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A632.9.3.RB - Role of Emotion in Decision Making_SharpMelissa

As I think about the most recent decisions I have made, I clearly see how emotions played a role in my decisions. The first is a situation in which I was extremely confident of the outcome and my attitude towards the subject. I have used this example a few times in this course, because it is one of the biggest adult decisions that I’ve ever made: a decision to buy a house. Though an exciting commitment, I knew the commitment to buy a house, was a big deal. I did not go into this process lightly. Before taking the more intricate steps, I talked with a friend who referred a realtor; it helped that I knew the realtor, thus, adding ease to my decision-making. I was passionate about this decision and as Professor Shiv (2011) noted, passion is very persuasive (Brian Research at Stanford: Decision Making). With passion and logic leading my decision, I was confident. Although I had never purchased property, I was confident about the outcome. My confidence in the outcome did not drive away the...
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A632.8.3.RB - Reflections on the Cynefin Framework_SharpMelissa

As I reflect on the different quadrants within the Cynefin Framework, I think that I find my daily decisions within the Simple Context. I constantly make decisions at work, and most of those decisions are simple; there are clear “known knowns” and decisions are unquestioned because my colleagues and I have a shared understanding (Snowden & Boones, 2007, para. 7). Our decisions are guided by outlined policies and procedures; our policies and procedures keep us on the same page. When we are in doubt about a work-related policy, we reference several forms for guidance (policy manuals, training guides, curriculum standards guide, etc.). Therefore, my work-life decision-making is typically simple because actions are straight-forward and there are clear cause-and-effect relationships that are easily discernable by everyone (Snowden & Boone, 2007, para.7). In saying that daily work-related situations are simple, I am saying that finding a solution is simple, even if there are comple...
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A632.7.3.RB - Collaborative Decision Making-SharpMelissa

Growing up I learned that family problems were just that, family problems ; we didn’t share family issues with outsiders as to “air dirty laundry”. Keeping family issues inside of the family was not a spoken rule, it was the understood culture of my family. I had a desire to defend my family, no matter the cost. Also, I easily justified our issues because things weren’t that bad. Ultimately, I didn’t want others to identify my good family as a dysfunctional family. Unfortunately, I took this same attitude into the workforce; I had an abusive boss, but I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t want others to think I was disrespecting my superior; I did not want the company negatively impacted, and I didn’t want to appear as a complaining employee. Because he worked in a separate shop and I didn’t have to see him every day, I pushed through bad times and kept moving forward. When two co-workers came to me with their issues (they worked at the same shop as my boss), I knew I needed to open ...
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A632.6.3.RB - The High Cost of Conflict_SharpMelissa

Communication is one of favorite topics. I value communication because I value listening to others; I value learning about others; I value sharing my story, and I value being heard. I believe that communication is a cathartic expression of story-telling through writing, words, silence, music, and so much more. I can think of instances when I’ve truly listened to someone, but I want to focus on a more recent interaction because I had this RB activity in mind. I had coffee with a friend this week; we hadn’t seen each other in about a month and we wanted to catch up. As my friend began sharing about her work and personal experiences, I paid attention to my behavior. I sat quietly and attentively as she told her story. Instead of thinking about my responses, I just listened. In actively listening (Improve Your Listening Skills with Active Listening, 2015), I noticed that there were moments of silence. Instead of being awkward, the moments of silence were purposeful. The silence gave my...
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A632.5.4.RB - How Protected are Your Protected Values?_SharpMelissa

Values that are considered absolute and inviolable are called protected values (PVs) (Hoch, et al., 2001, p.251). Protected values should be protected from trade-offs, as they are unbending beliefs (Hoch, et al., 2001, p.251). I am certain that I have several PVs, but for the purpose of this assignment, I will focus on three of my PVs and the beliefs that accompany them. First, I am an advocate for children, no matter the cost or sacrifice. This means that I will speak on their behalf; I will fight against child abuse, and I am a Pro-Life supporter. Most would support the first two beliefs within my PVs; however, as a Pro-Life advocate, I experience pushback. While I am not the person picketing in front of abortion clinics, I make political decisions in defense of children, first. Admittedly, this not an easy decision for me. I value many of the beliefs within the Democratic party and as black woman in America, the expectation is that my vote should be Democratic. However, when I ...
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A632.4.4.RB Deception in Negotiations_SharpMelissa

Negotiating can be challenging because everyone wants to win, and some will decisive others so that they may win. Thus, deception in negotiating is quite common. According to Hoch, et al., (2001), people lie in negations and are usually more comfortable telling lies of omission; lies of omissions are told when information is not revealed (p.189).  For example, my friend told me about a car-buying experience in which information about the condition of the car, was omitted. As a result, my friend paid for a car that was in bad condition; he bought a lemon. So, how do we avoid this kind of deception in negotiation? Hoch, et al., noted several ways for us to reduce vulnerability during negotiation; I will share four of those ways. First, we should ask direct questions (Hoch, et al., 2001, p.197). When we ask direct questions, we will most likely receive honest responses. I used to have a hard time asking direct questions as I didn’t want my directness to come off as accusatory; ho...
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A632.3.4.RB - Reflections on Decision Making_SharpMelissa

One year ago, I learned about the elimination of a volunteer-based program in my community; I had been a part of this program for approximately 4 years. Not only was I a participant, I was a part of the leadership team. About a year before the elimination announcement, we (leaders) knew that changes needed to be made; we just didn’t know what needed to change. As far as I know, none of us thought about eliminating the program; complete program-restructure was not in my mind. As I reflect on this experience, I will share examples of my framing traps. Citing Shoemaker and Russo, Hoch, et al., (2001) stated that too often, we look out at the world through one mental window and we fail to notice the views from other windows (p.139). When our mental window is locked-in to one view, we are experiencing frame blindness (Hoch, et al.,2001, p.139). As I process the news of imminent change, I could only see through one mental window. While I knew the program needed help, I never entertain...
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