The Decision Game

THE DECISION GAME

You work at the Central Bank, a British bank with branches in most towns and cities. All of your call centers are based in the UK, in areas of high unemployment. You must make a series of decisions which will affect the future of these call centers. Work together and make your first decision by choosing option A or B. Follow the instructions.

Play

Senior Management wants you to cut costs and improve profitability. In India, call center workers are paid five times less than in the UK. You decide to:

a- keep the call centers in UK and accept higher costs.

b- investigate more fully the costs and benefits of moving the call centers

If you close the UK call centers, 1,000 jobs will be lost. You do not want to cause an unnecessary panic because you are still at the investigation stage. You decide to:

a - be open about your plans

b - keep your plans confidential for the moment

India call center is now a success and complaints have dropped. However, an Indian worker now costs a third as much as a UK worker and soon will cost half as much. You will now have to look for a cheaper alternative or think of other places where costs might be cheaper.

Return to square one

End here

A newspaper has run the campaign praising you as the Patriotic Bank. This is good for your image but it means that your hands could be tied in the future.

a return to square 1

b- end here

Now you have solved the union problems, the call center is going ahead. However, UK customers say there are often communication problems with the Indian based call handlers. You decide to:

a ask Senior Management to invest more money in staff training

b send a letter to customers explaining the need to set up in India

Shareholders complain that you are less profitable than rival banks. They are still putting pressure on you to cut costs. You decide to:

a please shareholders by closing some less profitable branches

b organize a social media campaign explaining to the public why you want to keep the call center jobs in the UK

Customers are even angrier when they receive your letter. They don't care what your motives are. You decide to:

a ignore the complaints

b invest more money in staff training

UK call center employees have heard about your possible plans to go to India. They want full consultation with the union. You decide to:

a involve the union and discuss the plans with them

b ignore the union and go ahead with your plans

Your plan to close smaller branches will cost 500 jobs. this causes protest from the union and from customers who live near the small branches. you decide to:

a carry on with the closures.

b- reconsider other ways of cutting costs, including the call center option

Going ahead with the branch closures loses the bank several thousand customers and gets a lot of negative publicity. you lose your job!

return to one

end here

Your negotiations with the Union have reached a crossroads. You will set up some branches in India, but the Union wants to reduce UK job losses to minimum. You decide to:

a keep only 100 UK call center jobs and risk a strike

B keep 400 UK jobs which will satisfy the union

Union negotiations have been successful. Both sides have compromised. You have agreed to keep 250 UK jobs. The bank offers you a tough new Mission which involves closing other unprofitable branches. you decide to:

a accept their tough new mission

be stay where you are happy that you have survived a difficult moment. Return to one or end here

Angry customers contact head office and name you as personally responsible for the problems. Senior managers are happy to use you as a scapegoat. You are moved to manage a small branch in the countryside. it is the end of your ambitions. Return to one or end here

return to 1

end here

There have been three one day strikes in selected branches. You decide to:

a- face up to the union and refuse to change your position

b- reopen negotiations with the union

Someone has leaked the story about the India plans to the union. You are attacked by the press as an exporter of British jobs. You decide to:

a - deny everything and go ahead with the plans in secret

b- open up negotiations with the union