Problem Solving and Decision Making Assignment Sample

Problem Solving and Decision Making Assignments

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Problem-solving at a company is described as the application of policies to decrease or remove barriers that impede the management and other related individuals from achieving business objectives. In business, a circumstance generates a difference between both the anticipated and the actual results (Harney and Dundon, 2020). Moreover, a genuine issue doesn’t really often have an obvious answer instantly. One will improve as a leader if he or she understands the value of problem-solving in the company while adapting to approaches to mitigate those accordingly. The capabilities they have to overcome issues will help to resolve key problems and disputes. 

It requires time and dedication to understand how to address business issues. Amazon has been recognized as one of the biggest entities in the world (Miles, Larcker and Tayan, 2021). The company has been a giant which has expanded into several industries. Amazon has been facing a range of HR issues which can be considered as one of the key issues for the brand. The present report will explore the concept of problem identification and how the issues can be mitigated \with the right application of tools and techniques. 

Figure 1: Amazon Logo 

2. Defining the Issues 

The complexity of the issue: The global giant brand Amazon has been facing significant HR challenges and has failed to establish a profound base for their HR activities allowing them to treat their employees positively and effectively (McCausland, 2020). It is considered that employees are the primary stakeholders of a company, especially when it comes to the companies such as Amazon. Employees have become increasingly important during the Coronavirus pandemic. The issue is prominent as most of the employees have shared their experience working within the company. HR issues can be provocative in terms of the accomplishment of company objectives (Moore et al., 2020). For a big brand like Amazon, having a skilled and able workforce can be a great asset that needs to be maintained appropriately while addressing the key issues which underlie the process. Any disruptions can sabotage the entire system of the operations and impact the productivity of a firm. 

For the past few months, it was obvious that Amazon has been facing an unparalleled struggle to deal with the COVID-19 repercussions (Miah, 2021). The country’s Number 1 e-commerce firm is hopping under growing demands with tens of millions of Americans increasingly depending on the online delivery process for their groceries, medicines and other important products. As the fulfilment centre employees throughout the nation were diagnosed with the virus, Amazon’s already resilient staff have stood up for their attempts to gain higher wages and more safety at work. Workers in the impacted places have just left the work. But Amazon’s fight against the coronavirus isn’t associated with the demand tale (Aguinis, Villamor and Gabriel, 2020). It is also a narrative about the ever more alienated interaction between the corporation and its own workers. 

Scope and Impact of the issue: A rising media community has chronicled for years now that how Amazon has contributed to the damage and even death only through the constant quest for productivity in the centres (Doroshow, 2020). Without disintegrating, people cannot sustain this degree of intensive labour. ProPublica, BuzzFeed and others have reported in last year research on Amazon’s vehicle and foot delivery driver care as they try to fulfil their challenging routes, which are designed and tracked algorithmically using a driver’s phone app. Documents from 23 facilities in Amazon were reviewed in November, with almost 10 per cent experiencing significant injuries in 2018, more than double the national average for similar works for full-time employees (Kolker and Anichkova, n.d). Many Amazon employees have been informed that stress and wounds are like an epidemic but merely reported.

Impact: Employee dissatisfaction can be a significant problem for the organization which will gradually impact the overall performance of the company. If employees remain dissatisfied and feel burdened, they will not remain consistent and committed to their responsibilities which will impact the company performance negatively (Orleck, 2021). Lack of motivation will hamper employee integrity and dedication. The company’s lack of focus on employee wellbeing will reduce employee enthusiasm to communicate and perform efferently. These factors will disrupt the system and reduce the company reputation in the market. 

Scope: It can be comprehensively understood that Amazon has been facing some of the major issues like employee dissatisfaction and increased stress due to the corporation’s lack of attention to their employee wellbeing and more intensive work pressure with different tiring approaches (Lee et al., 2021). The company can have a definitive scope out of the situation if they consider identifying issues related to their employee wellbeing and strategize their approaches considering employee needs. It will enhance the company capacity to retain efficient employees, increase their motivation and productivity and enable them to feel content about their job by providing confidence which is now somewhere lacking (Nadjafova et al., 2021). The source of the issue is the inefficient HR department of Amazon. 

3. Analysis of The Information on The Identified Issues While Finding the Actual Cause

The complexity of the Issue in Amazon: A employee from Amazon attempt to return from a leave taken on the treatment ground of Covid-19 and was dismissed erroneously (Wich, Magee and St, 2020). A woman panics because her seriously ill husband’s disability benefits are cut. An employee gets dismissed for one day of underperformance. A study by the New York Times on how Amazon’s only centre of fulfilment, known as JFK8, was developing the epidemic of poor employee treatment revealed the strength and toxicity of Amazon’s employment system. The firm was well-known to be preoccupied with delighting clients, yet its management of hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers was sometimes impacted by massive blunders, communication breakdowns and high employee turnover (Nguyen, 2021). 

