A632.3.4.RB – Reflections on Decision Making
Stephen J.
Hoch and Howard C. Kunreuther (2005) defined frame blindness as the, “limited
awareness of the simplified core underlying our mental model of the outside world”
(p.1528). In other words, in many instances, leaders or managers suffer from
this so called “frame blindness,” which makes them see situations in a
narrowing outlook. It is imperative for those who are leading others to
understand their surroundings, and most importantly, to accommodate their
vision accordingly to the challenges they are facing. Moreover, people who
suffer from frame blindness tend to stick to old-fashioned manners that do not
help a company and even worse, they do not seek other’s involvement and make
decisions based on their own facts.
There are
many ways to avoid frame traps. As a general advice, “be on guard about the
false sense of completeness that any frame will offer. Try to see the gaps and
limitations of the frame as well as why it fits,” (Hoch & Kunreuther, 2005,
p. 1535) is one of them. Additionally, there are three ways to avoid frame
trapping:
1. See
the frame by conducting a frame audit: surface your frames, understand the
frames of others and appreciate emerging frames.
· I believe this is the hardest to accomplish.
While working, I am forced to work with a number of different people who
generally come from different backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, coming to an
understanding when it comes to making any decision can be really challenging.
It recently happened that my office decided to change the protocol to ordering
diabetic shoes for the patients. For many years, we have experienced a number
of problems in obtaining documentation by the doctor who is handling the patient’s
diabetes, whether the primary care physician or the endocrinologist. Therefore,
it took a good month to decide what the next protocol was going to be. Everyone
had a good idea, and everyone, including myself, believed their idea could work
the best. It took severe brainstorming; in other words, conducting a frame
audit of the frame to understand where everyone was coming from and appreciate
the overall conclusions we were obtain. In the end, the organization was able
to place a good working protocol for future orders and today; I can see how
everyone’s collaboration did merge a good frame. Nevertheless, I do not believe
this situation could have been framed any differently nor other tools could
have made any difference in the outcome.
2. Identify
and change inadequate frames: are your frames effective, observe the
symptoms of frame misfit, question your reference points, and recognize your
key assumptions.
· Identifying and changing inadequate frames is
very similar to conducting a frame audit, as it requires the reevaluation of an
existing procedure that needs some kind of modification. In this case, the
change happens after the protocol has been put into practice. For example, when
I first started my undergraduate courses, I did not have a good solid foundation
as to studying was concerning. I first began by reading every chapter I was
assigned to read and I thought that was all I need it to do. I believed that by
doing so, I was assured to have good grades but little did I know. Soon after,
I realized that my studying methods were not working, as I was reading
information but not putting it into practice; hence, I was not retaining the
information when testing. In order to succeed, I had to reevaluate my
situation. That is when identifying and changing inadequate frames took place.
I began a new plan that required me to do flash cards with definitions I came
up with and that is how slowly and progressively I started to improve my grades
and knowledge. It took a while before I was able to master my studying habits.
It was more of a trial and error way of understanding the symptoms of the frame
misfits.
Looking back, maybe this situation could have been
framed differently. The reason is
because while experiencing this problem, I was also experiencing a lot of
stress and doubting my intelligence. I wish I could have been able to see the
bigger picture and refrain from second-guessing my capabilities. Another tool
that could have helped me then was time management structure, which has always
been a struggle for me. If I had known how to manage my time slightly better, I
would probably had been able to read my chapters with more time, and maybe
retained for information for the tests.
3. Master
techniques for reframing: use multiple frames, look for ways to align frames,
change metaphors to regain control of a frame, challenge others’ reference
points, stretch a frame, build new frames for new situations, and speak to
other’s frames.
· Thinking “outside the box” has always been my
motto. I like to believe that there is always more to anything that what you
can see. Nevertheless, doing so is not as easy or simple as it sounds. When it
comes to organizations, we are faced with different problems constantly. It
sometimes feels as life is throwing your eggs and you have to manage to juggle
them with the only two hands you have. Needless to say, as you manage to do
such hustle, you also become complaisant and it becomes second nature. And that
is when looking at the bigger picture does not happen. As a medical assistant,
I am constantly training the new incoming M.A.’s and with that, come a lot of
problems. I have to constantly remind myself that just because I have been
doing my work a certain way for so long, it does not mean that a new person
cannot bring a new way of doing something to the organization. Other senior
medical assistants have a hard time letting go of their frames, and make it
really difficult to engage with the new ones. It is then, where I need to
interfere and look for ways to align frames, whether old or newer ones. Taking
such controls comes with challenges and sometimes; new frames are created due
to the power struggles between old and new personnel. This situation could have
been framed in a different way by accepting others ideas and opinions and not
getting fixated into old-fashioned believes. No other tool could have helped
this situation.
After this
exercise, I was able to understand that there is a huge dimension to decision
making and that it is not as easy as I thought. There are different tools that
could help leaders or anyone in particular when to making a decision but
ultimately, understanding your organization and the goals you want to reach are
the facts that seal the deal. Moreover, “many companies are turning to
cross-functional teams as an antidote to myopic thinking and frame blindness.
These teams can also serve a valuable role in identifying and addressing frame
conflicts” (Hoch & Kunreuther, 2005, p. 1549). In regards to the risk
implemented in my recommendations, I do not think there was ever a time I felt
any. I feel most of my recommendations were asked for and I always felt
welcomed.
In
conclusion, I was able to learn that I am not afraid to speak up when I feel a
situation requires reevaluation and that thankfully my job has permitted me to
do so openly. Additionally, I learned that I have to remind myself in some
instances, that having a different way of doing something does not necessarily
mean is wrong. As I am a creature of habit, it takes a lot from me to let go of
that and understand that sometimes, people have better or other ways to
accomplish the same results. Nevertheless, I feel like I have managed to
remember that and I have not had trouble with it.
References
Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making
decisions. (1st edition.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
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