Communication for Managers

Case assignment No. 01

Case Analysis Report on

‘The Alaskan Gold Mine’

Submitted by:
Name: TEJASWINI SOLANKI
Roll No: 191158
Section: A
Batch: MBA-FT (2019-2021)

Institute of Management, Nirma University

Date of Submission: 7 August, 2019
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PART A
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“THE ALASKAN GOLD MINE “ in this case the situation talks about the dilemma a person who
is travelling in the region of Alaska, is facing while choosing and analysing the alternative ways
that are available with him/her to reach his/her destination, to achieve his/her objectives. The
problems in this case are, the time restraints before the deadline, health issues and injuries of the
person during the exploration of the gold, and limited monetary resources of the person. His
objective is to get to the claims office and secure his gold within two weeks with the given options
of routes. By analysing all facts and inferences, the best choice is to go through the way of valley
passes, as it is safer and with little extra efforts you can reach the claim office in the given time
frame.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

FACTS

It was the time when everyone wanted to grab the opportunity to earn profit from the
vast resources of gold available in the region of Alaska. Hence many people went in the
Alaska region for exploration in the hope to discover gold resources. The protagonist
also went on such exploration trip for which he has chosen a time period of three months
to explore the same in the hope to discover some gold. After a long and dangerous
journey of two months, he is finally able to discover the land of gold reserves after two
weeks of further search and hardships. During this long and tiring journey he has injured
his left hand. Now as he has already arrived at the land enriched with gold reserved, he
starts the exploration of gold reserves. He continues his exploration for two long weeks
but he hasn’t found anything yet in the meantime he recovered his health from the long
tiring journey except from the injured left hand. In the last 24 hours the protagonist has
discovered gold in what appears to be in good quantity.

The case also specifies that he/she has only limited monetary resources, therefore resulting that the
person can be easily outbid at the auction. The case also mentions that, the way through mountains is
dangerous, sometimes impassable but quick to reach the destination and there is a way through the
valley passes as well, which is less dangerous, usually passable but a slower way to reach the
destination. The case states that the current weather is moderately favourable but still you would need
48 hours to get the confirmation about the future weather.

INFERENCES:

From the case it can be inferred that, we have time restraints in case of getting the ownership of the
gold discovered and as we cannot win the auction, we must try to reach the claim office in two
weeks’ time only. Also there is a responsibility that we must choose the best alternative possible
which would help us to achieve our objectives efficiently and with minimum resources and an
alternative which also solve our maximum problems.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS:

My left injured arm has not recovered yet and it would weaken all of a sudden which would delay
the return journey. This in turn would lead to the auction of the property where there are minimal
chances of acquiring gold.

PROBLEM STATEMENTS

The time constraint is the biggest problem. The protagonist has four alternatives to choose from, to
reach the claims office keeping in consideration the time limit of 2 weeks with his health issues and
injury in the picture.

OBJECTIVES

To restore and take considerable care of his/her health so that his/her injured arm’s condition does
not worsen. To claim for the acquired gold within a period of 14 days, so that he/she can avoid the
auction of the land in which he can be outbid easily because of the limited amount of the resources
available with him. To accomplish the above-mentioned objectives, the protagonist needs to choose
the best path for reaching claims office in time.

OPTIONS

In order to reach the claims office in time, protagonist can choose one of the options mentioned
below:

1. Wait three to four weeks until the weather warms up and enjoy a safe trip home.

2. Go over the mountain. This is dangerous. It is sometimes impassable.it is quick, however (7-
10 days), if you can make it without harm. If you encounter storms or are injured before you
reach the top, you will probably have to turn back. In either case, you may perish, because
the longest part of the journey is on the way to the top.

3. Go through the valley passes. This is less dangerous and is usually passable. It is slow and
tiring, however. You can probably make it in two or three weeks.

4. Wait for two to four days, take#2 if the weather permits; if not, take#3 (there is no
advantage to waiting if you prefer #3 anyway, and waiting to take #1=#1)

EVALUATION OF THE OPTIONS

Following are the 4 alternatives to get to the claims office along with their pros and cons:-

1. Waiting for the weather conditions to return to normalcy and after 3-4 weeks, resume the journey
for having a safe, comfortable trip.
 Pros: Cons:
-safe return trip and proper treatment. -time consuming.
-health recovery. -risk of getting outbid due to auction.
-warm and suitable weather conditions. Increasing the injury without treatment.

2. Going over the mountains:

Pros: Cons:
-quick and less time consuming. -obstructed and blocked route.
-Reach the claims office within 7-10 days if the -chances of putting life into risk if encountered
health is not affected in the journey. with adverse weather conditions.
-can reach soon and receive further treatment for
his injury.

