Background

esame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful

difference in the lives of children worldwide by addressing their critical
developmental needs. The Workshop is committed to the principle that all
children deserve a chance to learn and grow; to be prepared for school; to better
understand the world and each other; to think, dream and discover; to reach their
highest potential.
S
Sesame workshop & its development
Sesame Workshop is an American educational childrens television series for
preschoolers and is a pioneer of the modern educational television standard,
combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Workshop is well known for its
!uppet characters created by "im #enson. Sesame workshop uses combinations of
puppets, animation, and live actors to stimulate young childrens minds to improve
their letter and word recognition, basic mathematics, geometric forms, classification,
simple problem solving, and socialization via segments of children or people in
everyday life.
Sesame Workshop$s shows were highly educative for children since it first introduced
in America; still it was very popular in more than %&' countries. (' different
languages were used to broadcast in different country with great success where they
used local actors, writers, musicians, animation, and sets. Also )nglish version or
)nglish dubbed version were telecasting over various country. Sesame Workshop was
the producer of Sesame Street, the highly acclaimed children$s educational show. *y
(''%, the show was broadcast in almost %&' countries, making Sesame Workshop the
largest single teacher of young children in the world. +nternational revenue
represented about (', of total revenue.
The Master mind behind Sesame Workshop
The shows format called for the humans to be intermi-ed with the segments of
animation, live.action shorts and !uppets. These segments were created to be like
commercial /uick, catchy and memorable and made the learning e-perience much
more like fun. The format became a model for what is known today as education and
entertainment based programming. "oan 0anz 1ooney who was a successful
educational television producer, thought to use the television as an educational
purpose for preschool children. 2or this reason 1arnegie 1orporation, an American
foundation studied on this issue about feasibility of this show in %344. *ased on the
study$s findings, 1ooney urged that an e-perimental television series devoted to
preschool children be established. 2or this reason the seventh month broadcasting
period has been decided and an agreement was signed between the 1arnegie
2oundation and 2ord 2oundation also with the 5.S. 6ffice of )ducation for 78 million
which was raised from government and private source.
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The history behind Sesame Workshop
Sesame Street is produced in the 5nited States by the non.profit organization Sesame
Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television Workshop 91TW:, founded
by "oan 0anz 1ooney and ;alph ;ogers. After five tests show, the Sesame Street
launched on air in <ublic *roadcasting Service. This broadcasting service was
commercially supported by 0overnment of America and private funding. Social,
moral, and affective development; language and reading; mathematical and numerical
skills; and reasoning, problem.solving, and perception these are the main ob=ective of
this show.
The 1hildren$s Television Workshop 91TW: was founded in %348 to conduct the
study and they were involved to research which was conducted to determine how to
best develop an operational model. 1TW aired the program for test groups. ;esults
showed that test watchers were entranced when the ad.like segments aired, especially
those with the =ovial puppets. These test shows were developed and evaluated in
August %343. *ased on the results of the tests, the first show, called Sesame Street,
aired in >ovember %343 on stations of the <ublic *roadcasting Service, a
commercial.free television network supported by government and private funding.
The show was an immediate success and in the first season, the estimated audience
was about seven million of the %( million target audience. After this first season it was
run with great popularity and reached ?%
st
season in 5nited States. Then 1TW
changed their name to Sesame Workshop in ('''.
Mission of Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop$s main mission is to create innovative, engaging, and content that
ma-imizes the educational power of media to help all children to reach their highest
potential. +t is trying to educate and entertain the children of the world by television
and other mass media. According to Sesame Workshop.
@6ur mission is to create innovative, engaging content that ma-imizes the educational
power of media to help all children reach their highest potential.A
Its core values are:
Innovation: Sesame Workshop looks for new ways to make the world of media more
valuable for the children with a keen appreciation of children$s imagination and
in/uisitive spirit.
Optimism: +t champions the educational potential of media in the lives of children.
Knowledge: +t does the research to e-pand their understanding of what appeals to
children and what helps them to learn, develop, and grow.
Diversity: +t creates places where all children can see themselves and appreciate
others.
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Three Financial Goals of Sesame Workshop
Sesame Street is one of the most highly regarded educational shows for children in the
world. >o other television series has matched its level of international recognition and
success. Sesame workshop has three goals and they are.
To assemble public and private funding partnerships to support educational
initiatives.
To support educational activities with self generated revenues.
To establishing underlying financial stability by maintaining an investment
portfolio to cover operating deficiencies when necessary and to ensure the long
term financial viability of Sesame Street.
Sesame street ! pack of "#$# segments
Sesame Street is produced in the 5nited States by the non.profit organization Sesame
Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television Workshop. At first time the
Sesame Street broadcasted in only in 5nited States. Studio, animation, lives action
from outside the studio, and puppet scenes these are the main four categories by
which the Sesame Street based on the broadcasting. *ig *ird, )lmo, and 6scar the
0rouch were very popular and these were main categories of puppet were entrained
children in %?' hour based episodes where these episodes were divided into ?' B C'
segments. )ach show closed with a %&.minute segment called )lmo$s World. !uppet
character introduced that was made by "im #enson who was the great puppet maker
on that time and the puppets whose were made by him were in high demand on that
time. "oining of "im #enson brought great fortune for Sesame Workshop because
demand of his puppet brought very popularity of Sesame Street. !oreover his puppets
made us viable in the marketplace.
!wards %eceived by Sesame Workshop
After getting positive influence, Sesame Street is one of the most highly regarded
educational shows for children in the world. >o other television series has matched its
level of international recognition and success. Sesame Street make significantly
greater gains than non.viewers in most tested areas of the series$ curriculum. Studies
show that the show made a significant and lasting contribution to preschoolers$
cognitive and social development. +t also shows that children from both middle.and.
low.income backgrounds gains more from its programs. 2ollowing its debut, Sesame
Street won numerous awards in the 5nited States and other countries. The original
series has been televised in %(' countries, and more than ?' international versions
have been produced, not including dubbed versions. The series has received D4 )mmy
Awards, more than any other television series. Sesame Street won numerous awards
in the 5nited States and also other countries.
?
Sesame Street on way of Globali&ation
Sesame Street is known for its multicultural element and is inclusive in its casting,
incorporating roles for disabled people, young people, and senior citizens. After
getting too much respond or gaining popularity the show broadcasted worldwide. +t
premiered on >ovember %', %343, on the >ational )ducational Television network,
and the following year it was moved to >)Ts replacement, the <ublic *roadcasting
Service. Sesame Street was broadcasted in )nglish in 1anada, >ew Eealand, Australia
and other )nglish spoken countries. *ut slightly modified in #ebrew was broadcasted
in +srael. +n "apan it was firstly broadcasted in )nglish like 1aribbean, due to their
second language but dubbed version was broadcasted after first season of
broadcasting. The Sesame Street was broadcasted in different country in different
languages and focused on particular population for e-ample in 1anada mainly
focused on bilingualism and in >ew Eealand focused on local !aori population. +n
0erman the Sesame Street was dubbed in 0erman languages. 2ew segments were
enlisted into national educational curriculum such as in 0erman.
'icensing (olicies of Sesame Workshop
Though they are saying that this is not.for.profit organization but real incremental
costs for re.broadcasting were for duplicating tapes and residuals for actors and
musicians so it was really profitable business. +ncreasing demand outside America
made Sesame Street$s licensing abroad. 2or this reason they develop some policies. +n
late %343, 1hildren$s Television Workshop created an international division charged
with the responsibility of overseeing Sesame Street$s licensing abroad. These are B
All non 5SA versions of sesame street must be commercial.free
1hanges to the series must meet the highest production standards.
All non.5.S. versions of Sesame Street must reflect the values and traditions of
the host country$s culture
Any proposed changes to the series must be approved, initiated, and supervised by
a local committee of educators working with 1hildren$s Television Workshop.
Success in Me)ican Market
6ut side in 5nited States the Sesame Workshop broadcasted in !e-ico where %?'
half hour episodes are dubbed in Spanish. #ere half were produced in 5S and half
were produced in !e-ico for !e-ican market. The name became <laza Sesame$s and
designed into !e-ican in %3D?. To avoid duplicating the look of the American series,
a distinctive Fatin American.looking set was designed around a neighborhood s/uare.
That achieved the highest audience when broadcasting in !e-ico. >ew music was
recorded, and writers and producers were hired from !e-ico and other Fatin
American countries. Two new puppet characters were created e-clusively for the
series. To avoid duplicating the look of the American series, a distinctive Fatin
American.looking set was designed around a neighborhood s/uare. Gero-
1orporation was helped to introduce in the Fatin American also the helped financially.
Sesame Street on %adio for the first time
C
5nited States Agency for +nternational Hevelopment 95SA+H: and the South African
Hepartment was introduced Talakani Sesame presented by Sesame Workshop for rural
and urban children in multilingual for their diverse language. +t also introduced in the
radio which was the first time of the Sesame Street history. This program was planned
for the rural and urban children. 5SA+H also introduced Alam Simsim for )gyptian
television as a daily series. This program was sponsored by the top food company of
!iddle )ast Americana.
The *o(roduction Model
Local Culture
As a result of positive influence of Sesame Street was one of the most highly regarded
educational shows for children in the world. The Sesame Street worked on various
countries with their local producer, local adviser and local broadcaster for
implementation of local goal. 2or this reason they brought ('.?' people in >ew Iork
for training to write the best /uality story. Sesame Workshop also constructed puppets
for local productions that reflected local cultures and customs such as bear in 0erman,
porcupine in +srael, parrot in !e-ico, Eulu.speaking meerkat called !oshe in South
Africa. )ach segment was focused on locality, like language, street scenes were
totally local production and half of the live action was locally produce and other half
was produced in the Sesame Workshop. !uppet segments were totally created in the
Sesame Workshop such as *ert J )rnie and 1ookie !onster, were drawn from
Sesame Workshop material and dubbed.
Variation- A result of broadcast in contractual agreement
Same language using different countries had the right to broadcast same Sesame
Street like <ortugal had the right to broadcast in Angola and !ozambi/ue. Similarly
>etherlands did the same in places like Aruba and 1aribbean where Hutch was
spoken. <laza Sesame$s of !e-ico had broadcasted in different Fatin American
country. 1ontractual arrangements with broadcasters had many variations. With all
international agreements, when the broadcast term e-pired, all rights reverted to
Sesame Workshop. The co.producer could also use material from Sesame Workshop$s
library of culturally neutral international segments. Sesame Street was not easily
dubbed because actors were talking from book where as 6pen Sesame was easily
dubbed for this reason it is widely used in local languages. 6pen Sesame was another
presentation of Sesame Workshop which was telecasted all over the world.
Animations and puppet scenes could be dubbed. *ut the dubbing procedure was
finalized by the Sesame Workshop even they approved voices chosen. *erlitz
+nternational was introduced Sesame )nglish in 1hina and Taiwan. <rint, audio,
video, and 1H.;6! products of Sesame Workshop were available in these countries.
&
Sesame Street in *hina and %ussia !n +ntry to
+ducational Floor
Sesame Street had made introduction in the communist world like china. There
Sesame workshop had different plan. Sesame Workshop was arranged various three.
day seminars and other program for discussing education and children program in
china with the help of four universities. The seminars were sponsored by universities
and their departments of education. All broadcasters tried to connect with Sesame
Workshop but only Shanghai Television, which broadcast to about %'' million people,
had the right to broadcast Sesame Street. The contract, negotiated over a year,
included a provision for syndication throughout 1hina, which at the time was a
difficult process. Sesame Workshop got 7& million for co production and 0eneral
)lectric being sponsored.
Sesame workshop looked forward on ;ussia. ;ussia is a country that stretches over a
vast e-panse of )urope and Asia, where the Sesame Workshop faced their main
huddles. 5litsa Sezam, Sesame Workshop$s ;ussian co.production was broadcasted in
%334 after five year making by the help of 5SA+H program for democratization,
business principles, and education and sponsorship by >estlK. The series includes
regionally diverse original material produced and filmed in ;ussia, as well as
segments from the Sesame Street +nternational Fibrary. They face difficulties for
broadcasting such as transportation, communications, office accommodations, and
electricity.
Sesame Workshop in ,##- !ll rounder
Sesame Street is known for its multicultural element because they are involved in
multiple activities. +n %348 Sesame Workshop addresses childrens developmental
needs in %(' countries worldwide. With efforts e-tending far beyond Sesame Street,
the Workshop uses four distribution channels. +n %338 a =oint venture of cable channel
>ickelodeon, the Sesame Workshop launched first commercial.free (C.hour. Also
they were involved in various products like television, film, and video included
television programming, feature films, home video, and various products on cassette
and 1H. +n %333 Hragon Tales that was the creation of Sesame Workshop had a huge
success in the 5nited States and markets such as Australia, 5.L., and #ong Long
even that dubbed into *razil and !e-ico. Sesame Workshop involved in various
curriculum like they published %&' Sesame Street.based books for more than %(
million children and adult. Also educational products which are related with the
Sesame Street are introduced in the market.
Sesame Workshop in Electronic Media
Sesame Workshop is actively e-panding it +nternet presence through Sesanestreet.com
and developing new Web.based content for internet e-cess much of it tied to
television shows. Sesame Workshop$s +nteractive Technology 0roup developed 1H.
;6!s, video games, and HMH content. Sesame Street 1H.;6!s are among the
best.selling educational titles.
4
Sesame Workshops promotion
Sesame Street has successfully e-panded in more than %&' countries. +nternational
product licensing tended to follow the introduction of the television show. As a
country became more familiar with Sesame Street, it then becomes possible to
introduce products based on Sesame Street. They also meet the /uality of the product
as well as standard. Sesame workshop$s characters themselves could not be used in
the advertisements to sell products. Sesame Workshop$s licensing agreements
stipulated that products could not be advertised on the television if the audience was
more than %', preschoolers.
Licensing with Sesame Workshop
There were more than C'' licenses. Sesame Workshop licensed its brands throughout
the world were selling their products. Sesame Workshop$s licensing agreements
stipulated that products could not be advertised on the television if the audience was
more than %', preschoolers. The revenue generated from it used for the support of
the educational programs. There were thousands of companies, which had the
partnership with Sesame Workshop like !attel, Sony, Lmart, Leebler, and <rocter J
0amble. Among them !attel had the largest production of Sesame Workshop$s toy. +n
%334 and %33D Sesame Workshop leading toys among them Tickle !e )lmo and Sing
J Snore )rnie were mostly sold. +n (''' Sesame Street brand cookies were launched
and it was very fond of by various people.
ther se!eral programs
There are many Sesame Street theme parks in various countries such as <ennsylvania,
!e-ico, *razil and "apan. They had tragic partnership with other companies for
educational resources. 6utreach products were created through national and
community partnerships and were designed to reach children in need and low income
and minority families. Also they were doing many social awareness programs for
children like Sesame Street 2ire Safety <rogram, Sesame Street A is for Asthma
Awareness <ro=ect and Sesame Street *eginningsN Fanguage to Fiteracy.
Sesame Workshop.s /peration in ,###
+n %338, after operating surplus, Sesame Workshop returned to deficit positions in
%333 and ('''. #owever, the (''' deficits were less than in %333, which was the
largest in the firm$s history, that resulted in various new product initiative and
fundraising efforts. The ma=ority of revenue, which is generated by the sesame, is
related with the Sesame street show and the product, which is related with this
program. +n (''' their revenue increased by %3, and this was mainly for the
introduction of the Hragon Tales. +n %333 their employee was C'' and then it came
about ?'' employees and because of the decreasing employee their administrative and
general cost decreased and also their licensing on publishing and product the revenue
increased %, and (, respectively.
D
The 0nternational /rgani&ation For Television
Their business also famous internationally though this is not for profit organization
but their purpose is to educate the children, help the children. 2or the )nglish
language show, co.production and product licensing they separated the international
sales force. Hifferent sales force creating a problem and that$s why to get rid of this
problem the international television sales group was created. +t is re/uired because
different sales force targeting the same broadcasters. After that Sesame Workshop
classified the market and customer asN

