Arrangement Game

Abstract

Achieving a perfect balance between mutually competing and diverse demands is a myth; for example, having a good stock of inventory to achieve the highest level of customer service has to trade off with impact on the cost of carrying inventory. Situations having a diverse set of demands therefore create a dynamic environment where each participant has to switch plans and priorities and give importance to the outcome of teamwork. Let me elaborate on the situation with an example of a sales manager having key responsibility for customer service. In this role, he is expected to raise the inventory of products as high as possible. On the other hand, however, the warehouse manager, responsible for reducing the cost of carrying inventory, is expected to maintain the lowest possible inventory of products. In this situation, unless both the role holders review their responsibilities and priorities, jointly with other stakeholders of the organization, the organization is likely to suffer, due to either loss of sales or higher cost of inventory.