MEMO
Best Games Production is currently facing a dilemma concerning the release of the much-anticipated video game. This is as a result of the latest discovery that there is a bug that affects the video game. This lowers the quality of the video game. Releasing the game within schedule means that it will not be possible to remove the bug. This will cause customer dissatisfaction. It is also risky for the company since the game’s poor quality affects customer loyalty. As such, the company’s future earnings, as well as the market position, will most likely be affected negatively. Similarly, postponing the release of the game will also cause customer dissatisfaction due to the hype and euphoria the marketing department has created. Amidst the dilemma, the best solution has been reached.
Before the solution is presented, it is imperative to recapitulate the scenario at Best Games Productions. Deciding with regards to this dilemma takes the following considerations into account. There are several stakeholders of whom this decision affects directly. These include the developers, marketers, suppliers, the public relations team, quality control, the customers, and the company board members. Each of these stakeholders has vested. They are either pushing for or delaying its release. Moreover, there are other key considerations, which must also be considered. Best Games Production has a long-standing reputation for ethical business practices. The best interest of both the company and the public herein referred to as the customers, are the basis on which decisions are made at Best Game Productions. Decisions are made in such a way that, while the interests of the public and the company are taken into consideration, future business sustainability and profit-making is not jeopardized. In addition to this, the company esteems to maintain very high-quality standards in all its products, regardless of the cost.
Given the scenario described above, it has been decided that the release of the video game be postponed to facilitate the removal of the bug before the customer uses the product. This decision is informed by the following realities. If the game is released as scheduled, the company will make good profits from the high sales expected during the holiday season. This will satisfy the immediate high customer expectations. This also means that the additional expenses which would have been incurred by delaying the release would be avoided. This move, however, is for short term gain. It will also jeopardize the company’s future goals since, even though the game is still playable with the bug the quality of play is greatly jeopardized. This will cause customer dissatisfaction. As such, the customers, who the company esteems, will lose faith and opt for products from rival companies. Losing customer loyalty is a risk this company is not willing to take.
On the contrary, postponing the release of the new game gives the production and quality assurance teams enough time to remove the bug. In the short term, this is a very risky move because of the following factors. The company will forego the lucrative holiday season sales. This will dent the company’s profits, albeit for a short while. Postponing the release of the video game is most likely to cause customer dissatisfaction. Moreover, this move will require additional funds to cater for additional costs involved in the editing of marketing materials. The public relations team will also have the additional task of ensuring that the company’s image is not affected. However, these are short-term shocks that the company can absorb in the long term. Revenue foregone from the festive season as well as additional funds used for extra marketing activities can be recouped through aggressive future sales. The dissatisfaction caused to customers through delayed-release does not, however, threaten customer loyalty as much as the poor quality game does (Lawfer, 2004). Such dissatisfaction can be addressed through future promotion events and assurance of good quality products.
Postponing the release of the video does not threaten the future of the company as much as releasing it with the bug intact. Furthermore, the company will uphold its esteemed business ethics as well as customer loyalty. For the sake of both the company and its customers, it is imperative to postpone the release of the video game to allow improvements to be made.
Press Release
The Best Game Production
To: Our esteemed customers
RE: Release of New Video Game
The Best Game Production is the leading developer, producer, and distributor of video games. In the recent past, Best Game Productions has provided its customers with top quality and interesting video games. Some of the most popular products from The Best Game Production include serialized video games. Currently, the company is preparing to release Season V, of its ongoing video game series. Because of this, the company would like to release to its clients, some details regarding the impending release of Season V, during the coming holiday season.
The company takes the quality of all its products seriously. As such, the production stage is strictly monitored to ensure that all its products pass the company’s internal and external quality checks, before being released into the market. Our quality control, development, and production teams work together to ensure that minute product weaknesses are spotted and corrected before our products are released to our consumers. With regards to quality assurance procedures, one of our quality checks involves reviews by internal and external video game experts, developers, customers, suppliers, and legal authorities. This is a rigorous exercise, which may take more time than initially expected. The purpose of such stringent reviews is to ensure that our customers get value for their money (Racherla and Temple University, 2008). Therefore, at Best Game Productions, we strive to provide the best quality products to our esteemed customers.
