SU Business Communication Walt Disney World Case Analysis Research Paper

Just do response each posted # 1 to 3 down below only

• Does the introduction clearly announce the topic and engage the reader’s interest? If not, why not? If yes, what is engaging and interesting?
• Is there a clear sense of purpose throughout the writing? Why or why not?
• Is the solution effectively presented? Why or why not?
• Are sources integrated into the proposal? Do they follow APA format? Are they effective? Why or why not?
• How could the author improve the paper? Please offer at least two concrete suggestions.
• Do you consider this paper to be responsive to the Discussion assignment? If not, what recommendations do you have for making it meet the Discussion requirements?
• Provide additional suggestions or comments.

As you are reviewing papers, think about this:

What would you want to know about the paper you are reviewing if you were its author? In other words, provide useful, helpful, and applicable advice to one another.

Posted 1

To: Dan Wilkes, Resort Property Rooms Manager

CC: Douglas Smith, Union Shop Steward

Robin Johnson, Resort Operations General Manager

From: Front Office Service Advisor

Date: July 10, 2020

Subject: Request to Peruse Research on Yearly Employee Evaluations

I have attached my proposal to start conducting yearly evaluations for each Walt Disney World Cast Member. It has come to the attentions of myself, and others, that there are some fellow Cast Members who may not be fit for their role any more. Acknowledging that these roles are Unionized, we understand that we will work closely with union shop stewards, to eliminate any chance of violation in contract. These evaluations will be done by managers to help set guidelines and see what service errors are occurring (Paes de Faria (2020).

I have worked for the Walt Disney World Company in a few roles over the last three years and I have been a guest for as long as I can remember. During this time, I have noticed the lack of passion some Cast holds is present in every role. In order to eliminate this characteristic in the Cast, the company should commence with yearly evaluations. By examining current Cast Members in each role, the company is ensuring the guests they are receiving the greatest guest service.

I am interested in hearing your feedback and will follow up with you on Monday, July, 20, 2020. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions by phone.

THE IMPORTNACE OF YEARLY EVALUATIONS

A Proposal Prepared for

Dan Wilkes, Resort Property Rooms Manager

The Walt Disney World Resorts and Parks

Prepared by

Front Office Service Advisor

The Walt Disney World Resorts and Parks

July 10, 2020

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………X

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………….X

BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………………………………X

RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………………………….X

BENEFITS………………………………………………………………………………………..X

CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………………………………….X

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………X

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: STILL THINKNIG OF ONE……………………………………………X

EXACUTIVE SUMMARY

The notion of having yearly evaluations of Cast Members provides the Walt Disney World Company with the proof that they are providing the greatest guest service to all guests. Over the years, Cast Members tend to “lose the Magic” or passion they once had for their roe when they first started. Currently the company has these Cast Members still in their role, unhappy and because of this, they are not providing the guest with the Magical Experience that is expected when visiting Walt Disney World. By Conducting these evaluations, the company will be eliminating that negative possibility, and instead, create a possible once-in-a-lifetime memory.

These evaluations can also be beneficial to see how the supervisors are doing as well. Evaluation the work and characteristics of a Cast Member reflects the way the supervisors are conducting their own work as well. So by evaluating the Cast Member, you are also evaluating the supervisors (Frederiksen, Lange, &Kriechel, 2020). This creates a platform for the company to become efficient in the evaluation process. In the recent months of Disney being shut down, time management and maximizing profits have become highly sensitive in the company. By being able to look not only one Cast Member, but see how they evaluate their peers is more efficient for the company.

In this proposal I will be discussing the benefits of yearly evaluations and how these will increase guest satisfaction along with Cast Member moral. I believe that by meeting with each Cast Member and creating a safe space, the company will be giving the Cast Members a way to either correct bad habits they have created over the years or realize they need to be in another role. Again this will great a better place to work and a better place to vacation. Yearly evaluations will be the easiest and safest way to work with the union to correct any casting errors.

INTRODUCTION

Yearly evaluations are beneficial to large companies like Walt Disney World because it creates an easy way to monitor all of the Cast Members. The performance effort of a Cast Member contributes to the Company as the year’s progress (Goler et al., 2016). This indicates that the effort a Cast Member puts in, reflects that of the company. If the Cast Member is truly happy with where they are located it will create a happy work place and in Disney’s case, create a Magical place to visit, but on the contrary, if the Cast Member is not happy and is not doing their job or just the minimum requirements, they are not creating this. That is why it is important to have yearly evaluations of Cast Members.

