MGT 422 Decision Making for Leaders GCU
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MGT 422 Decision Making for Leaders GCU
MGT 422 Module 1 Introduction to Decision Making
MGT 422 Module 1 Discussion What Is Your Decision Making Style?
Discussion Topic
Do a search on Google or Bing on “decision-making quiz”
or “decision-making questionnaire” and find quiz that you find interesting that
evaluates your own decision-making style. Don’t fill out the first quiz that
you find, instead look around at a few quizzes first and find one that you
think seems to fit most with the material covered in the module and seems to be
useful. Then fill out this quiz that you find the most useful.
Share the link and the results of the quiz with your
classmates. Were the results surprising to you? Explain whether or not you
found the quiz useful and also what concepts from the background materials
applied to the results of the quiz (cite the specific background reading that
was relevant).
Also, take at least one other quiz posted by one of your
classmates and share your results and thoughts on the quiz.
MGT 422 Module 1 Case
Assignment
Overview
Like many airlines around the world, leading Australian
airline Qantas is facing very difficult times in spite of having a 65% market
share in its home market of Australia. Due to rising fuel costs and a slow
world economy, Qantas has recently been losing money and their CEO Alan Joyce
has some tough choices to make.
One difficult decision for Joyce is whether or not to
sell Qantas’ frequent flyer program. It may seem odd for an airline to sell its
frequent flyer program, but Qantas’ program is much more than just an airline
reward program. Members of this program can gain points not only by flying on
Qantas but also through other means such as shopping at one of Qantas’
corporate partners or using one of their credit cards. Points can be redeemed
not only with free flights, but also with products from numerous retailers. Over
10 million Australians belong to this rewards program, almost half of the
population.
The frequent flyer program is Qantas’ most valuable asset
and a sale of this program would help Qantas get out of its current financial
troubles. However, selling the program would also mean allowing another company
to have access to Qantas most loyal customers including their business class
and first class customers. In the long-run, there is potential the sale could
backfire and would not be wise.
Do some research on CEO Joyce’s current choice of whether
or not to sell their frequent flyer program, and also thoroughly review the
background materials on intuitive versus rational decision-making including
Buhler (2001) and Kourdi (2011). Your assignment will be to apply the
background materials concepts to Joyce’s current big decision.
Some specific articles on Qantas to get you started:
Ross, K.
(2014, Aug 27). Qantas CEO faces tough choices. Wall Street Journal [Proquest]
Ironside, R.
(2014, Aug 15). Qantas warned to ground plans to sell frequent flyer
program. The Gold Coast
Bulletin [Proquest]
Gilder, P.
(2014, Mar 29). Loyalty future cloudy. The
Gold Coast Bulletin [Proquest]
Australia:
Qantas frequent flyer hits 10 million member mark. (2014). MENA Report [Proquest]
Case
Assignment
Once you have finished reading about Qantas and reviewing
the background materials including Buhler (2001) and Kourdi (2003), write a 4-
to 5-page paper addressing the following questions:
- Is the decision whether or not to sell Qantas’ frequent flyer
program a strategic or operational decision? Is it a programmed or
non-programmed decision? Explain your answer using references to Buhler
(2001) or Kourdi (2003).
- Suppose Alan Joyce decides to take a rational approach to the
decision whether or not to sell the frequent flyer program. List a
step-by-step approach you would recommend, and include specifics regarding
what kind of information or choices should be considered at each step. Do
not just list the steps, give detail at each step and use material both
from your research on Qantas and from Buhler (2001) or Kourdi (2003) to
come up with these steps.
- Joyce has been the CEO of Qantas for six years and
is an experienced airline executive. Given his experience, do you recommend
Joyce use a rational or intuitive approach to this decision? If there is a
new CEO who comes from another industry and does not have this airline
experience, would you recommend they use a rational or intuitive approach?
Explain your reasoning, and make references to Buhler (2001) or Kourdi
(2003) as appropriate.
MGT 422 Module 1 SLP
For the Session Long Project for this class, you will be
applying the concepts from the background materials to your own experiences in
the workplace. More specifically, you will be examining the decisions and
decision-making processes of the leadership of the organization you currently
work for or one that you have worked for in the past.