)-isting customers.
*roadcaster that shown an interest in television Sesame Street. 2or these potential
customers, in the discussion the ma=or element was financial support for the
issues. &.8 million dollar was necessary for a co.production of %?' hrs of
programming which can e used for (.? yrs and the e-ample of <oland is include in
this category.
Fike *razil and 2rance the countries which was involved in co.production and
stopped producing.

1ountries that Sesame Workshop would like to enter but where few, if any,
established relationships e-isted.
+merging Strategies of Sesame Workshop
)ntrance into a new marketplace is not so easy for an organization. 2or this, Sesame
Workshop needs to have research on the current market position and based upon
their result they need to take decision whether they will target the market or not.
!arket decisions through co.production typically are initiated by a broadcaster.
*efore taking decision Sesame have to consider various issues like the level of
television penetration, relationship at the government level, financial viability at
least on a breakeven position, available people for developing the show, and last but
not the least establishment of license and publisher partners. The entire thing is very
necessary to consider for e-panding their business in a new market area because if
they do not consider these things before e-pansion they cannot capture the new
market and do business successfully.
The decision about the entrance into a new market region through co.production,
naturally initiated by a local broadcaster who has seen the )nglish version of
Sesame Workshop and wants the show for its country. +f the decision is made to
move forward and the contract is signed with a broadcaster. This co.production can
take from a year to four or more years to produce. Throughout this time Sesame
works with the product partners for developing their product strategy. This product
strategy will follow the launch of the television show when the brand image has
been established.
8
-112 %eorgani&ation on the way of %estructure
Some countries co.produce their own uni/ue versions of Sesame Street, in which the
characters and segments represent their countrys cultures. 6ther countries simply air
a dubbed version of Sesame Street, or a dubbed version of 6pen Sesame. *ecause of
the restructuring of international operation in %334, a new structure was started by a
group president for the products and international television. A group vice president
for international and two regional vice president positions were created one for Fatin
America and Asia and one for )urope, Africa and the !iddle )ast respectively. They
also created a position of a vice president for co.production also. 2or all Sesame
Workshop, each regional vice president is responsible for profit and return on
investment. Another thing that there are regional directors who is responsible for
television and licensing. The reorganization resulted in modification of markets and
countries. 2or e-ampleN >on 5SA markets. 2or the >on 5S market they breakdown
the broadcasting plan as follows.
Farge potential markets with strong recognition. 5.L, 0ermany, and "apan.
#igh potential markets generating more revenue . !e-ico, china
!aintenance markets with limited growth . Australia, 1anada, >etherlands.
Social impact markets B +srael, South Africa
%esult through %estructure
Sometimes the organization needs to reform their style to conduct their business. *y
doing this they can understand their position and they can take a vital decision for the
bright future of the company. When Sesame reformed the organization internationally
they took a decision and that was they reduce the managerial time which they spent
on small market and they decided to give more focus on the larger markets with high
potential. They observed that selling the Sesame Street in )nglish version or doing a
co.production they need the same amount of effort regardless of market size. !any
smaller markets who were the oldest customer of Sesame Workshop$s raised the issue
whether relationship with smaller customers should be scale back. Within this
organization there answer was no but there was an agreement that markets had to be
recognized. At the same time, some market entry decision did not fit into this model.
2or e-ampleN when ;ussia get success after launch the product 5SA+H asked Sesame
Workshop to consider )gypt which was not consider as a high potential market.
*hanges in -111
There are some changes occurred in %333. 6ne of them is the group presidents for
products and international was resigned but the position was not filled up in mid
(''%. They also created a new pro=ect management division to manage pro=ects in
South Africa, )gypt and +srael. This division was consisted of four directors and
focused on educational outreach, fundraising and government contact issues and had
limited product licensing opportunities. !artha Man 0elder was the group head and
consisted of %4 people who were concentrating on developing markets with product
license and television business. 6n the other hand they feel proud to say that how
efficiently they can reach to the most kids.
3
Streamline decision making
+n (''% Sesame Workshop had no offices outside the 5SA and agents had to manage
their daily activities in international markets. So they introduced a new idea of not
having different agents in one country and this helped them to introduce streamline
decision making process and was implemented in )urope and Fatin America. They
also consider using alliances to support marketing and advertising along with
maintaining brand and program content.
0dentifying new markets
Sesame Workshop wants to be a profitable enterprise because they are now in a deficit
position. Though it is a not for profit, it has to compete with profit seeking companies.
2or this reason they need good people, great shows and good business systems and
planning. As they have production costs as well as marketing e-penses they need to
focus on this figure to make profit like as smart and professional as Warner *ros or
Hisney who are always looking for a profitability targets in order to make their
decisions.
Maintenance of Social %esponsibility
!aintaining a social responsibility is a critical factor for them. The pure mission$s
countries like South Africa, the company has decided them as strategically important.
+n these countries there is not a self.sustaining model around licensing. So they can
come with different model that may have government and corporate sponsorship.
They have to offer lower price in poorer country so that they can provide their
services to them also. 6n the other hand they also celebrate diversity because they can
also produce program both for children and women who needs education.
0ndia 3 considered a potential interesting market
The Sesame Workshop has &.4 million viewers when some )nglish was being shown
on cable. *ut from licensing perspective, +ndia was not very interesting for them
because there are limited distribution channels. Through the television it is very easy
to reach people and even to get some reasonable licensing fees. *ut in +ndia, there is
various cultures and languages e-ist. So they have a huge language and cultural
differences for which it is difficult for the Sesame Workshop to show one play in the
whole country. That is why the organization has very limited chance of being
successful in +ndia. *ut it is such country where many potential people are living,
where if they could co.produce their shows then they could profit more. After the
discussion with the +ndian organization it came down to the problem that to make
shows for the whole country they need a large amount of people to co.produce the
show according to the culture and language. They cannot play only one show for such
different cultural people living in one country. *ut the problem is that they have only
certain amount people who can do co.production development. That is they focused
more on South Africa, though +ndia was being considered as one of the potential
countries.
%'
/ther Target Markets
+n )urope, 2rance and +taly are the two countries which are also considered great
potential markets by the Sesame Workshop. +n the %3D's, the Sesame had broadcasted
versions of the series on the air back in those two countries but it did not work very
well and even did not leave them with a strong relationship. That is why these two
countries were considered as difficult markets for American programming. *ut those
countries are really important for them as they are both great potential markets.
;ecently, Sesame has signed a deal in +taly to broadcast Sesame )nglish and )lmo$s
World on ;ai and ;aiSat.