In 2020, Amazon experienced an unmatched recruiting increase in US business history. It has employed 350,000 employees in just three months, which is higher than the populace of St. Louis. But Amazon lost around 3% of its hourly employees per week before the epidemic, newly unreported statistics revealed – with a turnover rate of almost 150% a year (Reese and Bielitz, 2021). Amazon had to change the equivalents of all its employees at that rate every eight months approximately. Within the Seattle Amazon Headquarters, several officials were worried about the fact that the business might lag behind and might not succeed in employee retention (Aguinis, Villamor and Gabriel, 2020). All these data definingly show the threat Amazon has been facing since the global pandemic emerged. 

The company has been recognized to be a reputed corporate giant which looks after its employees and cater to needs and respects their value (Harney and Dundon, 2020). But the reality of the company has stained its market image which might be a key reason for the brand to fall apart in the upcoming time which certainly is not desired by Amazon. 

There is a range of tools or techniques which can be used to find out the real causes behind the sudden failure of the company to satisfy its employees. 

3.1 5 Why’s 

• Why Amazon’s image of a fair employer has been destroyed?

Amazon has lost its market reputation as one of the biggest brands and employers in the world because of its failure to identify employee issues and pressuring them with stringent monitoring and professional burdens (Serrat, 2017). The company does not consider employee capacity and engage them with heavy work strain to achieve tremendous goals of impressing its customers. 

• Why the employees are resigning?

Employees are resigning because of dissatisfaction with their professional careers in Amazon. 

• Why the employees are dissatisfied?

The heavy pressure of labour and ruthless employee treatment by the employer are the reasons for employee dissatisfaction and increased strain (Miles, Larcker and Tayan, 2021). The management of the employees is not considered and the needs and requirements of the workforce are ignored by the company. 

• Why the company is not managing the requirements of the employees?

The HR department of the company is not sufficiently handling the situation therefore the employee management is overlooked (Aguinis, Villamor and Gabriel, 2020). 

• Why the HR department is incapable?

The hierarchy of Amazon has not clearly set any strategic approach and instructions for the HR department regarding employee management which can be a reason for such failure of internal system to treat the employees fairly (Vidyasagar, 2016). 

3.2 Root Cause analysis 

1. Step One: the issue is employee dissatisfaction which gradually leads to increased employee turnover in Amazon. All the employees of Amazon have been found to feel neglected and pressurised extensively. 
2. Step Two: The problem has been existing since before the pandemic of Covid-19 and is still found relevant in the present scenario. In interviews, more than 25 current and old Amazon workers who were in the process of disabilities and leave complained about its inadequacies and called it a cause of anxiety and pressure (Reese and Bielitz, 2021). During the first months of the epidemic, the issues increased, when a new case management solution to deal with the challenges and to give adaptability also proved problematic. Workers who requested absences were fined for skipping responsibilities and were subsequently dismissed. In its facilities, Amazon records every movement of labourers. Employees working too slowly or inactive for too long are in danger of being dismissed.
3. Step Three: the issues consequently increased following the primary few incidents. Gradually staff were uncertainly dismissed from their work. Sometimes instances show that even the best-performing employees were fired due to the late attendance of one day. These factors led to the gradual rise of lack of commitment and professional barriers (Nadjafova et al., 2021). The issues were persistent because of poor communication and reporting of the issues from the employee side. It also was the fault of the human resource department which was laid back. 
4. Step Four: From the exploration of the issues and the possible causes, the fundamental reason behind the persistence of the problem can be attributed to the lack of HR involvement and management approaches regarding employee aspects (Serrat, 2017). The HR department is expected to integrate employees by making sure that their requirements are properly managed and their interests are secured by proper policy implementation. In the case of Amazon, the HR division failed to align employee interests with the corporate objectives and neglected employees for the sake of company impression and extensive outcomes. 
5. Step Five: the issues can be resolved once the HR department gets instruction from the hierarchy to mitigate this issue (Nguyen, 2021). An HR professional will need to strategize the accurate plan by evaluating and monitoring the issues. They will have to suggest alternative methods for the accomplishment of corporate objectives while being aware of the employee interests so that their dignity and wellbeing are maintained. 

3.3 Mind Mapping 

3.3.1 Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a methodological design that generates ideas to answer clearly specified challenges in an existing design. Teams deal with an issue under controlled settings and a free-thinking atmosphere, including queries like “How Might We.” They create a wide range of ideas and connect with one another in order to identify viable answers (Treffinger, Isaksen and Stead-Dorval, 2006). Brainstorming belongs to the concept of design. In the phase of design, people employ it. The concept is extremely successful, as it may extend in all dimensions. Although teams have guidelines and an assistant to monitor them, they can employ out-of-the-box and side thinking to search for the most efficient answers to any design problems. In order to identify specific issues and resolve those, Amazon can also use the brainstorming technique to generate new and possible ideas which might cater to the issues more systematically (Puccio et al., 2020). 

