Assignment

POLICY MEMO
The Minimum Wage
DUE BY NOON February 21, 2016 ON MY COURSES
You are an analyst at SCB Restaurants, Incorporated. SCB, Inc. is a privately held
company based in Rochester that owns 51 fast food franchises (one in each state and
DC) and business has been relatively good. It is a well-established company that
generates a profit each year. The salaries for employees at SCB Restaurants are typical
of the industry as a whole, with the median salary at about $9 per hour and a sizeable
proportion of less experienced employees earning the minimum wage. Wendy BurgerKing is the Chief Counsel and Director of Government Relations and has asked you to
address a memorandum to her about the current political discussion at the federal level
on the minimum wage.
Ms. Burger-King would like the memo to be concise (about 2 pages in length), but has
asked you to address quite a few topics to help her to understand the issues:
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Why is this issue on the policy agenda and what is the current status of the debate
in Washington? How might the 2016 election impact the debate?
Who are the stakeholders for SCB that this federal policy change may impact and
how might it impact them? Please provide quantitative evidence where possible
(Feel free to create a chart or another visual aid if you believe that will be helpful
to Ms. Burger-King; not counted as part of the page limit).
What have been the policy positions of other companies, particularly in the fast
food industry, on this policy issue?
Ms. Burger-King is not sure whether or not the President and CEO of the
company has a position on this issue, so she would like you to address both the
pros and cons of the proposed wage increase for SCB, and the merits and/or
demerits of the company making its position on this issue public.

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Ms. Burger-King is meeting with her boss on the afternoon of February 21, 2016 to
discuss the minimum wage, and requires this assignment on MyCourses by 12 PM on
that date.
Evaluation will be based on:
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Answering the Questions with Evidence and Following the Instructions
Incorporated Course Material
Clarity, Quality, and Presentation