business decision 2

Exercise Overview

Decision-making skills refer to the ability to recognize and define problems and opportunities correctly and then to select an appropriate course of action for solving problems or capitalizing on opportunities.

In this exercise, you will apply your decision-making skills to a situation calling for both good business sense and a sense of personal values

Exercise Background

You are the owner of a company that makes dress and casual shoes at two small factories, each with a workforce of 40 people. One is located in Smallville, Illinois and the other in Modesto, Texas both small towns. You’ve been in business for 40 years, and both factories have long been profitable. Unfortunately, however, competitive conditions in the industry have changed in recent years. In particular, you’re now facing stiff competition from Italian firms whose shoes not only sell for less money but boast higher quality You’re confident that you can close the quality gap with new high-tech equipment, but your overhead is still 30 percent higher than that of your Italian competitors.

At the moment, you feel that your best option is to close the Smallville factory and lay off the workers, but you’re a little reluctant to do so. You’re the major employer in Smallville, which is dependent on your factory and has just spent a good deal of money to improve utility service and highway access. In addition, most of your employees are older people who have lived most of their lives in Smallville.

Exercise Taskt

You may decide to close the factory or keep the factory open, but the goals of the decision-making process are three: (1) maintain the viability of the company; (2) reflect your goals and values; and (3) use the information in the exercise statement and at least three external resources. Explain your decision in one page response file. Make sure to resolve the following issues:

● What alternative courses of action are available?

● How did you evaluate the available courses of action relative to one another?

● What information about the company or the external economic environment influenced your decision and how?