Strategy Exercise: Luxury Limousine is a thriving business that operates a limousine service in a large metropolitan area of over 800,000 people. Customers call 24 hours in advance to schedulehire a car and driver for anything from rides to and from the airport to fun nights on the town. Because Luxury Limousine’s drivers are the only employees who customers see face-to-face, they must be professional, be knowledgeable about the city’s roads and fastest routes to key locations, and represent the company well. Lately, the company’s “help wanted” advertisements in the local paper haven’t been attracting the number of quality drivers it needs. In response to this situation, Luxury Limousine has decided to conduct a mass mailing campaign and send a recruitment brochure to each home in the metropolitan area. The company hopes this will improve its ability to recruit quality drivers.

The following job requirements and rewards exist for the driver’s job: Drivers must

(a) be over 21 years of age,

(b) pass a written test about local roads and highways,

(c) possess a valid commercial driver’s license,

(d) have a good driving record (no moving violations in the last three years),

(e) be able to read maps, and

(f) be courteous. No previous limousine driving experience is required.

The job is part time, varying between 10 and 35 hours per week. The driving can occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The wage is

$10.00 per hour plus tips. Tips are highly variable; about 15 percent of customers provide no tips, 50 percent provide tips of about 10 percent, and 35 percent provide tips of 15 percent or more. Drivers are given three days of training by an experienced driver, after which they must pass a ride-along test conducted by the owner of Luxury Limousine. Drivers receive a paid one-week vacation after 1,000 hours of work in a 52-week period. Another benefit is that drivers often hear of other job opportunities from their customers.

Anyone could be a customer, from celebrities to high school prom dates. Traffic accidents and breakdowns can occur, and traffic can be challenging. Although most customers are friendly and enjoyable, some become intoxicated and can be difficult to deal with.

Prepare two versions of the recruiting brochure. The first should carry a realistic message, and the second a traditional message.

The brochure will be a single, 81/2” by 11” piece of paper folded in half, with one of the outside halves being used for the mailing and return addresses. Your goal is to attract safe drivers who will execute Luxury Limousine’s strategy of providing reliable, highquality transportation and excellent customer service. Remember, the goal is to communicate a realistic message, not a negative one.

Then, prepare a separate report in which you indicate

(a) which of the two brochures would likely attract more job applicants,

(b) whether the quality of applicants attracted is likely to differ and why, and

(c) other recommendations you have for generating more and better job applicants.