English

Situation 3 – Family Business

You are the president of a small family-owned business, Custom Display, that makes custom-designed decorative fittings for department store displays. Your grandparents started the company, your parents took it over and developed it, and now you, an only child, are running it. Both of your parents have died within the last few years, so now you are pretty much on your own in keeping the company going.

Although you have great respect for your family traditions and enjoy some aspects of the work, you have never felt that this is your vocation. In fact you have always wanted to be a writer, and recently you've been turning over more and more of the work to a manager and have been spending your time working on that novel that you've always wanted to write. Partly because of this neglect, the company has lost customers lately, and the operation has dwindled to just three craftspeople, a receptionist/clerical worker, a salesperson, and a manager. But the company could keep going like this indefinitely, providing you with a small income as you work on your writing.

But recently the chain of upscale department stores that has been your most important customer almost since the company started has been sold to foreign buyers, and they’ve informed you that they will be getting their custom-made fittings from a company in their own country, effective in six months. This comes on top of another development: within the last year there has been--because of environmental and political developments--a huge price increase in a certain type of wood that you use for many of the fittings. You had thought that you could pull through this crisis by gradually finding replacements, but losing your main customer at this point complicates matters immensely.

Taking everything into account, you decide that the volume of work coming in just isn't enough to keep the company going. Your remaining customers are all small clothing and jewelry stores who, although very loyal, simply don't order enough to keep the company going. After a series of rather sad meetings with your six employees to make sure that all of them can find new jobs, and after discovering that the property your building occupies will bring you enough money to keep you going until you get that novel published, you decide that you will close the company once your contract with the large chain is up, in about three months.

After making arrangements to sell the property and dispose of all your equipment and furnishings, your final task is to let your customers know about your decision. Some of these stores have been customers of Custom Display since your grandparents started the company; others are clients that you yourself have developed over the years. You have an almost personal relationship with all of them. And it will not be easy for most of them to find another company that will provide the same kind of product that you have provided over the years. Making these custom fittings is almost a lost art; most such fittings are mass produced now.

Communicate your decision to your customers.

What kind of message is this? Would you deliver it in person or in writing? Why? Explain in detail how you would deliver it.

Situation 4 – Online Access

You are the Assistant Human Resources Manager at Fredson Research, a marketing research firm of approximately 2000 employees.

All of your employees use email and internet access in order to perform their daily tasks, but there have never been any guidelines on use of these resources. Recently, abuse of these resources has led to increased system costs--including higher costs for network services, technician salaries, and hardware and software maintenance--decreased productivity, and complaints from employees about inappropriate emails and internet use in the office. System records show that some employees are using the company email server for personal email and using the company internet access for personal reasons, including surfing the web, playing games, downloading programs, and accessing personal email accounts. Employees know that they should not engage in such activities during work hours, and most employees don’t. But because there is no written policy governing these activities, a small minority has been abusing the online resources.

In an effort to eliminate this abuse and protect the integrity of the company network, a policy has been created, and you have been asked to communicate the new policy to all employees. Eliminating abuse of the company systems will protect all employees’ privacy, improve the integrity of the systems, and increase productivity.

The policy stipulates that company email and internet access may be used for company business only and that access to personal email through the company system will not be allowed. The policy provides that a first violation will result in a warning and a subsequent violation can result in dismissal. Every employee will, within the next month, be asked to sign a statement saying he or she understands the policy.

Communicate this information to all employees.

What kind of message is this? Would you deliver it in writing or as a presentation?

If in writing, explain in detail how you would write and distribute the message, including whether you would do it through email—either in the body of the message or as an attachment—in the form of a paper memo, or as some other kind of document, and discuss how you would use formatting to make the document as reader-friendly as possible.

If as a presentation, explain in detail how you would prepare and deliver it. .

Situations 5 and 6 - Intern Orientation Program

Background

A year after your internship at the Video Store, after you finish your degree, you are hired as assistant to the director of the human resources department, partly on the strength of your proposal to develop a two-week orientation program for interns. That proposal was adopted, and its implementation is your first major assignment.

