A632.9.3.RB - Shuck, Allison

The Role of Emotion in Decision Making

Unfortunately, there have been many instances through my life where my emotions have driven my decisions; especially as a young girl. I have to say that as I get older, my decisions are less effected by my emotions, or not as effected as they were in the past. However, I sometimes still let me emotions get the best of me.

One instance when I lost control of my emotions was when I failed my statistics exam. I had been studying for days and could not understand why I did so poorly. After receiving my grade, I decided to go see my boyfriend, hoping that he would make me feel better. But, on my way home from my boyfriend’s house, I started crying hysterically; I was so upset, I could not function! And, on top of that I was not paying attention to what I was doing, thus I failed to yield to an emergency vehicle at a four way stop.  Consequently, I got into a car accident and it was all my fault. Needless to say, the outcome of this situation did not end well.

Another instance when I lost control of my emotions was when I found out that my younger sister was physically abusing herself. We were on a cruise and she was in her bathing suit; I looked down at her legs and noticed scares. As I began to ask her about it, she closed up and started crying. My fear for her well being made me frantic and as a result, I lashed out and embarrassed her. She begged me to stop talking about it and so it did. It wasn’t until we got home from the cruise that my sister agreed to talk to me about it. She expressed that she was hurt by others all of her life because she was overweight and that cutting herself made the pain momentarily go away. After hearing this, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to help my sister; my first thought was that she needs to see a therapist.  Unfortunately, my sister did not have insurance, so I began reviewing my employee benefits to see what I could do. Luckily, Embry Riddle offers a program called EAP (Employee Assistant Program), where any member of my family, living within my household can use the benefit; so I had my sister move in and she got the help she needed. To this day, I am confident that my sister is on the road to recovery.

In both of these situations, I let my emotions cloud my judgment; I reacted out of character and hurt myself and others as a result. Luckily, in the second situation, I was able to make up for my emotional response by getting my sister the help she needed. 

A632.8.3.RB - Shuck, Allison

Reflections on the Cynefin Framework

After reading the article “A leader’s framework for decision making” from the Harvard Business Review, I have found three ways in which the Cynefin Framework can help a leader think more critically. One, it can help a leader develop new perspectives 2) it can help a leader embrace complexity and 3) it can help a leader address real-world problems. Given the fact that all situations are different form one another, it is important for a leader to be able to classify each situation in relation to the four categories identified in the Cynefin Framework: Simple, Complicated, Complex and Chaotic. By understanding the categories within the Cynefin Framework, leaders can identify the context of the problem, and began to determine how to handle it.

For example: one complex problem that I had to deal with was when I found out my sister was pregnant. Being that my sister is only 20 years old, has not finished school, and has yet to make a life for herself, I became overwhelmed. Unfortunately, situations like this are normal in my family and for some reason, they always seem to run to me for help. However, this problem was not so easy to solve. I knew that the decision to keep the baby was not mine to make. So instead, I did what any rational sister would do; I gave my sister all of her options. As I began to probe my sister’s reaction, I could sense that she did not want to have an abortion or give the baby up for adoption; she had every intention on keeping the baby. Once I knew of her intentions, I responded by helping her prepare for the hard, difficult life ahead of her.

Another example I can use to demonstrate a category within the Cynefin Framework, would be I can across the following complicated situation. While working at Security Financial Management, I was offered the job of Assistant Investment Representative, when the current Assistant Investment Representative decided to resign. Well, due to the fact that I was a full time student at the time, I felt the job would hinder my ability to make good grades; thus, I declined the offer. However, it wasn’t until the new Assistant Investment Representative was hired that I knew I had made a mistake; I instantly became jealous of her, angry that she was making more money than me for a job that I was training her how to do. 

Well, let’s just say that my anger got the best of me and I sent her a spiteful email, in response to the documents she put on my desk. The email message went something like this… “I expect you to complete the documents before you hand them to me for imaging”. Right after I sent the email, I knew it wasn’t going to go over well, and, just as I though it didn’t. The next day, I could since that she was mad or confused about the meaning of my email. However, before I could talk to her about my feelings, I had to analyze the situation and determine the reason behind why I felt the way I did. Once I gathered my thoughts, I approached her and asked her “if she was mad at me”. Oh course, she said no, but then began to question the intent of my email. As we began talking, I explained that I was jealous and upset at myself for declining the position. As I expressed myself, she began to understand my position and forgave me; to this day, we are still really good friends.

