Effective leadership in SKC Ogbonnia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effective leadership in SKC Ogbonnia - Essay Example My team simply put everything on hold. I see that if no one step up and push the project along and come up with alternative plan, we will drop the ball and lose the client. I called up my team for a meeting to come up with plan for actions to complete the project. We had a long discussion and come up with a plan of action. I delegated each specialists their tasks and regroup everyone to follow up the progress. I asked each specialist to cross check each other’s work and the work’s integration into the presentation as a whole. I asked everyone to think in my director’s shoes, keeping the client’s goals in mind. As a result, we completed the presentation by the deadline and send them to our marketing team. This aspect of teamwork can translate all bounds of transformational leadership in that each person worked together in order to achieve a common goal that not only enhanced their productivity, but also their ability to work together as a team even with con flicting personalities.Moreover, I set up a new brief meeting between my team and the marketing team regarding this case. I set up the meeting between my team and the marketing team for the first time to brief on the case. During the meeting, we prepped the marketing team on what was to be expected and how to manage the client’s expectations according to our plan. The marketers were able to ask the specialist questions and understand the plan in depth. This sense of teamwork in the transactional leadership setting was beneficial.... We had a long discussion and come up with a plan of action. I delegated each specialists their tasks and regroup everyone to follow up the progress. I asked each specialist to cross check each other’s work and the work’s integration into the presentation as a whole. I asked everyone to think in my director’s shoes, keeping the client’s goals in mind. As a result, we completed the presentation by the deadline and send them to our marketing team. This aspect of teamwork can translate all bounds of transformational leadership in that each person worked together in order to achieve a common goal that not only enhanced their productivity, but also their ability to work together as a team even with conflicting personalities. Moreover, I set up a new brief meeting between my team and the marketing team regarding this case. I set up the meeting between my team and the marketing team for the first time to brief on the case. During the meeting, we prepped the market ing team on what was to be expected and how to manage the client’s expectations according to our plan. The marketers were able to ask the specialist questions and understand the plan in depth. This sense of teamwork in the transactional leadership setting was beneficial to the creation of a solution to the problem. In the end, both of the teams were able to meet their mutual to goal in order to seal the deal before the director returned. This clearly exemplifies the ideals and processes associated with adaptive leadership. The director was impressed how I proactively move the case along during his trip. He was able to see that I understand how different departments as well as the in’s and out’s in regards to how the company works. This not only shows how I act as a

Cultural Differences In The Corporate World Essay

Cultural Differences In The Corporate World - Essay Example When in meetings, Westerners should not show annoyance or disproval if meetings do not proceed according to their patterns as according to the Saudi Arabians will determine their opinion of the person (â€Å"Saudi Arabian Meetings†). Part of the recommendations is to train people in different cultures, customs, traditions, history, language, idiomatic terms, non-verbal communication, and in this case include the religious component. When visiting a Saudi Arabian if there is a gift involved   caution should prevail and avoid giving: Alcohol, pork, knives, pigskin, perfumes with alcohol, and images with nude women. It is embedded in the culture that flattery plays an important role in business. Compliments will also be given do not be distant, aloof or embarrassed. Familiar questions may arise (marital status, children, religious convictions). It is also recommended not to say that a person (you) is an atheist. This is certainly not an easy task, given that the business world is always trying to maintain its head over water (especially during this day and age of an economic crisis. It has been evidenced that failures have occurred in business transactions. The "one size fits all" does no longer apply. Live and learn, and be productive in the process and culmination of business transactions. In the business world, the bottom line will always prevail. It should be the duty of those performing research in the marketing and the public arena to be well informed before launching a product and or service.

