Flowcharts
References
Landeta, J. (2006). Current validity of the Delphi method in social sciences. Technological Forecasting and social change, 73(5): 467-482.
Linstone, H. & Turoff, M. (2011). Delphi: A brief look backward and forward. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 78 (9); 1712-1719
*Rensvold, R. (2014a). How to draw a process flowchart [PowerPoint slides]. Available in OPM300 Introduction to Operations Management at Trident University International, 5757 Plaza Drive, Suite 100, Cypress, CA 90630.
*Rensvold, R. (2014b). Delphi exercise example [Word document]. Available in OPM300 Introduction to Operations Management at Trident University International, 5757 Plaza Drive, Suite 100, Cypress, CA 90630.
AU (2013). Basic tools for process improvement: Flowchart. (Air University) Retrieved on 4 Oct 2014 from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/bpi_manual/mod6-flowchrt.pdf
Dalkey, N. (1969). The Delphi method: An experimental study of group opinion. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation. (Retrieved on 28 Sep 2014 from online archives: http://immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL//RANDCORP/Rand_RM5888.pdf)
Harvey, J. (1988). The Abilene paradox and other meditations on management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Janis, I. (1982) Groupthink (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin
Murphy, M. (2005). Demystifying flowcharts. Materials Management in Health Care, 14(8); 52
Okoli, C. & Pawlowski, S. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: An example, design considerations and applications. Information and Management, 42(1): 15-29
Part 1
You’re desperately in love with another person, but that person doesn’t know you exist. You decide to skip the whole getting-to-know-you routine, and cast a love spell.
Assume you have a book containing the rituals, plus the ingredients lists. The sex of the target determines which list you’ll use; there’s one for men, and a separate one for women. The first step is to choose the appropriate list, and check that you have everything on hand. One common ingredient on both lists is Eye of Newt (EoN). If you don’t have EoN but have Tongue of Cobra (ToC), then you can use that, but only if the target is male. Otherwise, you have to have all the ingredients on the list, with no substitutions allowed. If you don’t, then that’s the end of the procedure, at least for the time being.
If you have all the ingredients, then check the phase of the Moon. If the subject is male, the Moon should be waxing (New Moon through the day before Full). If the subject is female, the Moon should be waning (Full Moon through the day before New). If the time of the month isn’t auspicious, then wait. Once the Moon is right, perform the ritual in either Latin or Greek, depending upon whether the target is male (Latin) or female (Greek). This is the end of the procedure. Good luck!
Hint: The most efficient flowchart has two main paths, one for male and the other for female targets.
HINTS:
1.
If you haven’t read and studied the module home page and the sources listed under Background information, stop right here. Go back and do the reading. Otherwise, you’ll waste hours.
2.
Don’t browse the Web looking for information about how to create a flowchart, until you’ve read and studied the sources in the module. The Case was designed with these sources in mind. They contain all the information you’ll need. You should reference and cite them, in accordance with the Writing Guide.
3.
You aren’t being asked to write an essay about flowcharting, but rather to draw a flowchart. If your Case write-up doesn’t contain a flowchart, then it’s incomplete.
4.
Despite 4 above, your Case should follow standard format, with a cover sheet and a brief discussion of the problem. Be sure to include references and citations.
·
Reduce the case to a series of discrete, single activities and decisions.
·
Avoid clutter. In the flowchart, abbreviate the activities and decisions. If necessary, explain the abbreviations in a glossary.
·
Use standard flowchart symbology.
·
Provide a short (one or two paragraph) explanation of the chart. Include citations.
·
There are no guidelines concerning length. Write what you need to write—neither more, nor less.
·
Clearly demonstrate your understanding of both the theory covered in the module, and the particulars of the Case.
·
References and citations are required. As a minimum, you should reference the course materials. To see how these should be presented, please refer to the Background information page. For good examples of in-text citations, please refer to the module Background pages.
Part 2
Complete the first round of a three-round Delphi decision-making exercise.
Topic:
For the sake of simplicity, choose a future outcome that can be expressed as a single-number probability, or likelihood. Examples include
·
The likelihood that Y will win the Super Bowl / World Series / NBA Championship in 20##.
The topic should be something that both you and your exercise participants care about, and also know something about (although you need not be experts).
Participants:
You will be the coordinator. Select three other persons as participants. Their cooperation will be important, so be sure to choose people you can count on. These can be either family members, close friends, or other students (although not students enrolled in this course. They’ll be busy coordinating their own Delphi exercises.)
As closely as possible, the SLP should follow the detailed example, which is cited in the Home Page discussion. You may copy and / or adapt verbiage from the example without citing it. (This special dispensation is intended to help move things along.)
The SLP writeup should include
·
The Letters to the Participants, explaining the project and requesting their assistance.
·
The first-round responses from the participants, edited to remove identifying information (such as email addresses).
·
There are no guidelines concerning length. Write what you need to write – neither more, nor less.
·
In the SLP ONLY, references and citations are NOT required. However: If you state a fact, express an opinion, or use a turn of phrase that isn’t your own, then you should credit the source, just like you would in everyday conversation. (Example: “As Rodney Dangerfield always used to say, ‘I get no respect!’ “)
—–
Answer for TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING (Home page)
|
GLOSSARY
Start: Patient arrives at the front desk. A. Has patient been admitted? B. Patient checked into ward. C. Is patient in labor? D. Patient sent to admission office. E. Patient is admitted. |
|
