2015

Written Analysis
Communication
Report on the case
Sink or SWIM
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
This report is prepared for Prof Vidya PremKumar
11th March 2015

Div C - Group 2
Kushal Bohra
Omkar Joshi
Akriti Kalra
Vineet Mishra
Jahnavi Modi
Sharanya Yaradi

C007
C026
C027
C037
C038
C066

Written Analysis Communication Report on the case Sink or SWIM

Letter of Transmittal
11 March 2015
Prof. Vidya PremKumar
Faculty
NMIMS, Mumbai
Commented [VP1]: Report on decision for Sink or Swim

Subject: Letter of Transmittal

Dear Madam,
We have completed the analysis of the case Sink or SWIM and are submitting report
based on the analysis. We have analysed the situations in the case, examined the problems
and weighed three options against three major criteria. Based on evaluation we have
recommended that a half-day conference should be organized with concurrent speakers.
We have presented a plan of action as well as a contingency plan.

Yours sincerely,
Div C - Group 2
Kushal Bohra
Omkar Joshi
Akriti Kalra
Vineet Mishra
Jahnavi Modi
Sharanya Yaradi

C007
C026
C027
C037
C038
C066

Commented [VP2]: Table of content missing

Group 2

Page 1

Written Analysis Communication Report on the case Sink or SWIM

Executive Summary
This report is the analysis of the dilemma faced by the leaders of Sloan Women in
Management (SWIM) club at MIT. The dilemma is whether to go ahead or to cancel their
flagship annual conference, considering the possibility of a snowstorm. Cancelling the event
before Thursday 2 P.M will lead to a major cost saving but at the same time will cause an
embarrassment for the club and jeopardize the reputation of the club. It may have financial
implications as well. Another option available is to hold a half-day conference with
concurrent speakers. They can also choose to wait till Thursday evening to make a decision
based on accurate weather forecast. These options are weighted against various evaluation
criterions. The recommendation is to organise a half day conference with concurrent
speakers. The report is concluded with a plan of action.

Commented [VP3]: The report should begin on a fresh page not

continue below the executive summary

Situation Analysis
The leaders of the Sloan Women in Management (SWIM) club had a decision to take about
the 3rd annual Annual conferenceConference, in the face of a snowstorm occurring in
Boston. The club was founded in 1980 and its objectives were to empower women, support
their careers and provide them with equal opportunities. It conducted many events
throughout the year and the annual conference was their flagship event. In the conference
students could communicate with women leading in various businesses and gain insights.
The annual conference of 2012 was a huge success and this increased the pressure on the
organizing team to deliver even better. The organizing team was segregated into Speaker
Recruitment, Marketing, Sponsorship and Operations departments. After almost a year (11
months) of planning, the status of the event was - the marketing department achieved a
feat of total sell-out of tickets for the event, the sponsorship department was successful in
bringing a total sponsorship of $38,000, the operations department had the logistics in place
and the speaker recruitment department had got 15 speakers including the keynote speaker
to confirm. But, the a last minute weather predictions of a snowstorm on the day of the
event led to possibilities of some of the speakers not turning up, the count of attendees
being minimal, the university being closed. MIT being closed might lead to a significant
increase in the rent of the venue, the catering service not cancelling the orderand the
catering services would not cancel their orders as it has been already prepared. The
organizers were also receiving enquiry emails from many participants about the cancellation
of the event and the possibility of a refund from many students. All these would lead to
SWIM being liable to pay the costs.

Group 2

Page 2

Commented [VP4]: This should come at the end as a precursor

to the problem statement
Commented [VP5]: The club is a part of which institute should
be specified

Commented [VP6]: And the reputation of the Annual event

being damaged

Written Analysis Communication Report on the case Sink or SWIM

Problem Statement
What decision should the 2013 SWIM Conference leadership team take?

Options
1. Cancel the conference before 2 pm on Thursday, February 7
2. Organise a half-day conference with concurrent speakers
3. Wait until Thursday night to make a decision, based on better forecasts and updates
on speakers travel plans

Commented [VP7]: This is not correctly worded. You need to

restructure it. It lead to confusion in the evaluation section

Commented [VP8]: Good set of criteria for evaluation

Criteria for evaluation

Commented [VP9]: Since you have put this as the first criterion I
assume this is the most important one. If that was the case, then
there should have been a couple of line explanations as to why it is
the most important one.

