Staff Turnover
The managing Director of your company is keen to reduce the number of staff leaving after a short time. You have been asked to suggest ways of encouraging staff to stay in the company
Discuss, and decide together:
l What kinds of incentives might help to retain staff
l How to ensure that staff satisfaction is maintained
Follow-up questions:
What benefit does having a stable workforce bring to a company?
What are the most common reasons why people change companies?
Is it a disadvantage for a job applicant to have a history of changing jobs? (Why/Why not?)
Do you think people will change jobs more frequently or less frequently? (Why/Why not?)
Will it become more important for an employee to have a wide range of skills in the future? (Why/Why not?)
Market Research
Your company is considering introducing a new product and wants to assess the market potential. You have been asked to suggest ways of doing this.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What kinds of information would be useful to obtain
l How to decide whether to go ahead with the product
Follow-up questions:
Is market research essential when introducing a new product? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of products or services is market research most useful for?
How accurately do you think consumers respond to marketing questionnaires? (Why/Why not?)
In what ways can companies influence consumer opinion?
How necessary is it for a company to diversify production? (Why)
Product Recall
Your company has discovered a design fault in a new product and needs to recall this product from customers. You have been asked to make recommendations about the best way to handle this incident.
Discuss, and decide together
l What would be the most effective method of informing customers of the product recall
l How to ensure the company's reputation remains undamaged by the incident
Follow-up questions:
How can attitudes to a company change if one of their products has to be recalled because of a problem over quality? (Why?)
What else can have a negative effect on consumers' attitudes to a company? (Why?)
What measures can companies introduce to avoid the need for product recalls? (Why?)
Is quality always the most important consideration for consumers when purchasing a product? (Why/Why not?)
How can companies succeed in developing brand loyalty?
Sales Conferences
The export sector of your company is expanding, and plans are being discussed for holding annual conferences for overseas agents. You have been asked to make recommendations for the proposal.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What the benefits of annual conferences would be for the participants
l What the content of the conferences could be
Follow-up questions:
Should companies which send overseas agents to conferences be consulted about the content? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of data should be provided for agents at this kind of conference? (Why?)
What would be an effective way of following up the conference? (Why?)
How might sales strategies and products vary from one country or region to another? (Why?)
How important is networking in the modern business world? (Why?)
Project Abroad
Your company is proposing to send a team of staff abroad for six months to set up an office and train local employees. You have been asked to make recommendations for the project.
Discuss, and decide together:
l How to select appropriate staff to manage the project
l What preparation and advice the staff would need before leaving
Follow-up questions:
What advantages would there be in working abroad for a short period of time? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of problems could staff encounter while working abroad?
How can people get the kinds of information they need while they are working abroad?
What effect does the increase in international contacts have on the way companies operate? (Why?)
How important is it for business to have their own offices abroad?
Customer Base
The Finance Director of your company is concerned that the majority of its income comes from one main client. You have been asked to make recommendations on ways to expand your company's customer base.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What the potential dangers are of having only one main client
l How the company could try to gain additional clients
Follow-up questions:
What advantages could there be for companies in having a relatively small customer base? (Why?)
When attracting new customers, how important is it for companies to give information about their existing clients? (Why/Why not?)
What can companies do to strengthen customer loyalty, apart from offering good customer service?
How can companies which operate globally ensure consistently high levels of customer satisfaction?
In what ways can companies respond to increased competition from other companies?
Staff Suggestion Scheme
Your company is planning to introducing a suggestion scheme and to encourage members of staff at all levels to contribute ideas. You have been asked to consider ways of setting up the scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l How to set up the scheme so that all staff feel they can contribute
l How suggestions from members of staff could be evaluated
Follow-up questions:
Which kinds of companies can benefit most from suggestion schemes? (Why?)
What other methods can companies use to generate ideas for improvements?
What are other ways of increasing staff involvement in a company?
In what ways can companies obtain suggestions or comments from customers?
How important are new ideas for companies in maintaining competitiveness? (Why?)
Health and Fitness Facilities
Your company is considering providing a fitness center on the premises to help employees improve their health and fitness. You have been asked to make recommendations for this scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What benefits the center would bring for the company
l How to promote the need for health and fitness to all staff
Follow-up questions:
Would company fitness facilities be equally popular among all staff? (Why/Why not?)
Should employees have to pay to use health and fitness facilities? (Why/Why not?)
What other ways are there for companies to encourage their employees to remain fit and healthy?
Should companies include employees' families in their health and fitness provision? (Why/Why not?)
Is the welfare of employees an appropriate concern for companies? (Why/Why not?) |
