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ERIC Number: ED249630
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1984
Pages: 37
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-87367-211-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Decision Making in Educational Settings. Fastback 211.
Sharman, Charles S.
This booklet reviews decision-making, an important part of administrative processes, from the perspective of school teachers and other educators. The two most commonly used processes are the rational decision-making process (identify the problem, evaluate the problem, collect information, identify alternative solutions, select and implement solutions, evaluate the decision), and the modified rational decision-making process (minimal problem definition, then solution decision). Good leaders should differentiate between routine and nonroutine processes. Nonroutine decisions are complex and require time and careful deliberation. Leaders have the power to make unilateral decisions, but doing so does not mean they will make good decisions. Experience shows better decisions are made when others are involved; whom to involve and when to involve them are important components for successful leaders. Herbert Simon's "Zone of Acceptance" model, posits a zone in which subordinates are willing to accept leaders' decisions without their involvement, as against situations where not being involved would fall outside their zone of acceptance. Speed and accuracy in decision-making are not always compatible. Other decision-making techniques outlined are force field analysis, brainstroming, minimal group technique, forced choices, compromise, and consensus. The booklet includes an exercise in which the reader makes decisions and compares them with correct ones, as well as a brief bibliography. (MD)
Publication Sales, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Eighth Street & Union Avenue, jBox 789, Bloomington, IN 47402 ($.75).
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Policymakers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Bloomington, IN.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A