Course Description
Problem-solving and effective decision-making are essential skills in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing workplace. Both require a systematic yet creative approach to address today’s business concerns. This course will teach an overarching process of how to identify problems to generate potential solutions and how to apply decision-making styles in order to implement and assess those solutions. Through this process, you will gain confidence in assessing problems accurately, selecting the appropriate decision-making approaches for the situation at hand, making team decisions, and measuring the success of the solution’s implementation. Using case studies and situations encountered by class members, you will explore proven, successful problem-solving and decision-making models and methods that can be readily transferred to workplace projects. (3 credits)
Prerequisite
- None
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify key terms, styles, and approaches to innovative thinking, effective problem-solving and decision-making
- Explain both the affordances and limitations associated with problem-solving and decision-making
- Reflect on how mindset and personal bias influence your ability to solve problems and make decisions
- Explain and discuss how organizational decisions or non-decisions impact personal development, team dynamics, organizational innovation, and company-wide performance
- Articulate how both good and bad team decisions can benefit your professional growth.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Points |
|---|---|
Discussions (Weeks 1-7) (50 points each) | 350 |
Assignments – 5 Reflections (Weeks 1-5) & 1 Case Study (Week 7) (50 points each) | 300 |
Final Project Topic Approval (Week 2) | 25 |
Final Project Outline (Week 4) | 50 |
Final Project Rough Draft (Week 6) | 75 |
Final Project (Week 8) | 200 |
Total | 1000 |
Required Textbooks
Available through Charter Oak State College's Book Bundle
- Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2013). Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work. Crown ISBN-13: 978-0307956392
Additional Resources
- There will be two articles here for weeks 7-8, as well as several additional articles and videos interspersed in each week. I will add these to the syllabus as they are determined.
Course Schedule
Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
1 | 1,2,3 | Topic: The Four Villains of Decision Making
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2 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Widen Your Options
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3 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Reality-Test Your Assumptions
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4 | 1,2,3 | Topic: Attain Distance Before Deciding
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5 | 1,2,4 | Topic: Prepare To Be Wrong
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6 | 1,2,4 | Topic: Trust the Process
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7 | 1,4,5 | Topic: Overcoming Obstacles
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8 | 1,4,5 | Topic: Putting it All Together
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COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.