t's been calied one of the entertainment industry's biggest pro- gramming debacies. Jay Leno moved from...

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t's been calied one of "the entertainment industry's biggest pro- gramming debacies. Jay Leno moved from host of the "Tonight Show" to his own talk show, "The Jay Leno Show," which aired at the 10 p.m. weeknight time siot. Conan O'Brien was brought on as Leno's replacement on the "Tanight Show," which has always aired after the local news. The Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien fiasco started with a decision by NBC executives to save some money by giving Leno ane of the old- est formats in TV programming: a comedy-variety show with a comedian, a "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno (right) interviews his replacement stage, guests, and in-show ads. But that decision was also a radical experi- Conan O'Brien during Leno's final taping as host of the show before he began his own primetime talk show, time on a major broadcast network. This format was cheaper to produce for an NBC management decision to cut costs and dubbed as one of "the entertainment industry's biggest pro- ment based on a single show airing every single weeknight during prime an entire week than 60 minutes of the pricey scripted dramas that are usu- ally broadcast during that time period. Jeff Gaspin, chairman of television entertainment at NBC Universal, said, "I don't think it's wrong to take chances. ... Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't." And this decision wasn't working. gramming debacles." It all started to unravel when ratings for Leno's taik show were low and continued to sink. One media analyst said, "Nobody's happy-the talent isn't happy, the advertisers aren't happy, and the audience isn't happy." Local network affiliates that rely on that 10 p.m. slot to lead people into the late local news rebelled. Those affiliates threatened to preempt Leno's show with other programming. But that wasn't NBC's oniy problem. O'Brien's "Tonight Show" also was doing poorly in its time slot, losing resoundingly to "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS for the first time in 15 years. NBC executives continued to struggle with decision making. It took nearly two weeks of a very public spectacle for them to craft a solution in which Leno returned to his gig at the "Tonight Show" and O'Brien left with a $40 million agreement to waik away from "his dream job." And so the curtain closes on a story NBC executives wish had never been written. Discussion Questions 1. Would you characterize television programming decisions as structured or unstructured? Explain. What type of decision-making condition would you consider this to be? Explain. 2. What criteria did NBC use in evaluating its initial decision to move Leno and O'Brien? Was that criteria appropriate? Why or why not? 3. Evaluate Joff Gaspin's statement, "I don't think it's wrong to take chances... Some- times they work. Sometimes they don't." What does it say about his decision-making style? 4. Describe how NBC executives could have used each of the following to make better decisions: (a) rationality, (b) bounded rationality, (c) intuition, and (d) evidence-based management. t's been calied one of "the entertainment industry's biggest pro- gramming debacies. Jay Leno moved from host of the "Tonight Show" to his own talk show, "The Jay Leno Show," which aired at the 10 p.m. weeknight time siot. Conan O'Brien was brought on as Leno's replacement on the "Tanight Show," which has always aired after the local news. The Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien fiasco started with a decision by NBC executives to save some money by giving Leno ane of the old- est formats in TV programming: a comedy-variety show with a comedian, a "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno (right) interviews his replacement stage, guests, and in-show ads. But that decision was also a radical experi- Conan O'Brien during Leno's final taping as host of the show before he began his own primetime talk show, time on a major broadcast network. This format was cheaper to produce for an NBC management decision to cut costs and dubbed as one of "the entertainment industry's biggest pro- ment based on a single show airing every single weeknight during prime an entire week than 60 minutes of the pricey scripted dramas that are usu- ally broadcast during that time period. Jeff Gaspin, chairman of television entertainment at NBC Universal, said, "I don't think it's wrong to take chances. ... Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't." And this decision wasn't working. gramming debacles." It all started to unravel when ratings for Leno's taik show were low and continued to sink. One media analyst said, "Nobody's happy-the talent isn't happy, the advertisers aren't happy, and the audience isn't happy." Local network affiliates that rely on that 10 p.m. slot to lead people into the late local news rebelled. Those affiliates threatened to preempt Leno's show with other programming. But that wasn't NBC's oniy problem. O'Brien's "Tonight Show" also was doing poorly in its time slot, losing resoundingly to "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS for the first time in 15 years. NBC executives continued to struggle with decision making. It took nearly two weeks of a very public spectacle for them to craft a solution in which Leno returned to his gig at the "Tonight Show" and O'Brien left with a $40 million agreement to waik away from "his dream job." And so the curtain closes on a story NBC executives wish had never been written. Discussion Questions 1. Would you characterize television programming decisions as structured or unstructured? Explain. What type of decision-making condition would you consider this to be? Explain. 2. What criteria did NBC use in evaluating its initial decision to move Leno and O'Brien? Was that criteria appropriate? Why or why not? 3. Evaluate Joff Gaspin's statement, "I don't think it's wrong to take chances... Some- times they work. Sometimes they don't." What does it say about his decision-making style? 4. Describe how NBC executives could have used each of the following to make better decisions: (a) rationality, (b) bounded rationality, (c) intuition, and (d) evidence-based management.

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Answer 1 I might want to describe this television programming decision as an unstructured decision Since as per the text this decision was somewhat that they had never taken before Here unstructured d... View the full answer