The Business Research Process Essay Example for Free

The Business Research Process Essay Introduction In this paper I will discuss the business research process based on Hospital in West Roxbury, MA. Although I still consider myself new to the medical field, I find it rewarding to give medical treatment to veterans such as myself. I briefly will summarize the specific business research and why they aim to â€Å"take care of their own.† Business Research Process The business research process often starts with an overview of the market or industry. The key objective is determining if an opportunity exists within a certain market. In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the Federal Government. From that day on the Nations veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans but also their widows and dependents (va.gov). Over the years thousand of major hospitals and smaller clinics have since been established to help care for veterans. What is business research? Basically business research is the method a company makes to decide the most efficient, productive, and ethical way to make money and generate repeat customers. Business research is also a field of practical study in which a company obtains data and analyzes it to manage better the company (Miranda, n.d.).When starting any type of business research needs to be done to identify its competition. The Veteran Affairs Hospital created a vision to provide health care to veterans who have served and protected our country. Since the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized they have provided excellent medical service. The VA Hospital wanted veterans who served in the military to come home and still be able to receive quality medical care. They also wanted this type of care to available in every state over the world, to make it convenient for veterans to reach. The VA’s business research was researched. Within almost every state there is a major hospital and where there is not, or where veterans cannot receive the need care there has been a VA shuttle van to transport patients to and from there appointments even if it is at another VA hospital. Along with they give patients travel pay if they have to leave there home state to go to appointment, which offers patients the opportunity to continue to receive care at the governments expense. Reference http://www.va.gov/about_va/vahistory.asp Miranda, K. (n.d.). What Is Business Research?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-research-43341.ht Introduction In this paper I will discuss the business research process based on Hospital in West Roxbury, MA. Although I still consider myself new to the medical field, I find it rewarding to give medical treatment to veterans such as myself. I briefly will summarize the specific business research and why they aim to â€Å"take care of their own.† Business Research Process The business research process often starts with an overview of the market or industry. The key objective is determining if an opportunity exists within a certain market. In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the Federal Government. From that day on the Nations veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans but also their widows and dependents (va.gov). Over the years thousand of major hospitals and smaller clinics have since been established to help care for veterans. What is business research? Basically business research is the method a company makes to decide the most efficient, productive, and ethical way to make money and generate repeat customers. Business research is also a field of practical study in which a company obtains data and analyzes it to manage better the company (Miranda, n.d.).When starting any type of business research needs to be done to identify its competition. The Veteran Affairs Hospital created a vision to provide health care to veterans who have served and protected our country. Since the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized they have provided excellent medical service. The VA Hospital wanted veterans who served in the military to come home and still be able to receive quality medical care. They also wanted this type of care to available in every state over the world, to make it convenient for veterans to reach. The VA’s business research was researched. Within almost every state there is a major hospital and where there is not, or where veterans cannot receive the need care there has been a VA shuttle van to transport patients to and from there appointments even if it is at another VA hospital. Along with they give patients travel pay if they have to leave there home state to go to appointment, which offers patients the opportunity to continue to receive care at the governments expense. Reference http://www.va.gov/about_va/vahistory.asp Miranda, K. (n.d.). What Is Business Research?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-research-43341.ht

How Self-Motivation can Create a Positive Impact on Your Life?

How Self-Motivation can Create a Positive Impact on Your Life? Introduction Self-motivation is a process wherein a person develop ways on how to keep his or her self motivated at all times despite challenging times and without direct help from other people. Experts say that self-motivation is a very important factor in a persons life because this will help him or her see things in a positive way. This will also enable him or her to overcome challenges by developing an attitude that could withstand trials and failures.If one is able to develop a good outlook in life, everything will start falling into their proper places. In fact, he or she might even be surprised of the things that were able to accomplished in that span of time. THE ABCs OF SELF MOTIVATION If you are one of those who have just realized the importance of self-motivation and would want to start it but you just dont know how, here are some of the things that can help you: Re-assess yourself. Many people think that they know themselves already that is why they decline to do self-assessment regularly. Experts say that these people dont realize that the more that they decline doing self-reassessment, the more that they get stuck to their own routine which leaves them lesser room for improvement. If you want to start with constant self-motivation, it is best that you know yourself very well. If you know yourself well, you will know your weaknesses as well as your strengths. Once you were able to identify all of these, it will be easier for you to set goals for yourself that are within your reach and your capabilities. Knowing ones self will also enable you to take note of your weaknesses and find ways on how to overcome, manage, and deal with them. The same works for your strengths because you might even find a way on how to improve them. Start with small and simple goals. Dont put too much pressure on yourself. If you are just starting with self-motivation, it will be best if you start small and simple so you wont feel defeat when you werent able to meet the standards you have set for yourself. If you start with small and simple things, you are giving yourself the chance to accomplish bigger things ahead. Keep track of your progress. Monitoring how well or bad you are doing will help you maneuver things that find ways that would best work for you. For a person who is just starting with his or her self-motivation process, it is best to keep track of how you are doing so you will know where are the areas that you should improve on and what are the things that you should continue doing. Find time to share and help others. Self-motivation is a process that indirectly involves other people for it to be successful. If you think you are doing well at your own pace, it would help if you find time to share the experience as well as the ideas to others so you will influence them. If the people-especially those that matter to you-see that you are doing good and self-motivation is creating a big impact in your life, they would even might want to try the same thing that you are doing.

