Introduction
MBA FPX 5002 Assessment 1 This essay aims to describe how Panera Bread, in 2010, applied critical thinking to resolve the problem known as the “Mosh Pit.” The paper will also discuss how VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) influences an organization and how it influences critical thinking in resolving a problem within an organization. It will also analyze a problem in another company and describe how VUCA can be used to address the problem and its impact.
Panera Bread’s Mosh Pit
Fast food tends to mean food that is made quickly and available quickly. Panera Bread took the fast food concept to a new level by offering meals made with fresh ingredients daily, lending the company an upscale feel. As popularity grew for the chain, CEO Ron Ahaich noticed an issue. In 2010, customers waited a long time to order and waited again within the “Mosh Pit” area for their orders to be prepared. Which felt compelled to reconfigure Panera’s service model to address this issue and created the rollout of the “Panera 2.0” test in Braintree, Massachusetts (Jargon, 2017).
Creating this fix required analytical thinking with a focus on improved customer experience. Online ordering and self-service kiosks did away with the “Mosh Pit” issue. However, this solution created new problems, including managing customized orders, which led to kitchen errors. VUCA helped in this solution, especially in managing uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Customers could now customize their orders online or in kiosks, which posed issues in managing the complexity of the orders. To mitigate this, Panera revolutionized its employee processes and added a kitchen display system to minimize errors (Jargon, 2017). Panera’s ability to change its business model to suit customers’ demands propelled the company to success.
T-Mobile and Cable TV
T-Mobile, or the “un-carrier” of wireless, is looking to the cable industry now in order to raise its brand footprint. The core issue with this industry is the high cost and customer-disregarding attitude of cable. The issue of customer orientation has already been addressed by T-Mobile for its original business by restructing its call centers as collocated teams wherein each team of call center operates for the customers of a specific region (Dixon, 2018).
With the advent of 5G technology, which provides better speeds for video streaming, T-Mobile is preparing itself to use this technology to enter the cable market. There are however issues about the deployment of 5G since test markets need to be done before a national deployment. The issues include working on LTE technology during the building of the 5G network, choosing what hardware to use, and planning regions for upgrading. The complexity also includes ensuring the new network can handle increased demand (ICT Monitor, 2017; Alleven, 2017).
Getting hardware to construct out the network is another problem. The supply chain division must collaborate with suppliers to acquire equipment to be utilized and have it tested for compatibility before it can be rolled out to test markets. These tests will inform the company’s ultimate design for national deployment.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is required when solving business problems. For T-Mobile, the problem is how to successfully enter a new market. The customer-centric approach has already propelled the company to the third-largest cellular company, and the same tactic will be applied to the home entertainment sector. Critical thinking allows T-Mobile to re-examine its business processes, make fresh decisions, and include various perspectives in its strategies (Kallet, 2014).
MBA FPX 5002 Assessment 1 As per Kallet (2014), critical thinking involves three elements of importance: clarity, conclusions, and decisions. First, clarity is important to establish the problem, which in this case is the huge cost of cable and limited choices. Second, the conclusion is to disrupt the cable industry, as T-Mobile disrupted wireless. Third, decisions are taken by the leadership group, which sets the key issues and develops plans for measurable progress.
VUCA
VUCA stands for four kinds of challenges that demand different reactions: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (Bennett & Lemione, 2014). For a technology-enabled, customer-centric business like T-Mobile, VUCA may be relevant.
• Volatility involves unforeseen fluctuation in the market, and T-Mobile must be agile in order to address customer demands.
• Uncertainty could be as a result of factors beyond T-Mobile’s control, such as FCC regulation.
• Complexity involves confronting internal and external issues, which require clever people in various departments, government supervision, supply chain, and money.
• Ambiguity involves the enigmas of moving into a new industry. In the case of T-Mobile, test markets will assist in locating and correcting these things.
The suggestion is to use test markets for addressing potential pitfalls prior to a large rollout throughout the entire nation.
Conclusion
This essay has established Panera Bread’s challenges with its “Mosh Pit” scenario and how critical thinking was employed to address the issue. It has also addressed how VUCA influences companies and how T-Mobile can deal with the challenge of venturing into a new market. Critical thinking and VUCA are essential tools that enable businesses to cope with ambiguity and complexity and ensure that they remain customer-centric in addressing challenges.
References
5G technology has the potential to revolutionize major industries. (2017, Nov 30). ICT Monitor Worldwide. Retrieved from http://library.capella.edu
Eleven, M. (2017). T-Mobile presses FCC to change the 3.5 GHz framework to better align with 5G global requirements. FierceWireless. Retrieved from http://library.capella.edu/login?
Bennett, N., & Lemoine, G. J. (2014). What VUCA really means for you. Harvard Business Review, 92(1/2), 27.
Dixon, M. (2018). Reinventing Customer Service. Harvard Business Review, 96(6), 82-90. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.library.capella.edu/login.aspx?
MBA FPX 5002 Assessment 1 Critical Thinking in Action
George, B. (2017, February 17). VUCA 2.0: A strategy for steady leadership in an unsteady world. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.comJargon, J. (2017, June 2). How Panera solved its mosh pit problem. The Wall Street Journal
Kallet, M. (2014). Think smarter: Critical thinking to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.