+n Fatin America, there is another market e-ist that is considered to have great
potential by the Sesame Workshop. And it is *razil. This organization always seeks
for finding the growth potential countries to increase its sales as well as profits. *ut
their #ead of 0lobal Histribution focuses more on understanding the markets
situation rather than on actual selling, because Sesame is a small firm with limited
resources and unlimited dreams. With this limited resources they cannot =ust take the
same people and throw them against multiple pro=ects which also re/uires an intense
amount of work. Additionally, finding out ways to enter into a new market is very
time.consuming process as every market is different. So though *razil was considered
to be potential for them they could not focus on that market.
0nternational Strategies
The Sesame Workshop takes their decisions for developing the children$s
programming differently, which is their uni/ue strategy for attracting people. There
are some huge markets for co.production opportunities like *razil and +ndia. *ut it is
difficult for them to allocate their limited resources in different markets. They are still
trying to figure out what they actually want financially and their business to look like.
+t is not possible to do co.productions in every market. *ut they have the freedom to
enter into new market and to make breakeven as they are non.profitable organization.
They want to focus on larger markets rather than focusing on smaller markets. They
want to do only uni/ue pro=ects for smaller markets, like they are recently doing a
conflict resolution series for 1yprus by using live action with an organization known
as Search for 1ommon 0round. *ut there they could not make profit though it is
consistent with their mission.
! %oad Map of 0nvestment *riteria
2or establishing specific investment criteria, as the basis of guiding their new
international investments, the organization had a bad time. According to one
e-ecutive, they could not figure out which one is important and how to weight the
criteria, though they tried to establish criteria like. mission, cash flow, financial return
and management time involved for making a consistent list. They tried to make their
decisions consistently where they needed a consistent breakeven for operating the
regular activities. After some years they understood that at first they need to focus on
the overall property and figure out how they can utilize them.
%%
They have to make investment decision according to their available financial
resources. The reason behind the success of one show can be considered as for the
high./uality production or for the characters or for the simple story lines, which is
very hard to test. When they have to find new revenue sources they also have to
consider all the e-penses associated with that source, because every wrong decision
can cost them a lot as they are suffering from deficit for long time age.
Broadcasting *ompetition
+n %3D's and %38's when Sesame Workshop was internationalized for the first time,
television was dominated by the <ublic broadcasters who were even ready to pay the
organization all production and other costs. Their shows have been broadcasted
worldwide; in addition to the 5.S. version, many countries have locally.produced
versions adapted to local needs, some with their own characters, and in a variety of
different languages. +n 1anada, beginning in %3D', %&.minute shows called 1anadas
Sesame Street were broadcast, and by %3D( an edited version of the one.hour
American program was airing but with specially filmed 1anadian segments, which
featured the 2rench language.

+n the %33's especially with the growth of commercial broadcasting via satellite and
cable the television industries worldwide became much more competitive. With new
competition audiences dropped for the individual broadcasters and especially for the
monopoly public broadcasters. As well the children$s programming area was not a
primary area for most commercial broadcasters. +n some markets cable reached 8',
of the households on the other hand only a small percentage of households had cable.
To deal with this situation Sesame Workshop begun to structure where one company
terrestrial rights and another company cable were given, both rights were e-clusive
and separate.
4ew *ompetitive *hallenges
<reviously Sesame was the one organization making this kind of educational shows
for the children. *ut nowadays there are many channels have come up with same kind
of programs. Where before they never thought that their shows would not be well
received by the audience, but after the increased competition now they have to face
some challenges to keep on their loyal customers. They are facing two different kinds
of competition. now they can$t imagine that their shows will be the broadcasters$ first
choice. To be successful, a show must need to be good by being on the cutting edge.
They must offer a wonderful product in every category. There competition has
increased from preschool shows across the foreign countries, which were financed
and designed for global development from the beginning. >ow they have to think
according to the changing environment of competitive world to sustain. >ow there are
more channels and options fro programming but the broadcasters around the world are
no more ready to pay the license fees. Those broadcasters are willing to pay zero but
still want Sesame Workshop to deliver and promote a fully produced show, and
guarantee a percentage of ancillary revenue. +f Sesame Street is too e-pensive,
broadcasters will go for something else.
%(
/pportunities along with some challenges

Sesame Workshop$s intention of showing their program is to educate the children.
2rom many countries, they have realized that one of its popular shows Sesame Street
that has been shown in )nglish is primarily watched as the vehicle for learning
)nglish. *ut that was not their main intention. Some countries, like "apan, have
viewed Sesame Street a main way to learn )nglish. Sesame Workshop can utilize this
phenomenon as a way to its high growth as in non )nglish speaking countries there is
a demand for it. And this is a very interesting way to learn )nglish from the
childhood.

Another opportunity is. by providing license in different countries, Sesame Workshop
can sell its Sesame Street characters on products like clothing, purses, T.shirts, keys
chains, earrings etc. and these products will soon become very popular among the
children and girls. These Sesame Street products give children and grown.ups alike
more ways to laugh and learn with their Sesame Street friends. +t is already doing this
to some e-tent. +t can increase the selling of these goods more e-tensively worldwide.
When people purchase Sesame Workshop products, they are also supporting the
education of children around the world. *ut the challenge is people are not consistent
with brands. So the Sesame must work hard to make sure the brand does not erode to
the point.

+n some markets they are severely limited by being with a public broadcaster in terms
of television commercials. They can sell toy but cannot promote them on television.
So their goal is to find such ways to sustain with their licensing activities, so that it
keeps them apart from other licensees or licensors. Their television competitors often
pay for their television programming to feed the licensing program. So the Sesame
Workshop had to enter into the international market with local shows by taking into
account the local needs and cultural differences among countries.

