Article sources:

The Economist

The International Herald Tribune

The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

Persuasive Speaking for Business Assignment #2

Purpose:

To practice Style, Strategy and Organization skills in a short report. To work in a team.

Assignment:

Research a current problem in a major industry and present viable solutions to it.

Your consulting firm has been hired by a company that is interested in investing heavily in and/or acquiring one of the companies listed below. The buyers want to know the nature and scope of any recent problems the company has had. Your team of analysts has been assigned to do the research and make a presentation to the buyers.

One member of your team must present some background information on the company and its ranking in its industry; the second team member should identify the major problem the company faces and describes its causes; the third person should recommend viable solutions for the difficulty the target company is facing and make a buy /do not buy recommendation.

The entire presentation should take no more than 9 minutes. Keep it short and to the point. Leave one minute for questions.

Work from notes, but do not read. Maintain eye contact, use meaningful gestures, use you voice effectively. Use a listener-centered strategy to shape your message and organize the content.

Choose from one of these companies that are having problems:

Bear Stearns Sub-prime loans and hedge fund losses

Motorola vs. Nokia Problems in cell phone markets

GM Loss of market share; pension fund problems

Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch Discrimination suits (MS: sex; ML: race)

Dell Computer Loss of market share

Airbus Problems with the A380; scandal over stock sales by execs; redesign of A350; sales in dollars vs. sales in euros

Nike: Public relations nightmare of the sweatshop issue

Merck Hidden side effects of Vioxx and resulting suits

B.P “Beyond Petroleum” or just the same old B.P. public relations (pipeline leaks in Alaska, refinery problems)

Danon Patent problems in emerging market in China

Sony Loss of market share and lack of technological innovation

Wal-Mart Community opposition to Wal-Mart mega stores Yahoo - competition with Google

Mital Steel Controversial acquisition of Acelor, an EEC Franco-Luxembourg steel company

Dow Jones Controversial sale of Wall Street Journal publisher to Rupert Murdoch

Siemens Bribery scandal

Persuasive Speaking for Business Assignment # 3 (practicing presentation skills in a persuasive presentation, team working)

With a team, persuade a group of venture capitalists to invest in a new business opportunity: a new market for an existing good or service or a new product or service for an existing market.

• Divide the presentation into three parts:

Introduction product, need, benefits

Body business plan

Conclusion marketing plan

• Plan the entire presentation for 12 minutes; be prepared to take questions from potential investors afterwards.

• Work from notes, but do not read. Use graphics to clarify your message and persuade your listeners. Use intonation to emphasize your important points. These presentations will be made on Thursday morning in Lewisohn Hall, so if you would like to use Power Point, you may.