For this first SLP assignment, think about some major and
minor decisions made by your managers that you were involved with or impacted
by. Review the background material concepts, and think carefully about how you
have personally observed some of these concepts. Then write a 2- to 3-page
paper addressing the following issues:
- Give some specific examples of strategic and operational decisions
that you have observed in your workplace. Give at least one example of
each type of decision, and explain why you think this decision falls into
this category with references to the background materials.
- Give some specific examples of both programmed and non-programmed
decisions that you have observed. Give at least one example of each type
of decision, and explain why you think this decision falls into this
category with references to the background materials.
- Discuss the specific decision-making style of a
supervisor you have worked closely with, and discuss whether this
supervisor’s style is rational or intuitive. Give specific examples to
explain your reasoning as to why you think this supervisor is rational or
intuitive.
MGT 422 Module 2 Decision Making Biases and Pitfalls
MGT 422 Module 2 Discussion Decision Making Bias Videos
Discussion Topic
Most of the sources in the background materials are
library textbook chapters or journal articles. In general, these sources are
considered much more credible than various random webpages that you will find
online. When finding an online source, you need to carefully consider the
credibility of the source. Factors to consider include the credentials of the person
who wrote the materials, whether this person is trying to sell you something,
and of course you also need to use your own intuition as to whether or not a
source seems credible.
Your task for this discussion is to go to YouTube or
videos.google.com and find a video that explains cognitive/heuristic biases
covered in the background materials such as confirmation bias, overconfidence
bias, etc. Use word searches such as “decision-making biases,” “heuristic
biases,” “overconfidence, anchoring, framing, confirmation bias,” and similar
searches. You should find many videos, but the difficult part will be to try to
find a video that is A) relevant to the topics covered in the module, B) from a
credible source, and C) easy to understand and follow.
To find a video from a very credible source, look at a
video from Nobel Prize winner and heuristic bias expert Daniel Kahneman.
Credible yes, but I can’t guarantee you will stay awake during the video. So
see if you can also find a video from a source that appears credible but and
has information consistent with the background material readings but also keeps
you awake and helps you understand the different types of decision-making
biases.
Share the link with your classmates and explain why you
think the video is both useful and credible, and which biases from the
background materials the video helps explain.
Also, watch
at least one other video posted by your classmates and share your thoughts on
this video.
MGT 422 Module 2 Case
Case
Assignment
Even the most intelligent manager is prone to personal
biases and pitfalls that can lead to bad decisions. We all carry biases based
on our personal experiences. And we can all fall into various traps that lead
to decisions that seem perfectly logical at the time but in retrospect, we see
that we should have known better.
In the
background materials, including Bolland and Fletcher (2012); Kourdi (2003); and
Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2008); several specific decision-making biases and
pitfalls are discussed. Collectively these are known as cognitive biases.
Some of the common pitfalls and biases discussed in these readings include
overconfidence bias, confirmation (self-confirming) bias, sunk-cost bias,
framing bias, and hindsight bias.
Carefully review all three of these readings and make
sure you understand the different types of biases. Then read through the
scenarios below and think about what kind of biases are demonstrated in each
scenario. For each scenario, carefully explain which specific bias or biases is
demonstrated by the decision and what can be done to avoid this bias in the
future. Make sure to pick at least one specific bias that you read about for
each scenario, and explain your reasoning. Use references to at least one of
the three required readings from the background materials in your discussion of
each scenario below. Your paper should be 4–5 pages in length:
- The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a corporation is of the strong
belief that marketing is not a good use of the company’s money. Someone
shows her data from several years ago showing that during a period of high
spending on marketing, sales did not go up. She says, “See, I told you
marketing is not a good use of our budget!” and cuts the marketing budget
to almost zero. Following the cut in the marketing budget, sales also
start to drop dramatically. When asked by an employee if the drop in sales
is due to the cut in the marketing budget, she says, “No!” and insists
there must be a different explanation. What kind of decision-making bias
do you think this represents, and why? What steps would you recommend to
this CEO to reduce this kind of bias? Support your answer with references
to at least one of the three background readings.
