Company: Lions Media Group $($LMG$)$

Function: Multimedia design group that produces print, radio, web and TV ads.

Number of Full$-$Time Employees: $120(70\%$ are creatives, the remaining $30\%$ are support, sales, management and IT staff$)$

Number of IT Staff: $5($They are tasked with email, security, networking, hardware support, website, computer installs and upgrades, software and etc. $)$

Gross Revenue: $$60\mathrm{.}4$ million

Hint: Don't get caught up in the company or organizational structure details. These are just general guidance. I want you to find solutions for their current issues, do not propose a restructuring of the organization, as that is not the purpose of this course. Also, please do not outsource for any of the solutions as I want you to provide the solution vs$.$ offloading it to another entity.

You have just been hired by a marketing firm as a video producer. After a few weeks of working in your new position, you observe the following:

Business has been good and the company has doubled in size, however, new employee growth is limited by available workspace. Management has asked for solutions that do not involve purchasing new office space. As you talk to fellow employees, you observe that most coworkers travel a minimum of $45$ minutes away from the office due to traffic and available housing. This commute time has led to some fellow talented employees departing the organization for other companies.

Files are often shared via external storage $($i$.$e$.,$ removable hard drives, flash drives and etc.$).$ When you ask a coworker about this, he says, "It's always been that way because most of our files are very large and can't be sent via email." We have a network with shared drives but support between the creatives on Macs and the sales team on PCs is oftentimes limited and frustrating. Neither department will budge on changing operating systems. So$,$ a solution that allows departments to continue to use their current computers and OS would be preferred.

When an employee is absent$,$ you must wait until they return to get the file or they must share their password in order for you to access the file from their computer.

Currently, managers track projects in a shared spreadsheet on Google Sheets. While this is a great tool for collaborating, many managers are finding this method to be time$-$consuming and messy. When one step has been completed, the manager is responsible for entering project notes in the spreadsheet, collecting the related project files, and emailing the next workgroup the status update. This is certainly better than how they previously operated but they need a more robust solution.

When ad designs or video projects are completed, the client is required to travel to your office for a review of the design$/$project$.$ Your manager likes to see the client's expression when reviewing the work, however, more and more clients are located far away and even overseas. This requirement has caused a good deal of frustration with some clients.

Please note: The IT department is small and expressed concerns regarding proposals that require significant IT manpower to implement. All proposed solutions that require a significant time expenditure from the IT department must be well justified in order for management to even consider taking it to IT for review. Solutions that reduce demand on the IT department are preferred.

When you are providing a solution, make sure to provide support for that solution in the way of relevant data, and applicable success examples. Make sure to cite your sources in a way that I can directly find them, such as a link to the article being referenced.

Proposal Details:

Please provide either a written proposal $($PDF or Doc$),$ presentation PowerPoint, or video to management addressing concerns from the above statements. This would be considered an unsolicited internal proposal. There is not a particular length requirement for this assignment, although rarely do I see a one to two$-$page proposal pass. They tend to lack support and citations. Please do not write this like a term paper but rather a proposal that you are submitting to your manager $($these resources may be helpful for many of you Writing Proposals Video, Writing a Proposal or use the example structure I provide below$)$ I$\text{'}$m looking for quality recommendations and a convincing argument. Remember, there is likely to be pushback to your recommendations. Don't just recommend, but rather persuade. By this I mean, don't make statements using terms like, "I believe, I feel, We could, I would like to suggest, one idea and etc." Management cares more about well$-$researched real solutions vs what you feel or think you know. If you want to write a successful proposal, find data. Make recommendations based on proven technologies for the industry in which you are proposing solutions. Cite relevant sources that support your position. Many course projects do not pass on the first submission, largely because of the lack of supporting