Decision in Paradise

Decision in Paradise

Ryanne Johnson

University of Phoenix

MGT 350 Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making

John Paul Warren, MBA

July 7, 2008

Two weeks after finishing my degree and having most of my dreams fulfilled, I landed a job on an island in the South Pacific called Kava. My job required me to work with Alex, the director of strategic planning of a solid organization called Verizon. My name is Nik and I was thrilled because I imagined that a job in the South Pacific was nothing short of being in paradise. My understanding of paradise "is an idyllic land, any palace of great beauty and perfection, happiness or delight."

Kava in the South Pacific was no paradise. The island was going through difficult times. After getting over my initial shock of the island and I met my boss who did not look as close to how I pictured him, I was given a debriefing session about the island. Kava is faced with many potential natural disasters ranging from tidal waves, typhoons, tornados, floods, fires, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. The dangers from HIV/AIDS, petroleum spills, avian flu and terrorism add to the other threats to the island. Kava is an ethnic mix of indigenous South Pacific tribes, Asian, African, French, Spanish, and Americans. 50% of the people in Kava are of indigenous religions with the balance divided up between Chinese, Buddhist and Islamic. They speak numerous indigenous languages as well as English, Spanish and French. The economy of Kava is a mixture of commodity and industry and consists of petroleum, coffee, cocoa, spices, bananas, sugar, fishing and natural gas as well as inexpensive, quality labor.

After the debriefing session I was awestruck and wondered what can Verizon do to help this community become resourceful? Decisions are difficult to make and I wondered if I should stay and work in this condition for such a demanding person as Alex. I thought about my love...