BACKGROUND

Since recent events, the hospitality and tourism industry has been suffering. Walt Disney World and all of the company’s’ other parks and resorts have been financially burdened. Now that things are starting to open up, The Walt Disney World Company should capitalize on this, while also trying to focus on the most efficient ways to create Magic again. Due to the phased opening, now is the best time to try these evaluations out because with less cast members operating the properties, we can create and use this time to start small.

There is a demand now, more than ever, to go to Walt Disney World and they reason being, people want to feel that “Magic” again. In order to do this, it is crucial that the company makes certain that the most fit Cast Members are in the correct role. As hospitality workers, we are expected to be able to multitask, both physical and mental tasks that can be exhausting, all the while still maintaining the company’s standards (Johnson &Woods, 2008). Just as the industry is changing constantly, so do Cast Members, one that was casted for a role a few years ago, may have out grown it by now. This is why the evaluations are so important.

RECOMENDATOINS

Proving that these evaluations are worth it, a study was done with 300 employees of a company. They were asked whether or not the company should get rid of the evaluations. The outcome was the 87% requested to keep the evaluations (Goler et al., 2016). These evaluations not only benefit the company, but they also benefit the Cast Member. Jokinen (2017) elaborates on the idea that those who are evaluated and actively trying to improve their skills based on the evaluations feedback, prove to be more successful. These Cast Members are the ones that get the promotions or the more complex jobs (Jokinen, 2017). Since these promotions would be going to high qualified Cast Members, this is also ensuring the company is spending their labor wages in the best way (Goler, 2016). Job promotions often come with a monetary promotion, and this acts as an incentive for Cast Members to take these evaluations seriously. This could be in the unions favor, too, because these evaluations would act as solid evidence of why certain Cast Members are getting promotions and other are not (Goler, 2016).

(I think this is where the graph will go)

By creating this forum for both the Cast Member and management, the company is showing that it cares for the wellbeing of the everyone and wants to see them succeed. These evaluations will also provide a space for the Cast Member to share any thoughts or concerns they have about management, fellow Cast Members, or supervisors. I believe these evaluations are beneficial to the company, because it will help potentially save money, by giving promotions to those that truly deserve it, and by ensuring that the company is providing the best customer service be guaranteeing the most qualified employees are on the front line.

This will be a meeting between the Cast Member, a one or two Leaders, a Proprietor, and a Union Shop Steward. In this meeting, the shop steward will be there to make sure that nothing is violating the Contract. This creates a safe space for the Cast Member to know that they are being represented and protected by the union. It also leaves space for the Leaders to give constructive criticism or praise. By allowing the Leaders to address concerns or areas that might need improvement, it also allows for the Cast Members to discuss their own concerns. These meetings will take held within the week of each Cast Members’ yearly anniversary, this way it is all spread out and gives time for each Leader, Proprietor, and Union Steward to adjust their calendars. This will also create a more relaxed feel, and not a stressful meeting, because ti will be planned.

BENEFITS

Allowing each Cast Member time to reflect and correct the habits made, it opens the company to an ideal work environment. If a company shows they truly care for you, the employee will be more likely to stay and provide excellent customer service. “…a great deal of research is

currently taking place in order to understand why some people are happier than others and also to

find ways in which to make people happier” (Naude et. al, 2016, p. 2). When Cast Members stay motivated, the outcome of the work is positively produced meaning the guest is receiving the best customer service. This creates a win-win relationship between the guest and the Cast Member. The guest leaves happy, and the Cast Member is content knowing they provided the absolute best service they could.

CONCLUSION

** I am still doing research, so I would like to add the concnlusion at the end once everything is all done and I can kind of recap what was said. **

Reference:

Ana C. C. Paes Paes de Faria, Fernando A. F. Ferreira, Paulo J. V. L. Dias, & Amali Çipi. (2020). A constructivist model of bank branch front-office employee evaluation: an FCM-SD-based approach. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.11883

Frederiksen, A., Lange, F., & Kriechel, B. (2016, December 24). Subjective performance evaluations and employee careers. Retrieved July 04, 2020

Johanson, M., & Woods, R. (2008). Recognizing the emotional elements in service excellence. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 49 (Issue 3). Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=30&sid=d41416d6-857b-4949-8935-905cae0f5b04%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=34128859&db=hjh

Jokinen, J. (2017). Essays on Wages, Promotions and Performance Evaluations. Pekka Olsbo, Pekka Olsbo: JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/55063/ISBN9789513971366_vaitos180817.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Lori Goler, Gale, J., and Grant, A. (2016, October 12). Let’s Not Kill Performance Reviews Yet. https://hbr.org/2016/11/lets-not-kill-performance-evaluations-yet?autocomplete=true.