Leonhard Euler Essay -- essays research papers

Leonhard Euler Euler made large bounds in modern analytic geometry and trigonometry. He made decisive and formative contributions to geometry, calculus and number theory. Born: 15 April 1707 in Basel, Switzerland Died: 18 Sept 1783 in St Petersburg, Russia Introduction Euler's father wanted his son to follow him into the church and sent him to the University of Basel to prepare for the ministry. However geometry soon became his favourite subject. Euler obtained his father's consent to change to mathematics after Johann Bernoulli had used his persuasion. Johann Bernoulli became his teacher. He joined the St. Petersburg Academy of Science in 1727, two years after it was founded by Catherine I the wife of Peter the Great. Euler served as a medical lieutenant in the Russian navy from 1727 to 1730. In St Petersburg he lived with Daniel Bernoulli. He became professor of physics at the academy in 1730 and professor of mathematics in 1733. He married and left Johann Bernoulli's house in 1733. He had 13 children altogether of which 5 survived their infancy. He claimed that he made some of his greatest discoveries while holding a baby on his arm with other children playing round his feet. The publication of many articles and his book Mechanica (1736-37), which extensively presented Newtonian dynamics in the form of mathematical analysis for the first time, started Euler on the way to major mathematical work. In 1741, at the invitat...

Challenges that working women face today Essay

Introduction In today’s culture where individualism is emphasized and especially that women are encouraged to assume equal roles as men would normally take, two or three decades ago, it is very difficult to see eye to eye with how women are during biblical times. â€Å"Girl power† or women empowerment is the rule of the day for women nowadays. Although, of course, all women as all men have the right to lead in the sense that they have the same intrinsic capacity to influence, the role of leadership has been blown out of proportion by feminist groups as they apply it to women. The result of this over blown leadership role of women has been the constant battle between members of opposite sexes in many significant areas within society. It has affected the homes, government and non-government institutions, down to the smallest entity that has within its membership men and women. The Challenges Today, despite the liberty afforded to women since their right to suffrage had been granted, myriads of problems assails them as they exercise many of their freedoms. These include sexual harassment and abuse, balancing family life and, still being debated to a degree is the issue on an equitable salary or pay. Generally, the women today have double jobs not to mention the close attention they pay towards their children’s schooling. This is usually true in urbanized and highly educated centers in the mainland USA. Despite these changes of traditional roles of women in the cities, there are yet rural areas where women assume roles that are still traditional. Women in these areas are still known to be subservient to their men; oftentimes abuses are the rule not the exception. Abuses come in the form of incest, rape, lure of prostitution, cybernet prostitution, abortion, domestic violence, sex tourism, and mail order brides among others. However, without exception, more less educated women are abused than their more educated counterparts who also have more access to social services. In other words, the abuses mentioned characterized women, though the incidence and degree are comparatively higher in the less educated and misplaced/marginalized areas (Malveuax et al., 2002). ~ Salary Equity Despite the provision by law that there should be equal remuneration standards for men and women, many firms and workplaces continue to abuse women of this right (Equal Employment Opportunity Act). This law precisely was originally intended for women to receive equal pay and be protected against anomalous employers who make whimsical decisions regarding their women employees. It provides against employers who may lower wages from either sex or labor organizations that will attempt to influence employers against employees’ wages (Taber, 2008). The question is how prevalent is the discrimination or abuse on employee salaries? Basically, most occupations still show discrepancy with women versus men wages, although various explanations are put forth. However the factors may be explained, the fact still remains that women lose around 20 to 30 percent to that of men’s income (77cents to one dollar for men) as reported by The Washington Post (2007 July). ~Balancing Work and family (Work-Life Initiatives) Work-life initiatives are strategies implemented by firms to reduce turnover and increase productivity and overall firm performance. Studies were made to examine the influence and effects of work-life initiatives on employees and the organization in general. Workplace diversity which incorporates the concepts of work-life initiatives does indicate that it is inevitable that when a company introduces work-life initiatives, there is a resulting increase in