Just as a mentions in this week’s discussion board, the easy solutions are not always the best solutions when it comes to making difficult, life altering decisions. Sometimes, it is beneficial to step back and analyze the situation before responding. In other situations, “searching for the right answer can become pointless: whereas, the relationship between the cause and effect is simply unattainable” (Shuck, 2013). In any situation, it is helpful to gain an understanding the context of the situation in order to improve one’s decision making. As a point of reference, I have listed 5 ways in which the Cynefin Framework has help me improve my decisions:

1. Don’t underestimate complexity – meaning, don’t assume that thing are easy, just because they appear to be. 
2. Understand your constraints – if the information is not there, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
3. Think outside of the box – use your imagination to explore your options.
4. Self-Mediate – set aside time for reflection
5. Prepare for uncertainty – don’t get bogged down when you cannot find a solution.

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Collaborative Decision Making

Collaboration can be an effective means for finding a resolution. There is a lot of significant in obtaining advice and/or seeking counsel from a friend when making an important, life altering decision. For example, before when I was trying to decide whether I should take the position with Embry Riddle, I struggled for days. It wasn’t until I decided to contact my friend Wally for advice, that I reached a resolution.

Wally helped me outline the pros and cons of changing jobs. He told me that I needed to let go of my fear and consider all possible options; so that is exactly what I did. However, before I began, Wally told me that I had to start by determined what I wanted from my job: what type of environment, benefits, and salary, extra. Then, he told me to determine the risks if I were to leave and/or if I were chose to stay.  Once I determined the risks, he told me I could then began to list the pros and cons of each position.

Wally seemed to have his own a vision of resolution, much like the one I highlighted in the discussion board from Levin (2009). He helped me formulate a desirable outcome by giving me the advice I needed to work through my internal conflict. He helped me too: create a vision, address specific concerns/fears I had about each position, re-evaluate or adjust my vision according to my expectations, determine if my vision was workable, and bring light to what was missing; things I did not consider. Although Wally’s option of working for Embry Riddle was construed due to his job and the dismantle of the Space Shuttle Program, that did not prevent him from helping me create a vision of the future.

According to Levine (2009) “you collaborate in language by making implicit agreements (taking to yourself about what you think the agreement is) and explicit agreements (discussing the agreement with others)”. In the case, I reinforced my decision to take the job at Embry Riddle by discussing the situation with Wally and obtaining his input. To this day, I cannot think of anyone else more equip to give me advice, especially when the decision involves my career. Wally has always looked out for me and has always had my best interest at heart.

Overall, the lessons Wally taught me: letting go of my fear and considering all possible options, determining if my vision is workable and bring light to what is missing will help me when making difficult decisions in the future.

Reference

Levine, S. (2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

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The High Cost of Conflict

A few years ago, while working as a Financial Aid Call Center Specialist at Brevard Community College, I said something negative about the admissions department that ended up costing me a lot of hardship. Someone overhead me telling someone else that the Admissions department never answers their phone. Although this was a true statement at the time, I should have never said it. Word got to my boss, and I was reprimanded.

As part of my reprimand, my boss required me to: form long-term collaborations with each of my colleagues (I had to sit with each of my colleagues, teach him/her something new and learn something new about him/her), be responsible for my actions by writing a formal apology to the Admission department, fostering sustainable collaboration by reading and writing a review of Dale Carnegie book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, and learn through the resolution process by taking the Dale Carnegie class.

Although it may seem silly to write up someone, and make him/her do all of this for something so little, it was necessary; my attitude at the time did not reflect resolutionary thinking. I lacked the courage to connect deeply without others and avoid confrontation (Levine, 2009, Pg. 8). I often spoke what was on my mind and paid little attention to the effect it had on others.

This punishment, although costly, helped me to develop a new way of thinking; which in turn allowed me to develop new actions. By learning the how to form long-term collaborations, be responsible for my actions, forester sustainable collaboration and learn through the resolution process, I was able to gain a better understanding of how to master my emotions and overcome my weaknesses. Just as I stated in the discussion board,” the best way to overcome a conflict is through conflict resolution”. In this situation, I had to swallow my pride and learn from my mistakes.  If only I had learned known these principles at the time, I could have avoided this hardship. 