Final Words555566

Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television Workshop or 1TW, is
a non.profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens
programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world including <*S in the
5nited States, which was founded in %348. This organization has grown so fast that its
over.e-tending growth may not allow them to respond to everybody. They are now
suffering from deficit for many years ago, because it is a small firm with limited
resources and unlimited dreams. >ow its over.e-tension of their business has become
one of their challenges, though some of their shows, like Sesame Street is a very
powerful series and a lot of people want to work with Sesame Workshop. So they
want to find some effective way so that they can sustain with their uni/ue mission and
financial growth.
%?
Theme
esame Workshop is a not.for profit organization committed to the principle that
all children deserve a chance to learn and grow and produces highly acclaimed
children$s educational show. *eing the producer of children educational show,
success of Sesame Workshop depends on how uni/ue and innovative it is in
producing the program and how well it maintain its sustainable growth being a small
firm. *ut Sesame workshop has e-tended so much that it is not able to sustain it as it
has lack of resources to respond to everybody. Also it is running with a financial
deficit because its commercial.free philosophy and lack of new products is not
allowing them to compete with the for.profit organization and generating money to
fulfill its mission of reinvesting revenue in educational activities.
S
%C
Main 0ssue
eing a small not.for.profit organization with unlimited dreams what should
Sesame Workshop do in facing the challenges of allocating scarce resources
among multiple international markets, evaluating high or low potential
markets, handling markets with limited financial potential, especially for licensing,
and at the same time making money and fulfilling the mission of educating childrenO
B
%&
SW/T
W6T analysis a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths,
Weaknesses, 6pportunities, and Threats involved in a pro=ect or in a business
venture. +t involves specifying the ob=ective of the business venture or pro=ect
and identifying the internal and e-ternal factors that are favorable and unfavorable to
achieving that ob=ective. +dentification of SW6T is essential because subse/uent steps
in the process of planning for achievement of the selected ob=ective may be derived
from the SW6T. The aim of any SW6T analysis is to identify the key internal and
e-ternal factors that are important to achieving the ob=ective. SW6T analysis groups
key pieces of information into two main categoriesN
S
Internal factors B The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization.
External factors B The opportunities and threats presented by the e-ternal
environment.
Strengths: A firms strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a
basis for developing a competitive advantage.
Weaknesses: 2ailures, defeats, loses, and inability to match up with the dynamic
situation of growth the change.
Opportunities: <ossibilities of what can be done and where effectiveness is possible.
Threats: 1hanges in the e-ternal environmental which is uncontrollable also may
present threats to the firm.
%4
SWOT Analysis
ST%+4GT7S
Sesame Workshop has a commercial-free 24-hour cable television
channel and online service dedicated to educating and entertaining
children without an" commercial break#
Sesame Workshop is involved in multiple activities. Television, film, and video
included television programming, feature films, home video, and various products on
cassette and 1H. +t has a television channel and online service dedicated to educating
and entertaining children called >oggin. This is a =oint venture with >ickleodeon.
This is launched in %338 as the first commercial.free (C.hour cable television channel
and online service. #ere Sesame Workshop broadcasts its programs without any
commercial breaks.
$ustification% Hue to own its own channel, Sesame Workshop can globally own the
shows and own the airtime. +t means it can own the rights and can keep it on the air
and can slowly develop an audience. 2or these strategic reasons it launched >oggin
on the >ickleodeon channel. This helps Sesame Workshop a lot to fulfill its goal of
spreading its educational programs among its target audience. As a result it can
become more fle-ible and creative partner to the broadcasters. +t can become more
innovative in developing funding sources for co.production and can get better /uality
shows. So its commercial.free (C.hour cable television channel and online service
dedicated to educating and entertaining children has become strength for them.
Sesame Workshop has Sesame Street theme parks in different locations
which is an interacti!e pla" e&perience with rides and attractions that
bring this e&traordinar" childrens tele!ision show to life#
Sesame Workshop has Sesame Street theme parks in four different locations. Sesame
Street Theme park is an interactive play e-perience for families with children ages (.D
and has been named one of the top four theme parks in the >ortheast by 2amily 2un
!agazine. The park, officially named Sesame <lace, first opened in %38% a half hour$s
drive northeast of <hiladelphia. +t includes both wet and dry attractions, with the
water park integrated throughout the park for superb crowd management, and the
bright colors and fun characters are appealing to kids of all ages.
$ustification% There are many things to do at Street theme parks. +t offers
stimulating play activities featuring e-citing water attractions. The Sesame Street
television show is great entertainment, and no Sesame Street theme park would be
complete without great shows for families to en=oy. Several options are available each
day which includes *ig *ird$s *each <arty and the interactive )lmo$s world live
shows. The ;ock around the *lock parade through the center of the park includes the
most characters of any entertainment venue, and kids can also meet their favorite
characters at various times and locations each day. <opular characters, such as *ig
*ird, )lmo can be found in different shows as well as other appearances and special
events such as character breakfasts and lunch dining options.
%D
Sesame Workshop categori'ed markets and customers in four different
segments which lead to better ser!ing of customers needs and wants(
) opportunities for growth#
Sesame Workshop has categorized its markets and customers into four different
segments. Those are current customers, potential customers that is broadcasters who
has shown real interest in televising Sesame Street, countries that had been in co.
production and had stopped producing and countries that Sesame Workshop like to
enter but few establishment relationship e-ists. +t means Sesame Workshop is
segmenting the whole markets into these categories then it targets its market segment
and provides its products to them.
$ustification% A segment.orientated approach generally offers a range of advantages
for both Sesame Workshop and its customers. This categorization helps to separate
one customers needs and wants from others. +t is possible to satisfy a variety of
customer needs with a limited product range by using different forms, packages,
incentives and promotional activities. It is often difficult to increase prices for the
whole market. +t is possible to develop premium segments in which customers accept
a higher price level. As a result it can increase the profits. +t also allows Sesame
Workshop to create its own Pniche products$ and thus attract additional customer
groups which will ensure high growth, sustainable customer relationships, and higher
market shares.
Sesame Workshop sells Sesame Street characters on products like
clothing( purses( *-shirts( ke"s chains( earrings etc# ) there is a high
demand of these products among the children and girls#
The Sesame Street characters like Abby, *ert, *ig *ird, )lmo etc. are very popular
among the girls and the children. Sesame Street is broadcast to educate the children
and families. Along with this the popularity of the Sesame Street characters increased
a lot among the children and girls. Seeing this popularity Sesame Workshop starts
selling Sesame Street characters on products like clothing, purses, T.shirts, keys
chains, earrings etc. and these products soon become very popular among the children
and girls. These Sesame Street products give children and grown.ups alike more ways
to laugh and learn with their Sesame Street friends.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop has complete control over the rights of all Sesame
Street characters. *eing the most favorite children$s television series, Sesame
Workshop offers, Sesame Street merchandise, Sesame Street toys and Sesame Street
bedding feature all its favorite characters, including )lmo and *ig *ird, and it is a
fantastic for any Sesame Street fan. Sesame Workshop has a huge sell of these
products. As a result it increases the revenue of Sesame Workshop and it reinvests its
revenues from these in educational activities. That means every time people buy one
of its products, they are not =ust doing something good for their own child, they are
also helping children around the world to reach their highest potential.
%8
Sesame Workshop pro!ides customi'ed products to the children of
different age which helps it to best meet the demand of and wants of
different customers#
Sesame Workshop is a not.for.profit organization whose main mission is to educate
children and their families by showing educational programs worldwide. The needs
and demands of different children around the world are different. Their language and
cultures are different. Sesame Workshop has to produce programs which can address
all these issues. And they are doing so. Also it is producing different programs for
different age of children. 6ne of its animated series called Sagwa is targeted to
children age & to 8 years old. Tiny planets, a multimedia learning system targeted to
the children ? to & years old launched online and on television.
$ustification% 1ustomization offers a range of advantages for both Sesame
Workshop and its customers. +t also helps to separate one customers needs and wants
from others. +t is possible to satisfy a variety of customer needs with a limited product
range by using different forms, packages, incentives and promotional activities. It is
often difficult to increase prices for the whole market. +t is possible to develop
premium segments in which customers accept a higher price level. As a result it can
increase the profits. +t also allows Sesame Workshop to create its own Pniche
products$ and thus attract additional customer groups which will ensure high growth,
sustainable customer relationships, and higher market shares
Sesame Workshop is recogni'ed for their e&cellent brand image# *he"
ha!e successfull" created a brand image worldwide# *heir brand image
can be strength for them#
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television Workshop or 1TW, is
a non.profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens
programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world including <*S in the
5nited States. +t was founded in %348. The Workshop is committed to the principle
that all children deserve a chance to learn and grow, to be prepared for school.
)ventually they started e-panding to man other countries. They have already
e-panded in 1anada, +taly, Lorea, Arab Word, Australia, +ndonesia and many other
countries in the world, as it$s product demanded very high and it has been possible
because of their brand image in the market.
$ustification% 2rom %348, Sesame has created a brand image in the market. >ot
only that, they have successfully retain their image in the market. That$s why Sesame
was able to e-pand so many countries in the world and they are still e-panding. +n
e-panding other countries their brand image have played a very significant role. So
their brand image is one of the strengths for them. Sesame Workshop is committed to
the principle that all children deserve a chance to learn and grow; to be prepared for
school; to better understand the world and each other; to think, dream and discover; to
reach their highest potential. Sesame workshop is the producer of Sesame Street
which is the highly acclaimed children$s educational show.
%3
Sesame has segmented the market locall" for their products in outside
countries while e&panding#
+n terms of e-pansion, Sesame Workshop has segmented the market regionally. +n
1anada and >ew Eealand, local segment also were produced and inserted into the
show. +n 1anada, the segmentation focused in bilingualism and in >ew Eealand, the
focus was on the heritage of the local !aori population. +n this way they concentrated
on the culture of the countries and segmented the market according to the culture of
those countries. Sesame workshop also constructed puppets for local productions that
reflected local culture and customs. 2or e-ample in +srael, the main body puppet was
a porcupine represented the +srael culture, prickly on the outside and soft on the
inside. +n 0ermany, the puppet was a bear and in !e-ico, a parrot. +n South Africa,
puppets included a Eulu speaking meerkat called !oshe, a chosen in part because
male and female meerkats share the task of looking after their young. +n these ways
they have highlighted the culture of the countries.
$ustification% +t is a huge strength for them. As they retain the culture of the
countries it can influence the people of the countries psychologically, the audience
can attract the audience very well for which the demand for their show will go up. As
a result it will increase their popularity as well as their demand. +t is strength for them
to survive in the market with the competitors. *y segmenting the market locally
Sesame Workshop can separate its target customers and can best meet their needs and
wants. This can bring a huge success for Sesame Workshop.
Sesame workshop belie!ed that good writing is the ke" to their success
in running their show effecti!el" and the" trained their emplo"ees !er"
well with this regard#
Their show is based on the scripts that are being told by the puppets and acted
accordingly. That$s Sesame workshop believed that a good writing is the key to
success for which they collaborated e-tensively with the co.producers of all
production issues; writers, musicians, animations, sets etc. *esides, about (& to ?'
people would be brought to >ew Iork for training on writing educational and
entertaining segments for the show. Sesame workshop also constructed puppets for
local productions that reflected local culture and customs. 2or e-ample in +srael, the
main body puppet was a porcupine represented the +srael culture, prickly on the
outside and soft on the inside. +n 0ermany, the puppet was a bear and in !e-ico, a
parrot. They give emphasize on the writing, which is the base of theses sorts of shows.
$ustification% As it is a program for the pre.school children and the motive is to
make them educated and teach them about some basic things and on their culture.
Sesame workshop also constructed puppets for local productions that reflected local
culture and customs. 2or e-ample in +srael, the main body puppet was a porcupine
represented the +srael culture, prickly on the outside and soft on the inside. The script
of the show has to be very interesting and easily understood. That$s why the writing
has to be very improved and Sesame workshop understands it very well and there are
training programs for the employees as well. +t helps to improve the /uality of the
programs, which increases demand of their program.
('
Sesame workshop maintains their work and takes great care to maintain
the show of each region and the" a!oid duplicit" in looks of the show in
for different regions as well#
+n %3D?, the international evolution continued with the introduction of the new series
of %?' half.hour episodes entirely in Spanish for the !e-ican market. #alf the
material came from the 5.S. series and the other half was produced in !e-ico. To
avoid duplicating the look of the American series, a distinctive Fatin American set
was designed around a neighborhood s/uare. >ew music was recorded and writers
and producers were hired from !e-ico and other Fatin American countries. Two new
puppet characters were created e-clusively for the series and the financial support
came from several Fatin American sources and a grant from Gero- 1orporation. +n
this way they differentiate the look of the show and the set of the show produced for
one country to others.
$ustification% The organization takes great care of the /uality and gives
tremendous effort to differentiate its own shows in different countries. To avoid
duplicating the look of the American series, a distinctive Fatin American set was
designed around a neighborhood s/uare. >ew music was recorded and writers and
producers were hired from !e-ico and other Fatin American countries. Two new
puppet characters were created e-clusively for the series and the financial support
came from several Fatin American sources and a grant from Gero- 1orporation.
They take great care to retain legitimacy of their shows, for which they can be able to
concentrate on the different cultures and customs of different countries.
Since +,-.( Sesame has maintained and impro!ed the /ualit" of the
0rograms and their high /ualit" program is one of their biggest
strengths for them#
After producing the show in 5.S. there was a huge demand for the show in other
countries as well but the countries re/uested to alter the linguistic content for foreign
audience. +n late %343, 1hildren$s Television workshop created an +nternational
division charged with the responsibilities of overseeing Sesame Streets licensing. 6ne
of the main things in the licensing policies was the changes to the series must meet the
highest production standards. #ere they give importance to the /uality of their
program. Sesame workshop has maintained and improved the /uality of their
programs. They take great care of the /uality of their show for different countries.
They put emphasis on the culture of different countries on their shows. +t constructed
puppets for local productions that reflected local culture and customs.
$ustification% The /uality of their programs plays a very important role for Sesame
Workshop to e-ist in the market successfully. #ere they give importance to the /uality
of their program. Sesame workshop has maintained and improved the /uality of their
programs. They take great care of the /uality of their show for different countries.
They put emphasis on the culture of different countries on the shows produced for
different regions. Since %348, Sesame has maintained and improved the /uality of the
<rograms and their high /uality program is one of their biggest strengths for them.
There they also maintain their own /uality.
(%
Sesame gi!es emphasis to the culture of the countr" where the" e&pand
and the" produce their show according to the culture of that countr"(
which is a !er" positi!e feature for the organi'ation that increases their
demand#
While e-pansion, Sesame has segmented the market locally. +n 1anada and >ew
Eealand, local segment also were produced and inserted into the show. +n 1anada, the
segmentation focused in bilingualism and in >ew Eealand, the focus was on the
heritage of the local !aori population. +n this way they concentrated on the culture of
the countries and segmented the market according to the culture of those countries.
Sesame workshop also constructed puppets for local productions that reflected local
culture and customs. 2or e-ample in +srael, the main body puppet was a porcupine
represented the +srael culture, prickly on the outside and soft on the inside. +n
0ermany, the puppet was a bear and in !e-ico, a parrot. +n South Africa, puppets
included a Eulu speaking meerkat called !oshe, a chosen in part because male and
female meerkats share the task of looking after their young. +n these ways they have
highlighted the culture of the countries. +t is an enormous strength for them.
$ustification% As they retain the culture of the countries it can influence the people
of the countries psychologically, the audience can attract the audience very well for
which the demand for their show will go up. They emphasize on the cultures of the
countries where they e-pand. 2or e-ample. +srael, the main body puppet was a
porcupine represented the +srael culture, prickly on the outside and soft on the inside.
+n 0ermany, the puppet was a bear and in !e-ico, a parrot. As a result it will
increase their popularity as well as their demand. +t is strength for them to survive in
the market with the competitors.
Sesame workshop was acti!el" e&panded its 1nternet presence and the"
ha!e successfull" de!eloped their own website#
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television Workshop or 1TW, is
a non.profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens
programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world including <*S in the
5nited States. *y (''%, their show broadcasted in almost %&' countries. >ow they
actively e-panded its +nternet presence through SesameStreet.com. They have
developed new web.based content; much of it is tied to television shows. +t can help
them to provide more information to the customers about their programs and about
their activities. +t is also helpful for them to reach to the highest level of their potential
audience and serve their needs.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop has actively e-panded its +nternet presence
through SesameStreet.com. They have developed new web.based content; much of it
is tied to television shows. +t can help them to provide more information to the
customers about their programs and about their activities. Sesame Workshop has their
+nternet website, with their website they can reach to a huge amount of audience
around the world and it can play an important role in reaching towards their potential
audience.
((
Sesame workshop has e&panded in man" areas and their main
component of e&pansion is their tremendous market research that is
strength for them#
Sesame Workshop was founded in %348. The Workshop is committed to the principle
that all children deserve a chance to learn and grow, to be prepared for school.
)ventually they started e-panding to man other countries. They have already
e-panded in 1anada, +taly, Lorea, Arab Word, Australia, +ndonesia and many other
countries in the world, as its product demanded very high and it has been possible
because of their brand image in the market. Sesame Workshop has successfully
entered in around %&' countries in the world. They concentrated on the culture of the
countries and segmented the market according to the culture of those countries. +n
every country where they e-panded they emphasize on the culture of that country
very well. To know about the culture and customs of different nations they had to do
lot of research on those countries. 2or e-ample in +srael, the main body puppet was a
porcupine represented the +srael culture, prickly on the outside and soft on the inside.
+n 0ermany, the puppet was a bear and in !e-ico, a parrot. To know about all these
information they had to do a lot of research and that is a strength for them in knowing
the culture of other countries.

