Decisions in Paradise, Part I
MGT/350
September 15, 2010

Decisions in Paradise, Part I
In the South Pacific, most island countries conjure up thoughts of swaying palm trees, white beaches, tropical breezes, and gently surfs. On the contrary, Kava is a significant South Pacific island country that has seen one disaster after another. The country is in need of assistance. Nik’s new role as an account executive with AT&T is to use the educational and technical skills on a project in Kava working with a new supervisor and mentor, Alex, the Director of Strategic Planning. This paper will focus on forces that involve the formulation of the problem the company face in Kava, discuss the formulation tools and techniques to use, and apply critical thinking in the decision-making process. In the paper, I will also describe the environmental and organizational obstacles in a way that considers the various stakeholders that the decision will impact. Nik receives his first assignment after obtaining a college degree.
Nik lands a new job within two weeks of receiving a degree. The position is an account executive working for a solid company with vast potential. The first week was a series of introduction to the company, processes of the organization, human resources procedures, overview of Kava, and travel arrangements. Although the travel arrangements were in immense detail, not much was known about the assignment in Kava.
The Island of Kava, at first glance seem to be a very risky business endeavor, from the landing at the airport all the way to the corporate office, nothing but chaos. After a rocky introduction, Alex updates Nik about Kava. Alex advises Nik that Kava is an island country desperately in need of several things. The mainstream inhabitants of Kava age group are less than 15. Kava is a culturally diverse group of native South Pacific people, African, Oriental, French, Americans, and Spanish. Fifty percent of the people in Kava are of a culturally diverse religion with a combination of Spanish, English, and French dividing up the remaining amount. The financial system of Kava is a combination of service and products. Sugar, coffee, petroleum, spices, cocoa, bananas, natural gas and fishing are the primary products for exporting and tourism the chief resource of service revenue. Kava faces various possible natural disasters varying from typhoons, tornados, tidal waves, floods, volcanic eruptions, fires, and earthquakes. Kava also faces threats from petroleum spills, HIV, terrorism, and avian flu.
Once Alex obtains a buy-in from Nik, they will formulate and agree upon the issue or problem. The situation Alex and Nik face is to create a greater presence in Kava for AT&T; the presence could take various forms, based on what is best for the company as well as what is best for the people of Kava. They must determine what role the company would play in rebuilding Kava. He discusses how the both of them Alex and Nik would have a chance to evaluate options, produce results, and recommend outcomes. Decision-making is vital to any business serious about the accomplishment of the company.
Kava is reliant on a youthful labor force. Kava will need migrants to fill jobs that involve expertise not yet obtain in the young population. The island of Kava has a supply-driven income stream that depends on exporting produce. The exported items could cause the cost of the items to increase for the local population. Although Kava seems to be a chaotic mess, Nik realizes that AT&T can help Kava in many ways. Establishing a communications infrastructure on the island can help build the economy through jobs. With a sound infrastructure, it can also make it more attractive to other businesses. The tourist industry can also pick up because communications to other countries will be viable.
Prior to a company expanding any sort of business, entering a new market, creating new products, or making any