Who Gets the New Tuk Tuk?™ | Decisions, Meetings & Leadership Training Activity

This activity explores one of the most common challenges faced by managers: allocating a scarce resource fairly while achieving the best outcome for the business. Participants decide how to allocate a new electric Tuk Tuk (Indian taxi) within a small team of drivers, each with different levels of experience, service, age and future potential. Although the discussion centres on who should receive the new vehicle, the real challenge is deciding how to balance loyalty, performance, succession planning and the long-term interests of the organisation.

There is arguably no single ‘correct’ answer. The quality of the team's reasoning is more important than the decision itself. In each team one person takes on the role of the Manager - in overall charge of the taxi firm. The other participants play the role of the drivers (or their representatives). The Manager runs the meeting at which the allocation of the new vehicle and the reallocation of the old vehicles are discussed. The Manager has their own idea for the solution. A crucial question is how fair will they be in their presentation of the issues? Push their personal agenda or give a good opportunity for different views to be heard? Will they bend to the will of the majority or stick to their guns?

Most groups adopt one of three management approaches:

1. Reward loyalty by recognising long service.
2. Maximise business performance by allocating the asset where it will deliver the greatest immediate benefit.
3. Invest in the future by developing an employee with long-term potential.

These are all legitimate management philosophies. The most effective teams recognise that the decision is about more than allocating a single vehicle. They consider how the entire fleet can be organised to produce the best overall outcome for both the business and staff.

Ideal for any management training course where learning outcomes are focused on decision-making, meetings, arguing a case, negotiation and/or leadership.

• to prepare and present a persuasive argument
• to listen to and evaluate competing viewpoints
• to participate effectively in meetings
• to reach reasoned decisions through discussion and consensus
• to chair a meeting and demonstrate effective leadership
• to balance fairness with the needs of the business
• to make decisions with both short-term and long-term consequences
• to justify management decisions using clear business reasoning

1. Introduce the activity verbally or with the PowerPoint.
2. Divide the group into teams. With 12, you can have two teams each with a Manager and five drivers. Other combinations depend on the number of participants and various Briefs are easily dropped to accommodate different numbers.
3. Issue the Team Briefs – a Manager Brief and five Individual Driver Briefs.
4. Ask the Manager (or the teams) to begin the meeting. Allow approximately 20 - 30 minutes.
5. Observe and make notes for the Debrief.
6. Start by asking each team for their solutions. Ask about how the meeting went, how decisions were reached, how the Manager behaved, whether it was seen as a successful meeting or not. What went well and what badly. What key lessons emerged?
7. During the debrief, concentrate on how the team reached its decision rather than what decision it reached. Good management is demonstrated through the quality of the discussion, the reasoning used and the ability to justify the final decision.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

Hard & Digital Copy

• ☑️ Hard copy pack supplied
• ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied

Digital Copy

• ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied
  

Contents

• Trainer’s Notes
• Trainer's PowerPoint
• Team Briefs (Manager Brief and Five Individual Driver Briefs)
• Handout: Team Review
• Handout: Decisions Process

This activity is for face-to-face and virtual classroom use. The digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.