Module 2 – SLP
DECISION-MAKING BIASES AND PITFALLS
We’ve all had experiences where we have been frustrated by a
decision that our supervisor made. You have probably blamed this decision on
your boss being “closed-minded,” “stubborn,” or “pigheaded.” But after reading
the background materials you should be able to more precisely examine and
define the precise decision-making biases or pitfalls that your supervisor
made.
For this assignment, think of three bad decisions that your
current or past supervisors made. For each decision, explain what bias
discussed in the background materials likely led to this bad decision. You must
use biases specifically discussed in Bolland and Fletcher (2012); Kourdi
(2003); or Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2008). For each of the three decisions,
include:
A) A brief description of the decision and why you think it
was a bad one
B) What kind of bias you think lead to this decision, and
why
C) A reference to one of the background readings from this
module
Finally, conclude your paper with a discussion about which
of the three readings from the background materials would be most useful for
your supervisor to read in order to help make better decisions and avoid
biases. Explain why you think this reading would be more useful than the other
two readings.
The paper should be 2–3 pages in length.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all
steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go
off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background
materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials
page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of
information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the
Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and
14 on in-text citations.
