A632.3.4.RB - Reflections on Decision Making

I like to say that each person sees the world through a different kitchen window.  Each person has a distinct viewpoint and perspective of the world around them. These distinct individual perspectives and viewpoints are known as frames. “Frames determine how we see the world” (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 133).  “Frames are the means by which managers make sense of ambiguous information” (Kaplan, 2008, p. 729).  Frames are important to the decision making process because “they simplify and focus our attention on what we deem is most relevant, making it possible to decide more quickly and efficiently than with widespread attention” (Hoch, et al., 2001, p. 133).  Essentially, a frame is the “kitchen window” we look through at the outside world. It is the context in which we perceive, interpret, judge, act, and decide.

However, frames introduce certain inherent weaknesses into a way of thinking.  “Frames create highlights and shadows, focusing our attention on certain aspects of a problem while leaving others in the shadows” (Hoch, et al., 2001, p. 137). These highlights and shadows are known as framing traps.  Framing traps restrict our view of the world around us and cause us to ignore relevant information about an issue.  Frame blindness, one particular kind of framing trap, can cause decision-makers to use outdated frames, or fail to see that more appropriate frames are available (Hoch, et al., 2001). Shoemaker and Russo (as cited in Hoch, et al., 2001) suggested three steps to avoid framing traps: conduct a frame audit, identify and change inadequate frames, and master reframing techniques.

An essential part of avoiding framing traps is conducting a framing audit.  It is impossible to avoid something you are unaware of. An audit can help to bring frames to the surface.  One of the first college courses I took was a critical reading course. I recall a module on ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the human tendency to evaluate other cultures from the context of one’s own.  For example, a person from a culture that values large families may find it immoral that other cultures limit families to a certain number of children. I believe it was that module that helped me to understand that not everyone sees the world the same way; everyone sees it through a different kitchen window.  Because of that course on critical reading I have been much more willing and open to conducting frame audits and I have been able to discover times that I have limited myself to my particular point of view. However, it is not only people from different cultures that have different thought patterns and perspectives, each person is distinct in the way that they think and see the world.

A few years ago I had an experience that taught me the importance of identifying and changing inadequate frames.  At the time I was responsible for making task assignments to a group of volunteers. A close friend of mine came to me and asked if we could speak about her assignment.  She expressed to me how she was struggling and not feeling motivated to continue with the task and asked if she could be reassigned to another area. I responded by telling her how much we needed her particular skill set in the area she was assigned to and I asked her to continue with that task.  However, as days passed I felt unsettled about asking her to continue with an assignment she did not want. A few days after our initial meeting I asked to meet with her again and I told her that I had considered her request, and that she would be reassigned. We spoke for a few minutes and she said something that has stayed with me; she said that after our first meeting she felt that I was more concerned about the task to be performed than the individual people.  That comment gave me a new frame; it made me realize that my frame up to that point was task oriented and inadequate. My friend helped me to perform a frame audit and realize that I needed to change my inadequate frame and see things from multiple perspectives.

“Once you have surfaced your frames and identified potential weaknesses, you then need to develop the capacity to synthesize and create new frames” (Hoch, et al., 2001, p. 148).  Reframing is an important technique for leaders to master. When I was first asked to lead the group of volunteers I had no frame of reference for leading that kind of work in that capacity; I had to construct a new frame.  I spoke with as many people as I could that had previously been in my position to attempt to understand their viewpoints and what they felt was most important in that role. I learned many important lessons in a short period of time from those conversations that would have taken me months or years to learn on my own.  They helped me create a new frame.

I believe one of the most important considerations of complex decision making is the understanding that human cognition causes us to identify patterns.  It is part of how our brain works. Frames are developed from the patterns that we perceive. We should not necessarily work to prevent the process from occurring, but we should expand our awareness of the process.  Awareness can help us to overcome the traps that are associated with framing and limit our decision making. Awareness not only helps us to recognize that everyone sees the world through a different kitchen window, but it gives us the motivation to adjust or build new ones as needed.

References

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., and Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Kaplan, S. (2008). Framing contests: Strategy making under uncertainty. Organization Science, 19(5), 729-752,802. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/213830984?accountid=27203