$ustification% 2or their business purpose, they had to know about the different
culture and customs of the countries for which an efficient research work must have to
be done and Sesame Workshop is doing their research very well. Sesame Workshop
has successfully entered in around %&' countries in the world. They concentrated on
the culture of the countries and segmented the market according to the culture of those
countries. +n every country where they e-panded they emphasize on the culture of that
country very well. To know about the culture and customs of different nations they
had to do lot of research on those countries.
(?
W+!84+SS+S
Sesame Workshop is ha!ing a commercial-free philosoph"( which ma"
deter its growth and can be a problem for them in finding the co-
productions#

+n the past government.owned channel were not allowed to interrupt programming for
young children with commercials. As a result being the pioneer in telecasting children
program, Sesame Workshop could successfully implement its commercial.free
philosophy as the public broadcasters accepted it. *ut now there are lots of
commercial channels and all want a commercial break. +t is becoming difficult to ask
somebody to show an entire hour commercial.free. Sesame Workshop$s one of the
main philosophy is broadcasting its children$s programs without any commercial
break. 2or this philosophy many commercial broadcasters are not interested to telecast
Sesame Workshop$s programs.
$ustification% Hue to this commercial.free philosophy, Sesame Workshop is not
being able to show its programs in different commercial channel as commercial
channels are not interested to broadcast programs without any commercial break. So
Sesame workshop can only broadcast its programs on its own channel but it will
reduce its capacity to grow more. +t is also seen from an e-periment that the children
can make the distinction between the show and the commercial. So there will be no
harm if commercials breaks are allowed in a children educational program. So if
Sesame Workshop does not change it commercial.free philosophy it will not get
commercial broadcasters to show its children programs. As a result it will not be able
to show its programs to the audience. So it can be a serious weakness for the
company.
*he production deals were changing( which meant an increasingl"
comple& network of partners( customers( sponsors and other
relationships#
To make the co.production model work, they need first run revenues, syndication if
possible, international sales, and international product sales. The old model was that
broadcasters paid for everything including management fees and some profit for the
organization. A few years ago they had started going into markets where there was
government money available and where they had to raise sponsorship money. The
broadcaster was not paying the whole thing. 5ltimately, Sesame Workshop was taking
the risk if sufficient money could not be raised. >ow they have some broadcaster who
used to pay for the whole co.production, but now they will no longer pay. As Sesame
Workshop is a small organization, this comple- structure can affect them as well. That
can be a weakness for them.
$ustification% As Sesame Workshop is a small organization, the new corporate
model can affect them largely in doing their business. +t can be comple- for them in
international sales and on the sponsorships and to the customers as well.
(C
Sesame Workshop is ha!ing a surplus deficit in all operational "ears
e&cept +,,.( which can affect them in doing business in long run#
*eing a not.for.profit organization, Sesame workshop$s mission is to education
children and their families globally. Though profit is not its main goal, creating a
financially viable and growing organization is a necessity because it has to compete
with others for.profit organization. *ut it is having a surplus deficit in all operational
years e-cept %338. Sesame Workshop is a small firm but it has taken an initiative to
launch various pro=ects but it does not have enough resources for that. As a result
financial deficit occurs. That can affect their business in the long run. They can be
going out of resources in doing any production.
$ustification% 6rganization were facing deficit from last some years and if this
feature continues, it can affect them dangerously in the long run. As they have had
e-panded largely in many regions, their deficits can lead them towards disaster in
future. Sesame Workshop is a small firm but it has taken an initiative to launch
various pro=ects but it does not have enough resources for that. As a result financial
deficit occurs. That can affect their business in the long run. They can be going out of
resources in doing any production.

