Using Branching Scenarios To Promote Critical Decision-Making In Management Education

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Keywords: branching scenarios, decision-making, situation management

Abstract: There is often more than one “correct” way for managers to tackle workplace problems. Branching scenarios are useful for putting theoretical knowledge into practice through interactive navigation steps. They support critical thinking and develop decision-making skills. Branching scenarios, also known as branching storylines, have been used previously in leadership training and critical high-stakes settings where there may be multiple routes to the resolution of a problem. We will break the session into two major parts. First, we will discuss our reasoning and process for developing branching scenarios. Next, we will facilitate a branching scenario activity with the audience. We will simulate the exercise as though we were doing so with students. After the exercise, we will take questions, comments, and suggestions regarding our process for developing branching scenarios and how we might improve the exercise.