Naude, R., Kruger, S., de Beer, L. T., Saayman, M., & Jonker, C. (2016). The relationship

between personality types and leisure time activities amongst Casino employees’

workplace expectations. South African Journal Of Human Resource Management, 14(1),

1-11. doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v14i1.761

Posted 2

Unit 4 Assignment 1

Table of Contents

Proposal

Albanian Geography and History

Albanian Political Situation

Albanian Economy

Albanian Culture

References

Proposal

I would like to write this proposal to you Mr. Smith being that you are the CEO of our company as a request to allow me to expand our company’s operations into Albania. As an Albanian-American myself, in this letter to you I will describe the country that I was referring to in my previous sentence as well as the economy of the country along with its political situation and will try to convince you why this is a viable choice for our company to expand to.

Albanian Geography and History

Albania is a country located in the Balkan peninsula which is about the same size as the state of Vermont. It borders Greece to the south, North Macedonia to the east and Kosovo and Montenegro to the north. The Albanian people have lived in this area ever since the middle ages and they gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. What followed was a short-lived monarchy under King Zog which was overthrown by the Fascist Italian invasion of 1939. In the few years that followed Albania was occupied by the Axis powers and in 1945 after Albania was liberated, a Communist government came into power established by Enver Hoxha who came to rule Albania as the unchallenged dictator for the next 46 years. The transition from dictatorship to democracy that happened in the early 1990’s, has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to cope with high unemployment, widespread corruption, organized crime networks and political opponents (“Albania Country Review,” 2020). Since the country’s first pluralist elections in 1991, Albania has maintained a parliamentary democracy. The Albanian constitution provides the main institutional infrastructure for democratic governance.

Albanian Political Situation

In 1997, the Albanian government headed by Prime minister Sali Berisha and his Democratic Party which held the majority of seats in the Albanian parliament collapsed. Sali Berisha had allowed financial institutions in Albania which promised to the people who would invest their money into these institutions, fantastic return of investment such as 100% per year. Many unsuspecting Albanians invested their money into these institutions only to find out later on that their invested money had disappeared and the people who ran the institutions had fled Albania with their invested money to Western European countries. The situation in Albania deteriorated after many of the disgruntled citizens stormed the army depos and took the law into their own hands. As the integrity of the state institutions such as the police forces was severely weakened, armed gangs sprang across all of Albania and started fighting whatever was left of the government forces as well as each other for control of the different cities of the country as well as the travel routes. Many of these individuals who were leaders of the different bands were the de-facto rulers of the cities that they held control over. The situation eventually improved and in a couple of years the rule of law was established and the turbulent times were over. For the next several years the growth rate of the Albanian economy crossed the 5% mark until eventually stabilizing to 3% in 2009 (Warner, 2019).

The country’s 2009 elections, however, represented a major drawback in Albania’s march toward more democratic norms, as the results produced a dangerous radicalization between opposition parties asking for an investigation into alleged election fraud, and the governing majority refusing their requests. The failure to investigate existing allegations of corruption that involved current ministers shows the continued collapse of an already weak rule of law (Warner, 2019). Still the country is ranked by Freedom House as Partly Free therefore it is possible to conduct business in Albania without much interference by the government, in other words without having to pay bribes to government officials in order to operate.

Albanian Economy

I would like to also talk briefly about Albania’s economy and its status as an emerging market over the last 30 years or so. The majority of the Albanian economy is service based and agricultural with a significant tourism sector that every year receives tourists from all around Europe but mainly from Kosovo, Italy and Greece. The mild Mediterranean climate prevalent in most of Albania especially in the western part of the country makes it possible for the cultivation of many vegetables and fruits. Important vegetables and fruits grown in Albania are olives, figs, tomatoes, onions, cherries, apples, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, lemons, oranges, pomegranates, pears, peaches, as well as grapes which are used to make wine and also a drink similar to vodka which in the local language is called “Raki”. Many peasants who live in the countryside earn a living by working on their farms as well as by raising goats, sheep, cows, chickens, pigs and other domesticated animals which are used for their milk as well as meat. During Hoxha’s regime all agriculture was collectivized and many peasants were forced to work with one another on state property. The production of these state-owned enterprises was controlled by the government and was distributed to the general population by rations. The food distributed was not a lot however it was enough for the majority of the population to live a comfortable life. Today the Albanian economy despite of the setback of the social instability of the late 90’s is more wealthy and diversified. There is a growing construction sector which has built many edifices in the capital of Tirana as well as in the smaller cities and towns all across the country. Although the industrial sector is not very well developed, the telecommunication industry has grown substantially in the major urban areas of Albania. Moreover Albania has concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Macedonia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Moldova. However the combined trade with all these countries constitutes a small percentage of Albania’s trade, while trade with EU member states (mainly Greece and Italy) accounts for nearly 68% (“Background Notes on Countries of the world”, 2007). Today although significant problems remain, the Albanian free-market is welcoming of foreign investment and foreign companies operating into the country therefore I strongly suggest you to look into expanding our enterprise’s operations into this new lucrative market.

