I am completing a group assignment, for which you can find the scenario below. I have done a portion of it so far, but my group mates have not been so collaborative. The assigment is due on th e5th of

Step One: Framing the Decision Statement

Decision Statement

Fill in Here: do Jeff and Jordan expand the business in general or do they just try to meet the Holiday demand and worry about expansion later?

Decision Statement: explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Fill in Here: Every good decision made depends on a problem which was stated clearly and carefully. “The way you state your problem frames your decision.” (Litemind, n.d.). It is from a well stated statement that everything else from Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences, and Tradeoffs can be accurately determined.

Defining the problem: The first step of the PrOACT method is identifying the problem. There are five elements which need to be assessed in order to create a decision statement (keep in mind, the decision statement can also be referred to as the “problem statement”):

Triggers  The holiday season is upon Flavor “N” Snack (FNS).
Constraints  present limitations related to the problem:

enough inventory for the Holiday season
keeping down expenses
the company is self-financed and the couple does not want to touch their 401K pension funds to fund FNS

Constituents  breaking down the problem into smaller pieces:

Making a good impression on customers throughout the holiday
cost of expansion
avoid dipping into 401k funds
hire bonded and vetted temp-workers and/or family and friends

Previous & Future Decisions  it is important to keep in mind that decisions made on the matter now will have impacts down the line:

Jeff and Jordan do all the product purchasing, mixing, bottling, labeling, packaging and shipping of the product in the basement of their large home.
The idea of not having enough inventory for the Holiday season and disappointing customers is unsettling to James and Allison. The couple cannot be seen as unreliable to first-time customers
the couple does not want to touch their 401K pension funds to fund FNS
These decisions affect the future decisions they will have to make, as well as their objectives

Scope - is the problem too broad or too narrow? It all comes down to Jeff and Jordan deciding how they are going to handle the increase in product demand over the holidays.

Step Two: Determining the Objectives

Decision Objectives

Fill in here: Identify and list the objectives. There should be at least four from the case study and two that the facts imply. Go through the process covered in the Lifetools PrOACT Lesson Two.

meet the huge increase in production due to holidays
The couple cannot be seen as unreliable to first-time customers.
keeping down expenses is critical because the company is self-financed and the couple does not want to touch their 401K pension funds to fund FNS.
Jeff and Jordan would have to produce 6,000 bottles per month starting in September through December to fill all their possible sales for the holiday season.
Acquire more customers
Increase business revenue/profitability

Objectives: explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Fill in here: Explain in detail how the group arrived at the list of objectives. Go through the process covered in the Lifetools PrOACT Lesson Two in discussing why these objectives were chosen and others not. Include any possible bias or influences that might have entered into the choice of objectives by the decision maker as expressed in the group discussion. Identify the ideas that were discussed by the group and the reasons given to finally choose the objectives listed above.

It is essential to determine the objectives, as they define what is to be accomplished as a result of making the final decision. Objectives essentially serve as a defined path for the decision, or better yet guides the decision. Objectives are used to help determine what is needed, their level of importance, and they also used to help justify a decision (PrOACT Decision Making Model, n.d., p. 4). Similar to the process of determining the decision statement, there are five elements which need can be assessed in order to create a decision statement:

Step 1 - Identify the concerns your decision will address. In my the final decision, the following would have had to be addressed: meeting all demands from customers over the holiday period, be perceived as reliable by the customers, avoiding dipping into 401k funds.
Step 2 - create concise objectives (meet holiday demands, avoid touching 401k pension funds to fund business, produce 6000 bottles per month from sept through December).
Step 3 Identify your fundamental objectives: The main concern can be traced back the problem statement. Jeff an Jordan want to be able to handle the increase in production over the holiday. All other outlined objectives trace back to this fundamental objective.
Step 4 clarify your objectives
Step 5 test your objectives

Potential Stakeholders

Fill in here: Identify and list all potential stakeholders. Review the articles to help you understand and come up with a list of potential stakeholders.

