# Decision Making and Problem Solving Course (Self-paced)

Canonical URL: <https://www.graduateschool.edu/courses/decision-making-and-problem-solving-course-self-paced>

## Overview

This two-day course is designed for managers, supervisors, team leaders, members of any group, and individuals who engage in decision-making and problem-solving processes. Learn how to make thorough, impactful decisions and resolve problems constructively using the strategies in this course.

## What you'll learn

- Promote inquiry as a productive communication mode.
- Improve the quality of decision-making of your group and in your organization.
- Use tools to obtain the data required to solve problems and support decisions.
- Manage Groupthink.
- Understand and effectively manage the traps of decision-making.

## Curriculum

#### Module 1: Environmental Considerations

- Define decision making vs. problem solving, how the two processes interweave, and why organizational climate and stakeholder perceptions matter.
- Compare individual and group decision making; consider styles and preferences (e.g., left/right-brain thinking and Vroom–Yetton management decision styles) and map key stakeholders and communications.
- Spot and prevent groupthink; run effective meetings; use questioning and facilitation techniques to surface assumptions and views.
- Apply ethics to choices—core values, quick self-tests (law, harm, newspaper, child, smell), major ethical frameworks, and the PLUS filter.

#### Module 2: The Process

- Follow an eight-step method: define the problem; set vision/objectives; generate options; assess merits; set strategy; decide; build an action plan; evaluate outcomes.
- Use practical tools for Steps 1–4: problem statements, Five Whys, visioning and SMART(S) objectives, brainstorming and cause-and-effect, criteria tables and force-field analysis.
- Plan strategy and assess risk (likelihood, impact, tolerance), and watch for hidden decision traps (status quo bias, anchoring, echo chambers, framing, and “hostage to the past”).
- Make and socialize the decision with Vroom–Yetton questions and tools such as multi-voting, consensus, and weighted “merits matrix”; recognize information-processing styles with Decision DNA.
- Execute through planning tables and mind maps; communicate progress; close with outcome evaluation, lessons learned, and a formal close-out report.

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $1049