- A CEO decides that he wants to greatly expand the company’s market
by purchasing a major rival. This acquisition would double the company’s
market share. However, several of his top managers warn him that such a
purchase would require the company to take out a huge amount of debt to
finance this merger, and that many of these large mergers have failed.
They also point out that the organizational culture of the other company
is very different and that managing this merger would be very difficult.
Nonetheless, the CEO insists that he can overcome the odds and plans to go
through with the merger. What kind of decision-making bias do you think
this represents, and why? What steps should this leader take to avoid this
bias? Support your answer with references to at least one of the three
background readings.
- A CEO wants to purchase a new factory. He is currently deciding
between two factories. The owner of Factory A brags that 94% of products
produced at the factory are free of defects. The owner of Factory B
cautions that his factory has a 5% defect rate but management and staff are
working very hard to reduce the rate. The CEO decides to purchase Factory
A citing its strong 94% rate of success in producing defect-free products
even though Factory B actually has a 95% rate of success. What kind of
decision-making bias do you think this represents, and why? What steps
should this leader take to avoid this bias?
- A CEO of an automobile company decides to introduce a new hybrid
vehicle using cutting-edge technology. A huge amount of money is spent in
research and development as well as advertising. But when the car is
completed sales are very slow and the price has to be cut so low that the
company is losing money on every hybrid vehicle sold. She is advised to
simply abandon the car to avoid further losses in profits, and focus her
energy on selling profitable vehicles. However, she insists it is unwise
to abandon the hybrid vehicle given that so much money has already been
put into the project. What kind of decision-making bias do you think this
represents, and why? What steps should this leader take to avoid this
bias? Support your answer with references to at least one of the three
background readings.
- Conclude the paper with a discussion about which one
of the decision-making biases you think is the most dangerous to a leader,
and explain your reasoning.
MGT 422 Module 2 SLP
We’ve all had experiences where we have been frustrated
by a decision that our supervisor made. You have probably blamed this decision
on your boss being “closed-minded,” “stubborn,” or “pigheaded.” But after reading
the background materials you should be able to more precisely examine and
define the precise decision-making biases or pitfalls that your supervisor
made.
For this assignment, think of three bad decisions that
your current or past supervisors made. For each decision, explain what bias
discussed in the background materials likely led to this bad decision. You must
use biases specifically discussed in Bolland and Fletcher (2012); Kourdi
(2003); or Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2008). For each of the three decisions,
include:
A) A brief description of the decision and why you think
it was a bad one
B) What kind of bias you think lead to this decision, and
why
C) A reference to one of the background readings from
this module
Finally, conclude your paper with a discussion about
which of the three readings from the background materials would be most useful
for your supervisor to read in order to help make better decisions and avoid
biases. Explain why you think this reading would be more useful than the other
two readings.
The paper should be 2–3 pages in length.
MGT 422 Module 3 Group Decision Making
MGT 422 Module 3 Discussion Group Decision Making Videos
Discussion Topic
There are numerous videos on group decision making
available online. Some of them are very professional; others seem somewhat
amateurish or are designed for or by high school students.
Do a search on YouTube for videos on group decision
making or on specific group decision-making techniques discussed in the
background materials. Choose a video you found to be very useful at explaining
the techniques in the background materials, and another video that you found to
be amateurish or not very useful.
Post the links and share with your classmates. Also,
share with your classmates what you found useful and not useful about each
video, and whether or not you recommend your classmates view the video to
prepare for their written assignments.
MGT 422 Module 3 Case
Case
Assignment
Making decisions as a group can be very challenging. It
can lead to conflict and take up huge amounts of time, and often it is
difficult to come to an agreement. Fortunately, several different techniques
have been developed to overcome some of these difficulties. No one technique is
considered the best for all situations, as all of the techniques have
advantages and disadvantages.
For this assignment, first thoroughly review the
background readings and pay close attention to three group decision-making
processes—the Delphi technique, brainstorming, and the Nominal Group Technique.
