Bicol University
College of Arts and Letters
Department of Communication
A.Y. 2020 - 2021
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
(Subject: Communication Management)
Prepared by:
Ma. Cielo G. Barnedo
Bachelor of Arts in Communication IV-B
CASE 2: THE REJECTED PROPOSAL
The Acme Electric Company worked day and night to develop a new
current regulator designed to cut the electric power consumption in aluminum
plants by 35%. They knew that, although the competition was fierce, their
regulator could be produced more cheaply, was more reliable, and worked more
efficiently than the competitor’s products.
The owner, eager to capture the market, personally but somewhat hastily
put together a 120-page proposal to the three major aluminum manufacturers,
recommending that their regulators be installed at all company plants.
She devoted the first 87 pages of the proposal to the mathematical theory
and engineering design behind her new regulator, and the next 32 to descriptions
of the new assembly line she planned to set up to produce regulators quickly.
Buried in an appendix were the test results that compared her regulators
performance with present models, and a poorly drawn graph showed how much
the dollar saving would be.
Acme Electric didn’t get the contracts, despite having the best product. Six
months later, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Question 1: Who was communicating to whom about what, how, and why?
Sender: Acme Electric Company
Receiver: The three major aluminum manufacturers in the market.
Question 2: What was the goal of the communication?
Present Acme Electric Company’s newly developed current regulator that
can cut aluminum plant’s electric power consumption by 35%.
Question 3: What caused the problem?
Based from the given situation, poor organization and formatting of
information most probably caused the company’s problem.
Question 4: What were incurred by this problem?
The problem caused the company to lose the contracts with the three
major aluminum manufacturers and led their company to bankruptcy.
Question 5: What strategies could have prevented the problem?
a. Taking their time in putting together the proposal instead of acting hastily.
When it comes to business, being able to respond quickly to certain
situations is a necessary skill. In fact, according to Attest (2019), quick
decision-making is arguably the most important ability for a business today.
In a fast-paced world, it’s the thing that lets you get ahead of your
competitors.
However, quoting the words of Peter Parker, “with great power comes
great responsibility”. Applying it with the given situation, “big decisions or
actions comes great responsibility”. In a business where a lot is at stake,
quick decision-making is as important as being thorough. It is
understandable that the Acme Electric Company’s owner must have
eagerly wanted to get ahead of their competitors and capture the market
causing her to act hastily, but in my opinion, taking her time, especially in
putting together the company’s new regulator proposal could have been
a better and wiser choice.
Furthermore, it was also stated that Acme Electric’s new regulator
could be produced more cheaply, was more reliable, and worked
efficiently than the competitor’s products. With that being said, I personally
don’t see the need for their company to act hastily. If they are so sure and
has a proof of their regulator being the best in the market, coming in last is
not something they have to be worried about.
b. Devoted the first few pages of their proposal in presenting the test results
comparing their company’s regulator performance with present models
available in the market.
Rather than presenting the mathematical theory and engineering
design behind the company’s new regulator, and describing the new
assembly line the company plans to set up in order to produce regulators
quickly, devoting the first few pages of the proposal to present the test
results comparing their company’s regulator performance with the present
models available in the market could have been a better move.
As what I have mentioned previously, Acme Electric claimed that
their new regulator can be produced more cheaply, was more reliable,
and worked more efficiently than other regulators sold at the market. If I
were one of the aluminum manufacturers Acme Electric was trying to
persuade, learning about this information first rather than reading about
mathematical theories and engineering designs might have made me
consider investing with their product.
Though it is also important to know about such matters, especially the
future plans or steps the company I am investing in will be soon taking,
business is still business, and “money talks” frankly draws more business
owners’ attention than complicated mathematical theory and equations.
c. Exerted more effort in creating and presenting the graph showing how
much aluminum companies could save using their new regulator.
According to the information revealed by Acme Electric company,
their newly developed current regulator has the ability to cut off 35% of
aluminum plants electric power consumption. Presenting the graph
containing how much dollar aluminum plants can save by using their
product as evidence to their claim, together with their regulator’s other
exemplary features at the start of their proposal might have probably made
the tables turn.
