Business Communication
Who are you? You are the vice president of operations at Exquisite Entertainment, an entertainment company that owns and operates 19 seasonal and year-round amusement parks (Worlds of Play) located throughout the U.S. You are responsible for providing overall direction and guidance with regard to the operational activities of the organization What's the current situation? 1 The company's amusement parks have always been popular, but recently they haven't been very profitable. Operating costs have been rising, and every dollar of extra revenue has been hard won At the company's annual management offsite meeting held that morning at Worlds of Play-Seattle, Alex Harrington, a business strategy consultant from Ernst & Young LLP, unveiled "Operation Upmarket," a business strategy proposal aimed at addressing the issue of profitability for Worlds of Play. This plan proposed that Worlds of Play offer its customers the option of a "preferred guest" card. Cardholders would pay more, but they would get first crack at the rides and would get seated immediately at any of the park's restaurants According to Alex the plan would help Worlds of Play finances because it would target the mass affluents' wealthy but time-pressed people who might visit the park more often and spend more time while there were it not for long lines at the rides You think back to that morning's meeting You respect Alex's plan, but what about the initiatives you had implemented to tap into that same segment? In fact, you have already had some successes Roughly 20% of Worlds of Play souvenir shops have been upgraded to gift boutiques with more appealing displays and higher-priced merchandise, and some snack concessions have been converted lo seated dining. The most upscale of the restaurants are already eaming almost double the profit per square foot of the other food-service facilities it does to the overall customer experience. The average Joe with his wife and three kids is not going to shell out for five upgrades. So they are going to be sweating through even longer lines and just steaming when they see some yuppie waltz ahead of them. I don't even think it's a great experience for the preferred guests. Who wants to feel all the anger directed at them? The key to this business is that the customers feel good while they are here. A couple of ugly glances, a nasty remark, and the day is spoiled for everybody. Neither side's coming back." "should have explained." Alex said. "We would definitely separate the lines so the preferred cardholders wouldn't be in people's faces and we'd limit the percentage of special tickets issued on any given day. But I don't think you are giving your customers enough credit. People have a lot more awareness and appreciation of the fact that time is money. This program lets them choose which they want to save." What are you supposed to do? You have been charged by CEO Len Becker to summarize the merits of the option presented at the meeting in his absence. Craft the body of a document for Mr. Becker. Develop a response that includes examples and evidence to support your ideas and which clearly communicates the required message to your audience. Organize your response in a clear and logical manner as appropriate for the genre of writing. Use well-structured sentences audience appropriate language, and correct conventions of standard American English
