Nine_Decision_Making_Steps

Dean Rea The Nine Decision Making Steps Looking at the Nine Decision Making Steps has made me re-evaluate how I handle all my decisions. After I had to decide to cause a family to be homeless, I began to rethink how I make decisions and what consequences they have. I learned that I could not only look at what initiated the problem, but also even the steps taken after the initial action. When I looked at problems in the past, I thought that sometimes I could take a shortcut and just look at the initial action of the problem. I have learned that just looking at the initial action does not exonerate the actions of the remaining parties. They need to take into consideration what they have brought to the problem just as much as the action of the initial problem. I have learned that all points of the problem are to be discussed and explained. A decision I had to make was to inform a person I considered my friend, allowed to live in my home as she waited on the building of her home they were no longer welcomed. The initial agreement was her family would be allowed to stay in my home for approximately two months with a payment of $300 per month. I asked my children to accept them as they waited for their home. This person has two teenagers ages 19 and 17, and I thought it would not be hard to have a peaceful relationship because we considered each other as sisters and our children as her nieces and my niece and nephew. I believed the problem was my children and I were miserable in our home because of their presence. The criteria and objective was to provide a roof for her children and her during the two months that they waited for their home to be built. She would financially assist by paying $300 per month to help with the fluctuation in the bills. She would live in the room downstairs and the children stayed in the living room. The problem began when the mother did not keep her financial portion of the agreement. The house was left in disarray on numerous occasions during their stay. Even though she did start paying in the second month of her stay, she was always behind. After five months of staying in the home, she had only paid $100 per month. I informed her that she will have to find another place to stay. The effects of the problem were that my children and I were living in misery and I was financially unable to continue to take care of them without her paying her portion of the agreement. My children informed me this mother was harassing them and coming into their rooms when she said that she was not harassing my children. When I realized that she had lost her job, I informed her that an alternative was for her to help in providing toiletries and items of that nature, but she never helped in that area. I also suggested another alternative by having her pay the bills equal to the amount of the agreement by the due date of the bills. This would show me that she has some intentions of doing her portion of the agreement even though she has failed in previous months. When she failed to pay the bills by the due date, I informed her that she was no longer welcome in our home. After we decided to part ways, she decided to bother my daughter and go into her room while I was ate a meeting and she was home sick. I then told her that she had to leave that day and waiting until the end of the month was no longer an option. Evaluating the effects of the problem and framing the alternatives of the decision was the hardest steps to complete. I realized how that my normal way of dealing with problems – finding what first happened – did not help in making a decision of this caliber. I realized that I had to look at every detail of the problem and consider the source over and above my own understanding. Once I realized that the problem went against who I am as a mother, I found it hard to make a decision, because I disliked the situation it caused – homelessness. Not only did I give her one alternative to the problem, but I gave her three alternatives before I implemented my decision. Measuring the impacts of this decision caused heartache on both families. My children were miserable, my finances were depleted, and a friendship was ended. I realized that she expected me to believe her over my children. Even when she lost her job, and I asked her to at least help with the purchase of the toiletries, which she agreed, she took care of her children but never once offered to my children. This mother expected me to continue to allow her to live in my house and not pay one penny of the agreement, continue to feed her children on a regular basis, and allow them to continue to leave my house in turmoil. For her family, they were again homeless and find a place to stay. The children would have to find alternative ways to go to school and work, and the mother would have a long commute to and from work because I was the closest friend that lived near her job. I do not believe she took into consideration what was going on when she decided not to pay toward the agreement that she made about her residency. Even when she made the agreement, she said $100 a week, but I reduced it to $300 a month, and she did not even try to abide by the agreement. When I look at the Nine Decision Making Steps and how they played a crucial part in this decision, I see how important it is to take each point into consideration and evaluate them to the fullest extent because the decision may mean a lost for the parties involved. That is why when we make a decision for our company, we have to use these steps extensively because the final outcome is to bring a profit to the company not a loss. We must learn to evaluate the problem and know all the alternatives before me make the final decision.