Academic Session 2019 MPU3223/03 Decision Making Skills Assignment

This assignment solution for MPU3223/03 Decision Making Skills covers key concepts in decision-making. Solution 1 explores the effects of stress on group decision-making, providing examples of how stress can negatively impact productivity and proposing methods for managing stressful situations. Solution 2 addresses active versus passive approaches to decision-making, highlighting the factors that lead to passive choices and offering strategies to avoid them. Solution 3 delves into the role of intuition and systematic problem-solving, defining intuition and illustrating it with a personal anecdote, while also detailing the benefits of using a systematic approach to tackle daily challenges. The document includes references to support the arguments presented.

1
Academic Session 2019
First Semester
MPU3223/03 Decision Making Skills
Student Name
University Name

2
Table of Contents
Solution 1………………………………………………………Page 3-4
Solution 2………………………………………………………Page 4-5
Solution 3………………………………………………………Page 5-6
References………..…………………………………………….Page 7

3
Solution: 1
(a) The three effects of stress while making a decision in a group are as follows:
1. Stress plays the major role in people life in making good decisions. Stress makes people to
take decision which may have negative effect on them.
2. Stress makes people see other things as same as they thought which they see as more
complicated to them whether in general they are not. This makes them to take conservative
decision which can be risky and makes then vulnerable to loss.
3. People loose self-control due to stress becomes incompatible of doing things which earlier
they were good at. (Liz Ryan - Reinvention Roadmap)
(b) Example: The assignment submission date was closing and work was not finished yet. As
one group members was not well and was hospitalised. In group each member were assigned
a different part of work, each member was precisely doing what is assigned to them and in
the while when the assigned task was at final stage team members contacted each other about
the compiling of the information which is final, then the one the team members informed that
he was not able to finished his task as he was not well and was even hospitalised for few days
so his part of assigned task is not completed yet. It created a situation of panic among the
group members as deadline line was just two days away from the deadline when the group
got aware about it. Which resulted in hampering the group productivity as some members
was yet to bring their work at final stage before compiling.
To manage the situation a group meeting was organised describing the work given to
particular team member who was not well, then the time taken to finished that task was
discussed and the components of work was segregated among team members so as we can
utilise minimum time. Under pressure team started working together some members were
proving information by doing research and some was collecting that information and editing

4
it for final submission. As a group work it was sorted easily on the very same day and team
members’ complied task given to each member for the final report.
 Assigned task to group member was not finished
 Stress was increased at the situation when the members realised that partial work is
not done.
 To manage the situation a group meeting was organised describing the work given to
particular team member who was not well, then the time taken to finished that task
was discussed and the components of work was segregated among team members.
Solution: 2
(a) An active approach to making non-decision-making decisions is checking the available
options with us, analysing the negative and positive aspects of that opportunity and then take
step. For improvement in life we have to make decisions and create the option which is best
suitable for that we have to make active decision in our life.
For example: Rohana has changed 3 carriers and has lived in three major cities.
(b) Reasons why people choose passive path:
(1) The first reason is the fear of change: Adaptability is the major concern which makes
people fear the change, people resist the change and stick onto same place. After examining
the elusive concept of change of decades, experts agree on one thing: organizations will have
to change or they will be destroyed.
(2) Satisfaction with what you do also sets an example of non-decision decision. In this
scenario they avoid situation which can benefit more or provide better opportunity in their
carrier. Some people get trapped in this scenario and losses better opportunity for them.
For example: Rohana was following her will and taking decision in her life which makes her
to lie in three major cities as compared to Fatima.

5
(d) We should take steps and avoid taking non-decision decision by awareness. By ignoring
scenario we do not take decisions which are required on that scenario.
The two ways we can avoid taking a passive path are:
Choose fewer choices: If we have more choices than we will not choose them and will
remain less satisfied. To avoid this scenario we should limit our choices.
If you're not an expert, ask one: While taking decision if you are not familiar with the
situation or not having experience related to that scenario, we should approach towards the
personal that have similar experience and gain help.
Solution: 3
(a) Getting knowledge of something which we have not done previously and though you got
to know it is wright or wrong that is your intuition. The first impression which your mind
creates when you are in something new is called as intuition. Intuition can be defined as a
sixth sense in your body which warns you or make you alert with something.
( LoisIsenman Understanding Intuition, Pages 51-79)
(b) A few days back my neighbour approached us to buy our house, we never posted
anywhere or tell someone about to sell it, we were surprised by this though we asked the
price which he was willing to offer as an example of estimation of cast which he thinks it
is of worth, the price which he offered was not even worth taking about the deal, my
intuition told me that this house is way more worth than what he have offered, we
discussed among each other for the price and called a real estate agent, the response was
good from agent as he mentioned the property cost almost double which the neighbour
has offered. Though we did not sold the house but it was my intuition which helped us not
getting into the trap of our neighbour. (LoisIsenman Understanding Intuition, Pages 133-
154)

6
(C) Systematic problem solving is the method which is previously applied on that process
or a common way to deal with certain issue and to adopt it. This remains same for all
similar issue.
Examples of Systematic approach:
(1) The way i have utilised or systemised my daily schedule or time table, on a daily basis
i have certain task which earlier used to be hectic and messy for me as i was not able
to manage whole things together and sometimes things were also left undone. This
was a lot increasing stress level on me it resulted in lower health and higher mental
stress. While following the systematic approach i have fixed time for each and every
thing on my daily scheduling from waking up to having breakfast attending college or
going to part time work i have continued it for more than a month and changes i can
observe is that now a have some time left in my daily schedule to relax or exercise or
read a book whatever it feels life. This could not have been done without following
systematic approach.
(2) Secondly the systematic approach which I used is in money which i have. Earlier i
was not calculating my expenses and was not buying things properly which would
have saved me a lot more money which I used to spend. One day i started to calculate
the debts which have occurred due to this approach or habit, then I started using and
following systematic approach, I have fixed my expenses on particular item, and only
buy things on particular days which there is certain discount on them. Following this
pattern helps me and the improvement is showing as now i am debt free using this
approach. The results are amazing i would suggest everyone to use this approach.

7
References
LoisIsenman. (2018) Understanding Intuition: Mental Imagery, Imagination, and Intuition, a
Journey in and Out of Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814108-3.00003-8
Ryan. L (2018) Reinvention Roadmap: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/10/28/ten-
reasons-successful-people-change-jobs-more-often/#6f1091ed2eba
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001704.htm (The link is not working now)