EXAMINATION NUMBER: 05002100



Background

Phoenix Advertising, with its main headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves clients that include banks, insurance companies, and retail chains. You're the vice president of human resources management at Phoenix. You report directly to Gregory S. Forest, the company president. Mr. Forest advises you that in the last month, four clients have complained about the advertising work produced by the Roanoke, Virginia branch of the agency. He reminds you that the clients served from the Roanoke branch are vital to the overall success of Phoenix Advertising. Mr. Forest also explains the little he has been able to learn about the situation at the branch: In the last three months, two of the top management people-an art director and an account executive-have left the agency. Three of the graphic designers and four of the copywriters are threatening to quit because they feel their creative efforts are being rejected or revised without consultation. They want to be part of a collaborative team, not to simply produce work that the art directors and account executives can alter arbitrarily. In an attempt to increase revenues, the branch is accepting new clients without evaluating the effects of the new accounts on the current project workload. As a result, without notice or compensation for the additional hours, all salaried employees are required to work long hours several days each week. Employee morale and productivity are declining day by day.

Process

Part A: Interoffice memorandum

Step 1

Begin by creating facts, figures, and people to flesh out the above background information and your position in the company. The following questions are provided to jumpstart your prewriting, but you must expand on them to brainstorm thoroughly. In addition to listing details, also freewrite about the Phoenix Advertising agency and its executive team.

• How large is the agency? How many branches does it have? Where are the branches located?

Phoenix Advertising employs 100 people in eight branches across the southeastern United States. In addition to its main headquarters in Charlotte, NC, offices are also located in Knoxville, TN, Spartanburg, SC, Columbia, SC, Wilmington, NC, Augusta, GA and Roanoke, VA

• What's the company's mission? How does each branch relate to that mission?

The mission of Phoenix Advertising is to provide robust advertising, marketing and public relations solutions to clients of all sizes in the southeastern region of the United States.

All branches are full service offices, providing advertising, marketing and public relations expertise. Branches are assigned clients based on geographic location, unless the client specifically requests a particular branch to handle his or her needs.

• What are the company's primary business goals?

Our primary goal is to ensure our clients’ names and products are given the best opportunities to be put in front of the public in the best light possible. While we cannot guarantee the success of the products, we can be sure that every effort was made on our part to make them successful.

• What do clients need from Phoenix Advertising?

• Advertisements

o Newspaper

o Internet

o Television

o Radio

o Signage

• Branding

• Publication Design

o Brochures

o Pamphlets

o Catalogs

• Copywriting

• Creative Direction

o Logos

o Product Names

o Adverstising strategies

• Internet Marketing

o Website Design

o Search Engine Optimization

o Email marketing

o Online video

o Banner Ads

• Marketing

o Research

o Focus Groups

• Photography

• Promotional Merchandise

• Voice Overs

• Who are the people on the executive team (other vice presidents of other departments)?

Gregory S. Forest, President; Stephen Summers, Chief Executive; Hank Paulson, Vice President of Operations; YOUR NAME, Vice President of Human Resources; Bill Johnson, Vice President of Public Relations Operations; Sandy Jones, Vice President of Marketing Operations; Cindy Xiong, Vice President of Advertising Operations; Bob Thomas; Vice President of Finance

• Who's in charge of the agency's accounts in all the branches?

Hank Paulson, VP of Operations is in charge of keeping tabs on all accounts through the various vice presidents

• Who knows about policies for accepting and assigning new accounts?

Hank Paulson, VP of Operations

• Who knows about the policies for collaborative work among account executives, art directors, graphic designers, and copywriters?

Each vice president of operations should know the policies in these areas

• Are any other branches losing clients?

Only the Roanoke Branch office is losing clients.

Now brainstorm and freewrite more specifically about your own department and the people who work for you.

• What are their names and positions?

YOUR NAME, Vice President of Human Resources; Lance Thomas, Human Resources Director - Knoxville; Debbie Ayers, Human Resources Director - Spartanburg; Donna Coleman, Human Resources Director – Columbia; Bill McManus, Human Resources Director - Knoxville; Greg Maloney, Human Resources Director - Wilmington; Marcy Fogelman, Human Resources Director - Augusta; Scott Gaines, Human Resources Director - Roanoke;

• What would an organizational chart of your department look like?

[pic]

• What policies have you established for the agency about overtime for salaried employees? Are branches allowed to have different policies? Under what conditions?

All salaried employees are not permitted to receive overtime pay contractually. However, the Human Resources Director at each branch has the authority to grant comp time for any hours above 40 worked. The HR Directory must consult with the employee’s direct manager to ensure the comp time will not hamper operations unnecessarily.

• What are the compensation and benefits packages for the positions of art director and account executive at the branch level? Do they depend on the location of the branch and local competitors or is there a general agency package for each position?

The compensation and benefits package is generally the same for all salaried employees. Compensation is earned based on experience and performance and bonuses can be awarded based on merit. The benefits packages are the same for all employees except that PTO time is increased per employee for every three years of service. All employees receive a generoush health and dental plan and 401K, with a company match of up to 5% of the employee’s salary.