Each summer, about ten students from a nearby film school are given internships at the company, carrying out a variety of responsibilities. Each year, a few former interns who have completed their degrees are hired permanently. So the internship program is both good public relations—many of these students are members of film societies or work in theaters in the community—and a potential source of new hires.

Your own experience as an intern was great, overall, but a little disorganized—the program was only two years old at the time. Interns were assigned randomly to a department, given no overview of the company as a whole, and then simply handed assignments which, depending on the office, ranged from gofering and answering the phone to writing catalogue copy to actually supervising other employees. Some interns thrived but others were either bored or freaked out, and there were a few minor disasters. The departments in which the disasters occurred are naturally skeptical now about the program and reluctant to take on new interns.

Your current plans and activities

You believe that disasters can be averted and everyone’s experience enhanced with the orientation program that you are now working to develop. Your first idea is an opening night pizza party and mini-film festival, at which each intern will show a clip of his or her favorite classic film and lead a discussion of it. These students tend to be passionate and very knowledgeable about film, and you think that the internship program in the past has not tapped into that passion and knowledge. You also plan to show a film each evening while the interns eat an informal dinner. This will help them build camaraderie and a common stock of knowledge and references.

On a more nuts and bolts level, interns will fill out questionnaires, which will help you decide whom to assign to which department. Department directors will also fill out a questionnaire, indicating their needs and how they plan to employ the interns. You’ve been having meetings with the directors of the departments that had intern problems in the past (some of whom remain skeptical about the program), helping them figure out how to employ the interns in ways that will benefit both the department and the interns. After the two-week orientation, the interns will be assigned to a department in pairs, to give each other support. During the orientation, the pairs of interns will observe the operations of each department in the company, spending two days in each, so that they get an overview of the company and an understanding of how “their” department interacts with others.

The orientation will also include an opening lunch and closing dinner, with speakers from each department and lunch with CEO Barney Fife at the opening session, and—an inspiration you had just last week—a talk by a popular local film critic at the closing dinner. The whole company will be invited to this dinner, which you hope will build a sense of community among the current employees and the interns.

Request for an update

After you’ve been working on plans for a few weeks, Drew Carey, the director of human resources, asks you for an update. He’s been talking to the skeptical department directors, who appreciate your efforts but are still worried about the whole intern program, especially since such an inexperienced employee is in charge of the orientation. He has confidence in your ability and judgment, but figures he should keep on top of the ongoing plans.

You have most of the pieces in place, ready to roll out in a few months. The only things still have left are the arrangements for the opening and closing sessions, both of which will be held somewhere outside the company. You’ve talked informally with the department directors and Barney Fife about speaking at the opening session but you need to nail them down officially. In fact, although you’ve identified which weekend the opening session will be held on, you haven’t yet set the actual day, which will depend on Lamar’s schedule, which is still slightly up in the air. Once that’s settled, of course, you’ll need to reserve the room, the caterers, and so forth. And although you have the date and have reserved a room and caterers for the closing dinner, you haven’t yet written to Gene Rogers, the film critic, to invite him to speak. You have spoken with his assistant, who thinks Rogers would be interested and has the date free, but Rogers is currently out of town, attending the Cannes Film Festival. You’re working on the letter now, which you want to have mailed by the time he gets back.

The two assignments

1. Write to Gene Rogers, inviting him to speak at the closing session. He’s a busy public figure who probably gets, and turns down, many such invitations. But you happen to know that one of his special interests is encouraging young filmmakers, and in fact he occasionally teaches courses at the film school most of the interns are from, which is your alma mater as well. He has also recently published a book about film conservation, one of Gilbert Lamar’s special interests. And, as you’ve recently learned from the sales director, Rogers has a private screening room in his home—he avoids videos if he can—and has an active account with CFI.

Would you use the direct or the indirect approach for this request? Why? Explain in detail how you would write the message.

2. Provide Carey the update he has requested

Would you provide this update in writing or as a presentation?

If in writing, explain in detail how you would write the document, including how you would use formatting to make it as reader-friendly as possible.

If as a presentation, explain in detail how you would prepare and deliver it.