read FOUR of your classmates posts and give them constructive feedback as to whether they have clearly defined the decision statement as delineated in the class materials. Be sure that the feedback is constructive and that you are actually brainstorming with them to come up with valid arguments on why the final decision statement (the one that was provided to you) is the best one for PPO. Your job is to argue the logic presented in the content and support (facts from case study or citations from the course material) provided in the posts.

The original questions is attached, the case study is attached and another document is attached for further understanding.

THIRD PERSON, which means do not use “I, me, my” in your responses. Use headers to organize your response. At minimum, Must use atleast 1 references with website included, with in text citation from the course material provided below APA FORMAT FROM THE COURSE MATERIAL

*****MUST USE COURSE MATERIAL FOR REFERENCES!!!***

Course Material

https://wisedecisions.com/about-decision-making-why-it-is-so-hard/decision-making-vs-problem-solving/

https://create.usc.edu/sites/default/files/publications/m01howa624601sec01.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elements-effective-decision-making-peter-f-drucker-muharemovic-mba/

https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/in-decision-making-process-matters-more-than-the-outcome.html

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/the-basics-of-the-decision-making-process.htm

******My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to this question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below ******

Choice Seshiedoe   Student Answer/Post:: PPO is a small family owned business which began in 1998. Owned by Abdul Tengku, PPO has three Palm Oil Plantations in Borneo in the Kilimaten region. The first of PPO’s plantations planted in 1998 is 1500 hectares in size and yields 6.5 tons per hectare. The second plantation planted in 2006 is 2,000 hectares and yields 7.25 tons per hectares. The newest plantation is only 6 years old and is the biggest at 3,500 hectares (Company’s Profile, 2019).

Step 1 – Identify the Goal or Problem that Requires a Decision. The first step in the decision-making process is to identify the decision that PPO is facing (Universal class, n.d). PPO is now faced with the following financial and Customer challengers.

· The second oldest plantation is beginning to reach the peak time for productivity but in 6 more years the trees will begin to reach full maturity and production will decline.

· The largest plantation is immature and will not bring in a strong yield for another 3 to 4 years.

· While prices are still strong the market is going down.

· PPO has not received its government certification as a sustainable producer because it is not yet able to pay the costs of needed changes for qualification (estimated at $1 million dollars) having just repaid its government loans.

· The loss of contracted customers would threaten his financial success.

The Decision Statement should be for PPO’s dilemma: How PPO will be keep their business Profitable at the same time retain their customers.

******My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to this question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below ******

Applered Sargeant Student Answer/Post:: Initial Ideas

Decision making is a central responsibility of managers and leaders to include a production plantation manager for PPO.  Considering the attacks from the large number of activist groups and the necessary replanting of plantations and sustainability certification, how should PPO proceed in the coming year in order to remain profitable especially with the gap between planting new trees and immature trees able to produce oil?

Triggers or Opportunity

Current triggers that are positioning the production plan manager into a situation where the decision-making model is necessary includes, attacks from all the activist groups Consumers Against Palm Oil (CAPO), the negative stigma surrounding palm oil farming is growing at a high rate, and market has decline across the board. CAPO has recent launched attacks against PPO and other similar oil companies to raise awareness of the effects of palm oil plantations on the rainforest and Orangutans population that is expected to be extinct in 2050; the organization also encourages customers to boycott palm oil all together (Gonchar, 2017). These attacks as well as the negative stigma of palm oil farming severely threaten PPO’s future state.

Consumers are being urged to reduce consumption of palm oil which is referred to as the “Miracle Crop” (Yan, 2017, p. 1). Studies show that fires associated with palm oil plantations are responsible for destroying the habitats of orangutans, pollution, and harm to humans to include over 100,000 deaths (France-Presse, 2016, p. 1). Furthermore, the market for PPO is declining; PPO experienced a decrease in revenue of 9.2% this year alone (Gonchar, 2017, p. 11).