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Protected Values in Decision-making

According to Irwin & Baron (as states in Hoch, Kunreuther and Gunther, 2001), “people often draw a line in the sand to create values that are protected from trade-offs”. Meaning that people will go to extreme lengths to support their values, even if the cost is higher than the benefit. However, I do not feel that way. Although I have “protected values” my values are not set in stone. As the world evolves, so do my values. I change my values based on personal growth and experiences.

For example, most religious advocates believe that same sex marriage is an abomination, but that is not the case. I believe same sex marriage should be held at the same standard as conventional marriage; where both partners share everything jointly. Same sex couples can serve society by promoting stability within in economy; they are help more accountable for themselves and others. For instance, same sex couples would be required to pay joint taxes and be held responsible for all other joint responsibilities required by married couples. In addition, by allowing same sex couples to share health insurance, the amount of people uninsured within the US would decrease significantly.

Just as my values evolve over time, people have the tendency to reevaluate their values when they enter into a new relationship. For example, I use to be for gun control, until my boyfriend told me more about it. Now, I think that it is important to have the right to bear arms. For me, owning a gun is a symbolic representation on freedom; guns provide protection and deter people from invading your home, country, extra.  However, many people do not feel that way. Most people believe that gun control is required in order to prevent gun crime. When in reality, gun crime will be more prevalent if gun control is enforced by the government.

Look at Australia for example, they implemented a gun ban, in order to reduce crime, and to this day, gun crime continues to increase within the country. “In 2002 — five years after enacting its gun ban — the Australian Bureau of Criminology acknowledged there is no correlation between gun control and the use of firearms in violent crime. In fact, the percent of murders committed with a firearm was the highest it had ever been in 2006 (16.3 percent)” (Tschirgi, 2012). As you can see, gun control is not as effective a projected.            

Unlike most people who regret violating their protected values, I choose to reevaluate and even abandon my values as I see fit. For example, when I found out that my sister was pregnant, I reevaluated my outlook on abortions. Because my sister is so young and because she has not had the opportunity to make a life for herself, I chose to be prochoice. I became willing to stand by my sister not matter choice she made; whether she chose to get an abortion or not. Throughout life, you sometimes have to change your values when you feel that they will protect the ones you love. Thus, I think that all women should have the right to choose their own destiny.

When faced with a difficult decision, I often resort to my protected values before coming to a consensus. However, as I states before, my values have a tendency to change based on personal growth and experience.  

Reference

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C. & Gunther, R. E. (Eds.). (2001). Wharton on making decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Tschirgi, G. (2012). Do gun bans reduce violent crime? Ask the Aussies and Brits. Retrieved from http://www.captainsjournal.com/2012/07/23/do-gun-bans-reduce-violent-crime-ask-the-aussies-and-brits/

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Deception in Negotiations

Throughout my life, I have become quite the negotiator, so much so that my mom thinks I would be a good lawyer. It is default to say whether she is right or not, but the principle is still the same. I have learned how to negotiate with my counterparts using four varying tactics: beginning with extreme demands, threatening to walk away from the negotiation, sharing information voluntarily, making unilateral concessions. For example, when my boyfriend and I went to purchase a new car, we knew exactly what kind of car we wanted to buy and the price we wanted to pay for it; so we went to the dealership with extreme demands. Of course, we were willing to share our financial information with the sales manager in order to obtain negotiating power. However, after a few hours of negotiating, the sales manager informed us that he could not give us the price we wanted, so we decided to walk away from the table. Just before leaving, the sales manager ran after us and told us that he could stretch the figures in order to make it happen. At that moment, we were both able to reach a unilateral concession; the sales manager was able to make the sale and I was able to receive the price I wanted for the car.

During such extreme negotiations, like the one listed above, I have learned to ask direct questions, listen carefully, pay attention to non-verbal clues, keep a record of all quotes given and get things in writing. When dealing with a car salesman, one must be careful not to get to comfortable. It is easy to be misled and/or taken advantage of. For example, during this same negotiation, the sales manager tried to flip us into a different car. He told us that the car was “pretty much the same, it just didn’t have a sunroof or ground lighting”. But, after inspecting the car, we found that the car was actually an SV model instead of an SL. Meaning that it did not have leather seats, carbon fiber inserts, Bluetooth, tint, a sunroof or ground lighting. He was basically trying to scam us into buying a cheaper car. He even told us he could have leather put in the car, but we all know that aftermarket leather is not as great a factory. This is the point where we walked away.