A. Safety of the conference attendees, speakers, staff, and committee students

B. Impact on Brand Recall of SWIM
a) Legacy of SWIM
b) Impression on speakers
c) Impression on sponsors
C. Financial Implications
a) Operational costs to be incurred
b) Sunk Costs of the conference events
c) Loss of revenue generated from sale of tickets
d) Losses incurred in case sponsorship is rescinded by sponsors
e) Implications for Vendors

Evaluation of Options
OPTION 1: Cancel the conference before 2 PM on Thursday, February 7
With precarious weather conditioning and various networks forecasting about the
impending Snow Storm it may rather be prudent to cancel the conference entirely. Option is
evaluated basis the following criteria.
Criterion A: Safety is of the paramount importance for everyone. No financial rationalization
can be made if it puts safety at jeopardy.
Group 2

Page 3

Commented [VP10]: This is no explanation for the evaluation of

option A against Criterion A.
Does not make sense at all.

Written Analysis Communication Report on the case Sink or SWIM

Criterion B: Brand image of SWIM will take a serious hit if the conference is cancelled. All
the speakers have confirmed their participation despite the forecasts about snowstorm
owing to the fact that they will have an opportunity to interact on the most prestigious
platform. Juniors will not be able to experience the conference experience first-hand and
this will impact the legacy of the SWIM as they will not be able to set themselves a
benchmark for performance next year.

Commented [VP11]: But the option clearly states that it is not

complete cancellation but conversion to a half day conference. You
are contradicting yourself here.

Commented [VP12]: Grammar: repetition of the word

experience

Criterion C: Though organizer will save on operational costs they will have to face loss of
revenues obtained through sale of tickets. Some of the sponsors may also decide to rescind
their sponsorships. Sunk costs of booking venue and arranging other necessary supplies will
also adversely impact bottom-line.

OPTION 2: Organise a half-day conference with concurrent speakers.

As storm is most likely to be expected in the later part of the day, it is rather possible to hold
a half day conference and optimize the resources.
Criterion A: Though it is a riskier option, it is most likely that safety for everyone involved in
event will NOT be compromised.
Criterion B: Reputation and Legacy of SWIM will be sustained if not improved for optimizing
event considering the odds of snow storm.
Commented [VP13]: There could be, if the participants are not
happy with a scaled down event and want a refund. The catering
ordered for the latter half of the day would also have to be cancelled
leading to financial loss as they vendors will not refund.

Criterion C: There will not be any financial implications.

OPTION 3: Wait until Thursday night to make a decision, based on better forecasts and
updates on speakers travel plans
With the clear sky and no snowflakes, it seems very likely that storm will not be as bad as
forecasted.
Criterion A: Safety will still not be compromised as weather forecast would be more
accurate by evening.
Criterion B: If the conference is organized after more accurate forecasts coming in comes in
then regardless of the time when the snowstorm hits Boston, leadership team of SWIM will
be known for the risks they take and will enhance brand value and legacy of SWIM.
Criterion C: Financial implications can be in the form of eleventh hour arrangements being
made . and also in case of cancellation of the event all together, the refunds and financial
burden of the cost of catering, venue and accommodation of the speakers.

Recommendation
Group 2

Page 4

Commented [VP14]: Unnecessary commentary

Commented [VP15]: How is this possible? If they wait that late

to inform the speakers concerned or the participants, it would not
give them time enough to change their plans, especially the
speakers who are flying in from different places.

Written Analysis Communication Report on the case Sink or SWIM

Based on the evaluation of options on the identified criteria and the circumstances it is
recommended that the leadership team chooses option 2 i.e. organise a half day
conference with concurrent speakers

Plan of Action

Step 1 Arrange for logistical support i.e. booking of another seminar hall or classroom and
appointing extra volunteer for the conference
Step 2
Reschedule the events of the conference to run them concurrently.
Step 3
Communicate the new schedule to the speakers as well as the attendees. Reach out to
attendees via all the communication mediums i.e. e mail, social media etc.
Step 4
Communicate the schedule to the vendors to fulfil the requirements of another hall.

Contingency Plan
Make appointments with professors from MIT and confirm with them to deliver the speech in the
event of any keynote speaker refusing to deliver speech. Apart from this accommodation
arrangements should be made for the attendees in case of extreme snowstorm

Marks: 16/20

Group 2

Assessed by Dr. Vidya Premkumar

Page 5

Commented [VP16]: Use consistent font size. Here it is smaller.