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Grant Writing
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Decision Making Methods There are five methods of decision making control, which are: Habit - You make decisions to do things like you always have done them. Impulse - You get some sudden unexplainable urge to decide to do something Imitation - You do it because everybody else does it or does it that way. Default - You decide to do nothing (It is still a decision) Strategy - You follow a very strategic, informed and methodical process of decision making and problem solving Examples: 1. Habit - You follow the same decisions and practices you have traditionally done, because they have been successful. Or conversely, you decide to try the same old fund raising methods, even though each and every year the numbers for gross sales and profit margins have been steadily in decline. It has been said that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a form of insanity. Still, the decision making method, good or bad, is habit. 2. Impulse - You see a picture of a new piece of fire apparatus or equipment and you quickly get out the department's checkbook and buy one. 3. Imitation - Engine Company Beta does it and so does Truck Company Charlie, so we'll do it too. "Monkey Business" - monkey see/monkey do. This can be good decisions and bad decision, or deciding to do something that others are doing, even if you don't know what all they may be doing behind the scenes to make their decisions successful with the desired and measurable outcomes. 4. Default - You decide it is too much work and you already know every reason why the idea won't work, so you decide to do nothing. 5. Strategy - You follow a process of defining the problem, who has the problem, gather information, look at all of the alternatives, predict all of the outcomes (positive & negative), you examine the risk, you make a plan and you get up off of your fanny and act on that decision, when the time comes to do so. As with decision making limits, you can employ more than one decision making strategy at the same time, however, one method will always prove to be the predominant method. Example 1: A member comes in after considering a problem that has long been plaguing the fire department and doing a bit of research and thinking, has a well thought out good idea of how to do things a bit different to improve the fire department. The fire department has a long standing tradition of doing nothing, when it comes to new ideas, because they have always followed what others have been doing as a traditional fire department practice. Here you have three (3) of the 5 decision making methods being employed (default, habit, and imitation). Which of these is the predominant decision making method employed by the company under this situation? Example 2: A chief is in command of a fire scene, when the fire breaks through the roof. He decides to suspend the roof ventilation attempt (no longer needed), pull his interior attack units out, and do a surround and drown, because the integrity of the south wall is also now suspect. What decision making method(s) has the chief used in making his decision? Are there a number of decisions, each using different method(s) of decision making? What other subsequent decision(s) might the chief make and what methods would best describe these decisions? Exercises: 1. Think of an example of a decision that was made by your company using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past month. 2. Think of an example of a decision that was made by your company using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past year. 3. Think of an example of a decision that was made by another officer, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past month. 4. Think of an example of a decision that was made by another officer, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past year. 5. Think of an example of a decision that was made by you, as an officer, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past month. 6. Think of an example of a decision that was made by you, as an officer, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past year. 7. Think of an example of a decision that was made by you, as a simple person in your personal life, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past month. 8. Think of an example of a decision that was made by you, as a simple person in your personal life, using each of all of the five (5) methods of decision making within the past year. Last modified: August 06, 2008
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