Description
وزارة التعليم
الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Assignment 3
Decision Making and Problem Solving (MGT 312)
Due Date: End of week 13, 6th of December@ 23:59
Course Name: Decision Making and Problem Student’s Name:
Solving
Course Code: MGT312
Student’s ID Number:
Semester: 1st
CRN:
Academic Year:2025-26; FIRST SEMESTER
For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade:
/ 10
Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low
General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
•
This assignment is a group assignment. Each group will consist of 4-5 Students only.
•
The Assignment must be submitted only in WORD format via allocated folder.
•
Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
•
Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be
reduced for poor presentation.
•
Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
•
Late submission will NOT be accepted.
•
Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or
other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
•
All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font.
No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe decision making process for complex issues pertaining to business
environment both internally and externally. (C.L.O :1.1)
2. Demonstrate decision tools and employ appropriate analytical business models to
break down complex issues. (C.L.O :2.2)
3. Demonstrate effective leadership skills and teamwork capacity for efficient
decision making with the problem owners and other stakeholders as either a team
member or a team leader. (C.L.O :3.1)
Assignment Instructions:
• Log in to Saudi Digital Library (SDL) via University’s website
• On first page of SDL, choose “English Databases”
• From the list find and click on EBSCO database.
• In the search bar of EBSCO find the following article:
Title:
Case Study: Do We Reskill or Replace Our Workforce?
Author:
Kerr, William; Hull, Paddy; Brown, Hayden
Date of Publication:
Jul/Aug2025
Published:
Harvard Business Review
Read the attached case study titled as “Case Study: Do We Reskill or Replace Our
Workforce? by Kerr, William; Hull, Paddy; Brown, Hayden, published in Harvard
Business Review, and answer the following Questions:
1. Identify the main problem and subproblems of the case?
[Mark 1]
2. Writ the problem statement about the above case. Problem statement should include
the followings: [400-500 words]
[Marks 2]
• Briefly summarize the problem
•
Identify symptoms of the problem
•
Describe the size and scope of the problem
•
Identify the consequences
3. Discuss the problem with 5-Why analysis.
[Marks 1]
4. Brainstorm with your team and generate all the ideas that your team suggests. [Mark
1]
5. Weighing the alternatives
[Marks 2]
When weighing the various alternatives, how well each alternative fulfils the
variables to consider can be expressed as scores. A different rating scale will be used
to assess each alternative:
+2 very suitable
+1 quite suitable
0 neither suitable nor unsuitable
-1 not quite suitable
-2 not suitable at all
Note: Positive numbers (+2 or +1) indicate that the alternative is able to fulfil the
variables, whereas negative numbers (-2 or -1) denote the opposite.
6. Draw a decision tree based for decision making,
[1 Marks]
7. “Do the company reskill or replace the workforce” what will be your decision and
why?
[Mark 1]
8. Write the conclusion and overall assessment.
[Marks 1]
Answers
1. Answer2. Answer3. Answer4. Answer5. Answer6. Answer7. Answer8. Answer
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present problems faced by leaders
in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is
based on the HBS case study “AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce
of Tomorrow” (HBP Product 9-820-017) by William R. Kerr, Joseph B.
Fuller, and Carl Kreitzberg, which is available at HBR.org.
Do We
Reskill or
Replace Our
Workforce?
by William Kerr
Illustrations by JORI BOLTON
A L EX RI VE RA SE T TLE D into his office
chair and stared at the pages containing
charts and projections that were spread
across his desk. Three years into his
role as CEO of SolidTech Innovations,
he was thinking critically about the
company’s future.
For more than 80 years the privately
held SolidTech had been a leader in
elevator manufacturing. It was known
for making reliable, durable systems
and installing and maintaining them in
commercial buildings around the world.
But the internet-of-things era was indicating a new direction for the industry.
Smart buildings required smart elevators. New entrants, backed by venture
capital and private equity firms, were
selling models with predictive maintenance systems, touchless controls,
AI-powered traffic optimization, and
cloud-based monitoring platforms
that integrated with building management technology. The future of vertical
transportation seemed to be less about
simply moving people safely between
Harvard Business Review
July–August 2025
141
floors and more about data, efficiency,
and merging software with hardware.
“That’s the line you need to keep
hitting home,” said Sarah Thompson,
the consultant sitting across from Alex.
“Your people know everything about
cables, counterweights, and motor
systems, but little about APIs, machine
learning, or user experience design, and
that’s an existential problem.”