Pay close attention to the discussion of these methods in the assigned
readings, particularly Braintools (Brainstorming), CDC (Nominal Group
Technique) and Haughey (Delphi).
Below are three different scenarios. For each scenario,
explain which group decision-making technique you would choose out of
brainstorming, nominal group, or Delphi. Justify your answer with references
from the required background materials. Your paper should be 4–5 pages in
length:
- The company you work for is in crisis. Several new competitors have
been rapidly growing and taking away your customers. Your company’s sales
are steadily dropping. You and the rest of the top management team know
that creative new strategies are needed in order to keep up with the new
competitors. Nobody is sure what needs to be done, but it is clear
something drastic and original needs to happen in order to keep the
company afloat. The top management team members are all extroverts who are
not afraid to speak up at meetings, but they are often prone to
conventional thinking. Which group decision-making technique do you
recommend? Explain your reasoning, using the background readings to
support your answer.
- Your company is facing cost overruns and needs solutions on how
best to cut costs. The top management team includes both introverts and
extroverts, with the extroverts usually dominating the conversation at
meetings. Furthermore, meetings with this group often go off the agenda
and drift into tangential subjects. A quick decision needs be made with input
from all members of the team. Which group decision-making technique do you
recommend? Explain your reasoning, using the background readings to
support your answer.
- Your company needs to purchase a new software system as the old one
is out of date. Your team consists of IT managers from all of the
company’s overseas divisions. These managers are highly skilled and very
knowledgeable about the different software options, but it is difficult to
arrange a meeting with them due to the time differences and their very
busy schedules. The decision is not urgent, but you need to make a
decision within the next three months. Which group decision-making
technique do you recommend? Explain your reasoning, using the background
readings to support your answer.
- Conclude your paper with a discussion about which of
the three group decision-making processes (nominal group, brainstorming,
or Delphi) is the most useful to you, considering the types of decision
situations in which you are typically involved. Explain your reasoning,
and use references from the background materials to support your answer.
MGT 422 Module 3 SLP
One of the biggest complaints among managers is the huge
amount of time they have to spend in meetings. Ideally the purpose of meetings
is to put everyone’s heads together to solve a problem or make a decision. But
far too often they can lead to unproductive, time-wasting conversations and
even conflict.
For this assignment, think about some recent meetings
you’ve attended where a significant decision had to be made. Think carefully
about how some of the problems regarding group decision making that were
discussed in the background readings apply to what you’ve experienced. Then
write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing the following issues:
- Are all voices equally heard, and is diversity of the group
reflected within the feedback?
- Is time spent at the meetings productive, or is a lot of time
wasted?
- Are the decisions that are made solid ones? Or do they suffer from
problems mentioned in the background materials such as groupthink?
- Are ideas expressed at meetings creative and original, or are
original ideas discouraged?
- Based on what you’ve described in Questions 1–4
above, what kind of group decision-making process would you recommend be
used in meetings you attend? Base your answer on readings from the
background materials such as Sims (2002).
MGT 422 Module 4 Leadership and Decision Making Styles
MGT 422 Module 4 Discussion Vroom Yetton Decision Making Model
Sources
Discussion Topic
The Vroom-Yetton decision-making style model is one of
the toughest topics that we’ve covered in the class. In essence it is fairly
simple—as a leader, the style you choose for making a decision depends on the
situation. What makes it more difficult though is that the diagram and other
features can be intimidating.
For this discussion, first review the background readings
on this model. Then find some sources online regarding this model—they can be
either webpages or a videos. Make sure the information presented in this source
matches what you’ve read in the background materials, but also find one that
you think helps simplify or explain this model in a clear manner.
Share the link to this source with your classmates and
address the following issues:
- Is the source credible?
- Does the information in the source regarding the Vroom-Yetton model
match what you’ve read in the background materials?
- Why do you find this source easier to follow? How
did it help you understand this model?
MGT 422 Module 4 Discussion Integration
Discussion Topic
Given the readings and assignments in the course, explain
how taking this course has given you new insights into your own profession and
career. Describe two concepts from this course that you think are most
applicable to your career.
