A632.2.3.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

“The key to getting the most from choice is to be choosy about choosing.”

— Sheena Iyengar

Sheena Iyengar identified four methodologies in order to better assist us and improve our experience in choosing and they are to:

1.      Cut

2.      Concretize

3.      Categorize

4.      Condition

Her first methodology is to cut your number of choices as less is more. To make good decisions we need to have less to choose from because this allows us more time to make better informed decisions when there is less to analyze. The second methodology is to concretize or identify the consequences of the decision. If we can feel and see the consequences we are more likely to make better decisions. Her example was an ATM card versus cash. People typically spend less when they use cash because the ATM card makes money feel less real. Having the cash in our hands allows us to see and feel it thus we are less likely to let it go because we know the consequence will be its gone. If we can make the decision more concrete we can better understand the consequences of the decision because we can vividly see the decision being played out.

The third methodology is to categorize. Categorizing optional choices allows us to find similar characteristics within the choices and group them together so that we can see more categories and fewer choices. Categorizing choices help us tell the choices apart from one another.  Once we categorizer our choices we can then identify which one we connect with.  Her final methodology was to condition our choices. If we gradually increase our amount of choices from easier to harder it will allow us to prepare for the choices to come and remain in engaged in the decision process.

Cutting is a decision process I use every day in both my personal and professional life. Personally I struggle when presented with a number of choices and I feel myself avoiding the decisions or putting them off until the very last minute where I usually panic and make an uninformed unorganized decision. Recently I had my daughter’s first birthday party at my house and we were in the market for outside couch cushions. Although this is a very easy decision for most I wanted to shop around to find the best price and nicest design. I went to Lows, Home Depot, Target, and Wal-Mart and I also looked online for these couch cushions. I was torn between patterns and styles because the prices were very close. I waited until the day before to finally buy the cushions and I felt very stressed and anxious every day until I purchased them. I had presented myself with too many decisions! If I would have narrowed my search down to only two places I would have made my decision a lot faster and been happy with the results.

Professionally my organization has cut the amount of lender options for our students to borrow from. Students only have the option of Direct Loan Lending. We only offer our student direct subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans and I see that only having one option makes the borrowing process more efficient and more successful. They have the best overall option if they choose to borrow Title IV funds. However if they choose to use a private lender they are faced with a number of options. Having only one choice or independently having to go find a lender requires time and research as well as a credit check which can be a negative variable within the process.

Categorizing is another decision methodology I use daily both personally and professionally. Personally I categorize my priorities and how I allocate my time. My number one priority is my family; then work and lastly school. My priorities are arranged by the value each of the categories means to me. Nothing is more important to me than my family so if I have to choose, I always choose my family. I think about how my decisions will affect my family and I try to spend most of my time with them. Second work is my priority because without it I cannot support my family. My last priority is school only because the other priorities don’t allow me much personal time to spend on what I choose to do and that is better educate myself.  

Professionally I categorize my students in order of priority. If I have a student about to start class and their verification is not complete I will choose to process their verification sooner than someone who is not yet enrolled for a term. I will also answer emails that are marked high importance or from upper management prior to answering in date order. Emails and calls are also answered in order of priority and the situation. Many cases I have spoke with a student for the first time and processed their verification all in the same day of informing them they were selected simply to get them processed so they can start class days later. I make their priorities my priorities because I try to do everything I can to resolve their problems to make their financial aid experience better.

Sheena’s presentation was very informative but it also stated the obvious. She is a great speaker and going forward I plan to refer back to her four methodologies I even created the saying to better remember them “before I decide I need to cut it, make it concrete to categorize and condition”.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose.html

A632.1.4.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

Decision making is something I sometimes struggle with, I tend to feel torn between what I want, like or need with what the person I am with may want, like or need. The only good decisions I do not struggle with are the ones that involve predictable outcomes. Once I make a decision I almost always feel confident within the decision made; however the process of deciding is a back and forth of the pros and cons. Whenever I am faced with a big decision I will analyze all the possibilities of what if? What could happen if I decide to do this? Who will be affected by my decision? Will this benefit me? What will my future be? I have been told I am an “over analyzer” and that if I could just relax I would be less stressed, but I do not know how to just relax?