Albanian Culture

Albanian society is not particularly very diverse and this is common with the other European nations sharing the Balkan peninsula. Albania is an ethnically homogeneous society where ethnic Albanians make up around 90% of the population. The rest of the minorities are mostly Greeks who live in southern Albania close to the Greek border. The other minorities are ethnic Roma people who are spread out in nearly every other European country as well. 70% of the Albanians are Muslims who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. The rest are 10% Roman Catholic and 20% are Eastern Orthodox. The Catholics live mostly in the north and the Orthodox Christians live in the south. During Hoxha’s Stalinist regime all religion was strictly forbidden and the pious Albanians could not celebrate the holy days of their respective religions. There is no reliable data on the number of Albanians who are agnostic or atheist but there is reason to suspect that during the Communist regime as well as the democracy that followed afterwards, the numbers of unbelievers has grown. The Albanian language is an Indo-European language that has no commonality to any other language in the region or in the European continent. Albanian academics claim that Albanian was spoken by the ancient Illyrians who were conquered by Rome however other nationals in the Balkans dispute this. Many Latin as well as Turkish words have been adopted into the Albanian language and some experts suggest that as much as 70% of the language is constituted by foreign words. However the base core of the language (30-40%) is Albanian and unique from any other European language. There are two main dialects that are spoken in Albania: the Geg dialect which is mainly spoken in the north and the Tosk dialect which is spoken in the south. The Tosk dialect was made the official dialect of the Albanian government by Enver Hoxha and has remained so to this day. There are also variations of each of the dialects such as Northern Geg which is spoken in North-eastern Albania and Lab Tosk which is spoken in the South-west. Albanian culture incorporates many aspects of other local cultures in the Balkans however for example its music is heavily influenced by Turkish music. This is not a surprise since Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly five centuries. The folk music has certain variations just like the language itself and one can tell the difference of traditional music played in the north as opposed to that of the south. Just like in many other countries in the region as well as other countries in Europe, pop music both domestic and international, dominates the air-waves both in TV as well as radio. The food and drink are also influenced by Greek and Turkish cuisines. Desserts such as baklava, kadaif and tiramisu are very popular throughout Albania. Turkish coffee is served at home and in restaurants and clubs. Main course dishes such as Albanian pie otherwise known as “byrek” are also very popular throughout Albania.

References

Albania Country Review. https://www.countrywatch.com, Countrywatch. 2020, Page 2

Warner, Alana (2019). Albania: Social, Economic, and Environmental Issues, New York : Nova Science Publishers. 2019, Page 35

Warner, Alana (2019). Albania: Social, Economic, and Environmental Issues, New York : Nova Science Publishers. 2019, Page 18

Background Notes on Countries of the World. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3235.htm, 2007, Page 5

Posted 3

MEMORANDUM

To: Captain Thomas R. Buchanan, United States Navy, Commandant of Midshipmen

CC: General David H. Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps

From: Executive Officer, Bravo Company

Date: July 10, 2020

Subject: Proposal to Service Academies on measuring body fat/weight

Attached is the proposal for implementing methods of measuring body fat/weight on-site at the Service Academies. The methods offer significant benefits to all servicemen and women. These great benefits include measuring weight, body fat mass, body water percentage, total body water mass, and body mass index (Multi-frequency segmental body composition analyzer, n.d.).

As months and years go by, the number of troops that are diagnosed overweight and obese are trending upward. The method of measuring body fat and current weight policy is outdated and inaccurate. I am implementing methods for us as a team to help understand and communicate effectively with our servicemen and women to better their future in terms of appearance, good health, and physical fitness. This proposal contains the research that will get rid of the stigma and issues regarding body fat/weight in the military.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I will follow up on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, after you have the time to review my proposal.