After
responding to the Reflective Discussion above, please complete an
anonymous Course Evaluation Survey. Instructors are not able to view course evaluation
reports until after the grade submission period is over. Thank you for your
feedback.
MGT 422 Module 4 Case
Case
Assignment
Since 2013 there has been on-and-off talk of Sprint
purchasing T-Mobile. (They are the third- and fourth-largest mobile phone
carriers in the United States.) This move is led by Masayoshi Son, the chair of
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which owns Sprint. Mr. Son is a bold
entrepreneur who is known for his penchant for risk taking and desire to be a
global leader in the telecommunications industry. If the merger ever goes
through it would result in a merger of the third and fourth largest mobile
phone carriers in the United States.
Most recently, it appears that the merger will not go
through. But the fact that talk of this merger has been rumored for quite a
long time suggests it must have been a very difficult decision for Masayoshi
Son. Such a large-scale merger brings great benefits in allowing a combined
Sprint/T-Mobile to compete with industry leaders AT&T and Verizon. But
mergers are always very risky and require a huge amount of debt to finance, not
to mention overcoming numerous regulatory hurdles.
For this assignment, thoroughly review the background
materials on the Vroom-Yetton decision-making style model. This involves
answering seven questions relating to a decision and using the results from the
model to determine your decision-making style. Make sure you understand the
model, including the seven questions and the path diagram that you follow in
order to find the preferred leadership style. The Vroom-Yetton model allows you
to choose between different levels of autocratic, consulting, or group decision-making
styles.
After you have reviewed the required background materials
including Vroom (1976) and Rigolosi (2005), do some research on Sprint’s
decision whether or not to purchase T-Mobile and think about what kind of
answers you would give to the seven questions involved in the Vroom-Yetton
model. Here are some articles on the rumored Sprint/T-Mobile merger to get you
started:
Gelles, D.,
& De La Merced, M. J. (2014, Jun 05). T-Mobile and Sprint zeroing in on
merger. New York Times [ProQuest]
Yao, D.
(2014). Moody’s: Sprint/T-Mobile merger faces negative free cash flow until at
least 2018. SNL Kagan Media & Communications Report [ProQuest]
De La
Merced, M. (2014, Aug 07). Sprint ends its attempt to purchase T-Mobile. International
New York Times [ProQuest]
Once you have finished your research on the Vroom-Yetton
model and on the merger, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following
issues:
- Imagine you are Masayoshi Son and have to decide on which
decision-making style to use. Go through the seven questions from the
Vroom-Yetton model and give your answers based on what you think the main
issues are in the decision of whether or not to purchase T-Mobile. Explain
your reasoning behind each answer
- Go through the diagram in the Vroom-Yetton model and, based on your
answers to the seven questions from Question 1, see what kind of
decision-making style is recommended for Masayoshi Son. Use the diagram
(Figure 6.2) on page 118 of Rigolosi (2005). Are you surprised by this
answer? Is it the kind of decision-making style you would personally
recommend based on your own research?
- Conclude your paper with a discussion of your own
opinion as to the usefulness of the Vroom-Yetton model for choosing your
decision-making style. Would you recommend that corporate executives
receive training in this model? Is there any ways in which you think the
model could be improved? Explain your reasoning.
MGT
422 Module 4 SLP
For this assignment think about a specific decision that
was made by your supervisor in the organization you currently work for or have
worked for in the past. Review the background materials carefully on the
Vroom-Yetton model and think about how this model applies to this decision that
you experienced. Then write a 2- to 3-page paper applying the Vroom-Yetton
model to this decision:
- Describe the decision that management had to make, and also whether
their decision-making style was autocratic, consultative, or group-based.
Explain your reasoning.
- Go through Vroom-Yetton’s seven questions and apply these questions
to their diagram to see what decision-making style their model suggests.
Briefly explain the reasoning behind your answers to the seven questions.
- Conclude your paper with a discussion of whether or
not you would recommend this model to your supervisor and whether or not
you were surprised by the recommendation given by this model regarding
decision-making style.
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