Step 2

After your meeting with Mr. Forest, you realize you need information from other members of the executive team. Using the ABC method, draft one interoffice memo to be sent to the entire executive team. Briefly summarize in one paragraph the situation with the Roanoke Branch. Explain how the situation affects Phoenix Advertising as a company and why it demands immediate attention. In a separate paragraph explain the actions you need different team members to take (who must provide what information). Tell the team when (specific date) and how they should get the information to you (report, e-mail, etc.). Close your memo with an appropriate final line or two. Make sure you copy the president on the memo.

Phoenix Advertising

Interoffice Memorandum

DATE: June 3, 2011

TO: Gregory S. Forest, President; Stephen Summers, Chief Executive; Hank Paulson, Vice President of Operations; YOUR NAME, Vice President of Human Resources; Bill Johnson, Vice President of Public Relations Operations; Sandy Jones, Vice President of Marketing Operations; Cindy Xiong, Vice President of Advertising Operations; Bob Thomas; Vice President of Finance

FROM: Your Name, Vice President of Human Resources

SUBJECT: Roanoke Branch Update

In recent months, the Roanoke office has had complaints from four of its clients and there is a feeling that the decline in customer satisfaction could be due in part to low morale among the branch’s employees. It has come to my attention that some of the graphic designers and art directors feel that they and their works are not being treated fairly and their ideas are not being taken seriously. All the while, they are being asked to work longer hours without proper compensation, either monetarily or in time. All have threatened to leave the company. We must give our immediate attention to this situation as Roanoke handles some of our biggest clients. We must also be sure the employees we hire are being treated as part of a team, not as pawns for those they report to.

As an executive team, I feel it is very important to reach out to the Roanoke branch to find out what the root of the problem is before it gets worse and the entire company is affected. Here is my proposed plan of communication with the branch:

• Hank Paulson – Speak with Roanoke’s clients to see if they can give any feedback as far as trends they might be seeing in the branch’s operations.

• Bill Johnson – Speak with the Public Relations department employees and get their feedback

• Sandy Jones – Speak with the marketing department employees for their feedback

• Cindy Xiong – Speak with the advertising department employees for their feedback

Please put together a report from each person you speak with by June 10, 2011. After reviewing your reports individually, I will meet with Scott Gaines, the HR director of the Roanoke branch to discuss the issues. We will then hold an executive meeting to discuss the status of the branch and what changes need to be considered.

Thank you in advance for all your time. This is a very critical time for the Roanoke branch and the company as a whole.

Copies:

Executive Team

Gregory S. Forest, President;

Stephen Summers, Chief Executive;

Hank Paulson, Vice President of Operations;

Bill Johnson, Vice President of Public Relations Operations;

Sandy Jones, Vice President of Marketing Operations;

Cindy Xiong, Vice President of Advertising Operations;

Bob Thomas; Vice President of Finance

Part B: E-mail

Step 1

If necessary, brainstorm further about your department, your staff, and the agency's policies about overtime.

Step 2

Invent e-mail addresses for yourself and another person in your department. Use the company name as the "host" rather than general commercial providers like AOL or Yahoo. Include all necessary components such as the @ symbol.

Step 3

Using the ABC method, draft an e-mail of three to four paragraphs in which you assign the staff person in charge of payroll to provide you with payroll statements from the Roanoke branch for the last 12 months. Use your own judgment about what, if any, information that person needs to know about the Roanoke situation to complete the task. Include a request for a summary of the agency policies and the branch policies regarding overtime and compensation/ benefits packages. Explain clearly what you need that person to do, the date you need the information, and how you want the person to convey the information to you. Be sure you follow the format of the sample e-mail, using the new content you've written for the assignment. Use a specific subject line formatted in title case.

To: scott.gaines@

Subject: Request for Payroll Statements

Dear Scott,

As we discussed in our meeting, the Roanoke branch office is experiencing difficulties amongst the staff due to, among other things, the longer hours they have been required to work recently. We need to be able to communicate with the employees at your branch about their concerns, and to do that I will need some information from you. Can you provide me with the payroll statements for the branch from the past 12 months? I need these to help the executive team analyze how the employees’ time is being managed to see where the management might be falling short.

This is a very critical time for the Roanoke branch as we must put an end to the low morale that seems to have taken over the office. With that, please make getting these reports to me your top priority today. I will be traveling to the branch Monday, June 7 to go over them.

I would also like you to keep in mind that we will be approaching other angles to see where the low morale is coming from. When I get there, I would like to discuss with you some ideas on improving the employees’ attitudes.

Thanks for your time,

Your Name

Your.Name@

-----------------------

YOUR NAME, Vice President of Human Resources

Lance Thomas, Human Resources Director - Knoxville

Debbie Ayers, Human Resources Director - Spartanburg

Donna Coleman, Human Resources Director – Columbia

;Bill McManus, Human Resources Director - Knoxville

Greg Maloney, Human Resources Director - Wilmington

Marcy Fogelman, Human Resources Director - Augusta

Scott Gaines, Human Resources Director - Roanoke

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