visual aid

visual aid

Paper instructions:
Please follow the instruction for the visual aid presentation to analyse the attached data . Prepare not more than 3 appropriate visual aids for a meeting to

convince the administration of a specific action. Determine what is most important to the client/organization. What variables will influence their decisions as to what

option(s) to choose. Typically this can be accomplished with PowerPoint slides.
PA582 COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGERS

Visual Aids Activity

Your summer internship is with a well-known consulting firm. Your client, a large philanthropic
foundation, believes that a serious shortfall of vaccines will occur in Africa over the next three
years for a particularly deadly disease. They have hired your team to provide three specific
deliverables:
1.  What is the projected demand for vaccines over the next three years?
2.  What is the current manufacturing supply projected for the next three years?
3.  Is there a shortfall of vaccines and if so, what are the most effective methods to obtain
more?
Demand:
Your team analyzes historical trends of epidemics for the disease and runs Monte Carlo
simulations to arrive at the following projections:
Year 1: 18 million vaccines needed
Year 2: 12 million vaccines needed
Year 3: 8 million vaccines needed
The team believes that these projections are accurate within +/-10%.
Supply:
Your team conducts multiple interviews with all the relevant manufacturers of vaccines and
arrives at the following conclusions:
Firm W will manufacture 8 million vaccines in Year 1 but will then cease production.
They will sell these vaccines for $0.75 each.
Firm X will manufacture 5 million vaccines each of the nest three years. They will sell
the vaccines for $1.20 each.
Firm Y is considering entering the market but will not do so unless they are guaranteed
that the vaccines will be purchased. Their manufacturing capacity is 4 million vaccines
per year, and they are willing to sell the vaccines for $0.60 each. However, the firm needs
12 months lead time to ramp up production to manufacture the vaccines.

PA582 COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGERS

Metz, PA 582 Communication for Managers  Page 2 of 2

Options:
It is clear that unless outside market forces influence production, an insufficient number of
vaccines will be delivered to Africa for one or more of the next three years. As a result, tens of
thousands of people could die. Your team brainstorms on numerous options to aIDress this dire
situation:
A.  Clear the shelves of vaccines sold in developed nations. There are 2 million excess
vaccines available each year, but they cost $20 each. These purchases can be made
immediately.
B.  Split the manufactured vaccines into ½ doses. The efficacy of the vaccine is reduced
somewhat so health authorities remain somewhat ambivalent about this option. The costs,
however, would be minimal (estimated at $1 million in labor to split the doses). It would
also take about 6 months to split the does and train the appropriate personnel.
C.  A manufacturer in Estonia, Firm Z, can provide 10 million vaccines each year at a cost of
only $0.40 per does. However, this firm is not pre-qualified by the World Health
Organization and thus, it is very unlikely that the vaccines would ever be allowed to be
sent to Africa.
After two months of interviews and analysis, your team has its first meeting with the client next
week. They are giving you only 3 minutes and expect to hear about your findings and
recommendations. The project manager has asked you to prepare not more than 3 appropriate
visual aids for the meeting.
Hints:
Keep in mind what is important to the client. What variables will influence their decision
as to what option(s) they choose?
Keep the slides simple but be sure to include all information that you believe is relevant
to their decision making process.

Due Date:   Week 6, submit through upload to course website
Grade Weight:  15%