1. Learning Goals: By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to:
Explain decision making and what a Case Study is
Identify and explain the 6 Steps in the Decision Making Process

2. Decision Making Process

3. Thoughts… How do you choose your outfit in the morning…
You’re graduating soon; how do you choose your appropriate college or university…
You have 2 projects pending on your desk waiting to be finished by Friday, both projects take equal amount of time to finish but… Project 1 – will bring in 5 million in profit, and Project 2 – with a long time customer, but worth only 25,000 in profit. SO, which project should you complete…

4. You’re a project manager with a multi-trade construction company and your phone is ringing off the hook! Problems above problems!
Problem 1 – Starbucks has a leaking toilet and they only have 1
Problem 2 – there’s a wiring problem at Toyota Manufacturing plant and all machines have stopped
Problem 3 – the boiler at CHCI is down, but a snowstorm is expected
Problem 4 – there’s a clog in the water sewage system at University of Waterloo’s Village 1 student residence, causing over flow and unpleasant smells
You must handle these situations at once, all 15 of your employees are currently at work sites within the Tri-City. What could you do…

5. Individually read the Decision Making Process – Case Study Introduction
Follow the instructions provided at the bottom of the case

6. What is decision making?
The decision making process is a structured set of activities that begins with identifying a problem (includes making a decision) and ends with the evaluation of the results

7. What Is A Case Study? “Real life” business situation
You assume the role of manager or decision maker, and are expected to go through the same process of analyzation as a “real life” manager/decision maker
Bridge the gap between theory and practice
Question: What are some other pathways we could use to bridge the gap between theory and practice, without always using case studies?
So instead of high school classroom, we were actual employees at an organization and they are trying to train us appropriately.

8. THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS *CASE STUDY METHOD* -6 Steps

9. 6 steps in the decision Making process
Identify & Define the Problem
Decision Criteria
Generate and Evaluate Possible Solutions
Recommendation
Implement the Solution
Evaluate the Solution

10. STEP 1 – IDENTIFY & DEFINE THE PROBLEM
Identify all problems faced by the manager and determine the most important one.
3 series of problems:
Symptoms
Obvious, surface issues
Is not primary problem
*Primary Problem*
Root cause of the symptoms
When solved, symptoms should not occur any more
Tips:
Should be most critical problem.
Should be solvable.
Secondary Problems
Not necessarily solved when the primary problem is solved
Numerous secondary problems can occur

11. STEP 1 – IDENTIFY & DEFINE THE PROBLEM
This stage involves:
Information gathering
Processing the information
Deliberation
Identify what the decision should accomplish

12. STEP 1 – IDENTIFY & DEFINE THE PROBLEM
3 common mistakes:
Defining the problem too narrowly OR too broadly.
Focusing on the surface symptoms instead of the causes.
Symptoms indicate that a problem exists
Ex: A drop in performance… could encourage better performance – but is root cause solved?
Choosing the wrong problem to deal with.
Address problems that are truly solvable

13. STEP 2 – DECISION CRITERIA
Are objectives (specific results) that the solution must meet
Are top priorities of the organization in the case study.
Should be SMART
Examples:
The solution must restore the company to a more viable cash-flow position
The decision must minimize the potential loss of current employees

14. STEP 3 – GENERATE AND EVALUATE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
More information and data is gathered and analyzed.
Generate a variety of mutually exclusive alternatives
Evaluate the PROS and CONS of your alternatives based on your decision criteria's
More alternatives lead to a better solution
Common Errors:
Selecting a particular solution too quickly and choosing an alternative with damaging effects

15. STEP 3 – GENERATE AND EVALUATE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
4 Basic Evaluations of Alternatives:
Cost vs. Benefit
Cost – What will implementing this alterative cost in resource investment as well as potential negative side effects?
Benefits – What are the benefits of using the alternative to solve a performance deficiency or take advantage of an opportunity?
Do the BENEFITS outweigh the COSTS?

16. How fast will the benefits occur and a positive impact be achieved?
Timeliness
How fast will the benefits occur and a positive impact be achieved?
Acceptability
To what extent will the alternative be accepted and supported by those who must work with it?
Ethical Soundness
How well does the alternative meet acceptable ethical criteria in the eyes of the various stakeholders?

17. STEP 4 – RECOMMENDATION Realistic decision Addresses primary cause
Is it ethical?
Use concepts learned in class to support your choice.

18. STEP 5 – IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION
Discuss the steps to implementing your plan
What should be done when?
Immediately, Short term, Long term?
Who is responsible for execution? What are they doing?
Budget (if possible)

19. STEP 6 – EVALUATE THE SOLUTION
How will you know your solution worked?
How will you measure this?
What if your plan fails? Prepare a contingency plan – one paragraph synopsis of what you will do if Plan A fails

20. Case Study Template Used to guide and help you format your steps
Help you properly make a decision and solve a case study

21. Decision making process – case study template practice
Case Study – Hannah’s Ice Cream
Using the Template and Hannah’s Ice Cream case study…
Complete the template and solve the case
Case & template also on website
We will discuss and review in the next class