A former Bain partner who now ran
her own firm, Sarah had a reputation for
both future-focused thinking and brutal
honesty. It was the reason Alex had
hired her as an adviser.
“This is why SolidTech needs to
move forward with the ‘Grand Bargain,’”
she continued, tapping the presentation
in front of Alex. “Reskill your existing
workforce through an opt-in program.
Employees invest time in learning new
skills, while the company secures the
talent it needs without trying to hire
thousands of software engineers in this
tight labor market.”
Alex nodded slowly. “Online training, massive open online courses, community college courses—we can offer it
all?” he asked.
“Yes, most are covered by the company, but if employees want to ramp up
with extra courses, we’ll secure deeply
discounted group rates,” Sarah replied.
“Those who adapt will have a future
here. Those who don’t…” She let the
implication hang in the air.
“I see you’re suggesting potential
demotions and pay cuts for those who
142
Harvard Business Review
July–August 2025
don’t participate,” Alex said, “but that
feels harsh.”
“Reskilling is a balancing act,”
Sarah replied. “To keep costs down,
there must be consequences for those
who don’t embrace the change. Those
measures—and voluntary attrition—
will help offset the cost of the program.”
Alex stood up and walked to the
window, looking out at the SolidTech
campus. Several buildings housed
teams that had been with the company for decades. He thought about
the broader implications of displaced
workers—not just at SolidTech but
across the country.
“You know, this isn’t just about our
bottom line,” he said quietly.
Sarah nodded. “Which is why I’m
suggesting a win-win plan. This is a new
social contract between employer and
employee. The company provides the
platform for growth, and the workers
take responsibility for their own futures.”
“Let’s talk to the owners first,” Alex
said. “If they balk, that sends us a
message.”
SHAREHOLDER PUSHBACK
“Our five-year plan hinges on a workforce transformation,” Alex explained,
the faces of the people who held a
majority of SolidTech’s shares staring
back at him from the videoconference
screen. “Given the tight labor market,
“Can we really get our existing employees to the level they need to be so they’re retainable?
Or will we still have to hire new software talent anyway and let other people go?”
we’re therefore thinking about retraining our existing workforce and creating
a new culture of continuous learning. This Grand Bargain will help us
maintain our industry expertise and
stay competitive. Our adviser, Sarah
Thompson, is here to help answer your
questions.”
Rich Symond, who represented
SolidTech’s founding family as head
of its investment trust, which still
held a majority stake in the company,
unmuted himself first. “Do we have evidence that programs like this actually
work in practice? Can we really get our
existing employees to the level they
need to be so that they’re retainable?
Or will we still have to hire new software talent anyway and let other
people go? I know that the family won’t
want to see us do that to longtime
employees, but I also worry that we’ll
spend millions on retraining only to
find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies that
hired young guns right away.”
Before Alex could respond, Akash
Rao from RT Hinkley Capital, SolidTech’s second largest shareholder,
chimed in. “I actually see this as a good
way to get to downsizing at SolidTech.
The company needs to improve its
margins, and if this reskilling program
gives Alex cover to make his workforce
leaner, I’m all for it.”
Alex winced. The last thing he
wanted to do was oversee mass layoffs. He glanced over at Sarah, and
she jumped in. “That is truly not the
intent,” she said firmly. “It’s an effort to
hold on to our people while recognizing
we can do so only if they have the right
skills, and to preserve institutional
knowledge and culture while evolving
capabilities. And, yes, we’ve seen companies like IBM and Amazon do this
with great success.”
Monica Chen from minority investor
Meridian Ventures spoke next. “I really
like the idea of a reskilling program—
and agree there is solid evidence they
work well—but I do have some practical concerns. First, SolidTech’s largest business opportunity remains the
refurbishment of old elevators in old
buildings. What’s more, many customers in emerging markets are very cost
conscious; they just want a box that goes
up and down reliably. I’m worried we
are letting the buzz of innovation crowd
out common sense. Is this really where
our focus should be? Or should we be
starting small with our smart, connected elevators, perhaps even under
a different brand?”
“I’m glad Monica raised the point
about tech hype,” said Thomas Smith
from Falcon Capital. “Online universities and MOOC startups are high-risk
partners. I know they are all the rage in
tech circles, but why should we take on
that risk? Frankly, is it even the company’s responsibility to reskill employees? My friends on the right would say
that sounds like something individuals should be responsible for, and my
friends on the left would say that’s
something the state should handle.”