They can take many approaches by brainstorming rather than merely exploring conventional methods and face the related barriers. When teams work in an atmosphere free of judgements to find the actual aspects of a problem, they will more often produce stressful explanations that will create the scope for further refinement later (Puccio et al., 2020). For generating effective solutions, Amazon can gather their internal teams and HR department to create specific ideas to address the problem and create a rational plan for problem-solving. 

4. Proposal of A Range of Alternative Solutions to The Problem 600

4.1 Solutions to The Problem

The issues can be surely addressed and resolved through the application of positive strategies. 

Conducting a meeting with existing and former employees: In order to resolve the issue, the HR authority must conduct a meeting with all its employees, former or existing to get the proper perception from them regarding the growing problem (Lombardi, 2019). It will require a distinct authorial panel and allocation of a particular time frame.

Considering the best interests of the employees: A feedback system can be implemented which will allow the company to get anonymous options and feedbacks from the employees and create appropriate plans for securing employee interests (Mitchell and Walinga, 2017). A distinct technological department will be required which will generate such employee feedback processes and obtain the information on a weekly basis. 

Establishing alternative actions for performance monitoring: The HR department must convey the inconvenience faced by the employees to the operational authority. It will enable the employees to have their best interests secured (Van Aken and Berends, 2018). It will require time and monetary resources to create a separate performance management system. 

Having a separate Department of HR professionals: Amazon can introduce a segregated HR department that will exist in every operational facility of the company and will create beneficial policies for the employees while understanding company needs (Herborn and Scholtz, 2021). Amazon will need to hire more professionals in the HR department which will require separate financial resources.

4.2 Obstacles or Barriers to Any of The Solutions

Amazon might face a challenge while incorporating HR professionals in specific operational facilities. Hiring new HR professionals will require an additional cost and extensive recruitment processes which is difficult in the present scenario after the Covid-19 pandemic (Aguinis, Villamor and Gabriel, 2020). Though Amazon might not face any issues regarding cost allocation yet the company might lose out time and efforts on the establishment of these small departments and setting up strategies in favour of the employees. Especially when the company is having immense market demand and extensive pressure to satisfy customers needs. 

5. Applying A Decision-Making Technique to Evaluate a Range of Solutions

5.1 Grid Analysis 

For decision making and concept assessment, Grid Analysis creates major advantages of making the system more impartial. The decision-maker can introduce particular nuances into the process by employing a specific set of criteria with varying weighs and can afterwards more readily defend their decision (Hodgkinson and Sadler-Smith, 2018). Theoretically, Grid Analysis may be used for any option requiring selection among a number of specific options. It can be an employee in various sectors and units within a company. For Amazon, the tool can be used in the process of finding a strategic solution to HR issues. 

Identifying the alternatives: 

• Meeting with the former and existing employees 

• Creating a feedback system for the employees

• Establishing smaller HR units

Identify the Criteria

The most important aspect is,

• to consider employee wellbeing 

• maintain Amazon’s operational consistency 

• Time allocation 

Weight the Criteria

to consider employee wellbeing- Score 10

maintain Amazon’s operational consistency- Score 9

Time avocation- 10

Score the Designs on the Criteria

Multiply Design Scores by Criteria Weights

From the above-determined scores, it can be observed that the significance of considering employee wellbeing by three of the alternative approaches of creating feedback systems, discussing with former and existing employees and establishing smaller HR units are the most essential aspects that Amazon needs to focus on (Van Aken and Berends, 2018). Time management and proper allocation and maintain operational pace respectively score lower. It will be helpful for Amazon if they consider feedback systems and discussion with the employees then the company might find out effective means to survive the struggling period efficiently. 

6. Developing a Detailed Plan for Implementing the Solution

6.1 Rationalization of the Strategy 

Objective

Amazon’s basic criteria should revolve around employee concerns (Moore et al., 2020). The company employs an enormous employee force and it must assure that all the employees are getting fair treatment and are valued. Considering the increased employee dissatisfaction and constant resignation, the company has aimed to mitigate the issue and address the employee concerns properly so that the company can have the backing of its skilled employee force to keep up with the increasing market demands.

Gantt Chart 

(Created by the Author)

7. Communicating the Plan to Relevant Stakeholders 

7.1 Stakeholder Analysis 

All the corporate persons and teams involved in the project are termed stakeholders when it relates to any centralized management. Stakeholder analysis is a method by which these individuals are identified before a specific project begins, categorized according to their levels of involvement, interests and impact in the development, and determined in which ways the stakeholder groups may be included and communicated about the process appropriately (Kennon, Howden and Hartley, 2009). Any sort of complicated business approach may be strategically valued by doing a stakeholder analysis. The more stakeholders the company can determine early, the more communication can be tailored to gain acceptance and support from diverse stakeholders. 

