Decision Making Report: Data Company Limited, Sales Decline Analysis

This report examines the challenges faced by Data Company Limited, a medium-sized data management software company, due to declining sales and profits over a four-year period. The report details the process of identifying the root cause, which was determined to be poor internal communication. Through interviews, questionnaires, observations, and case studies, the study highlights issues such as unclear and untimely communication of decisions, ineffective supervisor-employee communication due to closed office layouts, and unprofessional emails. The report proposes solutions, including improved communication methods like mobile messaging and open office layouts, and the implementation of professional email standards. The report concludes with an analysis of the suggested solutions and the development of an implementation plan.

Running head: DECISION MAKING
Decision Making in an Organization
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DECISION MAKING IN AN ORGANISATION
Introduction
Data Company Limited is a medium-sized company that deals with data management
software. Data Company Limited has a concern that over the past four years we have been
experiencing reduced sales and profits. This is according to our financial reports at the end of
each financial year. Our sales and profits have been reducing gradually from 2014 to 2017
(Ibrahim, 2018). These reductions have been an alarming concern and as the manager have taken
the task of trying to identify the reasons for this decline of sales and reduced profits over the
years and hence solve the problem in partnership with other employees of this company. We as a
company have decided to address this problem and deal with it.
Identifying the problem
The first thing we have decided to do is to identify the main cause of the decline in sales
and profits over the past four years. We have used different techniques and research methods to
determine the main or rather the dominant problem facing Data Company Limited (Kashi, &
Franek, 2014). First, we conducted interviews with many employees of the company including
the subordinates to get their views and opinions about what the problem could be. We also had
face-to-face communication with some of our clients on their view about our services over the
past four years. We then came up with questionnaires containing various questions on how the
operations of the company run. The questionnaires also involved a section where the employees
would rate their satisfaction with the operations of the company over the years. We also gave the
questionnaires to some of our very loyal customers who have received our services over the
years. We also had a general meeting with all the employees of Data Company Limited. We

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discussed various issues concerning our operations, the employees raised various concerns, and
we got their opinions regarding what has caused the decline in sales and the reduced profits. As a
manager, I did a lot of observation on how the workers conducted themselves and how they did
their jobs. We also did an online survey on some of the challenges that may cause a company to
experience reduced sales and profits and got some response from some people on the social
platforms. We also went through some case studies of companies that had also experienced low
sales and reduced profits over the years.
Find all necessary information about the problem
We analyzed the results of the research we had conducted thoroughly to identify the main
cause of the low sales and reduced profits for our company. Through observation of workers at
work, I noted various things. The employees had a low morale of work, they were mostly slow in
their jobs, inactive and they seemed particularly unhappy. Another observation that I made was
that there seemed to be a bad interpersonal relationship among the workers. I could see some
employees rolling eyes after being given an instruction and a lot of muttering. There was also a
lot of negativity or rather negative energy coming from the employees that showed that they
lacked information about various things. According to all this research through interviews, the
questionnaires and the observations made, the main problem was hence poor internal
communication within the company. This for sure was the main problem because the problems
that poor internal communication can create are often not realized until after problems occur
when business and the bottom line suffers.
We went a step further in doing a communication audit process to understand the
problem of internal communication deeply and how to solve it. The first problem encountered in

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our organization that is affecting internal communication is that decisions made at the executive
level are not being communicated clearly and in a timely manner to the employees. The flow of
information from the top-level management down to the bottom level employees is facing
problems. At times employees at the bottom level do not at all receive the information or they
receive unclear information and at times, the information is not conveyed on time. This has not
only brought confusion among the workers but also has hindered employees from performing
their duties well as they do not have the necessary information that is essential for their job. This
has over the years reduced their productivity. The second problem is that for the most part the
supervisors and the employees are not in the same offices. Data Company Limited uses a closed
office layout that now seems to be disadvantageous to the company, as it has made supervisor-
employee communication ineffective. This is a major problem because the company deals with
data management software. Workers dealing with technical issues need to do a lot of
consultation with each other.
The failure of consulting with supervisors leads to a poor workflow in the organization.
This consequently leads to low productivity. The third problem facing internal communication in
the company was that Emails being sent are unprofessional. The employees complained that in
many occasions they fail to understand the Emails being sent to them. This is because
unprofessional Emails may involve the use of short words that are not understood by everyone.
The employees also stated that many times they tend to overlook and ignore unprofessional
Emails hence they may miss the information sent to them. Others may interpret the Emails in
their own words if they fail to understand the Emails fully. This means that work has not been
flowing well due to the problems that have been affecting internal communication and that the
reason for the declining sales and profits over the last four years.

