Topic 1 Activities

This study guide provides an outline of the tasks required on a week by week basis to ensure you are able to achieve all objectives of the course.

You are able to print out each individual week (chapter) or the entire booklet by selecting the appropriate icon at the top of the screen.

The materials are structured into three key sections:

Pre-class activities

These activities must be completed prior to the seminar so that you are able to understand and contribute to the seminar activities.

Seminar and Workshop activities

These are the activities that will be undertaken in the face-to-face classes. External students will work through some of these activities in the weekly virtual classroom.

Post-class activities

These activities allow students to reflect on the theory learnt throughout the weekly pre-class and during class activities. This will take the form of minute papers, online forums or assessment activities.

This week you are introduced to the basics of problems and decisions. It is imperative at the end of this week that you are able to:

• determine the difference between a problem, a symptom and a constraint
• apply the generalised approach to problem solving
• distinguish between the different categories of problems
• apply a strategic approach to decision making

1. Read the following chapters/papers

Course e-Reader

Problem solving and decision-making, Chapter 2 pp. 13-32 from

Monday, A & Banks, D 2004, Decisions, Decision Makers and Technology Support, 3rd edition, Pearson SprintPrint, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

2. Watch the Problems and Decisions concept video

Problems and Decisions

3. Watch Symptoms video below. Identify the difference between problems and symptoms.

4. Research your allocated organisation as per the introductory email you have received. You need to identify problems encountered and decisions made by your organisation in the last 6 - 12 months.

5. Print out case study for workshop activities.

Seminar

1. Watch Business Decisions video

1. In your Organisation team:
   1. discuss the decisions that have been made by that organisation in recent time and what problems that were related to them.
   2. consider the information necessary to make the decision that was arrived at.
   3. in your opinion, was the correct decision made - why/why not?

Workshop

1. How do you solve problems?
2. A series of problem solving exercises will be conducted in class  (internal) and online (external)
3. Complete activity 1 at the completion of the e-Reading.
4. Complete glossary activity - this week we will be looking at defining structured, semi-structured and unstructured problems (internal) and wicked problems (external).
5. Identification of problem types - using the case study from the pre-class activities. A brainstorming session will be undertaken in class.

1. Watch the course introduction video
2. Review the assessment 1 video and post questions on the Assignment discussion forum
3. Identify a situation in your work or personal life where you may have experienced an unstructured and/or a wicked problem. Describe the problem and the approach you would take to make a decision which would solve the problem. Internal students will discuss in the following workshop. External students will post their analysis to the Week 1 padlet page for discussion in following sessions.