diversity. Substantial evidence point to the effectiveness of workplace diversity hence, many institutions encourage and promote this in their particular milieu (http://www.cmdronline.com/workshops.htm). It is inevitable that juggling work and family life will be one of a person’s demanding experiences. The rationale for having a job is not only to have a livelihood, achieve personal satisfaction in the expression of his abilities and trainings, and receive his remuneration and perks on the side. Preparation for family stability to be able to provide and thus create an atmosphere of care, for bachelors/maidens, is also the foremost and logical reason for having a job. However, the thin thread that separates between the two polarities becomes blurred, and there lies the tension that pulls a person in different directions. The Center for Mediation and Dispute Resolution opens its website with the following quote: â€Å"Our life is one giant balancing act (http://www.cmdronline.com/workshops.htm).† Perhaps, no person will ever disagree with that statement. The goal then is to know how to do the balancing act, to gain competencies in achieving a rewarding, flourishing kind of life that holds work in one hand, while maintaining a well-nurtured and healthy family on the other hand. ~Sex Harassment What is perhaps most important to women’s well-being is their security against abuse of any form from employers, fellow employees and other people as they conduct their day-to-day affairs. Sex harassment is defined by the Women’s Justice Network as â€Å"Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Whether sexual harassment is from a supervisor, co-workers or customers, it is an attempt to assert power over another person. The harassment may take place in your work setting, outside of your work setting, in your home, while traveling on business or at business functions† (20002). Conclusion While at the moment, the common cry of women is equality to both genders as it is reflected in women’s roles in the family, in public places, and the obliteration of the stereotyped designation of females in past decades which until now has its bearing in the minds of the general public the consequent outcome of this campaign is prevalent in almost every area where function is concerned. In the late 1960s, women’s movement began to blossom. It was stirred by the then sentiment of repulsion to the tasks being typecasted among women. Women’s movement of the 60s aimed to question the menial duties relegated to women such as getting married, becoming a housewife and afterwards attending to household chores (including raising children), and when outside opportunity comes for them to work, they’re consigned to answering phones, photocopying, etc (Encarta, 2006). The scenery has been changed and is no longer the same as in the past 30 or 40 years. The typical woman today is one that is among the working class – no longer confined to house premises, but working and providing as much as her male counterparts. She can be the manager or an executive of an established firm where most of the male employees are under her command. Equality in roles has now been achieved. Whereas this status and depiction of women in itself is not outright negative, the undercurrent force that it has created is the programming of the minds of today’s women to be resistant to the biblical description of their role as they are teamed with men. Instead of seeing male and female partnership as complimentary to both sexes, the danger of too much emphasis on equality especially when it is defined merely in domestic and public functions is the threat that masculinity poses to womanhood. It is good for women to fight for their basic equal rights with men as members of this global community, but if it results in certain imbalances because the aim has become the dethronement of the opposite gender, then the battle for equality has now turned into fight for superiority of the female sex. Reference: 1. Encarta Dictionary 2006. (DVD). 2. Malveaux, Julianne, Deborah Perry, Deborah L. Perry. 2002. Unfinished Business: A Democrat and a Republican Take on the 10 Most Important Issues Women Face. Penguin Group USA. 3. Halonen, JS and JW Santrock, 1996. Psychology: Contexts of Behavior, Dubuque, IA: Brown and Benchmark, p.810. 4. __________ â€Å"Values: what are they?†2007. Family Works : University of Illinois extension. Accessed November 10. 2007. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/familyworks/values-01.html 5. _________Centre for Mediation & Dispute Resolution, accessed in http://www.cmdronline.com/workshops.htm 6. Taber, Loren. The Law in the Workplace. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:2K4rLBDHP90J:www.cbi-cc.org/PowerPoints/The%2520Law%2520in%2520the%2520Workplace.ppt+women+issues+on+discrimination+in+salary/wages&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 7. _________ â€Å"Men vs Women: Asking for more Money. The Washington Post. July 30, 2007. Accessed February 28, 2008 http://ocouha.com/weblog/tags/earnings-income-salary-wages-wealth/ 8. _________ â€Å"Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Toronto Harassment support Group. Retrieved February 28, 2008.

