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

Exercise 31

You're an assistant manager for Cougar Country, Inc., a mid-sized manufacturer of specialty agricultural equipment, in Morris, MN, population 5,096. Many of the company's employees commute a considerable distance to work each day or live in Morris during the week to cut down on commuting time and gas. The larger cities in the region are more than 30 miles away:
• Alexandria, MN, is 45 miles away,
• Fergus Falls, MN, is 55 miles away,
• Saint Cloud, MN, is 99 miles away, and
• The Fargo, ND \ Moorhead, MN, area is 136 miles away.
Your firm is proud to compete on a national level and have top-notch employees working for it.
However, some employees are starting to feel the stress and pressure of years of commuting. A recent conference session you attended focused on work-life balance and alternative workplace configurations (i.e., telecommuting, online meetings, soft ware options, etc.). During this session, it became clear to you that Cougar Country should investigate this topic, and when you mentioned this point to your boss, he agreed.
Do some preliminary research on distributed workspaces and related options for Cougar Country. To what extent is a distributed workforce even feasible for a manufacturing outfit like yours? Send your boss an email telling him what you found out and what next steps, if any, Cougar Country should take.