Decision Making Case Study

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Memorandum To: Mr. Dalek From: Sarah Jane Smith Date: 23 September 2014 Subject: Decision-making Reflections Dear Mr. Dalek, Please find the reflection you’ve requested below. As I sat down to my desk on a typical workday morning, an email flashed across my screen. It read six words, “Please come to the conference room.” My mind went into overdrive as I hurried down the stairs. It was only the beginning of the workday. All prior issues were resolved last night. What could this be about? Walking through the glass doors, I spotted the Vice President (VP) of my team pacing back and forth. Several members of my team were already seated, whispering with bewildered expressions. As I took my seat, the VP of my team revealed that a new study found that our client’s products contained arsenic. After an early morning phone call with our client, it had been agreed that all phone calls, including the consumer calls, would be forwarded for our team to handle. The VP looked at all of us and said, “What do we tell the public?” …show more content…

The Dartmouth study found that organic brown rice syrup contained “significant concentrations of arsenic” and we could not deny that our client’s product contained this ingredient. Discussion then centered on how could we reframe the study’s findings. The point of ambiguity we could capitalize on was, “There are currently no US regulations applicable to As [arsenic] in food…” A colleague asked, “Why does our client use organic brown rice syrup?” Our VP piped up, “Because it is “natural and less processed than other sweeteners.” After an hour of brainstorming, we finally decided on our message for the public. This message achieved our goal to preserve our client’s reputation in four ways: 1) Aligning with the “natural” connotation of the brand, as the product contains brown rice syrup because it’s an all-natural

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