XAT 2014 — Decision Making Question 14
Read the following case – let and answer the questions that follow.
Intercontinental Business Manufacturing (IBM) was doing a roaring business. Demand of the products was high and supply of raw – material was abundant. IBM was manufacturing three different products Some customers bought two types of products and some bought only one. The three products were “quickie – quick”, “run – of – the – mill”, and “maxi – max”. Customers were not complaining loudly.
Ram, the product manager, was confused! Demand for “quickie – quick “was increasing .Raw material suppliers wanted to supply lower quality at cheaper price. It was profitable for the company to increase production .Quality department was not happy with the product. Ram met Rahim, the CEO, who, as always, wanted higher profits. He said that IBM will set up a committee for improving the quality.
Some of the managers in production department were discussing the problems faced in shipping products in time. They complained that they had to undertake responsibility of creating financial and marketing plans in addition to responsibility of production planning. At the same time, finance and marketing managers were to be involved in preparing production plans. It was expected that this will reduce customer complaints. It was rumored that these changes were initiated by the managers educated in the U.S.
Which of the following is the best possible course of action available to the affected managers?
Answer & solution
- A
Create a union to safeguard their rights.
- B
File a law suit against the company.
Create a forum for discussion and resolution of issues.
- D
Register a complaint with the human rights body.
- E
Go for further education to the U.S.
The affected managers in this scenario are those in the production, finance and marketing departments.
From the information given in the caselet, one may infer that their rights were certainly not violated in any manner. This eliminates options 1, 2 and 4.
Option 5 is not only far fetched but also erroneous. Going to the U.S. for further education is completely uncalled for.
Creating a forum for discussion will bring everyone’s ideas to the table and facilitate resolution of the mentioned issues.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.