Step 1: Determine who your stakeholders are

Amazon must start the brainstorming process with its teams and create a list of all potential stakeholders (Kennon, Howden and Hartley, 2009). This list can subsequently be reduced depending on the importance but the essential stakeholders must be included. For Amazon, the list of stakeholders mainly includes its 

• Employees 

• Government

• Customers 

• Investors

Step 2: Group and prioritize these stakeholders.

They should start categorizing individuals in terms of their impact, interests and level of engagement in the initiative after the completion of the effective and rational brainstorming session and establish which stakeholders and groups will really be interested (Eversole, 2018). The power interest approach can be utilized in categorizing the stakeholders more effectively. 

High power, high interest: The most important stakeholders for Amazon is its investors. Investors have high interests in Amazon and its organisational approaches (Kennon, Howden and Hartley, 2009). They also have high power over Amazon’s activities and how the company performs to a significant extent. It is therefore important to keep them completely happy with the company approaches. 

High power, low interest: Government has high power and comparatively low interests in the company’s activities and especially in internal factors. Because this stakeholder group does not have much interest, therefore they might get disinterested further if the plan is overly communicated to them. Thus, Amazon needs to keep them satisfied. 

Low power, high interest: The employees have comparatively low power and high interests when it comes to the company arrangements and approaches (Kennon, Howden and Hartley, 2009). Although they have low power, the company needs to look after their needs so that when their contribution is required, they remain properly interested. These people need to get informed often to get their attention appropriately. 

Low power, low interest: Customers fall into this category as they have low power and also, they are not interested much in the corporate approaches or objectives of the brand (Eversole, 2018). These people only need to be informed periodically but over-communicating the approaches might be disruptive. 

Step 3: Figuring out how to communicate with and win buy-in from each type of stakeholder

After Amazon has built the list of stakeholders, it’s important to reflect on tactically how best to gain continuous assistance from each of these sorts of stakeholders. Amazon needs to have answers to these questions:

• What motivates this stakeholder?

For Amazon, the stakeholders are interested in the company’s revenue and look for options to contribute to the company if the processes are calculative and turn out to be beneficial for them (Buc??a and Rizescu, 2017). In the case of the present context, Amazon’s HR issue needs to be resolved to gain increased market reputation and operational capacity. 

• What other priorities do they have, and how can they align the project with those priorities (or at least confirm the project won’t threaten them)?

Other than that, the stakeholders will look for the company to be socially reputable so that they can invest their time, resource and interests in the company (Van Ruler, 2018). For instance, HR issues can stain the reputation of Amazon which can affect the market position of the investors. 

• Will this stakeholder likely have an optimistic opinion of the project? If not, what can they do about it?

If Amazon takes up the approach to mitigate their employee concerns, they will get the appropriate and positive support from its important stakeholders. 

7.2 Communication plan 

professional obligation

7.3 Illustration of the monitoring and evaluation

Finally, in dealing with all its systematic procedures, Amazon will have to emphasise ion the effectiveness of the obtained results. The intended plan will be completely successful once the obtained results are found effective for mitigating the initial issue. The company will have to understand how they have implemented the solutions and whether the resolving approach has any significant outcome or not (Aguinis, Villamor and Gabriel, 2020). The fundamental objectives need to be accomplished as the solution was intended to reach these goals. Amazon can create a specific team that will monitor the results and how the employee needs are being addressed. 

It will help them to understand how they can improve the procedure to more conveniently identify employee issues and provide them with adequate treatment (Orleck, 2021). In the case of Amazon, the company should regularly communicate with the employees to get their opinion on the company approaches and how they have perceived the idea of addressing their issues. It will enhance the company knowledge about their staff and track their intentions regarding the professional responsibilities more conveniently. 

Conclusion 

The overall report has been focalized on the aspect of problem identification and decision-making regarding the issue. The report has attempted to follow a rational flow of analysis which has significantly contained the fundamentals of a problem-solving process. The key motive behind the report is to understand why the identification of probable or existing problems can be beneficial for a corporation to sustain its reputation and keep its performance pace uninterrupted. For any organization whether large or small, problems are inevitable to arise. But sustaining those issues might be threatening for a company to run the procedures conveniently. In the present report, the case context of Amazon has been selected while considering the corporation’s inability to provide its employees with fair and positive treatment as an employer. 

The company has been subjected to multiple allegations from its existing as well as former employees regarding poor employee treatment and unfair policies. These factors have destabilized the condition of the company while staining its industry reputation. The issues have been explicitly elaborated in the report to seek and present a comprehensive direction concerning the subject. It has also been structured with the tools and charts to follow a certain systematic cohesion to increase the authenticity of the chosen aspect more convincingly. 

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