Managerial decision making class Week 1 Case Analysis 1) Define the decision problem? 2) What is the general nature of the problem? 3) What event triggered the situation? 4) What are the imposed constraints on the situation? 5) What are the underlying ele

Week One Case Analysis:  Conference Decision Case

Title - Date:  September 2, 2005

Key Words

·         Accounting System User Conference

·         Hurricane Katrina

·         City Shuts Down

Script - In less than two weeks, an accounting system user’s conference is scheduled to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 13 – 16, 2005.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina has struck the city leaving a wake of destruction.  Based on what you see on television, the hotel and the city cannot possibly accommodate this or any conference for the foreseeable future.

Title – The Situation

Key Words

·         200 Attendees

·         Conference is Critical for New Product Enhancements

·         Conference is Critical for Attracting New Customers

Script - Approximately 200 attendees are schedule to attend – flying in from all over the country.  All attendees pre-paid their registration fee for the conference. 

With a lot of competition in the marketplace, getting the users to participate in the annual user’s conference is critical to retain current customers.  During the conference several product enhancement ideas are developed by the users and this input is often used in future releases of the product.

Potential new customers are invited to the event and their involvement often leads to securing new contracts for the accounting system as they gain confidence in the system, seeing others use it.

Title – The Challenge

Key Words

·         What to do with this year’s conference?

·         Management Against Cancelling Conference

Script - As head of the group that puts on the conference, you are faced with making a determination of what to do with this year’s conference.  You are getting calls from the registered attendees asking what to do.

Senior management feels that conference is critical to ensure continued customer engagement and fears that cancelling the conference altogether the company will lose the momentum is has developed over the past few years. 

Title – Other Considerations

Key Words

·         Important to Keep Costs in Line

·         Will attendees and speakers be able to attend?

·         What about New Orleans?

Script -

·         Keeping the original dates and moving to a different city may drastically increase costs due to the short advanced notice.  Will people cancel because of the higher hotel costs?

·         If the date is changed, will the speakers and attendees still be able to attend?

·         Having worked with the local Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and the hotel, you worry about how their businesses will survive with all of this destruction and wonder what you can do to help.

Week One Case Analysis:  Conference Decision Case