Business Decision Making

Assignment task

You must, utilising appropriate methodology and secondary data, produce a report which provides an analysis of a specific market related challenge faced by a business, and based on your analysis, propose recommendations to deal with the challenge. The report must also include relevant models, theories and concepts.

Learning outcome 1: Understand the context of business decision making and characteristics of decision-making problems;

Learning outcome 2: Identify issues involved in making complex business decisions, including relevant ethical aspects and compare various quantitative and qualitative decision-making models;

Learning outcome 3: Appreciate the need for approaching business problem solving as an integrated critical analysis as well as more specialist, functional approach;

Learning outcome 4: Be able to select and use appropriate methodologies, tools and techniques to analyse data and present a professional report.

Task requirements

OVERVIEW

Report (3000 words):
As a business consultant you are required to assess the market and apply business decision making theories, concepts and relevant models, such as the 5 or 7 step decision making process. Market research should point the way for the company and its decision making by providing information that helps to reduce the uncertainty surrounding the decisions to be made.

You are required to make adecision concerning the specified project regarding viability and practicability, andthen produce a report that recommends feasible solutions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TASK - WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO?

Scenario: Business decision making is an important concept which requires full consideration. Effective research is essential as a basis for decision making. In this Report, you will undertake business decision making in relation to the scenario belowusing research findings and analysis.

This report will focus on the business decision making for ‘Space for Rent', acompany specialising in acquiring buildings at a reasonable price, refurbishing them to an acceptable professional standard and then renting out a space at a desk in a room, or whole rooms. The company will be a new start-up company that plans to enter the UK market within one year.

You are required to:

Report Tasks

Task 1

1.1 Select and justify anappropriate business decision-making model that would enable the business to make and take key decisions (e.g., the 5,6, or 7-step decision making process; MCDA; utilization of critical thinking, etc.).

1.2 Create a plan for the collection of primary and secondary data for the above business issue and discuss the issues involved in making complex business decisions. Note thatan outlineplan is required rather than an actual carrying out of a survey(s).

1.3 Select and justify an appropriate decision-making framework that you could use? Logically, it must be one which most appropriately suits the business you have chosen to set-up, e.g., AARRR; OKR; Market Opportunity Navigator.

Task 2

2.1Identify competitors and undertake a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) of the business in relation to these competitors.

2.2 Select and justify one problem-solving techniquemost appropriate for your choice of business from the following: Rational Decision-Making Model; Intuitive Decision-Making Model; Creative Decision-Making Model; or Recognition-Primed Decision-Making Model.

You must demonstrate evidence of wider research, real world application and reading of core textbooks, learning materials on Moodle and academic scholarly work through Harvard referencing.

The word count excludes the cover page, table of contents, financials, references, and appendices.Assignment Guidelines:

Task 1

1.1After the introduction, the students must adopt an appropriate decision-making model and evaluate the key problems within the business, such as entering a new market (UK) or competing with FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).
You mustdemonstrate how the different business decisions making models which are going to be used by the company are likely to producean effective impact, via the process of strategic decision-making analysis. You must also show how they will achieve the objectives. Management must demonstrate by their use of the models, how that will help them to provide better results.
1.2 The plan you will follow will focus on secondary data as opposed to the collection of primary data. The reason being are ‘time-constraints'. The problems would for example include data gathering, access to data, or any problem the students encounter during the writing process,
1.3 Emphasis must be given to the decision-making framework (see assignment tasks for details) and the business decision-making process, e.g. 5, 6 or 7 step process. or it can be a problem facing the Company itself such as lack of information, market research, entry modes (FDI, partnership, collaboration, merger or acquisition). Ideally, in the business world,
Planning the research plan:‘Space-for-Rent' is lacking competitive advantage while entering a new market. Collecting valuable information and creating sources from both primary and secondary data can help the business to understand the business environment and make an effective solution that can foster growth and expansion.
Secondary data is the data that is already present andthere are a number of online available sources. Examples include ‘You-tube' videos; Data will be collected from industry reports, relevant journals, market research data

Task 2
2.1 You will be required to do a SWOT analysis, or any other analytical model, for evaluating the competitors and analysis of the current market trends. such as a PESTEL, Porter's 5 forces, etc. for this section
This section in the report should include an analysis of data that has been collected from various resources. These data might be represented through current market analysis, line chart, etc to showcase the data effectively for making an effective decision and better understanding.
If appropriate, you may choose to use ‘Simons' decision-making model.
2.2
Analyses the activities of problem-solving technique and the proposed solution. The problem-solving technique contains four steps process that helps to analyze the current problem of the business and take the right measurement to solve it. See the models suggested in the Assignment
Defining the problem: for example,‘Space-for-Rent' business-main problem is the market competitor. As ‘Space-for-Rent' is entering in the UK market, they have to face the existing market competitors, unknown market(s) etc
Look at: 1. Alternative solution: 2.Evaluate and select the alternative: 3. Implement

4. Make a Recommendation