Persuasive Essay Assignment 1
Reward System at Business Run
Author: James G. Clawson

At BusinessRun, inc. it was time to reflect on the rewarding system. Since Henry
Brubaker had joined the organization 4 months ago, it was clear to him that the sales force
wasn’t engaged and the budget was a risky business for that year. Furthermore, salesmen weren’t
happy with the current company’s decisions affecting their product portfolio.

BusinessRun was a subsidiary of a strong bank. It was operating in the B2B market with
web based integration services. After its fast and exceptional growth following its incorporation
5 years ago, BusinessRun had been trying for almost 1 year to diversify its products line and to
introduce more products to create a stronger legacy with its customers. Unfortunately, because
the market was new and there was not yet a well-defined business model, it was not clear what
the market would prefer the most and what would be paid to buy those services. Hence,
BusinessRun decided to launch several products, following the indications coming from its
marketing department. To push the sales force to promote and sell these new tools, the human
resource (HR) management department introduced additional incentives, based on one time
monetary reward bonuses.

The sales force, almost composed by the same people since BusinessRun’s incorporation,
was paid with a high fixed base (almost 80% of the total annual salary) and a low bonus, based
on the model currently held by the holding company. There also was a cap that limited the
maximum amount of money a sales person could gain in any given year. After the first 2 years
that BusinessRun had been in business, it was challenging for the salesmen to get the bonus
because each person’s targets were raised very fast every year due to the exceptional company
growth.

The majority of the sales people, particularly the oldest and most experienced ones,
expressed their disappointment with the fact that most of the new tools were proposed to the
market without asking their opinion in the product design phase. In addition, they pointed out
that the one-time monetary bonus were too low, related to their total salary and to the money
BusinessRun would have gained from the sale, to justify the effort and the risks incurred in the
sale of these new products.

Henry Brubaker joined the company after being sales director of a start-up also involved
in the B2B market. As Sales Executive of BusinessRun, he now perceived the strong influence of
the holding company in BusinessRun’s decision making process. After 4 months the picture was
almost clear in his mind: there was no more time to wait, he had to move quickly and clearly to
engage the sales force and to allow BusinessRun to achieve the budget and continue the
company’s growing process.

Is BusinessRun facing a crisis? Put yourself in Henry’s shoes and make recommendations to
the top management at BusinessRun.

• – Assume you are Henry writing an email to your boss. Write a brief email (about 300 words)
  addressed to your boss. Identify the issues at BusinessRun, and suggest an action plan to fix
  those. Your recommendations must be detailed, actionable, and guided by the class material
  (i.e., theories/concepts of motivation discussed in class and potentially the textbook).
• – In the second part of your write-up, in about 100 words you should discuss 1-2 personal
  takeaways, which should clearly relate to class concepts.
  Note:

– Do mention any assumptions you need to make while preparing your recommendations.

These can be presented in an appendix.

Required format:

• – 1” margin all around, double spacing, and size 12 times new roman font.
• – Paper length: First page with email (300 words); Second page with takeaways (100 words);
  Third page with any appendices & references.

Rubric

Problem Identification & Analysis

• ‐ Shows understanding of the situation at BR (summarizes the situation adequately)
• ‐ Analyzes the issues in light of class concepts
• ‐ Applies multiple perspectives (i.e., thinks about the various stakeholders)
• ‐ Any assumptions are clearly noted, and separated from the information given in the case.
  Recommendations

• ‐ Presents at least 1-2 ideas to alleviate the problems identified above
• ‐ Discusses why the ideas will solve the problem (draws on class concepts implicitly or
  explicitly)
• ‐ Discusses briefly how the ideas can be implemented
• ‐ Considers the impact of the ideas on all of the stakeholders
  Personal Take-aways

• ‐ Reflects on the case in light of concepts discussed in class.
• ‐ Clearly draws on relevant concepts discussed in class
  Formatting etc.

• ‐ Follows formatting requirements provided by the instructor
• ‐ Shows god command of language & writing skills
  o Follows proper addressing norms etc. (per the given instructions)
  o Creates strong beginning & end of the memo
  o Ensures the entire essay has no more than 1-2 typos & grammatical mistakes
• ‐ Recognizes information sources (other than the textbook) both in-text & in Reference
  section using APA standards.

attached are all the concepts covered

Read “You Manage It! 2” in Managing Human Resources (2016, p. 258). After reading the case, complete the following items:

• Write a summary of the case,
• Answer the critical thinking questions, and
• Elaborate on two key learnings from the case related to training and development and its integration with the organization. Be sure to clearly state the two key learnings and defend them in well-organized, scholarly responses.

A key learning is defined as significant knowledge gained from reading the case. You may choose to explain your key learnings by offering a real-world application, personal insight, your thoughts and opinions about what was stated, how it is handled at your company, etc.

Please arrange your summary, questions, and key learnings in a well-organized, scholarly response of 2-3 pages. Include a title page and references page which are not included in the page count. Support your observations and opinions with citations from 2-3 cr

1. Assignment 1: Developing a Public Relations Plan, Part 1
   Due Week 4 and worth 280 points Research a nonprofit organization that has faced a public relations crisis within the past few years.
   Imagine that you were employed at this nonprofit at the time of the crisis and were tasked by the Board of Directors to develop a public relations plan to persuade the public that the facts of the matter are not as bad as what has been reported in the media. Write a 4-5 page paper in which you:
   1. State the name of the organization and describe what its mission and purpose.
   2. Explain in detail the facts of the event that generated the negative publicity and why this situation would create negative publicity.
   3. Create the specific goals your campaign will try to achieve, and justify why you chose these goals.
   4. Design and explain the steps you will take to achieve your goals.
   5. Compose an evaluation plan and explain how you will use it to assess the outcome of your campaign.

   Your assignment must:

   • Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
   • Include a cover page containing the tile of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

   The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

   • Explain the basic functions of public relations, how it can be used to support corporate goals, and how it can be integrated into marketing strategy.
   • Analyze a communication process, identify dysfunctional aspects of the process, and develop action plans to improve the communications
   • Formulate and plan the implementation of public relations strategies to accomplish stated public relations objectives relative to various publics (media, employees, communities, governments, consumers, and international entities).
   • Use technology and information resources to research issues in public relations.

Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8, “National Preparedness,” was released on March 30, 2011. It replaces Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 8 on National Preparedness and HSPD 8 Annex I on National Planning. Among other things, PDD 8 is designed to provide baseline definitions and direct certain activities. In answering the questions below, locate and read PDD 8 in its entirety. Visit any other resources that you need to fully consider and discuss the requirements listed for this assignment.

Assignment Guidelines

• In 4–5 paragraphs, address the following:
  • You have read PDD 8. Evaluate it for its merits or weaknesses as a policy document.
    • To what degree does it provide sufficient guidance for emergency managers, planners, and the like?
    • In what ways, if any, do you find it lacking in usefulness for emergency managers or planners? Explain in what ways it may be insufficient and defend your answer.
    • Whom do you believe was its intended audience? Explain and defend your answer.