Farhana Khondokar
AMM 103, 0078
Case Study# 2
Chapter 6
11/ 10/08
1. How do you think good decision making has contributed to the success of
NASCAR?
Answer: Every business needs a good decision making strategy to hit the success. To
raise a company to the success level needs a solid plan and effective decision.
Managers need to know certain steps for decision making process. Based on the text
there are some criteria to consider while a manager makes a decision for the
company’s success. Considering NASCAR’S success, I think that there are must be
some good decision making processes going on to get the unlimited success for the
NASCAR company. For Example: During the early year the founder of the company
Big Bill had a decision to promote their NASCAR car as a sports official with the
help of the race track owners. Therefore, NASCAR got promoted and sponsored by
the R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company and held the first Winston 500 race in Talladega,
Alabama. Afterwards, to increase the product level, NASCAR decided to have some
sports channel promoting their car such as ESPN, TNT, and Fox. All these early
decisions help NASCAR to raise their product level and hit the success. Despite this
success, NASCAR also has a plan of making the sport grow in a way that invigorates
hard core fans and make it attractive to people who might want to simple racing.
Although making an effective decision needs lots of intonations, I think it should be
based on existing success and product.
2. A decision to go after a new market as Brain is doing is a major decision. How
could he have used the decision making process to help making this decision?
Answer: I think, Mr. Brain has realized that, though his company hit the high success
of sports car market, it really necessary to have a change using this reputation. So he
has come up with an additional plan based on the existing product. The idea of
making change is to create driver safety requirement. In this way Mr. Brain follows
some decision making process. First of all, he identifies the problem, which is the
driver safety. Mr. Brain also decides to get in touch with new fans by launching new
product and at the same time increase the revenue. After defining the problems, he
considers the criteria. These are safety driving, getting new customer and the market
diversity. The criteria will give him alternatives. He might pay attention on two
alternatives that which will give him a better out come. He should develop the pros
and cons for each alternative, than analyses the options by researching information.
After he has done all these work, he will know that which would give him a better
opportunity of success. However, by implementing the alternatives he would focus on
his goal and achieve the success.
3. What criteria do you think would be most important to Brain as he makes decision
about the company’s future?
Answer: Criteria help people to making their decision effectively. Before selecting an
alternative, Mr. Brain should really pay attention on all criteria because decision
criteria will help him what relevant in a decision. There are different criteria in
including in his decision such as developing foreign market, launching a new product
but I think, he should consider to develop foreign market because without developing
foreign market there would be a lot more risk to launching his new product. Market
research will give him the customer’s interest and their expectation from NASCAR’s
product. So Mr. Brain must use market research to make his decision about the
company’s future.
4. Would you characterize the conditions surrounding NASCAR as conditions of
certainty, risk, and uncertainty? Explain your choice?
Answer: I think, while the NASCAR Company making decision they will face the
condition of risk. NASCAR wants to make the sports safer, which will create other
problem additionally. The customer they already have now may not like the new
addition of the car, for example, if they make the car safe for driving, the speed limit
might be less than before. The set’s and car might be wider than it use to be.
Therefore, the customers who like danger, speed and fun driving might not like the
new addition. On the other hand, the customers, who want to simple race and
comfortable safe driving might choice the new addition of NASCAR car. By
summing up the risking factor I would say that NASCAR should try new product
because taking risk is a part of business management. If company would not take risk,
they might not be able to launch new product and aware about customer choice ether.
5. What could Brain learn from the concept of highly reliable organizations to help
him be a batter decision maker?
Answer: The highly reliable organization, which expertly sports the unexpected when
it crops up and then quickly adapts to the changed environment. The highly reliable
organization concept comes from Karl Weick, an organizational physiologist. He says
that highly organization has five habits. First, they are not tricked by their success.
Secondly, they defer to the experts on the front line. Third, they let unexpected
circumstances provide solution. Forth, they embrace complexity and fifth, they
anticipate their limits. I think all these 5 steps will help Mr. Brain to be a better
decision maker. By the help of these 5 steps he will enable to take the risk for his new
addition of the NASCAR car, adapt the change quickly and shows customer a
positive outcome for safe driving. Moreover he might prepare his company NASCAR
to provide the solution based on the circumstances. I think, all these 5 steps would
give him a strong fit back to launch his new product in the market.