Course: EAC594ZZA Winter 2022 Due: March 17, 2:45 pm (75 min)

Assignment 5: Executive Memo

Total Value of Assignment 5: 20% of course grade

The Assignment: You are a business analyst in an Ontario-based, private pharmacy company: Poppers Drug Store (PDS) a small company that provides prescription services and products, and for profit Covid-19 tests aimed at travellers. You need to write a memo to provide advice for your company's VP of Sales. For context, this VP's job is to develop and manage the PDS sales offerings, and to maximize profits for the owners of PDS. This means that the VP will be interested in any news that could affect PDSs sales.

Below the rubric, you will find a news article that describes a situation that may affect the profits of PDS. You must write a memo to the VP so they can decide on how to approach that situation. Your memo must do three things: A) select 3 key and distinct points (and only 3) from the article; B) explain briefly why those 3 points may be important for the company; and, C) invent 3-5 relevant recommendations (or options) to the Director on what you would advise them to do.

The recommendations/options can either allow the VP to take advantage (if you think its a positive event) or mitigate (if you think its a negative event) the effects of the 3 points that you raised. This assignment is assessing your ability to create a professional communications product: I will not be grading the quality of your proposed recommendations or your technical analysis skills; anything you dont know, you can invent.

Your VP is a very busy person so the memo must be short: it must be less than 2 pages, but there is no minimum word limit. No additional research is needed, and you do not need to use any specific citation/reference format as long as you cite either the article title, publication name, or the author somewhere in your memo.

Grading Rubric for Assignment 5

Line Item	Max Value	No value	Partial Value	Full Value
Memo Title	2%	Does not have a professional title	Has a title, but does not adequately inform the VP about the content of the memo	Has a title that adequately informs the VP about the content of the memo
Reference the news article	2%	Does not reference/ cite the news article	N/a	References/cites the news article
Memo Style, Context and Tone	3%	Does not state the VPs context anywhere in the memo, or uses an inappropriate tone	States the VPs context, but does not adequately adjust the tone to address that context	States the VPs context, and customizes the tone to address their needs
3 Key Issues	3%	Does not clearly articulate 3, distinct key issues from the news article Articulates more than 3	Articulates only 3 key issues from the case, but either: not clearly, or the issues are not distinct, or are not mentioned in the news article	Clear and coherently articulates only 3, distinct key issues, from the news article
Strategic Analysis and Recommended Options	4%	Does not coherently articulate either the impact, or the 3-5 recommended options for the VP	Coherently articulates either the impact or the 3-5 recommended options for the VP, but not both	Coherently articulates both the impact and the 3-5 recommended options for the VP
Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation	4%	6 or more errors	3-5 errors	Up to 2 errors
Corporate Template/Memo Formatting	2%	Confusing formatting, including inconsistent font size	Generally consistent formatting, but does not use sections/ subheadings	Perfectly consistent formatting, sections/ subheadings are used effectively

Sample corporate template headings:

The following are sample corporate template sections: you may use these or you may invent your own...

1.Introduction/Context/Background (choose only one)

2.Summary/Key Points/Analysis (choose only one)

3.For Consideration/Recommendations/Options (choose only one)

News Article:

'The time has finally come': Feds axing pre-arrival COVID-19 test for vaccinated travellers

By Rachel Aiello, published by CTV News on March 17, 2022

Declaring Canada in a transition phase in the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have announced that fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada will not have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test as of April 1.

I think it's fair to say that we are now entering into a transition phase of this pandemic, said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos as he announced the latest easing of pandemic travel restrictions.

As CTV News has reported, the pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers at land, air, and marine borders will no longer be in place by the end of the month.

Until 12:01 a.m. ET on April 1, fully vaccinated travellers must still show a valid pre-entry test.

Passengers may still be subjected to random PCR testing at the airportin part to monitor for new variants though they will not be required to isolate while awaiting their results.

Unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated travellers will still face pre-entry, on-arrival testing and quarantine requirements.

All travellers will still have to use the ArriveCAN app or online form to enter their proof of vaccination and other required information within 72 hours before their arrival in Canada. Travellers who do not complete this submission may face testing and isolation requirements, regardless of vaccination status, according to the government.

All travellers will still have to use the ArriveCAN app or online form to enter their proof of vaccination and other required information.

The requirement to be fully vaccinated in order to board federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation remains in effect, with the government indicating no intention to lift their proof of vaccine policy for travel at this time.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that for cruise passengers when the season starts in early April, they will still be required to take an antigen test no more than one day before their scheduled departure, but no longer will need to be tested before getting off the ship. All other requirements for cruises remain in place.

Today is a day that many of us have been waiting for. It is a great day for Canadian travelers, tourism and aviation, Alghabra said.

As the border rules stand, fully vaccinated travellers are required to show proof of a health professional-administered negative rapid antigen test taken ahead of a scheduled flight or crossing at a land border.

This has been the policy since late February, when the government eased the requirement for all travellers to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of their arrival.

Eliminating the testing requirement is something that travel and tourism organizations as well as the mayors of border towns have been calling for, arguing that the requirement is not justified by science and presented an unnecessary logistical and financial burden on travellers.

The time has finally come, said Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault on Thursday, noting that the sector has struggled to stay afloat through the pandemic. Canada's tourism sector is ready to ensure the safety of travellers, employers, and the communities in which they operate. They are ready to welcome back the world.

Last month, the government lifted its travel advisory against all non-essential international travel, opening up the feasibility of vacation and other trips abroad.

We are making it easier for people from around the world to visit Canada this spring, and beyond. And they will come. With our high vaccination rates and our focus on health and safety, Canada has a huge advantage in attracting visitors because they know it's safe to travel to Canada, Boissonnault said.

In Thursdays announcement, the government did not have any further updates to border measures, though Duclos said that officials continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and changes could be made as infection trends both in Canada and abroad evolve.

This comes as the World Health Organization is cautioning there is currently an increase in international cases recently, including in Europe, the Western Pacific, and Africa.

Duclos said that as the weather gets warmer and people start spending more time outside, the government is expecting to see transmission decline in the coming months, but Canada has to be prepared for a waning of collective and individual immunity.

Still, the government says it has no plans to update its proof of vaccination systems to require booster doses.