Palm oil is known to be an efficient use for farming land as well as a large contributor to national economies like Malaysia, Indonesia and India (SPOTT, 2016). These strong arguments for the use of palm oil combined with a sustainability certificate could lead to growth for PPO. Large American and European companies are calling upon palm oil producers to adhere to environmental protecting laws.  Lastly, PPO already owns the land where its plantations are located. Thus, PPO does not need to contribute to deforestation in order to continue with palm oil production. 

The Goal

The production plant manager aims to achieve the goal of continued success and profits for PPO. As a manager, one must consider the fiduciary responsibility to the owner of the company. The manager must act in ways which protect the assets of PPO and act in the interest of the company. Taking steps towards only sustainable palm oil, to comply by creating a Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Lastly, PPO need to pay the estimated $1 million dollars to receive its government certification to become sustainable.

Decision Statement

In responding to CAPO’s attacks, how will PPO keep their customers and continue to make money?

This official decision statement is very similar to the decision statement listed in initial ideas portion. The official statement clearly identifies the decision that must be made. It is specific, concise and to the point. The decision to be made considers the immediate threat, CAPO, while addressing the goal, to retain customers and make money at the same time. The decision statement is not concerned with any matters which are not directly related to the decision that must be made.

The initial step is to identify the goal or problem that requires a decision (The basics of the decision, 2019, para 3 & 4). The decisions arrived from the fact that the plantation can only produce quality palms for so long. Also, they want to become a sustainable producer. How can they make this happen?

******My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to this question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below ******

Brandy Navarijo Student Answer/Post::

Initial Decision Statements

How to pay for the certification.

Become a sustainable producer of palm oil.

How to keep the plantations producing at the optimal level for profitability and sustainability.

Triggers and/or Opportunities

Oldest plantation is coming to its production end.

Second oldest will start declining in 6 years

Newest planation will not reach maturity level until 3-4 years from now.

PPO can not afford to pay for government certification as a sustainable producer.

Protestors have increased companies to make certification difficult.

Need to talk to big American customers to provide assurance that the company is addressing the problem of harming the environment and orangutan’s natural habitat.

Find a way to have their plantations lessen their impact on the environment.

When they become a sustainable producer, this could be used as a marketing tool.

Goal

To maintain sustainable and not lose its contracted customers

******My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to this question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below ******

Samantha Banks Student Answer/Post::

Step 1: Defining the Decision 

Determining what decision needs to be made, and what  decision does not show’s how good of a decision maker a person is. The most critical step in the decision making process is the initial step which is defining the decision. It is essential to accurately and adequately outline the desire goals to be achieved, any obstacle that can prevent the desire goals and the current operations.  Step one will allow a person to determine if the solution they are considering is the right one and not waste time. Identifying the correct problem before making a decision is the most difficult part in the decision making process because having the right decisions to the wrong problem can cause unnecessary problems (Muharemovic, 2015).

The goal for the current situation is to the focus on what Perfect Palm Oil (PPO) needs to accomplish in order to stay in business and to achieve the desire goals set forth by Consumers Against Palm Oil (CAPO) in respect to their environmental concerns with the production of palm oil. CAPO has brought an abundance of negative attention to PPO by boycotting, protesting, picketing, and publicly attacking PPO. One of their chief complains is the harm done to the orangutan population that live in the area where the palm oil production is being complete. The negative attention has cause PPO’s customers to take notice and voice their own concerns about the environmental impact. Many are pulling their business from PPO until it can demonstrate its environmentally friendly goals. PPO needs to show that it can become a sustainable palm oil producer (Gonchar, 2017).  The decision statement of PPO needs to focused on the “In response to CAPO’s attacks, how will PPO keep their customers and continue to make 

money?”

Mr. Tengku, who is the owner of PPO, is looking to PPO’s production manager to take responsibility of the business decision that needs to be make, but first needs to know what alternatives if any is available that can satisfy PPO’s interests and the interest of CAPO and PPO’s customers (Gonchar, 2017).

Once the right problem is identify the decision-making process can begin and the Management Development Questionnaire (MDQ) model can be utilize. The MDQ tool is then utilize to assess the professional staff competencies, both managers and lower staff to ensure that the required skills needed to be successful in today’s business and economy climate is attained.