?• Sometimes you will know in advance that you will have to

work overtime but if your company has a deadline to be met, it may be a last decision. You have to change your plans – would do you feel?

• What if you have special occasion planned?• What if you had tickets to an event?• Would you keep your job?

Work requires relocation

• You have been transferred. Would you move to another City? State? Country?

• You are just out of college – ready to go?• You just got married – do you go?• Your child is a senior in high school – do you go?• What would you do? • Move or be fired?• What are some of the choices that you have?• Would you move away from your parents and

friends for a good paying job?

What would be your decision?

• Would you work a job where you developed no personal friendships?• Would you work a job where you were never by yourself?• Would you work a job where you were always by yourself?• Would you work a job where you had to compete for everything?• Would you work a job where you made no decisions?• Would you work a job where you had to make major decisions every

day?• Would you work a job where you had no time freedom?• Would you work a job where you received no recognition for your

accomplishments?• Would you work a job where you did the same thing every day?• Would you work a job where you had no excitement?• Would you work a job where you were under stress every day?• Would you work a job that you loved but it paid very little?• What conditions would keep you from looking at a particular job

opportunity?

What do you think?

• Would you work at a location where you had to pay for parking?

• Would you work at a job that you had to commute 45 minutes each way?

• Would you work at a job was out of town?• Would you work at a job where you had public

contact daily?• Would you work at a job where you were required

to help others?

You future – Where will you be?

• Your future - Your choices are up to you!• Learn to make responsible decisions• 1. Define the problem• 2. Gather Information• 3. Evaluate Information• 4. Select Best Choice• 5. Take Action• 6. Review Choice

Evaluation• Make a list of the topic items listed in this PowerPoint.

Write the hardest decision or question that you can think of that you might have to make in the future for each one of them. You may use any of the ones from this PowerPoint or you may think of some on your own.

• You will not have an answer to the questions now but need to know that people must make hard decisions daily. Someone in America has had to make these decisions while you have been working on this assignment.

• Turn in your list of 20 questions and label it as “Hardest Decisions”

Decision Making

• Do not make decisions that are not yours to make.• When making a decision you are simply choosing from

among alternatives. You are not making a choice between right and wrong.

• Avoid snap decisions. Move fast on the reversible ones and slowly on the non-reversible.

• Choosing the right alternative at the wrong time is not any better than the wrong alternative at the right time, so make the decision while you still have time.

• Do your decision making on paper. Make notes and keep your ideas visible so you can consider all the relevant information in making this decision.

Decisions• Remember that not making a decision is a decision not to take action.• To be effective a manager must have the luxury of having the right to be wrong.• Trust yourself to make a decision and then to be able to field the consequences appropriately.• Don't waste your time making decisions that do not have to be made.• Determine alternative courses of action before gathering data.• Before implementing what appears to be the best choice, assess the risk by asking "What can I think of

that might go wrong with this alternative ?"• Many decisions you make are unimportant-about 80% of them. Establish operating limits and let your

secretary or others make them for you.• Consider making the decision yourself in lieu of a group, but recognize the potential for less commitment

by those affected.• As part of your decision making process, always consider how the decision is to be implemented.• As soon as you are aware that a decision will have to be made on a specific situation, review the facts at

hand then set it aside. Let this incubate in your subconscious mind until it is time to finally make the decision.

• Once the decision has been made, don't look back. Be aware of how it is currently affecting you and focus on your next move. Never regret a decision. It was the right thing to do at the time. Now focus on what is right at this time.

• Mentally rehearse implementation of your choice and reflect in your imagination what outcomes will result.

• Brainstorming alternative solutions with your staff or others will gain fresh ideas and commitment.• Discontinue prolonged deliberation about your decision. Make it and carry it through.• Once you have made the decision and have started what you are going to do, put the "what if's" aside and

do it with commitment.

Decisions

• Be sure to choose based on what is right, not who is right.• Write down the pros and cons of a line of action. It

clarifies your thinking and makes for a better decision.• Make decisions as you go along. Do not let them

accumulate. A backlog of many little decisions could be harder to deal with than one big and complex decision.

• Consider those affected by your decision. Whenever feasible, get them involved to increase their commitment.

• Recognize that you cannot know with 100% certainty that your decision is correct because the actions to implement it are to take place in the future. So make it and don't worry about it.

Think about it!

• You've probably been taught not to stereotype people based on race, religion or sex.

• But when you make a career or business decision, do you still make decisions based on stereotypes?

• Start making the correct decisions for you and your future.