Assignment 6: Case Study Analysis - Balanced Decision-Making Note: Please do make sure that you appropriately cite any r
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:15 am
Assignment 6: Case Study Analysis - Balanced
Decision-Making
Note: Please do make sure that you appropriately
cite any reference material, using Harvard Referencing style and
ensure that you draw from quality academic sources. On this note,
remember that general internet sources such as Wikipedia and
Investopedia are not recognised academic sources.
[Number of words guide: approximately
500 - 700 words]
Following on from what you have learnt about big data and the
role of human judgment and analytics in management decision-making,
this assignment provides you with the opportunity to apply your
knowledge to the case study “Balanced Decision-Making”. This mini
case study illustrates a balanced decision and how judgement and
analytics can work together throughout a strategic decision-making
process.
Read the “Balanced Decision-Making” case study below and answer
the following questions related to the case study
(1) Identify and discuss the roles of judgment and
analytics as they were used in this case
(2) What other roles of analytics and judgment could have
been used to achieve similar success with such a strategic
decision?
(3) Discuss whether/how this decision process and outcome
could be improved
(4) Briefly compare/contrast the decision-making process
in this case study with at least one other example of balanced
decision-making in practice (i.e. provide examples from your work
and/or from academic literature)
Case Study: Balanced-Decision making
A company in the transport industry wanted to explore a new
business segment. They hired a former Head of Operations who had
experience in this business segment. The CEO wanted this new
Business Development Manager to determine whether there was a
strategic opportunity for the company to break into this new
market. He went to work and basically relied on his experience and
judgment during the identification stage and the initial stages of
development including his preliminary assessment of opportunities
and risks. The second part of the development phase led to a pilot
project and the start of a formal business case process. Internal
company data was gathered during this pilot and was used to develop
the case. What was also critical during this pilot stage was that
the Business Development Manager heavily consulted with his former
business, gathering information based on their experience and
knowledge. Through this pilot period the team, led by the manager,
would go back and forth between the data they collected, the
original assumptions about the opportunities and risks of the new
venture, and the judgment of the former colleagues. They decided
the business case was solid and based on it began a full nationwide
launch of the new business segment, eventually becoming a big
player in the new business segment.
In this case, the pilot began with both domain-specific
knowledge and experience and data from their existing business. In
this balanced approach, data was used to support judgments and
mitigate risks. As the pilot developed and after the launch was
initiated, the company accessed market data collected by external
agencies. The data reinforced what they were learning from their
customers and the customers were corroborating what the data was
indicating. The result of this balanced decision-making was
strategic decision-making success.
Source: Gressel et al., 2021 (Chapter 5)
Reference (available from the reading list on
blackboard)
Simone Gressel, David J. Pauleen and Nazim Taskin (2021),
Management Decision-Making, Big Data & Analytics.
Sage: London (Chapters, 2, 3 and 5)
Decision-Making
Note: Please do make sure that you appropriately
cite any reference material, using Harvard Referencing style and
ensure that you draw from quality academic sources. On this note,
remember that general internet sources such as Wikipedia and
Investopedia are not recognised academic sources.
[Number of words guide: approximately
500 - 700 words]
Following on from what you have learnt about big data and the
role of human judgment and analytics in management decision-making,
this assignment provides you with the opportunity to apply your
knowledge to the case study “Balanced Decision-Making”. This mini
case study illustrates a balanced decision and how judgement and
analytics can work together throughout a strategic decision-making
process.
Read the “Balanced Decision-Making” case study below and answer
the following questions related to the case study
(1) Identify and discuss the roles of judgment and
analytics as they were used in this case
(2) What other roles of analytics and judgment could have
been used to achieve similar success with such a strategic
decision?
(3) Discuss whether/how this decision process and outcome
could be improved
(4) Briefly compare/contrast the decision-making process
in this case study with at least one other example of balanced
decision-making in practice (i.e. provide examples from your work
and/or from academic literature)
Case Study: Balanced-Decision making
A company in the transport industry wanted to explore a new
business segment. They hired a former Head of Operations who had
experience in this business segment. The CEO wanted this new
Business Development Manager to determine whether there was a
strategic opportunity for the company to break into this new
market. He went to work and basically relied on his experience and
judgment during the identification stage and the initial stages of
development including his preliminary assessment of opportunities
and risks. The second part of the development phase led to a pilot
project and the start of a formal business case process. Internal
company data was gathered during this pilot and was used to develop
the case. What was also critical during this pilot stage was that
the Business Development Manager heavily consulted with his former
business, gathering information based on their experience and
knowledge. Through this pilot period the team, led by the manager,
would go back and forth between the data they collected, the
original assumptions about the opportunities and risks of the new
venture, and the judgment of the former colleagues. They decided
the business case was solid and based on it began a full nationwide
launch of the new business segment, eventually becoming a big
player in the new business segment.
In this case, the pilot began with both domain-specific
knowledge and experience and data from their existing business. In
this balanced approach, data was used to support judgments and
mitigate risks. As the pilot developed and after the launch was
initiated, the company accessed market data collected by external
agencies. The data reinforced what they were learning from their
customers and the customers were corroborating what the data was
indicating. The result of this balanced decision-making was
strategic decision-making success.
Source: Gressel et al., 2021 (Chapter 5)
Reference (available from the reading list on
blackboard)
Simone Gressel, David J. Pauleen and Nazim Taskin (2021),
Management Decision-Making, Big Data & Analytics.
Sage: London (Chapters, 2, 3 and 5)