Sesame Workshop is facing lack of new programs( which can be !er"
tough for them to sur!i!e with other competitors in the market#
2rom %348 Sesame Workshop has provided with high /uality educational program
among the audience. #owever, now they need new programs for their business. They
were a one hit wonder that$s been wonderful worldwide. *ut they needed the follow.
up success. >ow Sesame Workshop has lack of new programs. As the competition has
increased and in very soon all its programs will be saturated means audience will no
longer wants Sesame Workshop$s previous shows which already viewed a lot. World
is changing and demand and preference of the audience is changing. So now
organization cannot attract these audiences with old programs. Audience wants more
now programs.
$ustification% As competition has increased and the windows for the show are
shrinking, the audience we are going after is also shrinking. So with the number of
programs those are available to the shrinking audience continuing to increase. So if
Sesame Workshop$s program loses popularity, then it will be hard for them to come
back. >ow there are more channels and options for programming and competition has
increased. Hifferent organizations are coming up with their uni/ue products. So for
the follow up success of Sesame workshop it needs new programs. 6therwise its
audience will shift and no longer can compete with the competitors who have new
products with uni/ue features. So not having new programs for the audience is a
serious weakness for the company. World is changing and demand and preference of
the audience is changing. So now organization cannot attract these audiences with old
programs. Audience wants more now programs.
(&
*he" mainl" do the puppet show for the pre school children and the"
ha!e segmented it with man" t"pes but there is not an" king of
ad!antage for the disable children as a sign language#
Sesame Workshop was the producer of Sesame Street, the highly acclaimed children$s
educational show. 2or the show they use street scenes, animated and live actions and
puppet scenes. They produce their show in a very precise way. They paid attention on
the smallest things in making and producing the show. They even made shows for
outside countries according to the culture of that region. +s spite of giving the full
attention, they have missed an important part for the pre.school children. They don$t
have any program for the disabled children. Those children who cannot hear or see
cant understand anything from their program. They didn$t produce any programs with
the sign language. So it can be a weakness for them.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop has only emphasized on the children$s proper
learning. They give importance to all segments and all groups of children. #owever
they missed the disabled or deaf children. +f they would have provided any sign
language besides the program then it wont be a problem for those children. Since they
don$t have such programs, it is a weakness for them for not providing the proper
education to all groups of children.
*o decrease in general and administrati!e costs Sesame Workshop has
reduced its corporate staff ( which can be a weakness for them in doing
business#
*eing a not.for.profit organization, Sesame workshop$s mission is to education
children and their families globally. Though profit is not its main goal, creating a
financially viable and growing organization is a necessity because it has to compete
with others for.profit organization. *ut it is having a surplus deficit in all operational
years e-cept %338. Sesame Workshop is a small firm but it has taken a initiative to
launch various pro=ect but it does not have enough resources for that. As a result
financial deficit occurs. To overcome this deficit, Sesame Workshop has reduced its
corporate staffs that resulted in a decrease in general and administrative costs.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop has a very high growth rate. To sustain with that
growth rate it needs e-pert human resource because they are one who is behind the
success of Sesame Workshop. Also as it is e-panding in globally it re/uires more
people for successful e-pansion. So by reducing its employee Sesame workshop is not
doing any good for the organization e-cept losing its human resources, which is very
important for them. This is one of big misconception that reducing staff will bring
operating efficiency. +f Sesame Workshop continues to do so it will e-perience a
contraction in its growth rate and instead of reducing cost it will e-perience that its
revenue decreased a lot as there will not be enough employee to support the
sustainable and viable growth rate.
(4
*he recruitment polic" and procedure of the compan" is !er" poor# *he
retention of potential emplo"ees and problems in recruitment polic" can
be a problem for them in sur!i!ing the competitors#
Sesame Workshop doesn$t have any strategy for hiring new employees and retaining
old ones. 6nes an employee is gone out of their company, it takes a lot more time to
hire another employee on that place. +t portrays an uneven employee maintenance and
recruitment policy for the company. Another factor is that, they reduce the number of
employees to decrease their cost. Sesame Workshop is a small firm but it has taken an
initiative to launch various pro=ects but it does not have enough resources for that. As
a result financial deficit occurs. To overcome this deficit, Sesame Workshop has
reduced its corporate staffs, which resulted in a decrease in general and administrative
costs.
$ustification% )mployees are the main keys to run a business properly. They are the
main source of the success of any organization. To sustain with that growth rate it
needs e-pert human resource because they are one who is behind the success of
Sesame Workshop. Also as it is e-panding in globally it re/uires more people for
successful e-pansion. So by reducing its employee Sesame workshop is not doing any
good for the organization e-cept losing its human resources, which is very important
for them. This is one of big misconception that reducing staff will bring operating
efficiency.
Sesame Workshop is a not -for-profit organi'ation( their main concern
has to be educating the children where as( their main moti!e has
become earning profit in man" cases( which ma" ha!e a negati!e impact
in the minds of the audience#
*eing a not.for.profit organization, Sesame workshop$s mission has to educate the
children and their families globally and they are working on it very properly.
#owever, the profit is also another main motive for them. Though they are a not. for.
profit organization, their main motive has to be the proper education of the children.
*ut in some cases they are lagged behind in serving their main ob=ective. They focus
mainly on their profit. They focus on those areas that are highly profitable than those
of the small segments where the children need more of the proper guidance and
proper education. They are working well but this sort of motive can create a negative
image of them in the minds of the customers, which will be bad for the company.
$ustification% Sesame workshop is serving their customers very well. !any
preschoolers are learning their A*1s and %(?s while watching Sesame Street. *ut
their main motive has become earning profit in many cases, which may have a
negative impact in the minds of the audience. The negative image can affect the
company in a broad way.
(D
/((/%T940T0+S
2eing a not-for-profit organi'ation( Sesame Workshop has the freedom
) feasibility to go into new markets ) do co-production and break-e!en#
Fooking towards the future, the manager of international group sees many
opportunities for Sesame Workshop. +t is not feasible to do co.production in every
market. *ut due to being a not.for.profit organization, Sesame Workshop has the
freedom to go into new markets and break even. Sesame Workshop currently helps
produce more than (' co.productions of Sesame Street around the globe, each tailored
to the cultural, social and political demands of their country$s viewers. Teaming up
with local directors and writers, Sesame Workshop producers work internationally to
bring the venerable television show to children around the world in their own
languages. The world according to Sesame Street profiled three of these co.
productions those are *angladesh, Losovo, and South Africa
$ustification% 1o.production is all about working together to achieve a mission. +t
starts from the idea that pro=ects are successful only when the people being served are
involved. )ach of Sesame Workshop$s international co.productions is carefully
crafted to meet the specific needs of the local children. 1hild.development e-perts in
each country work with local directors, producers, and writers to translate the magic
of Sesame Street in a way that captures the rich cultural flavors of each region. The
engaging live action, animation, and colorful characters create a world of fun for
young children and their families. Sesame Workshop can e-tend its co.production to
other countries to ensure its high growth and revenue which is most re/uired for
Sesame Workshop now.
Sesame Workshop can use its Sesame Street to target those non
English speaking countries like $apan where this program is watched
primaril" as a !ehicle for leaning English#
Sesame Street$s intention of showing Sesame Street is to educate the children. +n
many countries it saw that its Sesame Street shown in )nglish is primarily watched as
the vehicle for learning )nglish which was not Sesame Street intention. 1ountries
like "apan viewed Sesame Street a main way to learn )nglish. Sesame Workshop can
utilize this phenomenon as a way to its high growth as there is a demand of it in non
)nglish speaking countries. And this is a very interesting way to learn )nglish from
the childhood. 2or this there is a demand of )nglish version of Sesame Street among
the non.)nglish.speaking countries.
$ustification% !any preschoolers is learning their A*1s and %(?s while watching
Sesame Street. Along with this kids of all ages who come here from non.)nglish.
speaking countries also pick up )nglish basics from *ig *ird, *ert, )rnie, and the
gang. And in "apan, teens are actually learning to speak )nglish by watching the
show. As a result, it can e-tend it )nglish Sesame Street to countries like 1hina,
Taiwan which will increase its market share and a way of teaching )nglish
worldwide.
(8
Sesame Workshop can sells Sesame Street characters on products like
clothing( purses( *-shirts( ke"s chains( earrings etc# as man" children
and girls are fond of these characters#
*y providing license in different countries Sesame Workshop can sells its Sesame
Street characters on products like clothing, purses, T.shirts, keys chains, earrings etc.
and these products soon become very popular among the children and girls. These
Sesame Street products give children and grown.ups alike more ways to laugh and
learn with their Sesame Street friends. +t is already doing this to some e-tent. +t can
increase the selling of these goods more e-tensively worldwide. When people
purchase Sesame Workshop products, they are also supporting the education of
children around the world.
$ustification% *eing the most favorite children$s television series, Sesame
Workshop offers, Sesame Street merchandise, Sesame Street toys and Sesame Street
bedding feature all its favorite characters, including )lmo and *ig *ird, and it is a
fantastic for any Sesame Street fan. Sesame Workshop has a huge sell of these
products. As a result it will increase the revenue of Sesame Workshop and it can
reinvest its revenues from these in educational activities. That means every time
people buy one of its products, they are not =ust doing something good for their own
child, they are also helping children around the world to reach their highest potential.
When market will become saturated( Sesame Workshop can more widel"
broadcast pen Sesame in de!eloping countries as it is much cheaper
to produce#
6pen Sesame is another international television product broadcast in international
markets like Arab World, Australia, +taly, <akistan etc. 6pen Sesame is a childrens
television series composed solely of the skits and segments of the legendary American
television series Sesame Street. While some countries air the American program in
whole, and some create their own versions of the show, many more air this title of
loosely associated skits, as 6pen Sesame. The name is a pun based on the magic
words Q6pen sesameQ which is used in the legend of Ali *aba.
$ustification% 6pen Sesame is much cheaper to produce because it relied on
dubbing the local language. )-cept the part where using live actors, all most whole
part of Sesame Street can easily be dubbed like the part of live actions, animation and
puppet scene also can dubbed easily. And it is very cheap to do so. Also there is a
very high demand of 6pen Sesame in many countries of the world. *ecause it is
cheap to produce and Sesame Workshop maintain a high standard of 6pen Sesame
though it is dubbed. So this open Sesame can be a great opportunity for Sesame
Workshop when it is under a huge pressure to reduce cost and increase sells. +t can
start broadcasting its 6pen Sesame to more countries around the world. +t can also
target the poorer countries where there will be high demand of 6pen Sesame as it will
serve the purpose of educating children with low cost and high /uality products of
Sesame Workshop. When market will become saturated, Sesame Workshop can more
widely broadcast 6pen Sesame in developing countries as it is much cheaper to
produce.
(3
2eing the largest single teacher of "oung children in the world Sesame
Workshop can use its success and brand image to for much more
international growth like 2ra'il( 3rance( or 1ndia#
Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful
difference in the lives of children worldwide by addressing their critical
developmental needs. The Workshop is committed to the principle that all children
deserve a chance to learn and grow; to be prepared for school; to better understand the
world and each other; to think, dream and discover; to reach their highest potential.
Sesame workshop is the producer of Sesame Street which is the highly acclaimed
children$s educational show. *eing the largest single teacher of young children in the
world Sesame Workshop can use its success and brand image to for much more
international growth like *razil, 2rance, or +ndia.
$ustification% Taking advantage of all forms of media and using those that are best
suited to delivering a particular curriculum, the Sesame Workshop effectively and
efficiently reaches millions of children, parents, caregivers and educators . locally,
nationally and globally. +t believes that all children deserve a chance to learn and
grow. +t says that when people purchase Sesame Street and other Sesame Workshop
products, they are supporting the education of children around the world. The income
it receive from product sales along with crucial support from foundations,
corporations, individuals, government agencies, and licensees, is put right back into
the development of Sesame Street and our other educational pro=ects around the
world. +n this way it has created a brand image worldwide. 5sing this positive brand
image, Sesame Workshop can achieve much more international growth in countries
like *razil, 2rance, or +ndia where it haven$t enter yet.
?'
T7%+!TS
2eing a small firm with limited resource in international Sesame
Workshop has grown so fast that its over-extending growth ma" not
allow them to respond to e!er"bod"#
Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the 1hildrens Television
Workshop or 1TW, is a non.profit organization behind the production of several
educational childrens programs that have run on public broadcasting around the
world including <*S in the 5nited States. +t was founded in %348. The Workshop is
committed to the principle that all children deserve a chance to learn and grow; to be
prepared for school; to better understand the world and each other; to think, dream
and discover; to reach their highest potential. Sesame workshop is the producer of
Sesame Street which is the highly acclaimed children$s educational show. 2rom the
inception it has e-tended too much in many different countries as its products demand
is very high.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop is a small firm with limited resources and
unlimited dreams. +n international, Sesame Workshop has gown so /uickly over the
last few years that it itself become worry about its overe-tending. Sesame Street is a
very powerful series and a lot of people want to work with Sesame Workshop but it
can not respond to all. As a result it can create a negative image about the Sesame
Workshop among the people$s mind. +t has already e-tended so much that it does not
have enough resources to support its overe-tension. As a result sustainable growth is
not being possible so it making loss in its current years. +f this thing continues Sesame
Workshop may have to suffer badly in facing the competition and may have to close
its operation.
Sesame Workshop has a licensing polic" that is all non-U.S. versions of
Sesame Street must reflect the values and traditions of host countrys
culture which can reduce the demand of Sesame Street in other
countries#
Sesame Workshop often gets the re/uests to alter the linguistic content for foreign
audiences increased rapidly after the shows 5.S introduction. As a result, it needed
policies and procedures for proposed international adaptation of Sesame Street. +n late
%343, Workshop created an international division charged with the responsibility of
overseeing Sesame Street$s licensing abroad. 6ne of its main licensing policies is that
all non.5.S version of Sesame Street must reflect the values and traditions of the host
country$s culture. !eans if its version is being telecasted in Arab world it should
reflects the values and traditions of 5.S culture.
$ustification% This can become a threat for the Sesame Workshop because the
culture of 5.S may be totally different from the country where it will be shown. As a
result that country may not broadcast Sesame Street as it reflects 5.S culture. This can
become a serious problem when it tries to broadcast in Arab countries as they are very
conservative culture compare to 5.S culture. +t can deter its international growth
heavily.
?%
License fees around the world have been going down and down as a
result if Sesame Workshop is too e&pensi!e broadcasters will not put
the same !alue on its products as it cost them to produce#
When Sesame Workshop internationalize in the %3D's, television in most countries
was dominated by the public broadcasters. !any of these broadcasters were ready to
pay Sesame Workshop fees to cover production and other fees. +n the late %33's with
the growth of commercial broadcasting via satellite and cable, the television
worldwide becomes much more competitive. With new competition, audience
dropped for individual broadcasters and it reduces the monopoly power of public
broadcasters. As a result, it reduces the capacity of Sesame Workshop to generate
revenue from license fees as children programming area + not a primary area for most
commercial broadcasters.
$ustification% >ow there are more channels and options for programming but
license fees paid by the broadcasters around the world have been going down and
down. >ow broadcasters willing to pay zero but still want Sesame Workshop to
deliver a fully produced show, promote it, and guarantee a percentage of ancillary
revenue. +f Sesame Street is too e-pensive broadcasters will take something else. This
can eliminate the market of Sesame Workshop$s products if it does not come up with
uni/ue and new products for the audience. 6therwise broadcaster will not have any
interest to show Sesame$s programs in e-change of a license fee.
Sesame Workshop has reduced its corporate staff 4ust to decrease in
general and administrati!e costs which ma" deter its growth
internationall"#
*eing a not.for.profit organization, Sesame workshop$s mission is to education
children and their families globally. Though profit is not its main goal, creating a
financially viable and growing organization is a necessity because it has to compete
with others for.profit organization. *ut it is having a surplus deficit in all operational
years e-cept %338. Sesame Workshop is a small firm but it has taken a initiative to
launch various pro=ect but it does not have enough resources for that. As a result
financial deficit occurs. To overcome this deficit, Sesame Workshop has reduced its
corporate staffs which resulted in a decrease in general and administrative costs.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop has a very high growth rate. To sustain with that
growth rate it needs e-pert human resource because they are one who is behind the
success of Sesame Workshop. Also as it is e-panding in globally it re/uires more
people for successful e-pansion. So by reducing its employee Sesame workshop is not
doing any good for the organization e-cept losing its human resources which is very
important for them. This is one of big misconception that reducing staff will bring
operating efficiency. +f Sesame Workshop continues to do so it will e-perience a
contraction in its growth rate and instead of reducing cost it will e-perience that its
revenue decreased a lot as there will not be enough employee to support the
sustainable and viable growth rate.
?(
Sesames reorgani'ation of international operations in +,,- resulted a
new organiational structure which is much more vertical which can
increase the comple&it"( consume time( and reduce transparenc"#
+n %334 the Sesame Workshop had reorganized its organizational structure, which was
more or less vertically structured. Mertical structure means that they have many
organizational layers for which it might take too much time to implement a decision.
+n %333 there was brought some additional changes which increased the layers even
more. +t might be said that as they are doing their business globally they might need to
maintain many different layers inside their organization. *ut it is mentioned in the
case that the Sesame Workshop is a small firm with limited resources and unlimited
dreams. As they have two agents one for )urope, and one for Fatin America, they
actually don$t need to maintain this kind of lengthy hierarchy to make approve or
implement a decision.
$ustification% Sesame Workshop is maintaining a vertical organizational structure
or lengthy hierarchical process which consumes time and money both. Also lower
level employees will have no chance to talk with the top level directly. +t hampers
their motivation a lot. Also there is no chance that the audience can give their
feedback directly to all level of employees. Top levels are getting the lower level
employee$s and customer$s feedback thorough someone else or grapevine. So there is
a lot of chance of getting wrong information, it takes time to take decision and also it
reduces the transparency. All this things will hamper a lot when Sesame Workshop
face competition and respond /uickly to the market.
As competition is increasing and the audience that Sesame Workshop is
going after is also shrinking as result programs may its lose popularity
! it will be hard to come bac" #
+n the late %33's with the growth of commercial broadcasting via satellite and cable,
the television worldwide becomes much more competitive. With new competition,
audience dropped for individual broadcasters and it reduces the monopoly power of
public broadcasters. As competition has increased and the windows for the show are
shrinking, the audience we are going after is also shrinking. So with the number of
programs those are available to the shrinking audience continuing to increase. So if
Sesame Workshop$s program loses popularity, then it will be hard for them to come
back.
$ustification% The main thing for the e-istence of Sesame workshop is the
popularity of its program. +f its program loses its popularity it will be no longer e-ists
in the market. )arlier, when Sesame Workshop started its operation there where no
such company likes Sesame Workshop. So it could have e-ercise monopoly power to
its audience. *ecause there were no option for the audience e-cept seeing its program.
*ut things have changed now. 1ompetition has increased. So the windows of
telecasting Sesame Workshop$s programs have shrunk. Also the number of audience
has also shrunk. So in this case if Sesame Workshop$s program loses its popularity
then it will be very hard for them to e-ist in the market and will fulfill its mission of
educating children.
??
#ar"et can become saturated for Sesame wor"shop as it has pro!ided
to its highest e&tents and without new programs it will be difficult for
them to e&ist in the competition#
2rom %348 Sesame Workshop has provided with high /uality educational program
among the audience. That$s why broadcasters were ready to provide license fees and
has created a brand mage among the audience. *ut competition has increased and in
very soon all its programs will be saturated means audience will no longer wants
Sesame Workshop$s previous shows whish already shown a lot. World is changing
and demand and preference of the audience is changing. So now organization can not
attract these audiences with old programs. Audience want more now programs.
$ustification% >ow there are more channels and options for programming and
competition has increased. Hifferent organizations are coming up with their uni/ue
products. So for the follow up success of Sesame workshop it needs new programs.
6therwise its audience will shrink and no longer can compete with the competitors
who have new products with uni/ue features. So as !arket can become saturated for
Sesame workshop as it has provided to its highest e-tents and without new programs
it will be difficult for them to e-ist in the competition.
*he increase in cable and satellite broadcasting is being contradictor"
with Sesame Workshops commercial-free philosoph" which ma" deter
its growth#

