Delivering High Quality Services
- Introduction to the module
- Session One:Project Managment
- Session Two Project managment
- Session Three - Introduction to Clinical Governance
- Session Four - Clinical Governance II
- Session Five - Risk Management in Health and Social Care
- Session Six -Decision Making
- Session Seven-User, Carer and Public perspective
- Session Eight-People and Physical and Resources Management
- Session Nine-User, Carer and Public perspective on quality health and social wellbeing 2
- SessionTen- Budgeting
- Session Eleven- Deductive and Inductive reasoning
- Session Twelve-Clinical Supervison
Session Six -Decision Making
Session 7 – Advanced Decision Making
By the end of the session the student will be able to:
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Critically appraise the term decision making and comprehensively distinguish it from other terms such as ‘problem solving’
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Critically evaluate the ethical issues in evaluating and selecting from alternatives in the decision making process
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Analyse the various decision making models and their uses by individuals and groups
Learning activity
Identify the main areas of decision making you would be involved in on a day to day basis at work.
Reflect on the process in which you engage in making your decision.
“The decision making process begins when the individual perceives a gap between what is actually happening and what should be happening; and it ends with action that will narrow or close this gap.”Sullivan & Garland (2010)
The simplest approach to learning advanced decision-making is to integrate a model into the process and break it down into small steps. Sullivan & Garland (2010) provide 7 steps for decision –making that are said to be applicable to all decisions, whether personal or professional.
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Steps in decision making |
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1 |
Identify the purpose of the decision Why is a decision necessary? What needs to be determined? State the issue in the broadest possible terms |
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2 |
Set the criteria What needs to be achieved, preserved and avoided by whatever decision is made? The answers to these questions are the standards by which solutions will be evaluated |
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3 |
Weight the criteria Rank each criterion on a scale of values from 1(totally unimportant) to 10 (extremely important) |
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4 |
Seek alternatives List all possible courses of action. Is one alternative more significant than another? Does one alternative have weaknesses in some areas? Can these be overcome? Can two alternatives or features of many alternatives be combined? |
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5 |
Test alternatives First, using the same methodology as in steps 3, rank each alternative on a scale of 1-10. Second, multiply the weight of each criterion by the weighting of each alternative. Third, add the scores and compare the results. |
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6 |
Troubleshoot What could go wrong? How can you plan? Can the choice be improved? |
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7 |
Evaluate the action Is the solution being implemented? Is it effective? What has it cost in terms of time, resources and people? |
We do not always make decisions alone
Spend a few minutes revising:
Nominal group technique
Delphi technique
Brainstorming
Appreciative enquiry
Now reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of making decisions alone and as part of a group.
Questions to challenge you
Describe a situation when you made an important decision.
Reflect on the process you used to make the decision.
Apply what you have covered in this session to a decision you have made and apply these models to it.
