Show Me The Money

ASEM is a major professional organization dedicated to the science and art of engineering management. The goal of the ASEM 2021 conference was to bring together the nation's leading engineering managers, with a special emphasis on the evaluation of technical leadership in the Washington metropolitan area's vibrant information systems technology sector. This annual conference in Washington, DC, is highly respected among technical professionals in the United States. ASEM 2021 was held from October 4 to October 7 in Washington's Marriott Hotel. The main stakeholders included ASEM, the conference management service at one large metropolitan university, engineering managers from high-tech organizations, and other organizations interested in electronic communication development.

The annual budget for the conference is close to $200,000 and the organization committee traditionally raised these funds by soliciting contributions from sponsors and by charging participants an attendance fee. The conference organizers had several contracts in place with major vendors: a conference facility, caterers, and a transportation company. These vendor contracts, signed five years ago and not revised since, were fixed-fee contacts.

Approximately ten months before holding the event, the conference committee faced a serious problem. There was a serious deficit of funds to complete the conference organization. Due to a sales decline, one of the conference's sponsors was not able to contribute a pledge this year, and others made clear that they would not be able to cover the gap. During a special meeting held by the organizers, two possible solutions were identified:

Generate more revenues by attracting additional sponsorship funds.

Reduce the costs of the event by better expense management.

One of the possible solutions is to renegotiate the vendors' contacts. However, the organizers are not sure how to start the negotiations. It is very unlikely that the vendors will agree simply to cut their prices without strong reasoning from the conference organizers' side. You are asked to prepare recommendations for the organization committee on how to turn around the finances of the conference.

QUESTIONS

How would you prepare for the meeting with your vendors?

What kind of research should be done before any financial contract negotiations?

What incentive can organizers provide to sponsors and participants earlier to generate cash?

What other solutions could organizers use to attract funds?

Adopted from:

Goldblatt, J. (2005). Special events: Event Leadership for a new world. 4th Edition. Wiley: Hoboken, New Jersey