Decision Making and Problem Solving
Define different perspectives and concepts of problem solving in diverse contexts and business situations. (C.L.O :1.2)
Demonstrate decision tools and employ appropriate analytical business models to break down complex issues. (C.L.O :2.2)
Explain and apply critical thinking and cognitive psychology as it pertains to analyze and synthesize information for problem solving and decision making. (C.L.O :2.1)
Case Study:
Talal, CEO and the president of a pharmaceutical company based in Riyadh. Talal is going to retire after three months and has been asked to select his successor. He wanted to decide one candidate from the following three best possible candidates he feels would best take over his position.
1) Badar the VP Marketing, Working with company from 20 years and under Talal for 7 years.
2) Rayyan the VP-Operations, been with company 23 years has most experience.
3) Sayeed VP-HR, been with company for 15years but has worked his way up the ladder impressively.
Outside the workplace Badar, Rayyan, Sayeed are close friends and after receiving word that they are the finalists for the job promotion. Tension rises both within and outside the workplace. They also find out that the decision will not be announced until few weeks, which causes that tension to raise that much more. Outside the work the three close friends have not talked nearly as much since the promotion announcements and is causing negative effects in their home lives. With the three of them failing to communicate, they won’t know how they each perceive the situation, thus building on the already present stress and anxiety.
Talal ultimately chooses Badar due to his experience under him as VP. This puts even more responsibility in Badars hands. The decision surely sends shockwaves throughout the company, starting with Rayyan and Sayeed. Rayyan is extremely upset with the decision, and with him being a very verbally aggressive person, he starts to cause some conflict with his work behaviour. Sayeed, who is also highly upset, decides he cannot work under Badar, quits the job, and cuts off the friendship they had.
To resolve this conflict, Badar calls multiple meetings hoping to improve the communication within the business, however, this backfires tremendously. Rayyan’s work behaviour continues to spiral out of control and is constantly verbally aggressive in meetings, targeting Badar in certain comments, which only makes things worse by making the rest of the group uncomfortable, this leaves Badar clueless as what to do simply because he has not done anything wrong. He was awarded a job promotion and has not done anything to provoke Rayyan or Sayeed to act the way they have.
Read the above case study and answer the following questions:
Q1: What is the main problem in the above case? [Marks 3]
Q2: Discuss the problem with 5-Why analysis. Draw a cause-and-effect diagram based on the problem of the case? [Marks 4]
Q2: If you are consultant and asked to solve the problem, how will you solve the problem of case? What are the steps you will follow to solve? [Marks 3]
