Dynamic Decision Making

Overview/Description
 Your decisions determine your life. Nowhere is this simple statement so unabashedly evident as in today's business world. Made consciously or unconsciously, your decisions represent the fundamental tool you use in facing the opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties of life. It's not a case, however, of "make a decision, any decision." The increased complexity and competition of the 21st century marketplace calls for dynamic decision making--the kind of decision making that significantly boosts productivity. The objective of this course is to turn you and others in your organization into dynamic decision makers. You'll gain the skills necessary to avoid the psychological pitfalls that adversely affect decision making. You'll hone your decision-making ability in risky and uncertain circumstances. You'll walk away from this course with concrete and powerful decision-making tools, both rational and statistical. When you use the decision-modeling techniques presented here, you'll enjoy enhanced accuracy and, hence, business confidence. Then, with these strategies in hand, you'll explore ways to better make decisions even when you're working with others who aren't completely "on your side." It's true that decisions determine your life. It's time now to better determine your decisions.

Target Audience
 Executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and other business professionals who want to enhance their ability to solve business problems and make effective personal and organizational decisions

Expected Duration
2.5 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Decision Making is Hard Work

  • recognize the value of understanding the factors that influence decision making.
  • select descriptions of sound decision-making principles.
  • match decision-making styles to their corresponding descriptions.

    • Decision Making in Action

  • recognize benefits of skillfully using decision-making techniques.
  • analyze the effectiveness of a PMI analysis used to evaluate a business decision.
  • analyze the effectiveness of an ease-and-effect matrix used to prioritize potential business decisions.
  • analyze the effectiveness of a team using the nominal group technique to make a business decision.
  • identify steps of using a return-on-investment measure to evaluate a business decision.
  • analyze the effectiveness of a devil's advocacy technique used to evaluate a proposed business decision.

    • Decision Making with Uneasy Partners

  • recognize benefits of effectively discussing potential business decisions with uneasy or competitive parties.
  • identify effective strategies for making compromises and managing trade-offs.
  • apply techniques to conduct a genuine dialogue about a business decision with another party.

    • Course Number: PD0234