Overview
Professionally Solving the Client Problem
The following Course Outcomes are assessed in this assignment:
TH230-3: Solve a client event problem using professional and ethical practices.
GEL-1.02: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.
Background:
Acting professionally and ethically is critical for success in your career. Many event planners must act quickly on urgent matters, so they must remain focused on the main task while keeping vigilant as they supervise and monitor problems that may arise. It is imperative they take prompt action and “responsibility for the resolution of any escalated problems or complaints” (Rogers, 2022, p. 292). In the present culture, where social media quickly focuses on any questionable action, it is paramount that event planners protect their reputations by adhering to acceptable professional conduct and ethics. This, in turn, will bolster their careers as successful event planners.
In this assignment, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned as you apply professional standards and ethics to several client problems related to their respective events.
Scenarios:
#1. Natasha is the conference planner at the leading resort property in Cortez, Louisiana. They have a strict policy for payments and deposits, and all payments must be made 60 days before an event. They are nonrefundable regardless of the reason. This means a client would forfeit any monies paid to the hotel after making full payments. Since this hotel experiences various types of seasonal weather, from hurricanes to tornadoes, they developed a protection policy, and the event contract stipulates that a client can purchase weather-related insurance at the time of the original contract agreement but must pay 10% of the total cost of the event as the full premium price. Insurance cannot be purchased after the contract is signed, and this cancellation policy stipulates that cancellation is allowed up to 48 hours before an event. If the insurance policy is purchased at the signing of the contract, a full refund is allowed in the event of a weather-related incident.
The Asian Toymakers convention paid the full payment to the Cortez Resort six months ago, and they are scheduled to arrive on Monday. Now, Friday before their event, Hurricane Raphael is expected to hit land on Sunday morning, the day before their event, but the Asian Toymakers never purchased the insurance.
#2. Juanita is a professional conference organizer (PCO) for a government agency and recently arrived on-site for an operations training meeting she coordinated. The attendees include 100 supervisors and two-person teams from each of the 50 states. They each selected four subordinates to participate in this event, intending to cross-train the attendees in various department responsibilities.
Juanita coordinated transportation and lodging for all 500 attendees, who flew in on commercial flights and stayed in a large brand resort in Santa Cruz, California. Mid-day on the first day of the event, most participants felt a jolt and rumbling in their seats during the general session, but it was ignored and thought to be several large tanker trucks traveling by the resort. That evening, while dinner was being served in the ballroom, the chandeliers began swaying, glassware and dishware tipped over, and some broke while the room shook fiercely. The event planner had not paid any attention to the earlier motion at the resort, but this time, people quickly began fleeing the room, fearing what was happening. The staff rushed to look for Juanita to let her know that there had been a sizable earthquake, that aftershocks were expected, and the building seemed unsafe for anyone to stay in. Juanita realized that all attendees were headed outside to the parking lot, and she needed to communicate the next steps. As Juanita tried to reach her staff on the phone, the connections were not working, but she knew they would need to leave, even though she had not made any alternative arrangements to transport the attendees anywhere. Some attendees saw her in the doorway and started racing toward her in a panic; she would need to think fast about the next steps.
#3. Omar is a concert promoter and event planner putting the final touches on tomorrow night’s concert at the London Palladium for the newest rock band, Delta Dream Flyers. The band has been touring Europe with great success, and all venues have sold out, including this one, which hosts 2,300 fans. The band’s merchandise is selling quickly. They are midway through their tour and heading to Asia in just a few days. Social media is buzzing about their music, and fans are excited for tomorrow night’s show. Omar decides to look at the posts on a couple of websites. He realizes there are some concerning comments about the group, stating their lyrics are controversial, and some postings contain threatening statements about the concert for tomorrow night. Omar becomes very concerned and reaches out to his security detail and the local authorities. He must determine if this threat could lead to someone taking action or just anonymous instigators trying to make trouble.
Checklist: In a persuasive essay, address the following items:
- Prepare an introduction that includes a brief overview of the three events, the problems to be solved, and why a procedural plan is necessary.
- Describe the perceived threat or emergency you identified for all three events, referring to the text for your description.
- Referring to the emergency plan in your text (see below) (Rogers, 2022, p. 294), provide explanations of at least three procedures you will need to follow for each of the three scenarios:
- Who should communicate emergency information, and how should it be communicated to emergency services?
- Details of personnel who can authorize an evacuation
- How should the event be interrupted, and attendees or clients be informed?
- Communication with attendees, staff, and outside bodies
- Management of the emergency or dealing with the occurrence itself
- Crowd management in an emergency
- Evacuation procedures
- Assistance to the emergency services
- Criteria for re-opening the venue and allowing the public to return
- Prepare three messages, one for each event, for the three event planners to communicate to the attendees and, possibly, the general public about the concern and the course of action they must take. Demonstrate adherence to the NACE Code of Conduct standards provided in the reading area.
Submission requirements:
- Your response should be a persuasive essay with a full explanation of the checklist items in each section for a total minimum of 500 words. Be sure to include an introduction and a conclusion.
- The course textbook and at least one additional reliable and/or scholarly source must be referenced.
- Ensure your information is logical, based on the details provided, and constitutes a comprehensive understanding of the registration and staffing best practices.
- Ensure each section is in paragraph format with a minimum of three to four sentences.
Additionally, make sure that your evaluation response:
- Is written in Standard English with correct grammar, style, and mechanics.
- Has a purpose clearly stated in your introduction statement.
- Demonstrates logical and appropriate transitions from one idea to another.
- Is highly organized, logical, and focused.
- Includes additional title and reference pages in current APA format and citation style.
Compose your 500-word persuasive essay in a Word document with additional title and reference pages using the current APA format and citation style and submit it to the Unit 9 Dropbox. For help with APA Style, see the Unit 1 Reading area or Academic Writer resources in the Academic Tools area.