+n the past government.owned channel were not allowed to interrupt programming for
young children with commercials. As a result being the pioneer in telecasting children
program, Sesame Workshop could successfully implement its commercial.free
philosophy as it was accepted by the public broadcasters. *ut now there are lots of
commercial channels and all want a commercial break. +t is becoming difficult to ask
somebody to show an entire hour commercial.free. Sesame Workshop$s one of the
main philosophy is broadcasting its children$s programs without any commercial
break. 2or this philosophy many commercial broadcasters are not interested to telecast
Sesame Workshop$s programs.
$ustification% Hue to this commercial.free philosophy, Sesame Workshop is not
being able to show its programs in different commercial channel as commercial
channels are not interested to broadcast programs without any commercial break. So
Sesame workshop can only broadcast its programs on its own channel but it will
reduce its capacity to grow more. +t is also seen from an e-periment that the children
can make the distinction between the show and the commercial. So there will be no
harm if commercials breaks are allowed in a children educational program. So if
Sesame Workshop does not change it commercial.free philosophy it will not get
commercial broadcasters to show its children programs. As a result it will not be able
to show its programs to the audience. So it will lose its audience which will deter its
growth globally.
?C
7% 0ssue
uman resource is a nucleus of an organization. +t plays a key role in helping
companies dealing with a fast.changing competitive environment and the
greater demand for /uality, efficient and potential employees. )very
organization needs to have a specific #; department so that the organization can
sustain and run the business successfully. Sesame Workshop which is the producer of
children$s educational show is the largest single teacher of young children in the
world. *y (''%, the show was broadcast in almost %&' countries and was co.produced
in the local languages in (' countries having ?'' employees. Sesame Street is a show
of Sesame workshop which got D4 )mmy Awards. Their mission is to create
innovative, engaging content that ma-imizes the educational power of media to help
all children to reach their highest potential.
H
+n the previous part of this case solution we have analyzed and found the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. And now we have to identify some significant
#; issues that already e-ist in the Sesame Workshop, like. how they are hiring and
training their employees to enhance their efficiency, how they structure their
organization, how they are compensating their employees to motivate them as they
have high turnover, how they satisfy their customer by innovative idea and so on. So
now we like to discuss those significant #; issues of the Sesame Workshop, which
we have found from this case and in the following they are described one by oneN
Sesame Workshop brings about ,:"# employees to 4ew
;ork for training on good writing educational and
entertaining segments for the show as it believes that good
writing is the key to success< and they use a lengthy hiring
process for filling up a vacant place6
The Sesame Workshop does not have any separate #; department for which it does
not follow any specific rules to recruit, to select, to compensate or to train their
employees. 2or co.production with other countries, they bring some people from their
partner country to >ew Iork and train them in writing educational J entertaining
segments for the show. They also construct puppets to cope up with the local culture
and customs. *ut the problem is they have no specific TJH plan for it so that they
can further precede their business in a systematic way. Another issue is that their
recruitment process is very slow and they do not have any specified recruitment plan.
*ut in an organization the most important resource is its human resources and
appropriate human resources assure an organization that the right number and kind of
people are available at the right time and place so that organizational needs can be
met.
?&
We have chosen it as a #; issue because #uman ;esource and !anagement include
these factors. training and recruitment. As Sesame Workshop works for the children,
they need the right and well trained people to satisfy their child customers. +n this case
there is no specific rules mentioned that how Sesame is recruiting their people for
their organization. *ut in one area we have found that their group president for
products and international television resigned in %333 and till the mid of (''% the
position was vacant. +f they had any specific recruitment committee then it might not
take such two years to fill up a vacant position. So they must need to focus on this
issue as they are now the largest producer of children$s educational show and
e-panding their business all over the world. +f they go without a systematic way they
may not retain the highest potential customer any more.