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Alternatives suggested solutions
Problem 1
Having understood the issue of ineffective internal communication in the company, we
have now decided to address the issue to increase the sales and consequently the profits made.
The first problem encountered was unclear and untimely communication of decisions made by
the executive to the employees. We reviewed our old methods of communicating to identify their
weaknesses and rectify them. We mostly communicated using memos that are usually posted on
the notice boards. We also give instructions to those in just below us so that they can
communicate the information to those below them. We also use Emails as a way of
communicating. In the meeting with all the employees, we noted the inefficiencies in the
methods we used through the issues raised by the employees. First, the memos were posted on
the notice boards and many failed to notice them. This is because the notice boards are not in
strategic positions that are easily noticeable by all members of the company. The employees
suggested that it would be better to place the notice boards next to the entrance and exit doors of
the offices.
The use of memos also had another problem as not all the employees take notice of them
in the notice boards hence some employees do not get the information. Employees especially the
subordinates also complained that the information we give to their bosses does not reach them at
times. In as much as their bosses had failed us, we also realized we had contributed greatly to
their failure, as we did not do any follow-ups to ensure that the information reached all the
members of the company. Therefore, we agreed as the top-level management to ensure that we
do follow-ups to make sure that all information reaches all the members. Members also

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suggested new methods of communication that they believed would be better as compared to our
old methods of communication. One was the use of mobile messaging to send important and
urgent information to all the employees or to the workers who needed the information. This
would ensure that the information sent is timely and clear, as it is not altered. Mobile phones are
now more accessible to almost all workers, so it was seen as an efficient way of communicating.
Data Company Limited is a medium-sized company and hence messaging will not be that
expensive. Employees also suggested phone calls for follow-ups. The top executive managers
can call the subordinates using their office telephone line to check whether they have received
the information sent to their bosses. As a company, we decided to also hold regular open
meetings for some few minutes to communicate very vital information to our employees. This is
one of the sure ways of ensuring that all employees receive the information. Another method that
was suggested was the use of social media where we can create a WhatsApp group for
employees of Data Company Limited and information about the company can be posted in the
group. This changes we hope will solve the problems of internal communication in our company
and consequently increase productivity.
Problem 2
The second problem which supervisor-employee communication being ineffective due to
them being in different offices most of the time had various solutions (Jones, 2018); We called a
general meeting and various suggestions on how to solve the issue were raised. Everyone,
however, agreed that the company should from closed office layout to an open office layout. In
an open office layout, some suggested the cubicle plan where workstations are set up as cubicles.
This layout provides privacy and noise can be controlled. However, it limits the number of
natural lights and hinders the effective consultation that we as Data Company are trying to

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achieve. Others suggested a half partitions open plan. Here, the workstations have barriers but
workers can speak to each other while standing. It gives room for more consultations and light
that is more natural. However, it may be difficult to control the noise levels. The team enclosures
open plan was also suggested. It allows members of the same department or dealing with the
same issues to stay together and work as a team in one open area. The main disadvantage of this
layout was a lack of personal privacy.
Others suggested one large, open space where every worker in the company is in the
same room. This plan allows for closer supervisor-employee connection and consultation as they
interact daily in the same open space (Epstein, 2018). This plan had many disadvantages such as
the possibility of high noise levels, lack of room for discussing private matters and the managers
may feel degraded. Many employees due to the number of disadvantages rejected this plan. We
decided to vote and team enclosures open plan had the majority votes. Team office is great as it
allows teams to be more creative as they work together, brainstorm and discuss ideas together.
Team offices usually include the team or rather the department supervisor all in one space.
Hence, employees can have a more interactive session with their supervisors and it becomes
comfortable for them to consult with their supervisors (Bryson, 2018). It also saves time as ideas
can be discussed and questions answered right away instead of waiting until there is a meeting.
There is also closer supervision of by the supervisor, hence laziness is reduced, and workers
productivity eventually increases.
Problem 3
The third problem facing internal communication was that Emails being sent are
unprofessional. Email is an important method of communication in the office because it allows

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for the attachment of important office files to be sent from one office to another or from one
employee to another. Hence, the sending of unprofessional Emails to the employees was a great
concern and hence we decided to call a meeting and have a language tutor review the way we
Emails are supposed to be sent especially the professional way (Camilleri, 2018). The tutor
reviewed the professional way of sending official Emails and the problem of unprofessional
Emails was solved. Various questions were raised and all the lack of proper knowledge on how
to send official Emails was solved.
Implementation and Action plan
As managers of Data company, we hired carpenters to design bigger notice boards for us
and after they delivered them, we hired other workmen to place them at strategic places that we
found convenient and accessible to every member of the company. This was to solve the issue of
notice boards not being accessible to everyone. We have also taken all phone numbers of all
employees so that we can always send them text messages of any urgent information. We have
also created a WhatsApp group for Data Company Limited. We are in the process of adapting a
Team enclosure open plan. We have hired workers who have started working on the offices that
we have rented so as to create a nice team enclosure open plan. The employees are now more
comfortable with internal communication in the company as no employee has received any
unofficial Email from the management.
Conclusion
We as Data Company Limited have since implemented all the agreed decisions so as to
solve the problem of decreasing sales and profits over the years. We strongly believe that with
the changes we have made we are going to increase our productivity.

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References
Kashi, K., & Franek, J. (2014). Applying Group Decision Making and Multiple Attribute Decision
Making Methods in Business Processes. Applied Mechanics And Materials, 693, 237-242.
doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.693.237
Ibrahim, A. (2018). Factors affecting the competitiveness of state-owned enterprises (SOEs): A
Case of Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) (Doctoral dissertation).
Jones, P. W. (2018). International policies for Third World education: UNESCO, literacy and
development. Routledge.
Camilleri, M. A. (2018). Strategic Planning and the Marketing Effectiveness Audit. In Travel
Marketing, Tourism Economics and the Airline Product (pp. 117-135). Springer, Cham.
Epstein, M. J. (2018). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring
corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. Routledge.

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Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley & Sons.