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DECISIONS VS. OUTCOMES

Based on an exercise from the Advanced Decision Analysis course of the
 Strategic Decision and Risk Management Program at Stanford University

 

 

VOCABULARY – Definitions paraphrased from www.thefreedictionary.com.

 

DECISION:  “…a choice or judgment made about something…the act of making up one’s mind…to reach a conclusion and make a commitment to take action…”

 

OUTCOME: “…the end result of one’s actions…consequence(s)…”

 

CONSEQUENCE: “…what may happen as a result of one’s actions…”

 

DECISION VS. OUTCOME EXERCISE

EXAMPLES:

A good decision

Followed by…

A good outcome

A soccer ball is kicked over the fence and rolls to the other side of Lancaster Avenue. Johnny decides to walk on the sidewalk and cross at the light to get to the other side of the street.

>>> 

Johnny safely picks up the soccer ball from the other side of the street and returns to school by crossing at the crosswalk when the traffic light turns green.

A good decision

Followed by…

A bad outcome

Mr. and Mrs. B decide to have the old maple tree in the backyard cut down. The old maple continues to decay and the B’s wish to prevent the whole tree from falling on their home.

 

TA_maple

>>> 

The arborist (tree expert) loses control of a large limb of the tree. The limb falls cutting the cable and phone lines before damaging the roof of the family room.

Examples of bad decisions

Possible

Examples of good outcome

·         Throw a tennis ball over the court fence

·         Take shortcut against the flow of traffic

·         Dip a paint brush covered in blue paint into the yellow paint can

·         Leave your backpack open after school

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>>> 

·         Ball lands safely next to net for players to use.

·         Arrive early to an important meeting

·         Discover a new shade of green

·         Your library book falls into your lap for you to read on the ride home

Examples of bad decisions

Possible

Examples of bad outcomes

·         Playing with matches

·         Lying / dishonest

·         Cheating

·         Stealing

·         Foul language

·         Violent behavior

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>>> 

·         Fire

·         Loss of trust

·         Loss of learning

·         Suspension

·         Embarrassment

·         Injury

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Copy and paste the DECISIONS VS. OUTCOMES TABLE below into Word.
  2. TYPE your NAME and today’s DATE.
  3. EXERCISE your memory and imagination!  THINK of some examples related to the Greeting Circle, Haverford Pledge, and Fish for decisions followed by outcomes. Consider everyday examples at school related to the classroom, hallway, recess, Dining Hall, or carpool. You may use examples outside of school so long as they are simple and not too personal.
  4. TYPE your answers into your DECISIONS VS. OUTCOMES TABLE.
  5. SAVE the document as Decisions vs. Outcomes in your home directory.

 

You may copy & paste the header and table below into Microsoft Word:

 

DECISIONS VS. OUTCOMES TABLE

 

NAME:

DATE:

DECISION EDUCATION

EXERCISE TOPIC: DECISIONS VS. OUTCOMES

 

A good decision

Followed by…

A good outcome                        

 

 

>>> 

 

A good decision

Followed by…

A bad outcome

 

 

>>> 

 

A bad decision

Followed by…

A good outcome

 

 

>>> 

 

A bad decision

Followed by…

A bad outcome

 

 

>>> 

 

What is the difference between a decision and an outcome?

 

 

 

 

EXTENSION – Which one of the ten TALENTS do you think would help you make a good quality decision, with a good outcome?

 

ACHIEVING – CARING – COMPETING – CONFIDENCE – DEPENDABILITY – DISCOVERER – FUTURE THINKER – ORGANIZER – PRESENCE - RELATING

 

 

 

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