Real-Life Decision Making
You're an RF engineer working on developing a cellular site in a large
city. As it stands, you have three options, or three different locations,
that you think will be suitable to establish this site.
You've been working with the director of the cellular division in your
company, as well as with the client, to determine which site gives the best
reception and is the most cost-efficient.
The three sites are:
- A green field
- A building site
- An existing cellular tower
All three sites are similar in height and in location. None is restricted
by any natural blockages such as trees or hills.
You can't believe your good fortune. There is almost always a problem of
some sort when trying to devise a cellular site, be it a grumpy landowner
or a hill that causes an upset in the communication link. Rarely do things
go this smoothly.
You spend the day running radio tests at all three of the cellular sites
to see which site gives the best signal. After you've tested all three, you
discover they all work, but the best one is definitely the building site.
You take the information to the department director. He makes the necessary
contacts to determine how much the site will cost to rent on a monthly basis.
After running the quotes by the client (because the client is the one who
has to pay the monthly fee), he comes back to you and says the site is too
expensive to use. The client can't afford to pay that much on a monthly basis.
You explain that it's the best site and provides the clearest reception.
However, the director is adamant that you'll have to choose the second best
site, which is the green field site.
You agree that the green field site will work fine. You make the necessary
calls to the city to ensure a tower can be built in the area. Much to your
dismay, the city says no cellular towers can be built in that area of town.
The city's planning department passed a bylaw six months ago that flatly
refused any building of towers within that particular area. You can't believe
this! You thought you had three ideal locations, and now you're down to one.
The director informs the client that there is only one option left, which
is the existing structure. The client is reluctant to agree to this and the
department director wants to know if there are any other options you can provide.
He doesn't want to lose this client, and he wants to know what you can do
to help solve the problem.
What do you do?