What are the ethical issues and potential social responsibilities highlighted by this change in business?
Phoebes Sandwich Stop is one of the best-known and most loved sandwich concessions in town. In business for about five years, she sells sandwiches and other lunch items made from locally produced food from her mobile food trailer. Phoebes passion and talent for creating reliably fresh, tasty lunch fare popular among a business clientele (largely employees and shoppers) has made her small enterprise a booming success.
In the last year, Phoebe added three bicycle-towed concessions that travels to different strategic locations in town, selling her popular sandwiches to customers who work beyond walking distance of Phoebes Sandwich Stop. She now has a total of six employees, all part-time, working the concessions. Because she caters to urban customers, her concessions operate on week days from 10 am to 2 pm. To promote word-of-mouth advertising, Phoebe uses Facebook to publish her daily menus and the locations of the bicycle concession.
As a sole proprietor, Phoebe has been pleased with her lunch business success. Now its time to get serious about the future of her business. In the short and medium term, she wants to see the business grow into a potentially more lucrative enterprise, implementing a greater variety of food products and services, and increasing her competitive edge in the region. Ever the ardent entrepreneur, Phoebes long-term dream is to develop her creative, health-conscious culinary skills and services into a wider clientele outside the immediate region.
An opportunity has arisen to lease restaurant space about 20 miles away from her trailer concession location, close to a mall and the suburbs and nearer to her local food producers. Phoebe has jumped at the chance and plans to expand her current business. While she has hired professional business consultants to help her set up the space, design the menu, and implement the opening of the restaurant, she must also consider the short- and long-term financing, human resource, and management needs of such an expansion. Phoebe is particularly sensitive to her relationship with her customers, employees, and the community
Instructions:
Take your time in completing the assignment following the steps below:
Step 1: Review How to Analyze a Case Study under Week 7 Content. In writing this paper, students are expected to use the facts from the case study focusing on using this information to determine opportunities and solve problems.
Step 2: Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 6-8 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.
Step 3: Review the grading rubric for the assignment
Step 4: Follow this format:
Title page with the title, your name, course number and name; and the instructors name;
Introduction
Body, in paragraph form. Use the following section headings:
Growth Strategy
Business Form
Financing Assistance
Organizational Structure and Staffing Needs
Customers and Promotion
Ethical Issues and Social Responsibility
Summary paragraph
Step 5: In writing a case study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as I, me, my, we, or us (first person writing), nor is there use of you or your (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person
Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are asked to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 7.
Step 7: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Learn to paraphrase by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
Step 8: Students are required to use the course material when supporting the reasoning or explaining the why and how in the assignment requirements. No more than two (2) external resources can be used in completing the paper
Step 9: Read critically and analyze the scenario provided under Week 7 Content.
Step 10: Write down or highlight key facts from the scenario. Consider making an outline to capture key points in the paper.
Step 11: In your paper, answer the following questions:
Discuss the steps Phoebe should take to organize and prioritize her business growth strategy? [Note: a growth strategy is different than a marketing strategy]
If Phoebe enjoys all facets of owning a business, what business form best fits her expansion plans, and why? Students should look from a legal perspective as well as a practical business perspective.
Discuss what kind of financing assistance might be available to Phoebe? Discuss options explaining why these were chosen. Then make a recommendation for the best financing option.
How might Phoebes staffing needs change? Discuss the best way for Phoebe to organize, orient, and train her restaurant staff. What kind of organizational structure would work best for Phoebes expanded business? [e.g., vertical hierarchy, functional, teams, flat (horizontal), matrix] to meet the needs of her new business;
How should Phoebe deal with her current customers in regard to the change? What kind of promotion should she consider in attracting customers to her new location? Be thorough with the responses.
What are the ethical issues and potential social responsibilities highlighted by this change in business? (Consider customers, employees, the current and new communities, and other stakeholders.) How might these issues be dealt with most appropriately?
Step 12: Create the introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 13: Write a summary paragraph. A summary paragraph restates the main idea(s) of the essay. Make sure to leave a reader with a sense that the essay is complete. The summary paragraph is the last paragraph of a paper.
Step 14: Read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.