MBA 645 Module 2 Communication Plan-Stakeholders
Overview
Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an active interest in an organization. Stakeholders and stakeholder groups typically include employees, vendors, communities, government agencies, customers, investors, and lenders. Different stakeholders have different interests, attitudes, and priorities. Effective communication ensures that they receive relevant information and develop positive attitudes to your organization in the scenario.
As the regional marketing director of a theme park, you are in the process of designing a phased marketing strategy for reopening all parks after a safety incident. You have already helped other marketing directors understand the importance of having a good marketing mix to inspire customer loyalty; now help them with a stakeholder communication plan. Develop a communication plan that will ensure stakeholders understand the steps the organization is taking to benefit them. You will also as part of your initial analysis create a presentation to help department heads understand the alignment needs and roles of cross-functional departments.
Three aspects to consider for effective stakeholder communication are the interest of stakeholders in the organization, the impact of the reopening decision on stakeholders, and the relevance of information going to stakeholders. This assignment has two parts. The first will apply to identifying the key internal and external stakeholders to identify and the second part focuses on the internal communications of Sales Marketing and Operations as stakeholders to understand and align their needs with the goals of the plan.
Part 1 Prompt
In Part one, complete the communication plan for the stakeholders of the organization in the course scenario. Refer to the Exemplar Communication Grid for an example of how the template can be used.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Identify the three key stakeholders (a minimum of one internal and two external groups) in the reopening of the park.
- Internal Stakeholders
- Employees
- Departments
- Management
- External Stakeholders
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Lenders
- Communities
- Use the Communication Grid Template to complete this step.
- Identify and analyze the information about each stakeholder group and their need for communication. Use the Communication Grid Template to complete this step. Consider the following points:
- Stakeholder's interest in the park’s reopening
- Assessment of the impact on stakeholder (low, medium, or high)
- Information and communication needs of the stakeholder
- Communication methods to and with the stakeholder
- Identify two crisis communication methods for communicating with stakeholders.
- What forms of communication can be used to quickly communicate with internal stakeholder groups?
- What forms of communication can be used to communicate with external stakeholder groups?
Submit a 1- to 2-page Word document, which includes your responses and the completed Communication Grid Template, using double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more information on style.
Part Two Prompt
In part 2 of this assignment, you will identify the responsibilities of three functional departments of the organization in the course scenario: sales, operations, and marketing. You will also share the need for alignment between these functional departments to ensure the smooth reopening of the park and to improve brand equity.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Describe the need for alignment among the sales, operations, and marketing departments to ensure the successful reopening of the park. Consider the following key elements (1–2 slides):
- Interdepartmental communication
- Knowledge and feedback sharing
- Identify and describe the roles of these cross-functional departments and how they can contribute to improve brand equity. Consider the following points for your description (3–5 slides):
- Sales
- If the sales department's primary role is to create individual and group sales for the company, what strategy can they undertake to grow sales considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail.
- Operations
- If the operations department’s primary role is the safety of the guests and employees, what strategy can they undertake to ensure a safe and fun experience for both guests and employees? Ground your response in research and rich detail.
- Marketing
- If the marketing department’s primary role is to attract, retain, and grow revenues from the park’s target audience, what strategy can they undertake considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail.
Guidelines for Submission
Using PowerPoint, create a narrated presentation that is 5 to 7 slides in length. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more information.
Module Two Communication Plan Rubric
Stakeholders | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies three key stakeholder groups (one internal and two external) for the park reopening | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the three key stakeholders which are most affected by the reopening of the park | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Interest of Stakeholders in Park Reopening | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the interest of the stakeholder groups in the park reopening and defines the motivations for this interest | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include articulating the interest of each stakeholder depending upon their role in the park reopening; identifying at least one motivation which is driving the interest of the identified stakeholder groups | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Impact on Stakeholders | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Assesses the impact of park reopening on the stakeholders, on a scale of low, medium, or high | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include assessing how each stakeholder is affected by the reopening and identifying the intensity of the impact on each stakeholder groups as low, medium, or high | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Communication Needs of the Stakeholders | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies the specific communication needs of the stakeholder groups, given their interest in the parks | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include analyzing the specific communications needs of the affected stakeholder groups based on their interest | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Communication Methods to and With the Stakeholders | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes communication methods to and with stakeholder groups | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement should include analyzing the communication needs of different stakeholder groups and, based on that, identifying the methods of communications and its frequency | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Crisis Communication Methods | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes one crisis communication method each for both internal and external stakeholder groups | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with error or omissions; areas for improvement should include determining the need for communication for both internal and external stakeholder groups and identifying effective crisis communication method | Does not attempt criterion | 15 |
Articulation of Response | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Clearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, demonstrating an understanding of audience and purpose | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readability | Submission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of ideas | 10 |
Part 2: Need for Alignment Among Cross-Functional Departments | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies the need for alignment among the marketing, sales and operations departments specifically from a communication and knowledge-sharing perspective | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the need for alignment among functional departments to ensure the successful reopening of the park | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
Part 2: Strategies and Brand Optimisation: Sales | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the key strategy of the sales department for optimizing the brand equity | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of sales departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
Part 2: Strategies and Brand Optimisation: Operations | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of operations department in brand optimization | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of operations departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
Part 2: Strategies and Brand Optimisation: Marketing | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the key strategy of the marketing department for optimizing the brand | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of marketing departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
Part 2: Articulation of Response | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Clearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, demonstrating an understanding of audience and purpose | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readability | Submission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of ideas | 10 |
Total: | 160 Pts | ||||
Criteria | Exemplary (100%) | Proficient (90%) | Needs Improvement (70%) | Not Evident (0%) | Value |