3. Choosing the valley passes:

Pros: Cons:
-least dangerous options. -slow and tiring journey which is time consuming..
-usually passable and clear route. -may take more than 2 weeks to return which would lead
to the auction and loss of claim.
-2-3 weeks to get to the claims office
and can be achievable.

4.As the weather conditions might change, paving way to storm, I can wait for 2-4 days for the climate
to get normal and then go for the (2) alternative or else option (3).
Pros: Cons:
-safely avoid the storm and adverse weather -waiting for 2-4 days would lead to more
conditions and reach on time. delay if after that I choose to go for option
(3).
-clear idea can be obtained of whether to go over the -time consuming and at disadvantage of
top of the mountains or to opt for valley passes, as path not availing other options
will be clearer.
 DECISION MAKING

The most suitable decision would be the third option in which he opts to go by the route of valley, as it
seems to be the safest of all the options.

I suggest this decision because, it is the most suitable option of all as it includes the least amount of risk
and there is a chance of achieving the target of reaching in two weeks to the claims office on time
and claiming the discovery of gold.

Another option, in which the target can be achieved is the second option according to which he has to
climb the mountain but with the injured left hand and the unpredictable weather conditions it’s not a
wise option to choose, as it has a risk of further injuring the arm and worsen his/her state.

Therefore, considering the merits and demerits of various alternatives, I would go with the alternative
(3) which is of going through the valley passes as it would be a clear, passable route with less perils
in the way and there are chances to get to the claim office within 14 days without getting my health
much affected, and achieving the target.

ACTION PLAN

He should leave as soon as possible without wasting anymore time while ensuring he is of the
proper health to begin again, as there are chances that his arm may cause pain in on the way.

Secondly, in the valley pass he should give his best effort so that he can make it in 14 days to
ensure that he is able to make it before the auction of the land.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

As a back-up plan, the protagonist should always have the option of going by the route of

mountain because if he feels the valley path is taking way too long he can always try to start
climbing the mountain in which if the weather conditions favour him will make sure that he reaches
safe even if he is unable to reach the claim office, as that is more important.
 EXIBHIT

1. No. None.

2. 7 days 10 days For sure. Life.

3. 14 days 20 days Maybe. None.

4. 10-13 days 12-20 days No, if there is Life if there

storm. is storm.
None if
there is no
storm.
PART-2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The protagonist choose the path through the valley passes alternative among the other options, to
move ahead in his journey. After covering half of the distance back to the claims office in 5 days,
he has to stop his journey due to the physical injuries he had earlier received. He there met a friend
Pat, on his journey. The protagonist is facing time constraint, so he has to choose between 3
alternatives available to advance his journey as he has to reach the office as early as possible so as
to avail the claim. The main objective is, to reach claims office within the time frame. He can
continue his journey on his own, He can travel with his friend Pat or he can send Pat alone, any of
the three. He should let Pat go alone further, because of his physical conditions, as he will only slow
him down. He can rely on Pat, as the money to be received is the motivating factor in Pat’s case as,
he wants financial independency and Pat has to rely on the protagonist for capitalization of the
discovery of the gold.
 SITUATION ANALYSIS

The protagonist chooses to continue the journey with the 3rd alternative that is through the valley
passes. The goal is to reach the claim office within the period of 2 weeks. He starts his journey with
this goal of reaching in his mind and after 5 days he is halfway there, in the process he pushed
himself too much and sprained his ankle thereby having another physical injury. On his way to the
claims office he met his old friend, Pat. Pat was on his own expedition when he met the protagonist,
Pat took him to the cabin. Pat lend his hand of help after seeing the physical pain of his friend. He
offered to take the protagonist to the claims office. The protagonist again faced 3 different
alternatives to reach the claims office. In first alternative, due to his physical condition he needed
some rest for few days and after that also it will take him 10 days to two weeks of travel to reach the
office, if he travels alone, as his body will not be able to recover fully in such a short period. He
could have reached the office alone within a week if he was fully well. In the second alternative, the
protagonist has the option to tell Pat about the gold and make a deal with him to share a part of the
claim. In this contract, Pat will travel alone and get the registration done himself and return with the
claim. If Pat travels alone than, it will take him around eight to ten days to reach. Pat is not very
reliable because he is a heavy drinker and he is not very bright. After the detailed analysis of the
case it can also be said that Pat has some needs and desires of financial independence and so would
take up the job. In the third alternative, the protagonist could travel with Pat. It might take 10-14
more days to get there if both of them start travelling together. The protagonist feels that Pat can be
trusted if a value offer is made, he thinks of splitting the discovery into two equal parts. He thinks
that Pat is not smart enough to capitalize the discovery on his own and he will require his guidance
no matter what.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

