Decision-Making Model Paper

Decision-Making Model Paper

University of Phoenix

Decision-Making Model Paper

A very straight forward Decision-Making Model was found online at the Berkely Career Center website (2006). The model deals with pros and cons as well as uncertain aspects that require more research. The research portion of the model includes sharing one's possible decisions with another person to get his or her outside view in order to help see more positive and negative possibilities of those decisions.

The model contains seven steps in which one lays out the pros and cons of his/her decision. Step one is to describe the situation by writing out the decision as if it were already made on the top of a sheet of paper. (I thought it necessary to also write out the overall goal of the process). Step two seeks to understand assets and risks by dividing the paper into two columns and labeling them, Pros, and Cons then filling in all the possible outcomes. So, in the pros column one should write out all the positive outcomes. Step three is to write out all possible negative outcomes in the cons column, and step four and five deal with the uncertain outcomes of your decision. When filling out the columns it is important to keep the end goal in mind.

The fourth step of the model suggests that, on a separate sheet of paper, one should write all possibilities that remain neither a pro nor a con and label that paper Uncertain. Step five helps to clarify the uncertainties of these possibilities. Step five instructs that one investigate those uncertain possibilities and consider, in detail, the effects that each could have on the decision. Several alternatives can be formed from the uncertainties as they are researched; however, the research itself is intended to help place most of the uncertain outcomes under either the pros column or the cons column. Should an alternative arise, a new page should be begun with that alternative at the top of the page as the situation. Step six takes research a little further and is actually a form of generic benchmarking. It explains that some of the uncertain outcomes will be hard to classify as a pro or a con and is intended to help one determine where to place them if research did not accomplish the task so as to avoid too many alternatives. In Step six one should speak with other people about his or her decision and seek their advice or guidance. Another person may have gone through a similar predicament and may be able to advise what type of effect an outcome may have. Step seven, the final step, occurs when one would consider all pros and cons and decide if his/her decision is sensible or not.

In my situation I have to decide what path I will take in advancing my career. I want to pursue a master's degree for several reasons: to increase my income, to create a more impressive rÐ"©sumÐ"© in order to open more job opportunities should I change careers, and to satisfy a personal desire of furthering my education. I am unsure as to what method I will use to pursue my degree, and what degree I will pursue. I have always considered studying business, even as an undergraduate degree, because I have always been interested in international relations and how the world works. However, in my current career I coach two sports and interact a great deal with athletes, so a degree in Health and Physical Wellness is also appealing to me. So, following this decision making model I have gone back and broken down the possibilities and critically reviewed my decision to pursue the MBA.

In step one, I take two sheets of paper and write my scenario at the top as a heading. I used two papers because I have two possible decisions for the method of which I could take classes; one: at a local university, and two: online. For example, the heading on both pages is "I want to pursue a master's degree while working", and on page one I wrote, "Taking night classes at a local university" and on page two I wrote, "Taking online classes" as my subheadings.

Then, I divide each paper into two columns labeled "Pros" and "Cons", and title a page "Uncertain" as described in step two. I then start with page one and fill in each column as well as the uncertainties as described in steps two through four. Next, I repeat these steps with page two. In my fifth and sixth steps I deal with my uncertainties, such as how I will perform in an online class, how beneficial it will be, and how much will it cost, by researching online and