Module 1: The Decision Making Process- Case Study 1

MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS & DECISION MAKING, is a group project (groups of 4) where the
students will need to choose four employees from a list of fifteen to lay off. They are expected to
make this decision and restructure the employee’s responsibilities as a group so that the company
may still operate. Once they have completed that, they will individually construct a decision-making
model and choose one of the employees that are to be laid off to use through the decision process
(ie. why that employee got fired/what led them to making this decision?).

This assignment will require an oral presentation upon completion to identify and describe to the
rest of the class what their project entailed.

CASE STUDY - MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS & DECISION MAKING

You are in charge of a landscaping company however times are slow right now and with the rising
costs of materials and wages, your profits are at an all-time low. Because of this unfortunate
situation, you will need to let some employees go. Currently each landscape supervisor has a team
of labourers (crew of 3 or 4 - depending on the size of the project) under their supervision and the
company has always been able to maintain working on two projects at a time (1 project per crew).
The following list of people are the employees that you currently employ:
1) ​Anne Joyce​ - Receptionist - Wage: $15/hr. Responsibilities include answering phone calls,
organizing the companies paperwork, answering e-mails and booking appointments. Anne is 32,
married and has two children in elementary school. She has a positive attitude, hard-working,
well organized and has been loyal to the company for the past five years of operations.
2) ​Frank Simpleton​ - Accountant - Wage $22/hr. Responsibilities include looking after the
companies accounting practices and developing financial reports for management. Frank is 62,
married, and has been with the company since it began in 2002.
3) ​Mary Saunders ​- Landscaping Consultant - Wage $20/hr. Responsibilities include meeting
with potential clients, developing landscaping plans, and communicating with the workforce to
complete projects. Mary, 45, is a skilled consultant and knowledgable about landscaping
practises. She is married and currently her two children are both enrolled as students at the local
university.
4) ​Walt Swanson ​- Landscaping Consultant - Wage $20/hr. Responsibilities include meeting
with potential clients, developing landscaping plans, and communicating with the workforce to
complete projects. Walt, age 42, is a very social and likeable person. Many of Walt’s clients
come from the people he knows and talks to about his work.
5) ​Ted Munro​ - Project Manager - Wage $23/hr. Responsibilities include coordinating
landscaping projects and with the clients on a regular basis, forming a line of communication
between the office and the workforce, overseeing projects and ensuring quality performance and
completion. Ted, age 35, is new in his role and still adjusting to his new responsibilities. Ted has
a degree in operations management and his experience comes from his years as a landscape
supervisor. Ted recently divorced his wife and is having a hard time adjusting his personal life.
6) ​Erin Hinks​ - Human resources/Marketing and Advertising - Wage $21/hr. Responsibilities
include ensuring the workplace is suitable for workers, evaluating worker habits, conducting
worker evaluations, marketing and advertising for the company. Erin, age 29, is a very energetic
and enthusiastic employee. She’s very good at her job and takes pride in the work she
completes.
7) ​Rob Hogan​ - Landscaping Supervisor - Responsibilities include communicating with the
project manager, communicating with human resources, training new labourers, delegating
duties to the labourers and assisting to complete landscaping projects. Rob, age 41, has been
with the company since it started in 2002 and worked his way up from a labourer to a supervisor
because of his hard work and good attitude.
8) ​Brad Ermel​ - Landscaping Supervisor - Responsibilities include communicating with the
project manager, communicating with human resources, training new labourers, delegating
duties to the labourers and assisting to complete landscaping projects. Brad, age 39, came from
a competitors company over a year ago. Brad has a degree in operations management and
accounting as well as 10 years experience in the field as a landscape supervisor.

9) ​Terry Gellert​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $18/hr. Responsibilities include completing

work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
completed is high quality. Terry, age 26, is a son of one of your really good friends. You hired
Terry nearly two years ago and the work he has completed has been satisfactory, however not
much improvement has been noticed over the term of his employment.
10) ​Tina Ramsey​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $17/hr. Responsibilities include completing
work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
completed is high quality. Tina is a skilled landscaper who completes quality work however lately
she becomes distracted sometimes when talking to Lucas. Tina is currently enrolled in night
classes at the local trades school to increase her knowledge and experience in the field.
11) ​George Schmidt​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $20/hr. Responsibilities include
completing work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the
work completed is high quality. George, age 37, is a hard-worker and has years of experience in
this field. He is a mentor for many of the workers and the father of Lucas.
12) ​Lucas Schmidt​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $17/hr. Responsibilities include completing
work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
completed is high quality. Lucas, age 20, completes the work he is assigned however sometimes
takes longer to complete and sometimes becomes distracted when talking with Tina. Lucas
works closely with his dad, George, and is learning to complete higher quality work.
13) ​Jessica Shaw​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $17/hr. Responsibilities include completing
work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
completed is high quality. Jessica, age 23, has been working for the company for less than a
year. However she has shown significant growth in knowledge and leadership skills since being
hired.
14) ​Dan Gunderson ​- Landscaping Labourer - Wage $19/hr. Responsibilities include completing
work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
 completed is high quality. Dan, age 24, is one of the hardest working employees that you have
and very skilled at his job. He completes almost every project in half the time it takes everybody
else. However when Dan becomes frustrated he sometimes gets angry, shouts, and swears.
15) ​Kevin Daku​ - Landscaping Labourer - Wage $18/hr. Responsibilities include completing
work as required from the supervisor, following safe work practises, and ensuring the work
completed is high quality. Kevin, age 25, is married and has two children under the age of 5
years old at home. He relies on this position to support his family. He is a hard worker and the
work he completes is satisfactory.

Your Task
1. Your task will be to lay-off four people from the above list. Talk as a group and decide
which of these people will be laid off. After choosing which employee’s that will be
laid off you will need to restructure the responsibilities of the employees to ensure the
company can still operate (Each person needs to restructure the employee’s job
descriptions - you can do this as a group but everyone would need to hand in a
separate copy of the restructuring) (6 marks)
2. Each member of your group will need to choose one of the people that are being laid
off and develop a decision-making model as to why they are among the people to be
let go. (10 marks)
3.​ ​On presentation day the group will identify which employees they would lay off and
each member of the group will be responsible for presenting their decision-making
model to the class in an oral presentation. (4 marks)

Copyright © 1993, the Atlantic Entrepreneurial Institute. Reproduction of this case is allowed without permission for
educational purposes, but all such reproduction must acknowledge the copyright. This permission does not include
publication.

Evaluation Strategy
CASE STUDY - MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS & DECISION MAKING
Question 1: Restructuring employees - 6 marks -
• ​ .5 marks/employee with a completed job description - Would it work/Are the employee’s
new responsibilities plausible? (11 employee’s x .5 marks = 5.5/6)
• ​ .5 marks for overall ability to continue company operations

Question 2: Decision making model - 10 marks -

Step 1: 1 mark, Step 2: 1 mark, Step 3: 2 marks
Step 4: 2 marks, Step 5: 2 marks, Step 6: 2 marks

Question 3: Oral presentation - 4 marks -

• Clarity/Body language: 1 mark
Grammar/annunciation: 1 mark
Information presented: 2 marks
Total = /20 marks