Analysis: Decision Making In Kava Essay

Decision making is one of the important and crucial aspects in running a business that business executives delegate to their subordinates, in the hope that those they think are qualified to make sound decisions indeed make very good decisions that will always be for the best interest of the company. Decision making is a privilege, but it is nonetheless a difficult task that cannot be avoided. Because of its importance and the difficulty that goes along with decision making, professionals over time managed to draft certain decision making techniques that can help those who find themselves in a great difficulty over the inability to produce a decision making process that will guarantee the providing of the best result possible for a particular business scenario. Decision-making technique to identify the solution – There are several business models of decision making techniques that anyone can utilize; there are no perfect techniques for decision making, what is important is that the person manages to identify the technique that suits his or her needs best. For the case that is being tackled in this paper, the decision making technique which will be utilized is the Measured Criterion technique. What is the Measured Criterion technique? In the Measured Criterion technique, the individual will have to create a table or matrix wherein important goals as well as options to attain the goal(s) is/are identified to allow the person/organization making the decision to look at the goal and the options they can take and decide which option they will resort to. Why is the Measured Criterion the ideal decision making technique for the particular case being discussed in this paper? It is the ideal decision making technique for this particular case because the Measured Criterion style will allow Nik and Alex to plot and identify the particular goals that they need to accomplish so that they can achieve their ultimate goal – to act as catalysts in the island so that their company can have a greater and broader business presence in Kava. These particular goals will definitely open up options for both Nik and Alex, and when there are two persons deciding, there is a very good chance that they may not opt for the same course of action. But through the use of the Measured Criterion, every option is designated with a numerical equivalent that suggests the range and probable efficacy, practicality, comfort and other aspects and characteristics of a particular option, from which the decision will be based. This information will be used on how the decisions and options are considered and weighed. For example, Part 1 of Nik’s planning involved the human resources part. For example, during the decision making process on whether Nik and Alex should advice its head office on hiring Kava local’s to work for the company when its expands its operation and presence in the island, the decision can be based after consulting the Measured Criterion chart, which would reflect points represented in numerical significance – what are the points for opting for hiring locals and the probability that they will stay long and loyal to the company compared to using non-locals to work in Kava and the corresponding level or chances that these particular type of employees will stay long and loyal in the Kava office of the company? Having identified these issues and other issues involved in the decision making task of Nik and Alex necessary to accomplish the goal delegated to them by their company, there is a better guarantee that the option they will take are considered very well and that there are minimized chances that Nik and Alex left something out unintentionally. Steps in decision making – Following the guidelines necessary to undertake the Measured Criterion technique for decision making, the steps towards decision making of the company so that it can achieve its goal in Kava will include the following steps: identification of the course of action needed to be taken, identification of the existence of alternatives and wide variety of options present for every step or action to be taken, the providing of the necessary data and points consistent with the style of Measured Criterion so that every action that presents many different options will reflect the best and worst possible option for the company to take, and lastly, the deliberation on whether the best option as reflected in the Measured Criterion tables should be taken first en route to the actualization of the business plan. During the process of decision making to attain the goal of having the business expand in Kava, Nik will have to identify key information to aid his decision making and provide information in the measured criteria table for further deliberation and consideration. This is important since there are what Luo consider as â€Å"international expansion imperatives† that act as â€Å"building blocks on which a wide variety of international expansion strategies, decisions, and policies are based. They are imperatives because they cannot be unlinked from the decision making process during international expansion (Luo, 1999, p. 6). † Decision making technique analysis – Why is the Measured Criterion selected and used as the decision making technique to assist in the goal of Nik and Alex to undertake the creation of a business plan that will allow their company to grow in Kava? As explained in Virtualsalt. om about how Measured Criteria works, this particular decision makin g technique can help the task at hand (which is the planning of the company on how to have a greater business presence in Kava) by providing a way in which the target goals for the accomplishment of the business plan is already laid out and the corresponding alternatives and options of the company are weighed correctly. Nik, who is an important player in the effort of the company to expand in Kava, needs to be equipped with a decision making technique which would allow him to be able to sort things out and plot the objectives and goals he needs to accomplish, identify his options and plot the strengths and weaknesses of each and every option so that he can pick the best option, use it and contribute to the overall efforts of him and Alex in the achieving of the company’s business goal in Kava for which Nik was sent there for. The Measured Criterion can provide Nik with the style that will enable Nik to efficiently and systematically sort things out. The situation in Kava, with all the confusion that was illustrated in the case scenario, will take its toll on Nik’s ability to focus his mind and his thoughts, and using the Measured Criterion will help offset the negative impact of the messy surroundings in the place. Don Aslett, in his book The Office Clutter Cure, points out that â€Å"a poorly kept workplace makes everyone tense† and that â€Å"too much stuff around is distracting (Aslett, 2005, p. 20). Proposed Solution – The proposed solution for the expansion of the company in Kava includes the implementation of a business action plan that includes human resources, marketing and business strategy. The company should consider the hiring of locals and consider the socio economic and socio political impact of this action to the locals and the government of Kava, including ensuing empathy and support and stabilization of the company; the company should also realign its business strategy so that it will suit the diversity in culture and the heterogeneity of the people present in the island which will be affected in many different ways by the business; the company should also consider the logistics that the company will have to shoulder and address should the company expand operation and business presence in the island, with a back up study on the financial impact of such logistics adjustment on the overall performance of the company; and lastly, the company should plot a timeline to allow themselves the opportunity to measure the positive yield and impact this move will make to the company, so that in the event that the move is deemed as unproductive or lacks promise financially an d business-wise, appropriate remedies can be set up and implemented to cover losses and redirect expansion actions by the company. Examining the decision making model – The use of the Measured Criterion will work well in this particular condition with one consideration in mind: that both Nik and Alex make honest appraisals and put corresponding numerical symbolisms of the importance of each item presented in the matrix. Toney explains that â€Å"other researchers have shown conclusively that the most common reason for organizational failure is flawed decision making† (Toney, 2002, p. 21), and the only way for Nik and Alex to avoid having a flawed decision making is to make sure that the decision making process is free from personal agenda and other politics that go against the best interest of the company. As in the use of any decision making technique, the absence of honesty and objectivity in the part of individuals make human error a significant factor. If Nik uses the Measured Criterion in a way that there is a controlled outcome in numerical value because Nik wants the outcome to correspond with his personal wants and desires (i. e. to leave Kava since Nik expresses dislike in the island), the credibility of the Measured Criterion and the decision that was reached is jeopardized, as with the use of any other decision making technique so long as there is an effort to manipulate the outcome.