Scenarios:
Option 1) The graphic design shop where you work as the account manager is doing well. Just last year
the owner hired three new designers and a receptionist, bringing the total number of employees to 14. But
with growth comes certain headaches, and one of them is figuring out how to regulate employees’
Internet use. Currently, employees can download anything they want from the Internet and view any
website they wish.
The owner’s IT person has alerted him to several problems. One is that the designers are downloading any
and all software that they think sounds “cool” – even software in beta versions that sill have a lot of kinks.
As a result, their computers lock up or malfunction and the IT person has to spend hours troubleshooting
the problem to get it resolved.
Two, there is concern over what Internet sites employees are viewing, specifically those that are
inappropriate for the workplace. Overall, the IT person is worried about security breaches resulting from
these downloads, inappropriate website visits, and other Internet activities.
It’s time for a policy to be developed governing Internet-use and your boss things you’re just the person
to help write it. Your assignment is to study the current wisdom on the workplace Internet policies and
send your findings to your boss and the IT person as a short report, including a proposed Internet-use
policy that might be implemented.
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Option 2) As a Senior Buyer as Darcy’s, a national department store, Sasha Warner manages the buyers in
the eastern U.S. region. You’re currently working under her as a sale co-op student. She drops by your
office to chat one day and brings up a subject she’s been wondering about. “Do you know anything about
Skype?” she asks. You nod, having used this online international phone service yourself. “I heard it’s
totally free and really easy to use, she continues, “so I’m thinking about recommending that all my buyers
subscribe to it. Then maybe they could talk to each other and to international designers and
merchandisers more easily. Is there any downside? Maybe security issues?” You’re not sure- but you offer
to look into the matter for her.
Do the necessary research and, if you haven’t done so, try this service yourself. Then, write Sasha a report
that gives her the information she needs to decide whether or not to pursue this idea further. She may
want to share your report with other managers in the company so be sure you give it your best effort.
Option 3) You work for the owner of three local coffee and tea shops, one of which opened a few months
ago. The newest one has already developed quite a nice, regular clientele, mostly those in or near the
neighborhood who want an alternative to the big-coffee-chain experience, but your boss things its sales
need a bump. She is considering holding an in-store promotion at the coffee shop – her first ever. Since
she knows you’re an Internet whiz, she turns to you for help. “How do you run one of these events?” she
wants to know. “How much do they cost? Are they worth the effort and expense? What are the options?
Do such promotions have lasting effects? How can I maximize the results?”
You turn to the internet and find a lot of great stuff about in-store promotions, so much, in fact, that you
decide to present your findings to your boss in writing. Tell her what she needs and wants to know in a
clear, well organized report. Having the information in writing will also be helpful if she wants to share it
with other employees. Be sure she can go to your sources and read more if she wants to.
Option 4) Many managers today are realizing that there really is something distinctive about “Gen Y,” or
“Millennial,” employees (the children of “baby boomers” – who were themselves children of the World War
II generation). Find a real client or invent a realistic company to use as your client. Then review the
literature on Gen Y employees and write your client a report in which you describe the distinctive traits of
this segment of the workforce and recommend ways to recruit, manage, and retain them.
Option 5) Your company does not offer flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for its employees. Your boss
wonders if your company (you pick the name) should. Are FSAs a good idea for businesses and
employees? Prepare a report for your boss in which you analyze the advantages and disadvantages of
FSAs so that she can decide whether to offer FSAs to your employees.
