TEAM C: STUDENTSPROBLEM FORMULATION AND IDENTIFICATION PRESENTATION

Instructor – Dr. Tug GokaydinCourse – MGT 350 Critical Thinking

Agenda

Slides 3, 4 and 5: STUDENT Slides 6 and 7: STUDENT Slides 8 and 9 STUDENT Slides 10 and 11 STUDENT Slides 12 and 13 STUDENT Slides 14 and 15 STUDENT

Introduction

Definition of Decision-Making Decision-Making Process May Vary from

Individual to Individual Democratic, Autocratic, Collective-

Participative, and Consensus style Decision-Making of Several

Organizations Will be Discussed.

Organization: DM.

Decision-making process:

Six-Step Rational Decision-Making Model

Define the Problem Identify the Decision

Criteria Allocate weight to the

Criteria Develop, Evaluate and

Select Optimal Alternative (Rue & Byars, 2004).

Strengths: Decentralized

Organization (McDonald’s 2008)

McDonald’s is flexible and respond quickly to problems (Robbins,2005)

Weaknesses: Skip the Rational

Decision-Making Model Decision-Making Process

Pushed Down to Lower Management

Problem Statement: DM.

McDonald’s Organizational Culture is Sensitive to Ownership and Stakeholders’ Needs.

Attention to Detail People Orientation Team Orientation (Robbins, 2005).

Organization: JB.

Decision-making Process:

Board of directors makes all decisions

Hold bi-annual store manager meetings to enlist store level opinions

New products are rolled out to test markets

Strengths: The board does ask the

select store mangers bi-annual what works and what needs to be changed

Weaknesses: Board does not ask for

store level opinions before they make them

Many decisions are not conducive to great customer service

Problem Statement

Jack in the Box organizational structure is sensitive toward stockholders and stakeholders needs

Company vision is conducive to stakeholders needs

Employee oriented Team concept

Organization: MC Manufacturing Co. Ltd

Decision-making process: Managing Director makes all

decisions without the involvement of others

Managing Director addresses satellite issues and reacts without processing information

Supervisors and Leaders implement actions as directed

Supervisors and Leaders seek authorization for every detail

Failed projects are viewed as valuable lessons

Problems and Chaos are common

Strengths: Team is extremely task oriented Individuals work and carry out

instructions without resistance Several lessons have been

learnt through trial and errorWeaknesses: Ideas for improving performance

are not shared or adopted Supervisors and Leaders are not

empowered Morale is at an undesirable level Communication and feedback

do not form an integral part of the decision making process

Problem Statement: MC Manufacturing Co. Ltd

The company needs to harness the talent and potential of all Team members

Team members need to be committed to developing their competences

Shareholders need to review the framework for problem solving, communication and decision making

Managing Director to conduct meeting s and training sessions with Supervisors and Leaders to share the Mission, Vision, and values of the company

Organization: Excalibur Protection Services

Decision-making process: Board of Directors makes

all the decisions Board meeting held bi-

weekly Must have a majority vote

for something to be approved

Officers (CEO, President, V. President, & CFO) can override a decision if absolutely necessary

Strengths: Opinion of employees asked

and taken into deep consideration before votes are cast

Meetings are held often to take in account any immediate changes that need to be made

Problems responded to very quickly

Weaknesses: Because of board vote all

employees may not like the decisions made

Problem Statement: Excalibur Protection Services

Excalibur Protection Services is geared towards its stockholders and Board of Directors/Officers

Collaborative effort on all parties Opinion of employees important Family oriented

Organization: CVT IT Department

Decision-making process:

Collective-Participative Involves stakeholders before

decisions are made Incorporates stakeholder

feedback into decisions and communicates prior to implementation

Autocratic (Emergency Scenarios) Communicates with stakeholders

when possible

Strengths: Collective-Participative

Involves stakeholders and diverse viewpoints to ensure external perspective

Autocratic (Emergency Scenarios) Decisions are made quickly

Weaknesses: Collective-Participative

Takes longer time to make decisions Without agreement, solutions may

not be reached Autocratic (Emergency Scenarios)

Many stakeholders are not consulted which can breed resentment

Problem Statement: CVT IT Department

Example problem statement: The company needs to adopt the newest operating system from Microsoft (MS Vista) to ensure compatibility for the new versions of business software, including Enterprise Resource Management , Sales Force Automation, Graphics Design, and FDA communications. The new operating system will also ensure compliance with new computer hardware platforms from our vendor. We propose to complete this project by department. Given testing and the availability of hardware we expect to be finished within 12 months.

Stakeholders are consulted after a problem is identified and a solution has been proposed

Impact to stakeholders is detailed by department Project duration is listed Stakeholder feedback is incorporated into the solution Stakeholders are consulted after decisions are made during emergency scenarios if

an autocratic decision making style was used

Conclusion

A decision is the action an executive must take when he has information so incomplete that the answer does not suggest itself (Langdon, 2001).

Each business chooses to develop its set way of going through the decision making process.

The ultimate goal is to make the best decisions for everyone involved in the company.

References

Development Center Inc. (1997). Decision making styles. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from http://www.leadershipmanagement.com/html-files/decision.htm

Harris, R. (2008, October). Introduction to decision making. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook5.htm

Langdon, K. (2001). Smart things to know about decision making. Checking the financial case. Ch 5. Retrieved April 5, 2009, https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/ereader.asp

McDonald’s USA (2008). About McDonald’s. Retrieved on March 31, 2009from http://www.McDonald’s.com/corp/about.html

Ridpath, M. (2007). The lean machine. Retrieved on March 31, 2009 from http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Lean-Business-Machine/472386

Robbins, S.P. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education

Rue, L.W. and Byars, L.L. (2004). Supervision: key link to productivity (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.