Decision-Making at Lotus Great product design is critical for most consumer products. However, how do designers know when a design is right? How do they make those tough design decisions? That’s the challenge that confronts Andrew Woods. Andrew is the Chief Designer of Lotus, a fast-expanding mid-sized electric cars producing and marketing company. Andrew’s realization that the process of making design decisions needed to be improved came after a meeting with the Company’s new CEO. Andrew was used to make design decisions intuitively. However, his “trust me, I’m designer” argument didn’t convince the new CEO. Andrew knew he had to come up with a better way. He resolved to make his design decisions more rational. Now, assume you are Andrew…

Submit a written assignment (800-1,200 words excluding bibliography) through Moodle (WORD file, no PDF file please) answering ALL of the case questions given below (percentage given in brackets represents the suggested weight in your report). Answer the questions in the order they are asked and answer each question separately instead of weaving several questions together. Indicate clearly which questions you are answering. Make use of headings/subheadings wherever appropriate to facilitate the reading and understanding of your assignment.

Question 1 Assume you would make design decisions by yourself alone as you have been. Illustrate step by step with specific details and, wherever appropriate, numbers (i.e., quantitatively) how you could evaluate more rationally TWO design prototypes (Design A and Design B) of a new electric car with the six-step decision-making process by assessing your satisfaction level on such two new designs along a 10-point Likert scale. And, in the decision-making process, you consider that a design has five dimensions, namely, aesthetics, technical performance, easiness-to-control, multi-functionality, and ergonomics. Let’s say you consider their weights are 0.1, 0.3, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.1 respectively. And your satisfaction levels for Design A along the five dimensions are 7, 8, 7, 7, and 6 points; and, those for Design B 5, 7, 8, 7, and 8 points. Hint: you should multiply the satisfaction level on each dimension by its weight before computing the overall satisfaction level of a design.

Question 2 The six-step decision-making process you provided in your answer to question 1 refers. State what rationality model (i.e., rational or bounded rational) you used. Also state whether or not you were still intuitive in the decision. Provide reasons to support your answer accordingly.

Question 3 The six-step decision-making process you provided in your answer to question 1 refers. Instead of making decisions alone, would you consider asking your subordinates to join you and participate in the six-step decision-making process? If yes, why and how?

Question 4 The six-step decision-making process you provided in your answer to question 1 refers. Other than involving your subordinates, elaborate on what further improvement you could make on the six-step decision-making process.