Jeff Hopkins
Jordan Hopkins
Jeff and Jordan’s teenage grandson
Flavor “N” Snack (FNS) customers
Flavor “N” Snack (FNS) employees
Jeff and Jordan’s family and friends
several small boutique chains looking for clever food gift ideas

Explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Fill in here: Identify and explain the relationship the stakeholders have to the decision to be made and what influence or bias they may have with respect to the objectives desired from the decision choice. Identify the ideas that were discussed by the group and the reasons given to finally choose the objectives listed above.

A stakeholder can be both a person, or a group of individuals that have an interest and are directly affected by the choices a company and/or business makes (Leonard, 2018, p. 1). It is essential to identify the stakeholders for the objectives, based on the following facts: the final decision directly affects the stakeholders; the stakeholders may contribute to the decision, and is therefor important to keep them in mind throughout the process of making the decision. The stakeholders will help contribute to the decision and the outcome, throughout the process (Nordmeyer, n.d., p. 1). In this case, the stakeholders outlined will all be affected by the decision taken by Jeff and Jordan.

Explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Jeff Hopkins – Jeff, along with his wife Jordan, are the most important stakeholders as they have control over the business, and are in charge of making the decisions pertaining to the business.
Jordan Hopkins - Jordan, along with her husband share equal responsibility of the business, and are the most important stakeholders as they have control over the business. Neither her or Jeff is a silent partner.
Jeff and Jordan’s teenage grandson – the teenage grandson has been a part of the business from the onset, as he is the individual who setup the website and helped Jeff and Jordan with the orders.
Flavor “N” Snack (FNS) customers – Jeff and Jordan will be considering the customers as the attempt to make the final decision.
Flavor “N” Snack (FNS) employees – Jeff and Jordan will have to consider the employee(s) depending on the route they choose when making the decision.
Jeff and Jordan’s family and friends – In the case study, one of the routes Jeff and Jordan considered was to ask for the help of family and/or friends. This makes them potential stakeholders. A point here can also be made that their grandson is family, and he is a stakeholder. The parents of the grandson (also family) are somewhat affected by what happens to the business more or less.
several small boutique chains looking for clever food gift ideas – It is stated in the case study “They received a contract from several small boutique chains looking for clever food gift ideas. This contract will increase their output by about 300 bottles per month alone.”. The contract makes the small boutiques direct stakeholders of the business.

Step Three: Creating the Alternatives

Alternatives: explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Fill in Here:

Decision Alternative #1

Fill in Here:

Uncertainties Associated with Alternative #1

Fill in Here:

Risk Tolerance Associated with Alternative #1

Fill in Here:

Stakeholders (impacts the alternatives and alternatives impact stakeholders)

Fill in Here:

Step Four: Examining the Consequences

Table 1 Consequences

Objectives	Alternative #1	Alternative #2	Alternative #3	Alternative #4






Totals

Consequences: explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study
Fill in Here:

Table 2 Tradeoffs

Objectives	Alternative #1	Alternative #2	Alternative #3	Alternative #4







Totals
Fill in Here:

Step Five: Ranking and Weighting the Alternatives

Decision Matrix Table 1

Objectives	Obj 1	Obj 2	Obj 3	Obj 4	Total
Alternative 1
Alternative 2
Alternative 3
Alternative 4
Alternative etc.

Decision Matrix Table 2

Objectives	Objective 1	Objective 2	Objective 3	Objective 4	Objective 5	Total
Weights	20%	20%	20%	20%	20%	100%
Alt 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
Alt (etc.)

Explanation of Rating and Choice

Fill in Here:

Step Six: Linked Decisions to the Alternatives

Linked Decisions explanation of how the group applied the model to the case study

Fill in Here:

Step Seven: Making the Decision

The Decision as determined by the decision matrix:

Fill in Here

Fill in Here:

Step Eight: One Last Look at the Decision

Review:

Fill in Here: