Planning a Regional Workshop Under Budget Pressure
The Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service’s Erongo regional office must run a two-day records-management workshop in Swakopmund for 24 participants: 16 from Walvis Bay, 4 from Omaruru, and 4 local. The budget is N$58,000, covering venue, meals, accommodation, transport, and materials. The regional head wants the workshop to open at 08:30 on a Monday and close by 16:00 on Tuesday, and has suggested combining it with a one-hour site visit to a youth centre on Monday afternoon. A travel agent quotes N$13,500 for a 30-seat bus from Walvis Bay for both days, or N$9,800 for a 22-seat bus; four Omaruru participants can claim mileage at N$4.20 per km for the 560 km return trip. The venue costs N$6,000 per day including tea, but lunch is N$85 per person per day. Accommodation is N$950 per person for one night. The office has no workshop fund for incidentals. The head asks you to prepare a notice and draft programme that do not exceed the budget.
1. Calculate whether the workshop can be held within N$58,000 using the 30-seat bus, and identify the main cost driver. Show your working.
Read the worked answer
Costs with 30-seat bus and Omaruru mileage: venue 2 × N$6,000 = N$12,000; lunch 24 × 2 × N$85 = N$4,080; accommodation 20 × N$950 = N$19,000; bus N$13,500; mileage 4 × 560 km × N$4.20 = N$9,408. Total N$57,988, leaving N$12. With 22-seat bus: N$12,000 + N$4,080 + N$19,000 + N$9,800 + N$9,408 = N$54,288, leaving N$3,712. Conclusion: yes, it can fit, but only if the 22-seat bus is used; the 30-seat quote leaves no contingency for a single extra cost. The 22-seat bus is adequate because only 16 participants travel from Walvis Bay. Main cost driver: accommodation at N$19,000 (about one third of the budget), followed by venue and transport. The calculation also shows why the site visit is not the main issue: it adds no venue or lunch cost, but it uses workshop time and bus time. The notice should state the 22-seat bus and the mileage claim procedure.
2. Draft the essential contents of the notice of workshop and a timed Monday programme that respect the 08:30 start and 16:00 close, including the site visit.
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Notice must state: title and purpose; dates, venue, 08:30 start and 16:00 close; who is invited (named participants by office); transport arrangements - Walvis Bay bus departs 07:15 from the civic centre, Omaruru group travels by prior arrangement and claims mileage; accommodation arrangement (one night, sharing list); meals and dietary requirements; materials to bring (records register, laptop if available); RSVP date and contact officer; confidentiality and conduct reminder. Draft Monday programme: 07:15 bus departs Walvis Bay; 08:00–08:20 registration and tea; 08:30 welcome and purpose; 08:45 session 1 - why records control matters; 10:15 tea; 10:30 session 2 - classification and indexing; 12:30 lunch; 13:30 site visit to youth centre (one hour, including travel); 14:45 session 3 - file tracking and retention; 15:45 questions and close of day. Tuesday: 08:30 recap; 08:45 practical exercise; 10:15 tea; 10:30 action planning; 12:30 lunch; 13:30 drafting office procedures; 15:15 evaluation; 16:00 close. The programme keeps the head’s start and finish times but protects the site visit by placing it after lunch, when energy dips.
3. The head insists on the 08:30 Monday start and one night’s accommodation only. Identify the travel and accommodation conflict for the Omaruru group and recommend a defensible solution, showing the budget effect.
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Conflict: the 08:30 Monday start is not compatible with a single night’s accommodation for the Omaruru group. They face a 560 km return trip. If they travel on Monday morning, a safe arrival by 08:30 is unrealistic; if they travel on Sunday, they need Sunday night in Swakopmund and Monday night before returning on Tuesday - two nights, not one. Budget effect: the extra four Sunday-night places cost 4 × N$950 = N$3,800. Using the 22-seat bus leaves N$3,712, so the total becomes N$58,088, N$88 over budget. With the 30-seat bus it is far worse. Options: (a) negotiate at least N$100 off lunch or venue and book the extra night; (b) move the opening to 10:30 and drop the site visit, but that conflicts with the head’s instruction; (c) ask the Omaruru office to provide a ministry vehicle and travel on Sunday, which still needs the extra night; or (d) reduce the Omaruru group to two participants, which changes the workshop design. Recommendation: use the 22-seat bus, book the Sunday night for the four Omaruru participants, and recover the N$88 by negotiating the lunch rate or tea. Record the decision in writing and tell the head that the 08:30 start has a real transport cost.