After the call ended, Alex sat in
the conference room, reviewing his
notes. SolidTech’s owners weren’t at
all aligned. Sarah placed a hand on his
shoulder. “There were always going
to be questions,” she said. “Change is
scary, especially when it seems expensive. But we can bring them on board.
Reskilling is the best way to execute this
transformation.”
Alex nodded. “We should move forward with the key managers meeting
tomorrow. With you being around the
past few weeks, rumors are circulating.
Better to get their input, too, as soon as
we can.”
THE EMPLOYEE VIEW
As the leaders of engineering, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, sales,
and finance filed into the room, Alex
greeted each with a handshake before
sitting down at the head of the table.
To his right, Sarah whispered, “Re
member, lead with the opportunity, not
the threat.”
“Thank you all for taking the time to
meet today,” Alex began. “As many of you
know, our industry is changing rapidly,
and so, to secure SolidTech’s future—and
that of all our team members—we’re
thinking about how to evolve.”
For the next few minutes, he outlined the Grand Bargain. “Those who
participate would be positioned to drive
SolidTech’s future and benefit from
educational opportunities throughout their careers here,” he concluded.
“Those who choose not to would…have
more-limited prospects. Now I’d love to
hear your thoughts.”
Jon Laurent, a 25-year veteran of
SolidTech and chief of engineering,
jumped in. “Alex, in the years you’ve
been here, we’ve always had an honest
relationship, so I hope you don’t mind
me saying straight-out that I don’t see
this plan working,” he said. “Our company’s secret sauce is in the tacit, hardwon expertise of our people. And what
Harvard Business Review
July–August 2025
143
makes them tick? It’s putting on their
coveralls and working with their hands.
I get wanting to digitize and can see
bringing in some new hires to help us do
that. But my guys don’t want to become
computer nerds, and I suspect that if
you force it on them, they’ll leave, which
means all that essential knowledge and
hundreds of years of cumulative experience just walking out the door forever.”
Jon’s manufacturing, installation,
and maintenance peers all nodded
vigorously and murmured agreements.
He continued, “The service technician
arriving at a customer’s premises is a
visible display of the value we bring. We
lose our frontline relationship with the
customer if we are just squirting software updates to them in the middle of
the night. There will be no loyalty.”
Alex felt a knot forming in his
stomach. He’d had similar concerns
Should Alex push
forward with a
reskilling program?
THE EXPERTS RESPOND.
The question
isn’t whether
SolidTech should
reskill but how.
PADDY HULL is the global
head of talent, culture and
leadership at Heineken.
144
Harvard Business Review
July–August 2025
Competitors aren’t waiting; they
are adapting. The choice is to
evolve or face obsolescence.
SolidTech is on the right track
in calling this a “Grand Bargain,”
but management needs to do
far more in terms of employee
outreach. It’s a good start to
have identified roles that need
reskilling. Now, get specific.
Don’t just announce a program;
but pushed them aside. He was
thankful when Maya Perrineau, his
chief sales officer, chimed in. “But
that’s everyone’s knee-jerk reaction
to the idea of upskilling, right? ‘Is our
industry really changing that quickly?
Does everyone have to do it? Can’t
we just expand our digital team to
handle that stuff?’ But I can tell you
that what customers want now are
the same great elevators we’ve always
made upgraded with all the modern
conveniences—not layered on but
integrated.”
outline exactly what it means
for each role. In my experiences
at Unilever, where I oversaw a
reskilling program, and now at
Heineken, I’ve learned that the
“fight, flight, or freeze” response is
real. People are threatened when
they hear the word “reskilling.”
Counter that apprehension with
clear, detailed plans. Show them
the “what,” “when,” and “how.”
SolidTech can do several
specific things to help foster
employee buy-in: First, use
carrots, not sticks. Incentivize
employees to participate in the
reskilling program rather than
threatening them with demotions
or pay cuts. Retention bonuses,
salary continuations during training, and clear career progression
opportunities would motivate people to embrace the change.
Second, be specific, not amorphous. Clearly communicate what
the program entails, including
specific roles and skills that
need to be developed, to reduce
uncertainty. For instance, when
we rolled out reskilling at Unilever,
we showed how the procurement
team could take on sales roles
with just a little training. We
focused on helping people see
opportunity, not threat.
Finally, leverage trusted internal resources. Train respected
influencers in your organization,
such as union representatives or
experienced employees, to mentor
and coach others on thinking
through their career options. This
approach builds trust.
