Decision making case study with solution

For this assignment, you will be asked to read a case study and then answer some questions related to the case. This case deals with making decisions under pressure, especially when information is insufficient.

The Case:

Authors: Lauren Ankeles, Marine Lea Graham, Roberta Pittore and Priyanka Ramamurthy
From: MIT Sloane

After 11 months of planning, the Sloan Women in Management (SWIM) club co-presidents and two conference directors faced a difficult decision. The club's 3rd annual conference, aptly named "Dare to Fail: Taking Risks When it Matters Most", was scheduled to begin around the time a winter storm, fortified with up to 50 inches of snow, was predicted to hit the Boston area. At 2:00pm the day before the conference was to begin, the leadership team needed to decide whether the show would go on, be modified, or be canceled altogether.

How could a sunny February afternoon take such a turn for the worse? The clock ticked in the MIT Sloan Student Life Office (SLO), where the three Sloan Women in Management (SWIM) club co-presidents and two conference directors were gathered.1 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. SWIM's 3rd annual conference, 11 months in the making, was scheduled to take place the next day. A winter storm was looming, with weather predictions varying widely from three to 50 inches of snow in the next 48 hours. It was almost 2:00pm and a decision had to be made – setup was slated to begin in minutes, and speakers were boarding their flights for Boston. Should the conference be canceled, modified, or go forward as planned?

SLO Associate Director Marco Esquandolas looked at the five women seated in front of him and asked, "Ladies, what is your final call?"

During the many months of planning, each member of the leadership team had visualized dozens of possible scenarios for the conference. In some, there were no attendees, the food never arrived, or the speakers forgot their talking points. In others, the room was packed and the crowd was on their feet giving thunderous applause for a life- and career-changing event. After so many setbacks, it was finally all within reach, and it was going to be glorious. Except now, there was a new and unprecedented scenario to consider – canceling the conference for a potentially monstrous snowstorm, when there was not a cloud in the sky or a snowflake on the ground.