Chapter 6 – Planning Capacity

chapter 6: Planning capacity Capacity the maximum rate of output of a process or a system. Acquisition of new capacity requires extensive planning, and often involves significant expenditure of resources and time. Capacity decisions must be made in light of several long-term issues such as the firm’s economies and diseconomies of scale, capacity cushions, timing and sizing strategies, and trade-offs between customer service and capacity utilization. Planning capacity across the organizationAccounting provide cost information needed to evaluate capacity expansion Finance financial analysis of proposed capacity expansion investments and raises funds Marketing demand forecasts needed to identify capacity gaps. Operations selection of capacity strategies that can be implemented to effectively meet future demand. Human Resources hiring and training employees needed to support internal capacity plans. planning long-term capacity When choosing a capacity strategy: How much of a cushi on is needed to handle variable or uncertain demand? Should we expand capacity ahead of demand, or wait until demand is more certain? easures of capacity and utilization Output Measures Are best utilized when applied to individual processes within the firm, or when the firm provides a relatively small number of standardized services and products. For example, a car manufacturing plant may measure capacity in terms of the number of cars produced per day. Inputs Measures Are used for low-volume, flexible processes (custom products). For example a custom furniture maker might measure capacity in terms of inputs such as number of workstations or number of workers. The problem of input measures is that demand is expressed as an output rate.If the furniture maker wants to keep up with demand, he must convert the business’s annual demand for furniture into labor hours and number of employees required to fulfill those hours. Utilization Degree to which a resource (equipment, space, w orker) is currently being used. Utilization= Average Output RateMaximum Capacityx 100% The numerator and the denominator should be measured in the same units. A process can be operated above the 100%, with overtime, extra shifts, overstaffing, subcontracting, etc, but this is not sustainable for long. Economies of scaleEconomies of scale The average unit cost of a service or good can be reduced by increasing its output rate. Why? * Spreading fixed costs same fixed costs divided by more units * Reducing construction costs doubling the size of the facility usually doesn’t double construction costs (building permits, architect’s fees, rental) * Cutting costs of purchased materials better bargaining position and quantity discounts * Finding process advantages speed up the learning effect, lowering inventory, improving process and job designs, and reducing the number of changeovers. diseconomies of scaleDiseconomies of scale The average cost per unit increases as the facili ty’s size increases. The reason is that excessive size can bring complexity, loss of focus, and inefficiencies. capacity timing and sizing strategies sizing capacity cushions Capacity cushion=100%-Average Utilization rate (%) When the average utilization rate approaches 100% for long periods, it’s a signal to increase capacity or decrease order acceptance to avoid declining productivity. The optimal capacity cushion depends on the industry. Particularly, in front-office processes where customers expect fast service times, large cushions are vital (more variable demand).For capital-intensive firms, minimizing the capacity cushion is vital (unused capacity costs money). timing and sizing expansion Two strategies: * Expansionist strategy large, infrequent jumps in capacity. Is ahead of demand, and minimizes the chance of sales lost to insufficient capacity * Wait-and-see strategy smaller, more frequent jumps. It lags behind demand. To meet any shortfalls, it relies on sho rt-term operations (overtime, temporary workers, subcontractors, postponement of preventive maintenance on equipment).It reduces the risk of overexpansion based on overly optimistic demand forecasts, obsolete technology, or inaccurate assumptions regarding the competition. This strategy fits the short-term outlook but can erode market share over the long run. Timing and sizing of expansion are related: if demand is increasing and the time between increments increases, the size of the increments must also increase. An intermediate strategy can be â€Å"follow the leader†, so nobody gains a competitive advantage for being ahead of demand, and everyone shares the agony of overcapacity in the other case. inking capacity and other decisions Capacity cushions in the long run buffer the organization against uncertainty, as do resource flexibility, inventory, and longer customer lead times. If a change is made in any one decision area, the capacity cushion may also need to be changed to compensate. For example: Lower volume of production (more capacity cushion) to raise prices or vice versa. a systematic approach to long-term capacity decisions 4 steps: 1. Estimate future capacity requirements 2. Identify gaps by comparing requirements