Assignment
You are an analyst for a consulting firm hired by the City of Springfield for a project. Your boss has instructed you to explore two possible solutions and write a memorandum to the City Council in which you recommend one alternative over the other.
You should rely on information provided in this assignment and your own reasonable inferences, but do not include any outside information, e.g. data, studies, or reports.
Format: Your memorandum should be organized according to the Two-Criteria, Two-Alternative Decision Template, distributed in class and posted on Blackboard.
Your memorandum should also include a heading like the one above (pay attention to spacing for a professional appearance and use the required font). All assignments must be uploaded to Safe Assign by the deadline in the Syllabus and must meet the following formatting criteria:
• Microsoft Word
• Double-spaced
• 12-point font
• 1" margins on all sides
• Indent every paragraph
• Page numbers bottom center
• Your name in "From" line in heading
• File should be named "Springfield analysis Smith" using your last name in place of Smith
Length: Your memorandum should be at least 500 words and should not exceed 800 words (exclusive of the heading). A memorandum of fewer than 500 words will receive a zero.
Your boss needs your memorandum no later than the beginning of class on February 14, 2017. It is NOT due February 7 as indicated as provided in the Syllabus. Upload your memorandum to the folder labeled "Writing Assignment #1" under the "Assignments" tab on Blackboard by no later than the deadline. If you have trouble uploading your memorandum, contact Blackboard to resolve the issue and email a copy of the memorandum to your professor before the deadline.
Please see your syllabus for the course's late submissions policies. If you have any questions regarding Writing Assignment #1, please contact your professor.
Assignment
The City of Springfield is densely populated with about 120,000 residents. It is located around twenty miles north of Capital City (population 433,459) and approximately twenty-five miles south of San Sol (population 720,756).
Springfield's population has increased by 15% in the last ten years causing traffic congestion in the city's downtown area. Springfield is largely known as a college town, as it is concentrated around a large state university (the "University"), the student body of which makes up around 30% of Springfield's population.
Immediately west of the University's campus is Springfield's downtown and financial district. Several mid-sized businesses, law firms, and professional offices, as well as many restaurants, bars, and nightclubs are located in the area. A city-owned park, consisting of thirty-three square miles of conservation land and an animal sanctuary for endangered wildlife, is located northwest of the downtown and campus area. Local and regional residents frequent the park, and the City charges a reasonable ticket fee for entry. Despite the growth of Springfield's population, park attendance has decreased. The City Council is concerned that it will not have sufficient funds to pay the park's operating and maintenance costs in the future.
Although the city is centrally located, no interstate highway runs through Springfield, and the largest road in town, University Boulevard, is a four-lane state road, which separates the University campus from downtown and connects Springfield to the neighboring cities. Further, as gas prices have remained low over the past four years, more residents of Capital City, San Sol, and their respective suburbs have taken employment outside of their own towns. Thus many of these commuters must cross through Springfield by way of University Boulevard to get to work. Recently, traffic in the downtown and campus area has become painfully slow. Moreover, Springfield's public bus system is operating at capacity.
The City Council has been presented with two proposals for remedying the problems and hired your consulting firm to make a recommendation. Write a memo supporting one proposal over the other with the following in mind:
• The City Council wants to reduce traffic in the downtown/campus area.
• The City Council wants to preserve Springfield's wildlife park.
The first option would be to establish an exclusive partnership with a smartphone app-based, ride-share company called Ultimo. Ultimo was started by two recent graduates of the University's School of Business. These same students had previously started a now-successful social media site. Ultimo hires local people who live within a certain geographic area as drivers to transport customers. All Ultimo drivers must be at least twenty-five years of age, have appropriate insurance and pass a background check that disqualifies potential drivers for (1) past DUIs; (2) fatal accidents; or (3) a history of reckless driving. Drivers' vehicles must be 2014 or newer model four-door sedans with in-state tags. The smartphone app connects drivers with riders, and riders can request to be picked up by the nearest driver. Market research suggests that around 60% of Springfield residents, particularly younger people, would be open to using such a service. To kick-start the program, Springfield would pay $150,000 for free rides for customers. Ultimo has agreed to give an upfront donation of $50,000 to the city park. The projected integration time for the project is six months. Springfield has previously banned such services, and due to state laws, it would continue to prohibit Ultimo drivers from picking up people at the Springfield Airport, which is located to the southeast of the city.
The second option is to build a highway bypass that would direct northbound and southbound traffic around Springfield's downtown and University campus. The highway would have no exit to the downtown area, requiring local drivers to exit near the wildlife park and drive about three miles into town. The highway would require drivers to pay a toll which would be split evenly between Springfield and the state. Although some commuters have objected that they would be unwilling to pay daily tolls, a recent traffic study showed that the majority of drivers elect toll roads when they significantly decrease travel time. Due to its potential to reduce travel time between the regional cities, the state has agreed to pay for all construction, which is projected to last two years. The state has elected to employ a private contracting company owned by billionaire John Graham, who recently made headlines for donating to national lobbying efforts to abolish certain federal environmental regulations.
Two Alternative/Two Criteria Decision Report Template
Version 1 (you may follow either version of this outline)
I. Introduction
A. Identify the issue presented (choice between two alternatives)
B. Identify the criteria for evaluation of the given alternatives
C. State your main conclusion
II. Evaluation of Un-Selected Alternative
A. Discuss weaknesses of first criteria
B. Discuss strengths of first criteria
C. Discuss strengths of second criteria
D. Discuss weaknesses of second criteria
E. State your mini-conclusion for the un-selected alternative
III. Evaluation of Selected Alternative
A. Discuss strengths of first criteria
B. Discuss weaknesses of first criteria
C. Discuss weaknesses of second criteria
D. Discuss strengths of second criteria
E. State your mini-conclusion for the selected alternative
IV. Conclusion
A. Compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of your two mini-conclusions
B. State your main conclusion
Version 2 (you may follow either version of this outline)
I. Introduction
A. Identify the issue presented (choice between two alternatives)
B. Identify the criteria for evaluation of the given alternatives
C. State your main conclusion
II. Evaluation of Selected Alternative
A. Discuss strengths regarding first criteria
B. Discuss weaknesses regarding first criteria
C. Discuss weaknesses regarding second criteria
D. Discuss strengths regarding second criteria
E. State your mini-conclusion for the selected alternative
III. Evaluation of Un-Selected Alternative
A. Discuss weaknesses regarding first criteria
B. Discuss strengths regarding first criteria
C. Discuss strengths regarding second criteria
D. Discuss weaknesses regarding second criteria
E. State your mini-conclusion for the un-selected alternative
IV. Conclusion
A. Compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of your two mini-conclusions
B. State your main conclusion.