Decisions in Paradise Part II

Decisions in Paradise Part II Kava, an important tropical island nation in the South Pacific, overwhelmed with social, environmental, economic, and financial pressures. We are here at the request of the government of Kava, and with the support of its citizens. The Company is reviewing our ideas to relieve some of these pressures. Implementing some sort of youth-oriented work study and organized activity program, and investing to improve the infrastructure of Kava. Although these ideas are worthwhile, ideas without a plan to actualize them are just ideas. We assessed the effects of the problems, and we have identified problems we wish to solve. A decision, one way or the other, must be made. Several decision-making processes are available for use to determine the best course of action. The purpose of a decision-making process is to diagnose the issues needing clarification, identifying options and the impacts of those options, and finally to arrive at a conclusive decision. We will use the Six Thinking Hats technique to scrutinize our ideas and arrive at the best decision for the nation of Kava and its people. Six Thinking Hats is a decision making process, developed by Edward de Bono, which allows us to explore different points of view about difficult challenges (The de Bono Group LLC ). Seeing ideas from differing points is a sound strategy to follow when tackling complex issues. The Value Based Management (2010) website states that the Six Thinking Hats, STH, technique as the name implies comprises of six different points of view all demarked by six colors. The white hat is the thinking hat, is neutral, and focuses on what is known to find gaps in the available data. The red hat is the gut feeling hat, follows emotion, and intuition. The black hat is the pessimist, and sees problems in advance. The yellow hat is the positive thinker, and provides an optimistic view. The green hat is the creative hat that thinks of new ways to approach ideas. Finally, the blue hat is the process hat, provides overview, and organization. The STH technique will allow us to examine all necessary points of view of our solutions in a rational way, while allowing for an emotional component in a constructive manner. The first idea we landed on was improving the infrastructure of Kava. As was covered earlier, infrastructure is the backbone of any nation. How we tackle such a large undertaking is another matter entirely. As blue hat thinkers we would introduce the problem of Kava’s social and environmental instability, and the solution of improving the infrastructure to alleviate future upheaval. White hat thinkers present the facts. White hats know the history of Kava and the role catastrophes play and resonate around the world. White hat thinkers also recognize that stabilizing these basic systems would promote future economic growth. However, the white hat thinkers need to know what the geological, hydrological, seismological, and meteorological surveys uncover. To present sound engineering plans, variables need defining. Green hat thinkers could present plans to rebuild the infrastructure using sustainable, environmental technologies. Yellow hat thinkers would remind us of the positive effects these improvements would make for the worldwide economy. They could also present a way to ensure that construction contracts are awarded to companies that call Kava home. Black hat thinkers point out that this project going to cost a tremendous amount of money. Black hats are also critical of the lack of engineering preparation for a project this size. The red hat thinkers gut reaction to all this is positive. Red hats think the public relations benefits are huge, as long as we do not hurt Kava in the process.
The blue hat thinker wraps up the session by summarizing the above. The Company will pursue the unprecedented project of completely overhauling the infrastructure of Kava. All the necessary surveys and engineering preparation will be in place before beginning construction. We will take care to include sustainable, environmentally responsible products in all our projects in Kava. We will also take the steps to extend construction contracts to companies based in Kava, as long as these companies can meet our engineering standards. Finally, we will appeal to other companies with similar philanthropic goals as well as other international government legislations to help shoulder the load of this undertaking. The next idea open for discussion is to actualize a youth-oriented program focusing on education, job skills, teamwork, and discipline. The idea frames this plan around following the example of established programs here in America. Job Corps, and organized youth sports are the templates we want to follow. The blue hat thinker begins by introducing this idea, and asking for the other viewpoints. The white hat thinker knows that 50% of the population of Kava is comprised of people 15 years or younger. The white hat thinker observes that experienced personnel will need to obtained, to administer this kind of program. The green hat thinker shares that a good demographic to focus on for personnel is young adults ages 20 to 30. The green hat thinker postulates that young adults with the proper experience, and a heart for service would be ideal candidates to relate to the youth of Kava. The yellow hat thinker is appreciative of all these options and what a positive influence this program could be for the future of Kava. The black hat thinker reminds us that just because a program is successful in America does not necessarily indicate success in a completely different culture. The red hat thinker is excited at the prospect of contributing to the future of so many young people. If this project progresses successfully, it could be utilized in other developing nations. The blue hat thinker ends this session by wrapping up these points of view. The Company will explore the possibility of starting a Job Corps/Youth Sports program for the nation of Kava. We will conduct research to ensure this project meets the needs and interests for our target audience. Also we will begin a recruitment process to find motivated and experienced individuals to lead the program. If we execute this plan to our best abilities, this program could become the blueprint for successive programs around the world.
The Six Thinking Hats process keeps individuals from relying on a single perspective. We do this because it is impossible for one person to absorb all the necessary information to arrive at an informed decision. When faced with complex decisions, the evidence indicates that we are all prone to try to simplify the process by limiting our search efforts (Robbins, 2004). We fail to express all the complexities of a problem. This is why it is necessary to work through ideas using decisions making systems such as Six Thinking Hats. The decisions we made regarding the situations presented could influence the future of Kava for generations.

References The de Bono Group LLC. (). The de bono group - six thinking hats. Retrieved from http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php Value Based Management. (2010). Exploring different perspectives-six hats. Retrieved from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_bono_six_thinking_hats.html
Robbins, S.P. (2004). Decide and conquer: making winning decisions and take control of your life. Columbus, OH: Prentice-Hall.