Analytical Thinking and Decision Making

Running head: ANALYTICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING
Analytical Thinking and Decision Making
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Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Identification of decision makers:...................................................................................................2
Identification of alternative courses of action:................................................................................5
Identification of relevant attributes to the decision problem:..........................................................5
Determination of appropriate weight for each attribute:.................................................................6
Determination of weighted average of values assigned to different alternatives:...........................7
Making provisional decision:..........................................................................................................8
Assignment of value for each attribute identified above to measure performance:........................9
Sensitivity analysis performance to assess the robustness of the decision:...................................12
Improving the design of mobile set to reduce the number of defects in the next batch of
Galaxy Note 7:...........................................................................................................................12
Improving the qualities of batteries to resolve the overheating problem experienced in the
above model:..............................................................................................................................14
Making additional investment in research and development to improve knowledge base:......15
Providing training to the workers and employees to create motivate pool of employees to
extract better performance from them:......................................................................................16
Discussion on strengths and weaknesses of the analysis with relevant resources:........................17
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................20
References:....................................................................................................................................21

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Introduction:
A South Korean Multi-national company Samsung is one of most recognizable company on the
face of the earth. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, the company comprises of number of
affiliated business under the brand name of Samsung. Most notable business out of all affiliated
business is Samsung Electronics. It is also the world’s largest information technology company.
A brief discussion in this document will be helpful in understanding the decision makers in the
company with specific focus on the reason for failure of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Model.
Identification of decision makers:
Before identifying the decision makers it is important to understand the decision problems that
resulted in failure of Samsung Galaxy Note 7, here are the list of decision problems experienced
within the organization.
I. Increase number of defects in Samsung Galaxy Note 7 model.
II. Faulty design of mobile set to experience explosion.
III. Faulty batteries manufactured for the model as the model were reported for
overheating.
IV. Lack of motivation in the employee groups.
Samsung is a multi-national company with number of businesses operating under its affiliation
and Samsung Electronics is one of such businesses. Thus, it is firstly important to understand
that Samsung Corporation is the umbrella under which different affiliated businesses of the
corporation operate (Dempsey, 2019). The organizational structure of the corporation will help
us to identify the primary decision makers first before proceeding to identify the decision makers
in respect of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Model.

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The organizational structure of Samsung is shown in the diagram below.
Image 1: Organizational structure of Samsung Corporation.
The corporation is headed by the Chairman of the company with specific segregation of the
business in regional headquarters as can be seen from the image 1. The regional headquarters
operate under the leadership of respective of Chief Executive Officers (CEO). Each regional
headquarter has different CEOs. Just below the ladder of CEO in each headquarter the Chief
Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer operate. Under the COO and CFO, various
divisions of the company operate (Dempsey, 2016). Each division has divisional manager who
takes the final decision in relation to the operation of these divisions.
Further in order to understand decision making process in Samsung Electronics where Samsung
Galaxy Note 7 was manufactured and initiated the below diagram shall be extremely helpful.

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Image 2: Electronic division structure.
As can be seen that the CEO is the head of Samsung Electronics who oversees the entire
operations of company’s electronic division. The operations of electronic division in the
company is segregated primarily into Digital Media and communications and Device Solutions
divisions. Further the Digital Media and Communications division segregated into Consumer
Electronics and IT & Mobile Communications. Thus, the decision of launching new models and
manufacturing of mobiles are taken in the IT & mobile communication division by the respective
operational heads in the division (Gerasimov and Novikova, 2016).
However, despite the segregation of different divisions and executives in different positions
within these divisions, it is important to understand that decisions taken within the company are
cumulative decisions taken by the organization and it would be incorrect and wrong practice to
hold an individual responsible for the failure of a particular model.