Lesikar's Business Communication: Connecting in a Digital World 13th Edition by Kathryn Rentz,Paula Lentz

Exercise 41

The professional development program at MediTech has been restructured (see "Negative Announcements," case #26). However, you, the budget director, have received a proposal from Victor Ramos, one of your four senior sales managers, to attend the annual United Professional Sales Association's annual conference. Mr. Ramos knows that the conference, which is in a city 330 miles away, does not fall within the new guidelines for reimbursement, but he has an idea. As a senior sales manager, he (along with all employees in the sales department) earns a bonus when the sales department exceeds corporate sales goals. These bonuses have not been cut because MediTech sees these bonuses as an incentive for the sales staff and senior management to work harder to attract new customers, and during these tough economic times, MediTech needs all of the customers it can get. Mr. Ramos proposes, though, that instead of paying him the money for his sales bonus, the company use the money to pay for his trip to the annual sales conference.
Initially, you think this is a great idea. As long as an employee is motivated to do well, you don't think it should matter to the company what the incentive is. Granted, the company could just pay Mr. Ramos the bonus money and let him use it as he wishes, but then Mr. Ramos would have to pay income tax. It seems like a win-win situation, especially given that Mr. Ramos has agreed to take vacation time to attend the conference.
You take Mr. Ramos's proposal to the others on your executive management team (the president, CEO, and vice president) and are surprised when they reject Mr. Ramos's proposal. How could they? It seems like a no-brainer. But the executive management has some valid reasons. If Mr. Ramos is allowed to do this, then all of the other 25 senior managers will be allowed also, which would create an administrative nightmare for the people in your accounting department. Furthermore, even though Mr. Ramos is willing to take vacation time to attend the conference, the company must pay him if he is on company business-which he seemingly would be if the company pays him his sales bonus to attend the conference-and there is no way you can just let him have the time off. The other senior managers may be angry and think Mr. Ramos is getting special treatment.
Your job is to write a response to Mr. Ramos on behalf of the executive management team refusing his request. You think his initiative and creative thinking in finding another funding source for professional development are commendable. Be sure you retain his goodwill so that he is motivated to continue doing such a wonderful job for MediTech.