Section II
Basic Management/
Personal Skills
Chapter 5
Decision Making and
Problem Solving
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A Decision-Making,
Problem-Solving Environment
• A problem-solving environment is made up of
– Diversity
– Disagreement
– Risk-taking
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Kinds of Decisions
• Strategic—executive level
• Administrative—middle management level
• Operational—first-line level
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Types of Decisions
• Command
• Consultative
• Consensual
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Whole-Brain Research
• Left-brain thinking
– Processes language
– Primarily logical
• Right-brain thinking
– Processes images
– Primarily emotional
• Whole-brain thinking
– Using both logic and creativity
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Emotional Intelligence
• The ability to recognize and manage one’s
emotions, as well as those of others
• The ABC’s of emotions:
– Activating events
– Belief and self-talk
– Consequences
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Basic Methods for Making Decisions or
Problem Solving
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Intuition
Snap decisions
Delegating
Not deciding
Using technology for decision making
Participatory decision making
Brainstorming
Focus groups
Groupthink
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Four Rules of Brainstorming
1. No one is permitted to criticize an idea.
2. The wilder the idea, the better.
3. The group should concentrate on the quantity of
ideas and not concern itself with the quality.
4. Participants should combine suggested ideas or
build on others whenever possible.
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Keys to Effective Brainstorming
1. Ensure that participants are prepared.
2. Write down all ideas.
3. Allow no criticizing of ideas.
4. Have a definite ending time.
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More Complex Decision-Making/
Problem-Solving Processes
• The seven-step decision-making/problem-solving
approach
• Force-field analysis
• The nominal group technique
• The Delphi technique
• A modified form of the Delphi technique
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The Seven-Step DecisionMaking/Problem-Solving Process
1. Define the specific problem.
2. Gather all facts concerning the problem.
3. Generate alternatives.
4. Analyze the alternatives.
5. Select the best alternative.
6. Implement the alternative.
7. Evaluate the decision.
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Force-Field Analysis
• Identifies factors that impede and enhance goal
attainment
• A problem exists when the equilibrium is upset
because more factors are impeding goal
attainment than enhancing it.
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The Nominal Group Technique
• An objective way to achieve consensus on the
most effective alternatives by ranking them.
• Some people work better by themselves than in a
group.
• Should be reserved for important problems that
really require consensus decision.
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The Delphi Technique
• A way to have individual input result in a group
effort
• Uses questionnaires completed by individuals
• Answers are shared and the questionnaires are
completed again until consensus is reached.
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A Modified Delphi Technique
• Presents a questionnaire that contains policy
statements representing key issues to be decided
and a response column with three choices:
– Agree with
– Not certain but willing to try
– Disagree with
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Problem-Solving Policing:
The SARA Model
1. Scanning: identifying the problem
2. Analysis: looking at alternatives
3. Response: implementing an alternative
4. Assessment: evaluating the results
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Federal Assistance in Problem-Solving
Efforts
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Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS)
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service
(NCJRS)
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Creativity and Innovation
• Creativity is a process of breaking old connections
and making useful new ones.
• We are all potentially creative people.
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Thinking Traps
1. Being stuck in black/white, either/or thinking.
2. Being too quick in deciding.
3. Making decisions based on personal feelings
about the proposer of an idea.
4. Being a victim of personal habits and prejudices.
5. Not using imagination.
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Mental Locks
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The right answer.
Play is frivolous.
That’s not my area.
Don’t be foolish.
I’m not creative.
To err is wrong
That’s not logical.
Follow the rules.
Be practical.
Avoid ambiguity.
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Killer Phrases
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Judgmental
Critical
Put-downs
Stifle others’ creativity
To handle killer phrases:
– Recognize them.
– Describe what is happening.
– Challenge the group to discuss whether they are true.
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Common Mistakes
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Spending too much energy on unimportant details
Failing to resolve important issues
Being secretive about true feelings
Having a closed mind
Making decisions while angry or excited
Not expressing ideas
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Legal Decisions
• Law enforcement officers and management must
consider if discretionary acts are within the law.
• Vicarious liability
• Reducing the occurrence of civil lawsuits
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Ethical Decisions
• Ethical considerations are important in decision
making.
• Is the decision ethical—morally right?
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Evaluating Decisions
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Consistent with the agency’s mission? Goals? Objectives?
A long-term solution?
Cost effective?
Legal?
Ethical?
Practical?
Acceptable to those responsible for implementing it?
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