However, I cannot fault the sales manager for trying to make the sale, I too have mislead someone before. When my boyfriend and I were trying to sell our truck, we omitted telling the buyer that the driver side window seal needed to be replaced, and that the rear deferential was leaking. Both are reality minor, but we still lied. According to Schweitzer: (as cited in Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001), “100 percent of negotiators either fail to reveal a problem or actively lied about it during negotiations if they were not directly asked about the issue”. This is exactly what we did, my boyfriend and I did not mention either problem because the buyer failed to ask about them.  

As I stated in the discussion board, almost every actions that is repeated is repeated based on personal gain”. Just like the sales manager, we did not think about our actions, we simply did what we needed to do to make the sale. And, unfortunately, if placed in a similar situation, our decision would most likely be the same.

Reference

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C. & Gunther, R. E. (Eds.). (2001). Wharton on making decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A632.3.4.RB - Shuck, Allison

Reflections on Decision Making

In this week’s readings, Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther discuss some of the hazards associated with "frame blindness"; as well as some of the ways to guard against it. They state that “even with the right frame for a particular time or place, one very often finds themselves trapped by their own success”. Thus, it is important to master ones frames by conducting a frame audit, identifying and changing inadequate frames, and mastering ones techniques for reframing.

Conducting a Frame Audit

When conducting a frame audit, one must be able to acknowledging his/her own frames, understand the frames of others and anticipate new frames.

To understand one’s own frames, he/she must be able to visualize them. To do this, one can draw a visual representation of the situation and list all possible outcomes. For example, if I wanted to create a market campaign for my company Ally Nicole Photography, I could start by examining my competition. I could draw a circle diagram that lists: objectives, concerns, or notions that are central to progress, core elements important to me, and elements received my client feedback.

To understand the frames of others, one must be aware of frame overlap and conflict. For example, if I am having conflict with my mother, I can ask myself what really matters to her. What does she mention most often? In order to effectively communicate with my mother, I must create an open dialog and attempt to understand her frame of mind.

To anticipate new frames, one must understand that that the world is constantly changing and so too are people’s views. According to Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther (2001), people are currently changing the way they frame important questions”, thus one must learn to adapt and respond accordingly.

Identifying and Changing Inadequate Frames

In order to identify and change inadequate frames, one must be able to observe misfit frames, determine whether his/her frames is effective, question ones reference points, and recognize key assumptions.

Observing misfits frames involves understanding that one’s frame of mind may be wrong, or at least not perfect. This concept has always been a difficult one for me to grasp, because I do not like to be proven wrong. However, trying an opposite approach has been proven to be successful. For example, when I was in high school, I use to only date guys who knew how to work on cars; being a huge fan of cars, I felt it was a necessity. However, when my friend Wally showed me how wrong my judgment was, my perception changed.

At that time, I knew that my frame of mind was not effective. To only dating guys who knew how to work on cars was silly. Thus, I began to question my reference points. Where did this necessity come from? Why was it a requirement? What did I like about those types of men? What attributes are good, bad? By evaluating my reference points I was able to recognize the key assumptions associated with how I think.

I learned how to filter and process my thoughts and change my frame of mind.

Mastering Techniques of Reframing

In order to master the techniques of reframing, one must surface his or her frames, identify weaknesses and develop new frames. The challenge however, lies in one’s ability to adequately choose the right frame for the problem at hand rather than using a particular frame out of habit. Normally, I fall into this trap, I tend to use the same frame when trying to solve a problem. However, I need to break that habit and start aligning my frames with those of others; this will help me to “think outside of the box”.

In any instance where someone uses descriptive imagery to describe a problem, I always try to imaging the problem in a different light. This helps me to fully understand the problem and define ways to solve it. For example, if someone way explaining a process to me that I did not understand, I could ask the person explaining the process to write it down, or I could ask someone else to explain the process to me. Either way challenges the other person’s reference point, shifting it and giving it dimension.

For the most part, frames are used to formulate ones thought pattern; however, most people prefer to only focus on the things that are important to them and disregard all things that are not; this frame of mind hinders one’s ability to succeed. According to Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther (2001), “the most successful entrepreneurs challenge existing frames and set out to demonstrate that the new environment favors a new and better business theory”. As a business owner myself, I find that using a combination of frames is more beneficial than one single frame of mind. One must be able to think outside of the box and speak to the frames of others.