Essay Paper On Decision-Making Process And Learning
Essay Paper On Decision Making Processassessment Learning Outcomesthis
Essay Paper on Decision Making Process Assessment Learning Outcomes This assignment is designed to assess the below learning outcomes: 2. Understand and explain the process of management decision making. 4. Understand the range of tools and techniques available as support for managerial decision making Individual Report Criteria: Choose a hospitality or a tourism organisation of your own choice and reflect the below criteria on a real business scenario/ decision: Steps of decision making process in the chosen organisation Decision making tools and techniques for your chosen organisation Decision Making Models that your organisation might have chosen. Describe the impact on ethics and values.
Paper For Above instruction
Introduction
Effective decision making is a cornerstone of successful management in the hospitality and tourism industry. It involves a systematic process where managers identify issues, evaluate options, and implement solutions while considering ethical implications and organizational values. This paper examines the decision-making process within a specific tourism organization—Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore—highlighting the steps involved, decision-making tools and techniques employed, relevant decision models, and the ethical considerations influencing organizational choices.
Decision-Making Process in Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands, an iconic integrated resort, exemplifies complex managerial decision-making driven by strategic goals and customer-centered service. The decision-making process at MBS generally follows a structured approach consisting of several steps:
1. Recognizing the Need for a Decision: Managers notice declining customer satisfaction scores that threaten the hotel’s reputation.
2. Defining the Problem: The issue is identified as inadequate guest services during peak hours due to staff shortages.
3. Gathering Information: Data collection involves customer feedback, staffing schedules, and industry benchmarks.
4. Developing Alternatives: Possible solutions include hiring additional staff, implementing automated check-ins, or restructuring shift schedules.
5. Evaluating Alternatives: Each option is analyzed based on cost, feasibility, and potential impact on service quality.
6. Choosing the Best Solution: After deliberation, MBS opts to enhance staffing levels and introduce automated systems to improve efficiency.
7. Implementing the Decision: The organization executes the staffing plan and integrates new technology.
8. Monitoring and Reviewing: Post-implementation reviews assess customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness.
This systematic sequence ensures that decisions are made logically, with room for refinement based on feedback and outcomes.
Decision-Making Tools and Techniques
Marina Bay Sands employs various tools and techniques to support decision-making:
- SWOT Analysis: Assists in evaluating internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats, guiding strategic decisions. For instance, MBS conducts SWOT analyses routinely before launching new services.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: Quantifies potential benefits against possible costs to determine the most viable option, such as comparing automation investments with staffing enhancements.
- Decision Trees: Visual representation of decision pathways helps visualize potential outcomes, especially useful in operational scenarios involving uncertainty.
- Balanced Scorecard: Aligns organizational activities with strategic objectives, integrating financial, customer, internal process, and learning perspectives.
- Customer Feedback Systems: Focus groups and online surveys provide data that influence service improvement and operational decisions.
These tools enable data-driven and strategically aligned decisions that promote organizational effectiveness.
Decision-Making Models
MBS may utilize different decision-making models suited to various managerial levels:
- Rational Model: Emphasizes logical analysis, systematic evaluation, and objective criteria, ideal for high-stakes strategic planning.
- Bounded Rationality Model: Recognizes cognitive limitations, prompting managers to seek satisfactory rather than optimal solutions, common during operational adjustments.
- Intuitive Model: Relies on managerial experience and instinct, often used in creative or time-sensitive scenarios, such as rapid response during service disruptions.
- Garbage Can Model: Describes decision processes in complex, ambiguous environments where problems, solutions, and participants interact non-linearly, applicable in organizational change initiatives.
The choice of model depends on decision complexity, urgency, and organizational culture.
Impact on Ethics and Values
Decisions within MBS are influenced profoundly by ethical considerations and core organizational values such as integrity, customer-centricity, innovation, and sustainability. For example:
- When expanding services, the organization ensures labor rights are respected, aligning staffing decisions with ethical employment practices.
- Cost-cutting measures are evaluated for social impact, ensuring decisions do not compromise guest safety or staff welfare.
- Environmental sustainability is prioritized in decision-making, affecting choices around energy use, waste management, and green certifications.
- Transparent communication with stakeholders maintains trust and upholds organizational values.
Ethical frameworks, including corporate social responsibility (CSR), guide managers to balance profit motives with societal and environmental responsibilities, fostering sustainable reputation and legitimacy.
Conclusion
The decision-making process at Marina Bay Sands exemplifies a structured, informed approach supported by various analytical tools and decision models. Ethical considerations and organizational values are integral in shaping decisions, ensuring they align with stakeholder expectations and societal standards. By systematically evaluating alternatives and employing appropriate tools and models, MBS sustains its competitive advantage in the dynamic hospitality and tourism sector while upholding its ethical commitments.
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