USA World Bank Problem Solution and Defense

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Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: USA World Bank

Problem Solution: USA World Bank
Dear Student,

As a Brainmass OTA, I am not allowed to complete your entire assignment for you. I am sure you have read Brainmass rules regarding this. That being said, I will attempt to put you in a very comfortable position and assist you in understanding all the concepts related to this question.
**Pay close attention to the items in RED
Problem Solution: USA World Bank
SUGGESTION FOR INTRODUCTION
The impact of research and statistics is very apparent in managerial decision-making. Things like descriptive or nonparametric statistics, probability concepts, hypothesis testing and research are very important tools for managers. Descriptive statistics are "methods of organizing, summarizing and presenting data in an informative way" (Lind, Marchal & Wathen, 2004). Descriptive statistics are sometimes considered the basic static because they tend to be used by managers to view the very obvious data before them and lay a foundation for decisions making. USA World Bank (UWB) is on the verge of launching their new product with the approval of the board. Some form of descriptive statistics is needed in order for them to be successful in organizing, summarizing accurately and presenting correct data to the board members. Prior to launching these new products, UWB will have to be successful in predicting their customers. Therefore, some probability concepts will be needed to determine what will or will not happen at any given time during an incident. Managers use the probability concepts for the obvious reason to analyze certainties or uncertainties in any given situation. Research is extremely useful because it aids decision-makers to understand past experiences by other companies as well as potential success or failure of a product. Based on these, the goal of this paper is to use research and statistical concepts to help UWB frame the right problem, define their end state goals, identity alternatives and potential risks and make the best business decision by implementing the appropriate solution to all their problems. The first step to accomplishing this task is to understand the situation at UWB.
Describe the Situation (Step 1)
You can easily complete this section by reading the scenario. In two or three paragraphs, describe the events that have led up to this paper. What is going on at UWB? Who are the players? What are the major events?

Issues
There are many issues currently facing UWB. These issues can definitely be resolved and turned into opportunities that will eventually benefit the company. One major issue is the method used to select a research firm to conduct an analysis for UWB. It is known that Mary is not always thorough in her assessment of the research from firms that she hires. This might pose a huge problem down the road since many decisions are based on research results and reports. An erroneous result stemming from research could cause a company to lose lots of money. We are also told that Mary did not analyze the results and just took Best Market Research's word for it: "I didn't do a detailed analysis of the results because Best Market has always done a fine job for us," says Mary.
Another event that led to the identification of a major issue is the closed-mindedness of Mary Monroe, as noted from her conversation with Jim. On February 4th, Jim made a phone call to Mary and proposed a different product that has a potential for success. During Mary's February 10th meeting with Brian, the president, she failed to mention Jim's idea. It seems as if she has absolutely made up her mind about her product, without thinking of the best bet for the company. The existence of two possible proposals to present to the board also poses a challenge, at least from the viewpoint of the staff. Over the years, only one possible proposal has been presented and acted upon. Since this is the way things have been done in the past, the staff is adamant about having two ideas.
Another major challenge is the lack of an accurate analysis, summary report and presentation to present to the Board of Directors. Now that Bea Hanson is the newest on the Board of Directors, with her background in statistics and academia, there was an unexpected bombardment of statistical questions concerning demographics. The current challenge is composing a proposal to be presented to the Board of Directors with accurate data analysis and facilitating the launch of a new product that the Board is in agreement with.
Finally, a major challenge is that there is not standard process for selecting new products or conducting product research. Ideas from new products are retrieved from the grapevine. This might cause the company to implement some bad ideas because they received information from the wrong people.

Opportunities
It is possible for UWB to overcome their current challenges. If they are successful, they will be able to create the following opportunities for the company:
• Brian has the opportunity to prove to the Board that he is still capable of delivering winning products.
• USA World Bank has the opportunity to increase its profitability and market share and expand its customer base.
• Brian and his team have the opportunity to develop standard processes for researching and selected new products. They will be able to use a consistent methodology for launching new products.
• Brian has the opportunity to leverage Tom's statistical expertise to overcome the obstacles to delivering the Instant Reward product.
• UWB will have the opportunity to launch both commercial and consumer products at the same time. They will be able to separate their market research function into two branches so that both can explore opportunities separately.
• UWB will be able to prove to the board that it can afford to launch two products are one time. By doing this, they will be improving their finance, accounting and IT systems.
• UWB has the opportunity to build partnerships with other companies as they attach rewards to their product offerings.
Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas
There are competing values, interests and rights relating to decisions made by UWB management team that will affect the stakeholders. The first group of stakeholders is the employees. Employees are more concerned with having some sort of job security and positive approval from their supervisors and managers. One of the alternatives presented was for UWB to let go of Mary and replace her with Jim. This was not considered one of the best solutions as it would create a dilemma within the employees and their job security. Once one employee is fired, morale might diminish and other employees ...