I am a person that goes with the flow but when I know a decision needs to be made that might affect others as well as myself I take it very serious. For example I worked in a management position at my father’s company. I was hired as a secretary right out of college. After working there for a year our office manager was caught embezzling money and was fired immediately and another employee was thrown into the position. She was not happy and eventually quit after a year and that is when the position was handed to me. I was happy to have new responsibilities however I was not given a secretary to help me of all my previous responsibilities. The one positive was that I was working directly with my dad and he was training me in a lot of areas I knew would be beneficial in my future professional career.

After only 6 months in the position my dad was given the boot by the two brothers he partnered with. With the financial hardships many Americans were facing we were no different at CCR Total Turf Irrigation. The economic situation turned friends into enemies. The brothers were more worried about hiring on family members who were not making good decisions which was costing the company a lot of money and my dad disagreed and this caused conflict, and eventually an eruption. When my dad left I was alone to pick up the pieces. Responsibilities were again passed down to me causing me an extreme amount of stress. The stress started to take a toll on my family life as my dad was in a bitter feud and I was unable to find a job. I felt stuck. I finally decided to start applying anywhere and everywhere, and that is when I received a call back from ERAU.

It was a miracle to hear back because I knew the first time I applied 3 months prior I heard nothing but this was my shot to get my “big girl job”. After my first interview I felt like I nailed it. I was called back for a second interview and this one made me very weary but I was told I was selected for a third interview. On December 24, 2010 I was at my company Christmas party sitting alone inside while everyone was out drinking and eating when my phone rang and it was Annamarie telling me I was the chosen one. I wasn’t required to come in again because they wanted to hire me! I felt at that moment a sense of relief, I was ecstatic and nervous! I started imagining my life at that moment and decided to take the job.

All those days alone in the office allowed me to think about what I wanted to do with my life and where I could go. I imagined my family life being a lot less stressed. I imagined myself feeling confident and a sense of fulfillment.  Deciding to look for a job was very hard for me at first because I felt bad leaving them with no one to fill my shoes. I was literally the only person who could reconcile, run payroll, complete timesheets, and pay the bills and or anything that really involved the office. I single handily did the entire operation and I didn’t receive any feedback, any appreciation or anything to make me feel as if I mattered. When I tried to talk to them about a raise they told me I was making good money for a secretary, which is because I was still being paid the same amount I was when I was a secretary. I was appalled because I was the only person in the entire company with a college education. That is when I made the decision to look for a new job where I could be surrounded with people at the same level. The pros were: organized environment, team mentality, education was important, better pay, benefits (I was currently not receiving any) and room to grow. The cons were: new place so I was scared to change, the drive was further, and I felt bad because I knew they needed me. Overall after working at ERAU for two years now I have never looked back accept to question why it took me so long to make the move.

My decision making process is scattered and usually made with a lot of my emotions and intuition. Wharton discusses the power of reasoning in multi-decision making and there is success in his results. Using the research conducted to solve multistage problems through the application of formulas that provide the most significant chance of success was very confusing for me to understand. I reread the chapter many times and my overall take on what he was trying to convey is that if a person can identify a course of action that will produce the best outcome in the future it is the best decision. Basically people are stuck thinking about only today, when just satisfying the needs of today doesn't always satisfy the needs 20 years from now. If you can gather enough data or knowledge to test the hypothesis you are better equipt to make a dynamic decision.

Going further form here on out I want to make better well informed decisions everyday not just when I feel it matters the most. The Decision Making Quiz gave me insight on the many flaws I have. My results concluded that my decision making style is holding me back from experiencing my full potential and capacity for happiness. I need to change my patterns and be more open to new opportunities I might normally overlook. In the future I am going to try and critically think, not over analyze the problem at hand. I will assess the implications of the problem. I will zoom out and look at the big picture to get a different perspective of the situation. Seeing a clear picture of the ideal outcome will allow me to make choices in order to get there. I will still weigh the pros and cons because this makes sense to me. There are always advantages and disadvantages and like Wharton discusses I will need figure out if I’m willing to lose one thing in order to gain another. Once I have gathered all my decision policies I will act on my decision.

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. (1st edition.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.