There are many problems that are to be faced by the protagonist. First of all was his health condition,
where he has pushed his body beyond its limit due to exertion and now it is backfiring on his situation.
His ankle is twisted, his left hand is injured and he is exhausted due to the frequent travelling. This
put a limit his travelling speed. Another problem can be time constraint, as he has already used 5 of
his 14 days. Now he needs to reach office within 9 days to avail the claim. Trust over here also plays
an important role in this case. Pat, who is his friend but he is also a human being. As it is mentioned
in the case that Pat has some needs and desires financial freedom. From this statement there is a
possibility that can be analysed that Pat can and cannot be trusted. He can be trusted because of
dependency for capitalization of discovery before the time limit runs out. One last problem is that he
needs to share his discovery for which he has survived a lot alone.

OBJECTIVES

The first and foremost objective of the protagonist is to reach the claims office within 9 days to ensure
he gets the claim. If the protagonist is not able to reach the office within this time frame then all the
hard work and hardships he has gone through will go in vain. Secondly if he goes with the option of
trusting Pat and letting him alone go for the registration then he should be able to convince Pat that
he needs him and ensure that he cannot betray him in any scenario because for capitalizing the
discovery.

OPTIONS AND EVALUATION

There are 3 different options:

1. Go alone:
In this option the protagonist decides that he will travel alone. As mentioned in the paragraph he
needs to take rest as his body has reached its limit. After rest also he will take 10-14 days to reach
the claim office. So there is no pros of this alternative as he won’t be able to reach the office in
time. Drawback of this alternative is again time constraint and thereby loss of the efforts taken so
far.

2. Go with the Pat:

Another option he has is to go with his friend Pat. As mentioned earlier he has already used 5 out
of 14 days allotted to reach the office. If both of them start their journey together then it will take
 around 10-14 days to reach the office. The protagonist has to reach the office and submit his claim
within 9 days. So he won’t be able to reach within time frame and receive the claim he has worked
so hard for.

3. Send Pat;

This is the last option for him. He can send his friend Pat alone. Pat travelling alone will get him
to the office in 8-10 days. As mentioned earlier that Pat is excessive drinker and he is not so bright
and may not be able to file the claim correctly, but it is also mentioned that Pat has some needs
and desires financial independence. The possibility of Pat betraying in greed is also possible.

DECISION AND JUSTIFICATION

Send Pat:

According to me this option is the most feasible one. This is the most achievable option for the
protagonist to ensure his hard work doesn’t go in vain. He can send his friend Pat. According to me
this is the only and most feasible alternative for him. Pat travelling alone can get to the office in 8-
10 days. As mentioned earlier that Pat is excessive drinker and he may not be able to file the claim
correctly, but it is also mentioned that Pat has some needs and desires financial independence and
may help out of need. This can be used as the bargaining bate. Pat can be explained the importance
of filing the claim and how it can affect his life. So there are chances that this problem can be
solved.

Among all the other options this shows the highest changes of achievement.

ACTION PLAN

The protagonist should make Pat understand the severity of the situation. He should make him
understand that this is the golden chance he was waiting for. He can become financially
independent if this plan is executed properly. The protagonist should teach Pat, how to file claim
properly. He should also ask him to stay away from alcohol and tell him the benefit of trade off.
 CONTINGENCY PLAN

I will choose alternative 2 as a contingency plan in case anything goes wrong with initial decision.
As per this, both of them will travel together to get to the claim office. They will take approximately
around 10-14 days to reach the office, but with the guidance of the protagonist and their hard work
they may be able to cover the distance earlier if the protagonist health doesn’t worsen.

EXHIBITS:

Sr. No Options Min. Time Max. Time Reward Chance Risk of life
 1. Go Alone 14 days 18 days Negligible High

2. Go with Pat 10 days 14 days High Low

3. Send Pat 8 days 10 days Medium Negligible

Total Words: 2309

UNDERTAKING

To Whom It May Concern:

I, TEJASWINI SOLANKI hereby declare that this assignment is my original work and is not copied
from anyone/anywhere. If found similar to other sources, I shall take complete responsibility of the
action, taken thereof by, CFM Team.

Signature : __________________________
Name : Tejaswini Solanki
Roll No. : 191158
Section :A
Batch : MBA- FT (2019-2021)
Date : 07/08/2019