Fundamentals of Management

Underwater Chaos

Introduction
This is a case of series of incidents where the Eurostar train that
travels between Britain and the European Mainland faced malfunctioning
incidents which left more than 2000 passengers trapped subsea in the 31 mile
Eurotunnel beneath the English Channel for up to 16 hours. Stranded passengers
had to face serious distressing situations in the overheated tunnel. Parents had to
remove the clothes of their children, leaving them in underwear and diapers,
whilst some passengers suffered stress and panic attacks. And others started to
feel ill due to the heat. According to an independent review of the incident
blamed Eurostar and the operators of the tunnel for being unprepared for harsh
winter weather. The report said that Eurostar train failed to adequately maintain
and winterize its high speed trains to protect sensitive components from
malfunctioning due to excessive snow and Moisture Buildup. The report also
criticized the operator of the channel tunnel for having bad communication
systems inside the tunnels. At the time of Eurostar Breakdowns severe winter
weather had been wreaking havoc in more than 30 years. Freezing weather and
snow had caused travel problems for days in Northern Europe.

Case type:
 Decision /Planning Making.
A good decision should be judged by the process used, not the results achieved.
In some cases, a good decision results in an undesirable outcome. As a decision
maker, you can control the process. But in the real world, factors outside your
control can adversely affect the outcome. Using the right process may not always
result in a desirable outcome, but it increases the probability.
The decision-making process begins with the identification of a problem or, more
specifically, a discrepancy between an existing and a desired state of affairs.

Problems:
I. Bad Decision Making
II. Maintenance of Eurostar Trains according to Harsh Weather
III. Environmental Factors
IV. Unsatisfactory Communication Systems inside Tunnel
V. Eurostar had failed to adequately maintain and winterize its high-
speed trains.

Action Plan:
The Euro star train is failed to make decisions that’s why they suffer the problem.
To solve this issue we have to follow these steps.
 To make good decisions they have to follow the approaches managers use
to make decisions.
Everyone in an organization makes decisions, but it’s particularly important to
managers.
Managers make decisions—mostly routine ones like which employee will work what
shift, what information to include in a report, how to resolve a customer’s complaint,
etc.—as they plan, organize, lead, and control.
1. Planning
2. Leading
3. Controlling
4. Organizing
Manager have to rely on intuition more often than formal analysis to make decisions
about their companies.
 Cognitive-Based Decisions:
Managers make decisions based on skills, knowledge, and training in cognitive-based
decision so they have to follow this.