Though it may seem more costeffective to have external providers run reskilling courses, such
partners often can’t provide the
relevance and specificity needed
for a company’s unique situation.
Instead, organizations should
leverage their existing resources
and expertise to design and implement in-house programs.
While investors might focus
on the cost savings from head
count reduction if people opt
out of the reskilling program and
leave the company, Alex should
focus on the benefits. Reskilling
ensures retention of institutional
“If you force it on them, they’ll leave, which means all that essential knowledge
and…cumulative experience just walking out the door forever.”
Tony Wu, SolidTech’s chief financial
officer, spoke up next. “This reminds me
of ‘ghost offices’ in Japan. These are the
workplaces where companies that are
committed to offering lifetime employment send their workers when their skills
become obsolete. They’re still employed,
but they have no purpose. They’re
ghosts.” He paused. “It goes without
saying that we can’t afford to do that. But
also I don’t think it’s what any of us want.
We’ve got to work together to keep everyone’s skills relevant—and Alex’s plan
seems like a good way to do that.”
experience, reduced recruitment
costs, and improved employee
engagement. Other companies
have proven this to be the successful strategy to follow.
HAYDEN BROWN is the CEO
of Upwork.
Alex has more
choices than
he realizes.
“But it’s not your teams that will
need to reskill,” Jon countered. “It’s our
engineers and installers and maintenance guys. And I’m not sure they’ll all
be able or willing to do that. So are we
talking about layoffs for those people who don’t? And would you offer
job guarantees to the ones who do, no
matter how they perform?” The room
fell silent.
“That’s why we’re framing this as
a bargain,” Sarah said. “SolidTech
organizes the right training, which will
help employees whether they stay with
He sees only two paths: maintaining the status quo and hoping for
the best, or reskilling the workforce at a potentially huge cost
and risk to his existing business.
But there’s a third way: He can
turn to freelancers to address his
critical skills gap, achieve early
wins and learning, and mitigate
the risks that he is most worried
about.
He doesn’t need to dive in with
an all-or-nothing approach. He
could start by prototyping a new
working model using small freelance teams with the new skills he
thinks are needed, spinning them
up to test in individual departments such as sales or industrial
design. This way, he can quickly
gauge whether the investment
will add business value and offer
proof points to his key investors
and internal managers.
He may be concerned that the
online freelance market won’t be
able to supply the expertise that
he requires. But the opposite is
true: He can find professionals
with direct elevator-company
us or not. In exchange, they commit to
adapting.”
As the debate continued around
him, Alex felt like a ghost himself,
trapped in limbo, unsure whether to
move forward or back with the Grand
Bargain. In his gut, he knew that whatever decision he made would define
not just his leadership but SolidTech’s
future.
WILLIAM KERR is the D’Arbeloff
Professor of Business Administration
at Harvard Business School.
experience or those with experience in adjacent industries with
obvious crossover who, always
hungry for new work, would be
willing and able to add value
quickly.
Those who are brought in
shouldn’t just do the work and
leave; they should stand side
by side with existing SolidTech
employees, examining workflows
and skills gaps, and retraining
the team along the way. If the
pilot works, Alex could ask those
in-house people who worked
alongside the freelancers, and
the leaders who saw the impact
on their teams, to help promote
the program to other departments, explaining that they
have nothing to fear and, in
fact, much to gain from such
collaborations.
Alex is worried that any kind of
reskilling will drive away some of
his longtime talent. But the risk
of inaction is greater. Not only
does he need to stay ahead of
the competition, he also needs
to signal to his future-focused
employees that he wants to keep
SolidTech relevant. Otherwise, he
risks losing one of his most critical
talent assets—the people who
want to keep growing and learning
new skills—to more-innovative
competitors.
This approach—moving to a
smaller full-time employee base
augmented by specialists—will
bring in fresh skills and knowledge at a much faster pace,
while allowing Alex to retain and
supplement institutional knowledge and culture. By changing
SolidTech’s workforce mix in this
way, Alex can avoid the continual
cycle of reskilling or turning over
expensive full-time staff. By
leveraging freelancers, piloting
new teams, and starting with
small, achievable objectives, Alex
can begin to transform and reskill
his workforce without implementing a massive, costly, potentially
risky program.
HBR Reprint R2504P
Reprint Case only R2504X
Reprint Commentary only R2504Z
Harvard Business Review
July–August 2025
145
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