Best Game Production would like to inform its customers that Season V of the ongoing video game series, which is due or release soon is currently undergoing reviews from experts and customers. Best Game Production quality control team would like to announce that one of the reviewers has noticed a technical issue in one of Season V’s applications. The technical issue noted is minor but significant to the performance of the Video game. We would like to inform our customers that the company can release the game as it is since the issue only has minor effects on the performance of the game. Since the Best Game Production esteems maximum quality standards, the product has been taken back to the development team, which is working round the clock to make improvements on the technical details surrounding that minor technicality, before the product is released to our consumers.
Best Game Production would like to assure our customers that the issue encountered is just technical and does not pose any threat to users or the product in general. The technical issue only threatens the speed of Season V. The company values its customer so much that it opts to correct any issue that arises from its products before releasing the products to the consumers since the company wants the customers to attain maximum enjoyment and benefits. Given this, the release of Season V will be delayed for a few months to allow the technical team ample time to correct which will enhance the performance of the game.
Due to the delay caused, Best Game Productions will not be able to release Season V of its sequel as scheduled. Therefore, Season V will not be available for sale in any of our stores during the holiday season. The decision to delay the release of Season V is in the best interests of the mutual relationship between Best Games Productions and its customers. However, the company would like to assure our customers that our developers will have fixed the issue by January, and as such, Season V will be available during the New Year holiday. Therefore, our customers can look forward to a great beginning to the New Year, with great anticipation of the release of the improved version of Season V. Meanwhile, our customers can enjoy the current selection of games, which will be available throughout the holiday in all distribution stores at discounted prices.
Best Game Production would like to assure our customers of timely delivery of all its products and that such an occurrence will not be allowed to occur again in the future. Furthermore, future products will be reviewed well in time to avoid such delays. The company highly regrets any inconvenience caused to our esteemed customers.
Eliminating noise during communication
At Best Game Production, communication is part of business success. As such, the company employs the best communication strategies as part of its successful business strategies. In this regard, the company has to manage this situation through the best communication techniques to avoid the underlying risks associated with miscommunication. As such, in writing the memo and the press release, unnecessary noise was eliminated through several techniques.
One of the best ways to eliminate any form of noise, according to Ellis and Toft (2010), is to separate the roles of the listener and the speaker. By doing this, one can concentrate on either giving or receiving the message fully without any interference. In such a scenario as Best Game Productions’, emotion might run high due to unmet expectations. As such, in writing the memo and the Press Release, the role of sending and receiving the message are completely separated. Best Game Productions assumes the role of the message sender. By doing this, both the internal and external stakeholders addressed by the Memo and the Press Release respectively, assume the listener’s role. As such, since Best Game Productions is the sender of the message, both the memo and the press release are constructed in such a way that they are fully focused on sending the message from the beginning to the end. This eliminates emotional noise, a case in which both the message sender and receiver wants to play the two roles simultaneously.
There are major assumptions that belabor the Best Games Productions scenario. These include the assumption that there is impending financial ruin if the company does not sell during the coming holiday season. In writing the two documents, these assumptions are addressed by presenting the case as it is and presenting a stronger counter-argument. For instance, the CEO is informed of the immediate risk of postponing the release of the video games, an argument countered through the assertion that such short-term financial shocks can easily be absorbed in the long term. Furthermore, the assertion that such a move is for the best interest of both the company and the client casts away any doubt.
In a scenario like this one, communication barriers emanating from the ambiguous use of language might arise. In this regard, Rothwell, (2004) suggests the use of simple language. As such, simple words, phrases, and sentences with simple straightforward meanings are used. Furthermore, words with double meanings are not part of the diction. The press release is for public consumption, and as such words are carefully selected to avoid any psychological noise (negative perception). Given this, the term ‘bug’ was not used to describe the reason for the delayed release of the new video game. In its place, the phrase ‘minor technical issue” was used. Furthermore, terms such as ‘problem’, ‘difficulty’, ‘poor quality’ and others, which would create a negative attitude about the product, were deliberately left out.
Reference List
Ellis, D., & Toft, D. (2010). Bams: the essential guide to becoming a master’s student. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Lawfer. R. (2004). Why customers come back: how to create lasting customer loyalty. New Jersey: Career Press.
Racherla, P., & Temple University. (2008). Factors influencing consumers’ trust perceptions of online product reviews. Ann Abor, Miami: ProQuest.
Rothwell, J. (2004). In the company of others: an introduction to communication. New York: McGraw Hill.