TerraCog Case Study Background TerraCog, Inc. is a privately held company specializing in high quality GPS and fishing sonar equipment. Although TerraCog was not always first to market with their new products, they were known for surpassing their competitors in addressing consumer needs because of their innovation in creating exceptional product design and functionality. In 2006, TerraCog’s competitor, Posthaste, launched BirdsI, the only handheld GPS with satellite imagery. Caught off guard by the product’s success, TerraCog President, Richard Fiero, makes a snap decision to satisfy the “gadget” appeal of BirdsI by launching the company’s own version of the competing GPS called Aerial. However, as TerraCog moved forward with the …show more content…
As a result, departments greeted the decision to launch Aerial with a not so enthusiastic response. Because group decision making generates more complete information and knowledge and offers an increased diversity of view, the executives would have benefitted more by meeting with stakeholders and explaining the challenges the company faced with not initially responding to BirdsI and discussing the go forward plan to develop a competing product. When choosing group decision making techniques, the best approach for TerraCog seems to be the interacting group technique. This approach is most effective for achieving commitment to a solution which in this case, is the decision to launch Aerial. When stakeholders participate in decision making, they are more likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage others to accept it. Not only was there a weakness in the decision making process at TerraCog, Project Aerial was also operating with a working group and not a true working team. A work group’s goal is to share information leaving each individual accountable for their own work while the group’s synergy is neutral, sometimes negative. Furthermore, the group lacked cohesiveness as each department worked in individual silos. The sales team did not have input into the product, nor was the production team given a chance to review the design and offer
This paper looks at the main issues faced by decision makers, analyses them, presents alternatives and makes recommendations based on the analysis.
Decision-making in the workforce is a process of responsibilities used by upper management to implement, enforce rules, regulations, and maintain a successful environment. Decision-making implemented more effectively by making a plan, thinking it through, accepting more than one opinion and determining what is best. However, decision-making often utilized more effectively by opening doors of opportunities for a suggestion, question, discussion, and feedback. Although, more involvement helps improve understanding, utilize behavior skills and present opportunities for better communication. Everyday life consists of decision-making, the right decision may not always be applied, but ensure room for improvement and opportunity. Individuals approached decision-making in many different ways. As stated by (Jones, Graham, & Bateman, 2006) decision making is a procedure used to recognize a problem, weigh the alternatives and evaluate a solution in which, certain situations will require different approaches to become effective.
Top-level executives and key managers are at the helm of the decision-making process with the focal point being selecting the best choice. Selecting the best choices or alternative of choices derive from assessments, interviews, surveys and audits that evaluates the strategic position of the selected choices. Consequently, the chief executive officer at some point should show how the middle-managers, front-line managers, employees and client fit into the decision-making process.
To close the gap between actual and desired performance, decisions need to be made. Decision making involves making a selection from among alternative courses of action. Implementation and evaluation of the implementation provide feedback into the next cycle of group decision making.
Decision making is affected by the Group Think because of the lack of openness that should be displayed and offered by everyone involved. The development of the organization is dependent on the ability of the group to make decisions that are thought through and not made solely on pressures and accepted or narrow minded ways that are not thought out.
NaVisionTech and Sateye International had emerged as industry leader in the market while GlobalTeach only share 6% of the total commercial market for GPS. Using competitive and financial tactic to deliver extensive briefing to its managers on the current financial situation of GlobalTech can help managers to understand the important of change. Understanding the need for change by identifying the main difficulties of GlobalTech can thus provide a suitable changing plan in order to fix company problems in a more effective way.
Garmin provides value to each one of the segments of business that they cater to. This value is created by giving customers superior made products, easy to use interfaces, industry leading technology and unique features. Another way that the customer offers value to the customer is by providing ongoing training in regards to the products that they produce. This allows the customer to continually learn more about the products in which they have and how to get the most out of them. Within Garmin’s existing structure it plays to the strengths of the company’s values. By having the correct staffing and technology within the building we can react quickly and provide the customer an experience quickly and
Garmin is a Swiss parent company of a group of companies founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao. Garmin develops consumer, aviation, outdoor, fitness, and marine technologies for the Global Positioning System. Garmin has sold five million units in its first dozen years. Its product line has proliferated into 50 different items marketed through a network of 2,500 dealers, distributors, and partners in 100 countries around the world. While the parent company is registered in the Cayman Islands, Garmin has manufacturing and sales operations in the United States (Kansas) and Taiwan and a marketing office in the United Kingdom.
TerraCog has many tensions that are causing the company to suffer. The company has an unstable executive team that lacks true leadership, there are no clear departmental or individual objectives, group structure is lacking, the team lacks a decision making process, and there are many team conflicts that lacks negotiating.
Dysfunctional decision making is the poison that kills technology projects and the Denver Airport Baggage System project in the 1990’s is a classic example. Although several case studies have been written about the Denver project, the following paper re-examines the case by looking at the key decisions that set the project on the path to disaster and the forces behind those decisions.
Amount all these poor performances, there’s one thing could really negatively impact the company. We see TerraCog had spent so many resources for this project, thus the failure of this project will cause large damage to the company. And the fact is, this project, doesn’t goes well at this point.
Thinking critically and making decisions are important parts of today’s business environment. It is important to understand how the decision making process works and the steps involved. The nine steps of the decision making process are: identifying the problem, defining criteria, setting goals and objectives, evaluating the effect of the problem, identifying the causes of the problem, framing alternatives, evaluating impacts of the alternatives, making the decision, implementing the decision, and measuring the impacts. (Decision, 2007.) By using various methods and tools to assist in making important business decisions an individual can ensure the decisions they make will be as successful as possible. In this paper it
If TerraCog would fail to launch the product, there were higher chances of losing the customers. Already we were lagging 2 years behind BirdsI. So before making the decisions the various criteria we have to analyze were:
The focus of my term paper is the decision making process used by today's top-level managers. Top-level managers, such as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Operations Officers (COOs), and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), must make critical decisions on a daily basis. Their choices and the resulting outcomes affect the company, the employees, and the stakeholders. Due to the high importance of their decisions, the process they use to reach them merits a close examination.
Actually, the company is well positioned in the consumer’s mind and in the market because of its good strategies over the world. This company has evolved because at the beginning it was a company focus in mapping, printing and location information businesses, but then with the technology evolution they improved and adapted its products to the new market tendencies.