BENEFITS ON METHOD OF MEASURING BODY FAT/WEIGHT FOR THE SERVICE ACADEMIES

A Proposal Prepared for

General David H. Berger

Commandant of the Marine Corps

Prepared by

Executive Officer, Bravo Company

July 10, 2020

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………4

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………5

BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………………………….5

RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………………………..5-6

BENEFITS……………………………………………………………………………………6

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….7

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………..8

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: TBD

FIGURE 2: TBD

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of the Military’s height and weight procedure and standards is to select the servicemen and women that best suits the demands of military service. Height and weight are not a new concept that just started in the military. The current test conducted to measure body fat composition has been used for hundreds of years. The United States Armed Forces throughout history have shown that their physical characteristics have been a significant factor in being successful. This is not written down, we as servicemen and women understand when we raise our right hand and state the oath that we represent everyone that has come before us. When people think of the United States military, they think the best of the best.

Schvey et al. (2017) states, “weight stigma is associated with a host of harmful outcomes, including increased caloric consumption, eating in secret, reluctance to diet, binge eating, and increased risk of mortality” (p. 282). This proposal discusses implementing The Tanita Body Composition Analyzer scale method to measure body fat/weight to the United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy, and United States Military Academy West Point. The improved process will be essential in ensuring that all members of the military and physical fitness teams are involved. Since there are already orders and policies in place, we will only be improving them to see if this is something that we want to implement throughout the military as a whole. The cost associated with the process improvement will be minimal, and the timeframe should be quick since we will already have access to all the resources. The Military will see immediate improvements in the fitness, health, morale, and appearance of their servicemen and women with this product.

INTRODUCTION

During the last several years, it is understood that the military cannot keep relying on the way we measure height and weight. If we keep building on this method of measuring height and weight, we will keep getting unreliable data. Military Medicine states, “weight-related health care costs are a burden to the Department of Defense. Weight misperceptions may result in underestimating personal health risk associated with weight gain and may lead to undesirable weight-related outcomes” (Clark et al., 2017, p. e1797).

The Military should invest in the Tanita Body Composition Analyzer scale and do testing at the service academies. Our Military is struggling as a whole in this area, and the issues need to be addressed quickly to show service members that leaders care about their appearance, good health, and physical fitness. Implementing this scale at the Service Academies will give us a chance to prove that accurate data for our military men and women will help them be aware of their appearance, body, health, and fitness. Our Military needs an effective way to communicate health and fitness to our servicemen and women, and this is it.

BACKGROUND

Clark et al. (2017) discuss the Military’s pressure to meet standards that encourage servicemen and women to pursue abnormal diet behaviors to achieve weight and height requirements. A misunderstanding of the weight status has led the Military to have men and women choose unhealthy behaviors to lose weight (p. e1792-e1798). According to Defense Health Agency data, “the number of troops medically diagnosed as overweight or obese jumped from 71,168, or 4.5 percent of the total force in 2011, to 113,958, or 7.8 percent in 2015” (Copp, 2018, para. 14).

(Insert Figures 1 and 2 if approved)

Graph 1: Shows the amount of personnel that is in their respective branch. The ability to see how large the Armed Forces is in respect to my other graph will give the reader a better understanding of why I am proposing the Tanita Composition Body Analyzer.

Graph 2: Data collected from the Military Times that states the percentage of Military members that are currently obese. It will show how many servicemen and women are presently obese per branch. This graph is supposed to give the reader that this is a big problem. Each branch has different standards, but with this obesity, numbers mean that they are out of standard. I am proposing a method to help benefit the military members to get accurate data to help get these numbers down and to help with physical appearance, health, and fitness. The reader of this proposal is the Naval Academy Service Commandant of Midshipmen and Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Service Academies is a smaller community, which is why I am proposing the scale to them. I am attempting to inform the Commandant’s of both the Service Academies and Marine Corps to show why this Tanita scale is an excellent tool to get behind.

Height and weight standards will never go away. As a whole, the Military will need to continue to update the policy and standards. This consists of finding a new way to get our servicemen and women a method that gets data that is accurate and beneficial to the servicemember.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As technology has evolved, research reveals that there are alternative strategies to aid the military and its service members in improving health, appearance, and fitness. Something stood out to me when Heffernan (2020) talks about a way to test your body fat percentage. Below is what Heffernan (2020) states, followed by my recommendation with the Tanita scale.

• Skinfold testing

• • • Precisely what the Military does for their testing.
      • Pros:
        • Less than 5 minutes
      • Cons:
        • Room for error could either be 3.5% lower or higher than the number recorded (Heffernan, 2020, par
          

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