with available capacity 3. Develop alternative plans for reducing the gaps . Evaluate each alternative, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and make a final choice step 1: estimate capacity requirements A process’s capacity requirement is what its capacity should be for some future time period to meet the demand of the firm’s customers (external or internal), given the firm’s desired capacity cushion. Larger requirements are practical for processes or workstations that could potentially be bottlenecks in the future, and management may even plan for longer cushions than normal. Capacity requirements can be expressed in: * Output measure * Input measureEither way, the foundation for the estimate is forecasts of demand, productivity, competition, and technological change. The further ahead you look, the more chance you have of making an inaccurate forecast. Using output measures Demand forecasts for future years are used as a basis for extrapolating capacity requirements into the future. If demand is expected to double in the next 5 years, then the capacity requirements also double. For example: Actual demand 50 customers per day; expected demand = 100 customers per day; desirable cushion = 20%. So capacity should be (100)/(1-0. )=125 customers per day. Using input measures Output measures may be insufficient in these situations: * Product variety and process divergence is high (customized products) * The product or service mix is changing * Productivity rates are expected to change * Significant learning effects are expected In these cases, an input measure should be used (number of employees, machines, trucks, etc) One product processed When just one service or product is processed at an operation and the time period is a particular year, the capacity requirement (M) is: M=DpN[1-C100]D=demand forecast for the year (number of customers served or units produced) p=processing time (in hours per costumer served or unit produced) N=Total number of hours per year during which the process operates C=desired capacity cushion (expressed as a percent) M=number of input units required and should be calculated for each year in the time horizon Many products processed Setup time time required to change a process or an operation from making one service or product to making another. To calculate the total setup time D/Q*s Where D=demand forecast for the yearQ= number of units processed between setups s= time per setup For example, if the demand is 1200 units, and the average lot size is 100, there are 1200/100=12 setups per year. Accounting for both processing and setup times for multiple products, we get: M=[Dp+DQs]product 1+[Dp+DQs]product 2+†¦+[Dp+DQs]product nN[1-C100 ] When â€Å"M† is not an integer and we are talking about number of machines, you can round up the fractional part, unless it is cost efficient to use short-term options, such as overtime or stockouts.But if we are talking about number of employees and we get 23. 6, we can use 23 employees and use a little overtime (in this case, 60% of a full-time person). step 2: identify gaps A capacity gap is any difference (positive or negative) between projected capacity requirements (M) and current capacity. step 3: develop alternatives Develop alternative plans to cope with projected gaps. One alternative is the base case do nothing and simply lose orders from any demand that exceeds current capacity or incur costs because capacity is too large.Other alternatives: various timing and sizing options (expansionist or wait-and-see strategies); expanding at a different location; and using short term options. For reducing capacity, the alternatives include closing plants, laying off employ ees, reducing days or hours of operations. step 4: evaluate the alternatives Evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative concerns The manager looks at how each alternative fits the overall capacity strategy and other aspects of the business not covered by the financial analysis (uncertainties about demand, competitive reaction, technological change, and cost estimates).Some of these factors can’t be quantified and must be assessed on the basis of judgment and experience. Quantitative concerns The manager estimates the change in cash flows for each alternative over the forecast time horizon compared to the base case. tools for capacity planning waiting-line models Are useful in high customer-contact processes. Waiting-line models use probability distributions to provide estimates of average customer wait time, average length of waiting lines, and utilization of the work center.Managers can use this information to choose the most cost-effective capacity, balancing cu stomer service and the cost of adding capacity. This topic will be treated more deeply in the appendix (siguiente resumen) simulation Simulations can identify the process’s bottlenecks and appropriate capacity cushions, even for complex processes with random demand patterns and predictable flows in demand during a typical day. decision trees A decision tree can be particularly valuable for evaluating different capacity extension alternatives when demand is uncertain and sequential decisions are involved.