Knowledge Decision Making: Underlying Theme Parallels My Life (Essay Sample)

Management
Name
Institution
Knowledge-based Decision Making
* Self-reflective journey
Decision-making process can be likened to parenting where one’s childhood experiences have an impact on what the person does at the present. Therefore, it is important to reflect on experiences we had in childhood in order to make decisions about the decision-making practices we want to repeat (McLaren, 2015). I grew up just like any other child in our neighborhood. At an early age, our decisions were based on what would make us have much fun and satisfaction without minding its consequences. When our parents denied us something, they would use sweet and convincing terms and assurances to influence us to accept their decisions. Sometimes our parents gave us gifts for showing good behaviors and encouraged us to keep up with the spirit- this however motivated us. Therefore, we started making decisions knowing that any good deed would be rewarded handsomely. We also sought recognition from our parents as we felt elevated when the adults acknowledged good deeds. In those good days, acclamation by clapping would make us believe that one was on the top of the world.
* Decision making process
When time to join school came, we found ourselves in school but under a different supervision from what we got at home. This meant that the way we made a decision had to change and conform to the new environment we found ourselves in once we joined school. Since schools are compulsory for a considerable part of a person’s life, they can be regarded as one of the compulsory institutions for everyone (Zeldin, Christens & Powers, 2013). At school, students are given opportunities to make decisions at a very early age. At the middle school, students were presented with opportunities to make decisions. I remember how we always tested our seniors by parroting older adults including the teachers. We would say only the things we thought adults would like to hear and try our seniors by offering bizarre possibilities. Students also offered some form of resistance by refusing to do what teachers had taught them.
* Pattern and underlying theme that parallels my life
Schools gave us the opportunity to go through the process of decision making devoid of practical applications. The most practical decision-making opportunities were during the formation of student governments, school dances, and selecting the color of the school’s yearbook cover. However, schools did not give us an opportunity to decide on the school curriculum, term dates or policies with serious implications. However, students would make decisions that had a serious impact on their immediate peers and this showed maturity in decision-making processes.
According to Schusler, Krasny and Decker (2017), students are capable of identifying fundamental areas where decision-making occurs in their institutions; however, we did not participate in school’s education boards, school assessment, or grant making. Nevertheless, I do remember during one debate session, the school education board adopted for the recommendation that the students made. As senior students in high school, we kept demanding for rights to do everything we thought we were entitled to. However, the school management had a different approach of involving the students in decision-making, and students had decision-making opportunities however menial they looked.
* Values that have been revealed
Ford and Richardson (2013) posit that understanding values is important as it gives the purpose of life. Life was different at the college level where we got overwhelmed with decision-making opportunities because we had to make a career choice, scheduling our learning, making project choices, and other basic choices like lunchtime options. These types of choices gave us the opportunity to learn about the effects of decision-making on other people and decision making. This therefore taught me the importance of values in the decision-making process. People who lead from their values know what matters and always stand on their ground. Leading with value is not emulating successful people or being successful and having power. Value rather is a practice of recognizing what one values most and what matters and what one can stand for in life. Understanding the significance of value and knowing your purpose is a critical in decision-making process.
* Past decisions influence to the present situation
When I look back and reflect on my lifelong journey, I recognized that practicing on how to make decisions, could enhance a person’s decision-making techniques (Kaner, 2014). My past decisions have influenced what I am today because of the decisions I made when I was at the college level such as career choice, which helped me become a management professional. At the college level, the decisions I made about scheduling my studies helped me to succeed academically and to develop my career throughout my internship. I remember during my internship, when I added several sessions on time management that the company offered its employees. To date, I have become an expert in time management.
* Improving decision-making process
In my effort to improve on decision-making process, I have adopted a practical decision-making technique, which involves identifying the purpose of the decision, using evidence, and identifying the principle to evaluate an alternative among others. Identifying the purpose of decision one takes is critical because it is at this point that one recognizes the problem to solve and reasons for solving it (Kaner, 2014). This is followed by gathering information to find evidence that reveals the factors that the problem contains. Having standards to judge the alternatives helps to evaluate the solution available. I have learned the importance of brainstorming and having different possible choices in order to arrive at a favorable choice. The choice is evaluated in order to come up with the best alternative. The last step involves putting the decision into action by transforming it into a specific plan of action.
* Making of decisions without much further thought
The greatest...