book2

Part 1

Overview

Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an active interest in an organization. Stakeholders and stakeholder groups typically include employees, vendors, communities, government agencies, customers, investors, and lenders. Different stakeholders have different interests, attitudes, and priorities. Effective communication ensures that they receive relevant information and develop a positive attitude to your organization in the scenario.

As the regional marketing director of a theme park, you are in the process of designing a phased marketing strategy for reopening all parks after a safety incident. You have already helped other marketing directors understand the importance of having a good marketing mix to inspire customer loyalty; now help them with a stakeholder communication plan. Develop a communication plan that will ensure stakeholders understand the steps the organization is taking to benefit them.

Three aspects to consider for effective stakeholder communication are the interest of stakeholders in the organization, the impact of the reopening decision on stakeholders, and the relevance of information going to stakeholders.

Prompt

Complete the communication plan for the stakeholders of the organization in the course scenario. Refer to the  Exemplar Communication Grid for an example of how the template can be used.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Identify the  three key stakeholders (a minimum of one internal and two external groups) in the reopening of the park and describe each stakeholder’s interest in the organization.

· Internal Stakeholders

· Employees

· Departments

· Management

· External Stakeholders

· Customers

· Suppliers

· Lenders

· Communities

· Use the  template to complete this step.

2. Identify and analyze the information about each stakeholder group and their need for communication. Use the Communication Grid Template to complete this step. Consider the following points:

· Assessment of the  impact on stakeholder (low, medium, or high) and explain why.

· Information needs and communication methods of the stakeholder

3. Identify two  crisis communication methods for communicating with stakeholders.

· What forms of communication can be used to quickly communicate with internal stakeholder groups?

· What forms of communication can be used to communicate with external stakeholder groups?

What to Submit

Submit a 1- to 2-page Word document, which includes your responses and the completed Communication Grid Template, using double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Your completed Communication Grid Template should be included within your paper, following the Introduction. 

Part 2

Overview

Managing and optimizing brand equity is one of the long-term goals of any organization and thus it is a joint responsibility of all the functional departments. Brand equity is the set of assets linked to the brand. These assets include brand awareness, brand loyalty, and brand associations. Appropriate alignment of key departments with marketing is a key element in the brand management and optimization process.

As the regional marketing director leading a phased marketing strategy to reopen parks after a safety incident, you must ensure key functional departments in the organization coordinate for a smooth reopening of the parks. There is a need for clear, concise, and frequent communication for helping departments understand their responsibilities and their interdependencies with other departments. As a part of your initial analysis about the brand implications, create a presentation to help the departmental heads understand the alignment needs and the roles and responsibilities of the cross-functional departments.

Prompt

In this assignment, you will identify the responsibilities of three functional departments of the organization in the course scenario: sales, operations, and marketing. You will also share the need for alignment between these functional departments to ensure the smooth reopening of the park and to improve brand equity.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Describe the  need for an alignment among the sales, operations, and marketing departments to ensure the successful reopening of the park. Consider the following key elements (1–2 slides):

· Interdepartmental communication

· Knowledge and feedback sharing

2. Identify and describe the  role of these cross-functional departments and how they can  contribute to improve brand equity. Consider following points for your description (3–5 slides):

· Sales

· If the sales department's primary role is to create individual and group sales for the company, what strategy can they undertake to grow sales considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.

· Operations

· If the operations department’s primary role is the safety of the guests and employees, what strategy can they undertake to ensure a safe and fun experience for both guests and employees? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.

· Marketing

· If the marketing department’s primary role is to attract, retain, and grow revenues from the park’s target audience, what strategy can they undertake considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.

What to Submit

Submit a narrated PowerPoint presentation that is 5 to 7 slides in length. Including extensive speaker notes should be used to address all the critical elements in the presentation.

Part 3

Data Set 1 spreadsheet presents a sample of annual salaries for recently hired plant operators at a chemical manufacturing company. Use Excel's ToolPak (or any statistical package that you are comfortable with) to compute descriptive statistics for the data. Submit your statistical output from Excel, which should include values for the mean, median, mode, sample variance, and sample standard deviation, and a one-page Word document in which you present an analysis of your results.

Part 4

As a financial advisor, you are assigned a new client who is considering investing in one of two stocks, A or B.

The table below shows information about the performance of stocks A and B last year.

	Return	Standard Deviation
Stock A	15 %	8.3%
Stock B	14%	2.1%

1. As a financial advisor, are there factors other than return and risk that should be considered in making this decision?

2. Based on these factors, what stock would you recommend to the client?

3. What reasons will you convey to your client to justify your decision in recommending this stock?

4. How will this recommendation impact the client?

Submit your assignment here.