As what I have mentioned, when it comes to business, “money talks”
are more attention grabbing rather than mathematical theories and
equations.
Question 6: What benefits would be derived from implementing solutions or
preventing the problem?
If solutions have been implemented by Acme Electric company, they might
have somehow managed to sign even one contract from the three major
aluminum manufacturers, more importantly, prevent their company from facing
bankruptcy.
CASE 3: INSTRUCTION MANUAL
As one of the first to enter the field of office automation, Sagatec Software,
Inc. had built a reputation for designing high-quality and user-friendly database
and accounting programs’ for business and industry. When they decided to enter
the word-processing market, their engineers designed an effective, versatile, and
powerful program that Sagatec felt sure would outperform any competitor.
To be sure that their new word-processing program was accurately
documented, Sagatec asked the Senior Program Designer to supervise writing the
instructional manual. The result was a thorough, accurate and precise description
of every detail of the programs’ operation.
When Sagatec began marketing its new word processor, cries for help
flooded in from office workers who were so confused by the massive manual that
they couldn’t even find out how to get started. Then several business journals
reviewed the program and judged it “too complicated” and “difficult to learn”.
After an impressive start, sales of the new word processing program
plummeted. Sagatec eventually put out a new, clearly written training guide that
led new users step by step through introductory exercises and told them how to
find commands quickly. But the rewrite cost Sagatec $350,000, a year’s lead in
the market, and its reputation for producing easy-to-use business software.
Question 1: Who was communicating to whom about what, how, and why?
Sender: Sagatec Software, Inc.
Receiver: Word-processing market, office workers
Question 2: What was the goal of the communication?
The goal of the communication was to introduce and market Sagatec
Software, Inc.’s new word processing program.
Question 3: What caused the problem?
Based from the situation given, the cause of Sagatec Software, Inc.’s
problem was poor audience analysis.
Question 4: What were incurred by this problem?
Sagatec Software, Inc. lost $350,000 due to manual rewriting, a year’s lead
in the market, and its reputation for producing easy-to-use business software.
Question 5: What strategies could have prevented the problem?
a. Pre-testing Sagatec Software, Inc. new word processing program's
instructional manual before its release.
In a highly competitive world of businesses, being able to push
projects to be completed as soon as possible is something not so out of
the ordinary. However, when it comes to marketing or market research,
nothing may be more important than pre-testing product materials (Kuhn,
2016).
According to CSAP Communications (1994), pre-tests helps
businesses select message concepts (e.g. style, formats, spokesperson,
and appeals), guide creative work, fine tune wording and visual images,
and guide revisions (before spending time and money on the finished
product). In short, pre-testing of materials help businesses recognize
problems, as well as formulate solutions to ensure that their material can
be clearly and easily understood by their target audience.
Pre-testing business materials may cause a project's completion
schedule to be pushed back by a few hours, days, or even weeks (in the
worst-case situation), but it's always preferable than rushing its release
and encountering major issues afterwards.
Question 6: What benefits would be derived from implementing solutions or
preventing the problem?
If Sagatec Software, Inc. thought of pre-testing their instructional manual
first before releasing it to the market, they might have been able to notice or
realize how massive and complicated their manual is for their target audience
based from the responses they have gathered. Cries for help from office workers
who availed their product, as well as poor product review of their new program
from business journals might have been prevented.
In addition, Sagatec Software could not have spent $350,000 for their
instructional manual rewrite, lost a year’s lead in the market, and reputation for
producing easy-to-use business software.
References
Attest. (2020). Why quick decision-making is your competitive advantage.
Retrieved from [Link]
decision-making-is-your-competitive-advantage
CSAP Communications Team. (1994). Pretesting is essential. Retrieved from
[Link]
ep04_deeper_pretesting.htm
Kuhn, George. (2016). 10 benefits to pretesting your online survey. Retrieved from
[Link]
benefits-to-pretesting-your-online-survey/