According to the case here is no specific outline mentioned about their training
process which indicates that their Training and Hevelopment process of employees is
also not designed properly. The Sesame Workshop believes that good script writing is
the key to their success for attracting children. So in the co.production model they
have a policy in which they bring some people, around (&.?', from their partner
country to >ew Iork and train them in writing educational J entertaining segments
for the show. They also construct puppets to cope up with the local culture and
customs so that they can capture that local market easily. *ut as they do not have any
specific TJH plan, for the long run it may not give the same output to the company.
So here the needs for a #; department arise.
!s Sesame Workshop does not focus on employee
satisfaction< their employee turnover for the organi&ation is
very high< which indicates low regulation and motivation
towards the employees6
1ompensation policy is the systematic component of #;. 2or an organization, it is the
key element to motivate employees which indicates a systematic approach to
providing monetary value to employees for their work performed. To motivate
employees only the monetary rewards are not sufficient. !otivation can make any
impossible to possible that results through non.monetary tools in this case. 2or this
reason we want to focus this compensation policy of Sesame Workshop where it is a
bunch of a program producer for the children$s education and is a not for profit
organization. *ut in this case we have not found sufficient information about
employee compensation program towards the whole organization. So we could not get
the compensation policy that the organization is currently using for the employees and
also for the satisfaction level of employees. +n one portion of the case a manager
talked about the satisfaction level of employees indirectly as like as they make
decisions which makes it so interesting to be there but sometimes frustrating for them.
This comment indicates that employees are not =ustified properly in the organization.
Sesame Workshop is the largest producer of children$s educational program, which
has already e-panded their business into more than %&' countries so far and had 7%CD
million revenue at the end of ('''.
?4
Sesame Workshop has ?'' employees in the organization. 2or a large organization
like Sesame Workshop it is shocking that they are not following any specific
compensation practice for their employees and e-ecutives. After reading the case we
have found that they are not following any compensation policy to satisfy and
motivate their large number of potential employees and we think that this is because
of their deficit condition over the past decades. This also led a demotivation towards
the employee who actually is not satisfied with their =ob as they have to work hard.
2or this reason the satisfaction level for the employees are too low to continue their
=ob with this organization and creates a high employee turnover for the organization.
6n the other hand Sesame does not provide any performance appraisal for their
employee contribution which also creates dissatisfaction towards the employees. )ven
though the organization wants to financially stable but they don$t focus on their
valuable employees. As it is a artistic organization providing children$s program, their
employees are also a talent of this profession so loosing them one by one is a great
cost for Sesame because this type of talent employees are not available always in the
market.
This is a #; issue because employee satisfaction and low turnover is a tool for
employee motivation and also for encouraging them to be creative in their =ob. And it
is a part of compensation included in #; practices. Though sometimes it causes harm
to the company itself, it has been successful most of the time for the employee to
bring the higher return for the company.
Sesame Workshop does not have any specific %&=
=epartment for which they may face difficulties in future as
they needs new and innovative ideas for producing their
shows< and also e)panding their business worldwide though
they are in deficit condition6
Sesame Workshop has already been the largest single teacher of young children in the
world. Though it is a non.profit organization it needs to profit to be financially viable
all the time. 2rom the case we have found that they do not have any ;esearch and
Hevelopment department in the organization, though they ground their work in
research. *ut the growing competitiveness of the business world they must need to
adopt the new and innovative ideas to attract more children as well as retain their
e-isting customers. As Sesame is popular in all around the world, they must know
about different culture and norms, customer needs, competitors who already e-ist in
the market and so on. So without knowing all these information about any different
countries no foreign business can enter into or run the business successfully in that
country for longer time. They have to hire the local people to make co.production. So
there the new hired employee might not ad=ust with their own business culture for
which the organization might need to train them according to their corporate culture
or might adopt the new culture themselves to sustain in the new market, which is not
possible without ;JH.
?D
According to us this is as a #; issue because the Sesame Workshop has to be very
careful to make their show for different countries for which they need to research
about the people for hiring the puppets, writers, musicians etc. as they are spread out
internationally. There culture might be different, hiring process might be different,
people might be different, and the compensation policy might be different. So before
spreading out every country in the world, they must know this information very well.
Additionally, for the growing competitiveness of the business world they must need to
adopt the new and innovative ideas to attract more children as well as retain their
e-isting customers. And here rises the need of a ;JH department.
For having a deficit for many years Sesame Workshop
prefers to go for downsi&ing & laying off their employees to
reduce their operational cost< which causes a high employee
turnover rate for the organi&ation6
Hownsizing of an organization means that they lay off their employees in a large scale
to reduce their cost and meet their breakeven point as early as possible. +f they can
meet their breakeven they can go for a profit position. *ut this type of large
downsizing creates a frustration towards the potential employees who are working
with the organization currently. This frustration will also reduce the efficiency of the
employees because the corporation focuses on the employees lay off only to reduce
the cost.
2or this case it is an important #; issue which we would like to focus on because it
relates the problem with employees where employees are key element of an
organization and hot topics of #;. )mployees are the most important tool for an
organization and without potential employee an organization cannot sustain for a long
run. Heficit for a decade is a frustrating thing for an organization. *ut it is a reality for
Sesame Workshop. They only saw profit in %33( and %338 and all the time they had to
manage their deficit by some donation or financing activities. Huring these years
actually they could not manage their operating costs with their operating revenue.
Though the revenue of one program increased by %3, in (''' named Sesame Street
as a result of introduction of @Hragon TalesA, this increase of revenue cannot generate
much revenue which can cover the corporate deficit. 2or this reason they go for the
reduction policy of their operating costs which will help to improve the net profit
position for the corporation. So they thought to reduce operating costs by the
reductions in corporate staff resulted in a decrease in general and administrative costs.
As part of their reductions of employee policy they reduced their employee from more
than C'' to about ?'' which is a large downsizing and create a high employee
turnover. +t is not good for a large organization which wants to e-pand their business
continuously.
?8
Sesame Workshop has a vertical organi&ational structure
which was reorgani&ed in -112 and also in -111 to reduce
the managerial time spent on smaller market and to focus on
the larger markets with high potential< which has been
causing harm to the organi&ational profit margin6
+n %334 the Sesame Workshop had reorganized its organizational structure, which was
more or less vertically structured. Mertical structure means that they have many
organizational layers for which it might take too much time to implement a decision.
+t might be said that as they are doing their business globally they might need to
maintain many different layers inside their organization. *ut it is mentioned in the
case that the Sesame Workshop is a small firm with limited resources and unlimited
dreams. As they have two agents for all )urope and for Fatin America, they actually
don$t need to maintain this kind of lengthy hierarchy to make or approve or
implement a decision.
According to the reorganized international activities structure, in Sesame Workshop
main office there is one 0roup <resident for products and international television.
There is also one 0roup Mice <resident for international and two ;egional Mice
<residents . one for Fatin America J Asia and one for )urope, Africa J the !iddle
)ast. )very regional vice president has responsibility of profit and return on
investment for all Sesame Workshop business. There is also a Mice <resident for 1o.
production. 2or each region, there were some ;egional Hirectors responsible for
television and licensing activities. +n some places like 1hina, for the more comple-ity
in activities there is also a Senior Hirector who is responsible for the television
activities in that country. So from this e-planation we have found that they are
maintaining total five e-ecutive layers where the other layers are still not in
consideration. Thus it indicates that they are maintaining a lengthy hierarchical
process which consumes time and money both. The partial organizational structure,
e-cluding the other managerial and others low end positions, is shown in a flow chart
which is given in the Appendix section.
We are considering this as a #; issue because for this wrong organizational structure.
it does not focus on the maintenance markets, which means the smaller markets where
they are currently generating revenue but having limited growth potential. This
reorganization resulted in a revised classification of markets and countries in which
they were broadcasting or planning to broadcast. As a result, a decision was made to
reduce the managerial time spent on the smaller markets and to focus more on the
larger markets. *ut the problem is they need the same effort for co.producing in both
large and small markets, where small markets are supposed to be profitable for them.
So by ignoring this kind of growth opportunities associated with small markets,
actually they are hampering their own financial condition.
?3
%ecommendation
n the previous part we have identified some significant #; issues from the given
case from various perspectives. After analyzing the case and identifying the #;
issues effectively, it is now time for recommendation to the Sesame Workshop to
focus on some specific areas to retain their e-isting customer, capture new market in
new or innovative ways and also to make profit for financial viability. We are already
aware of that the Sesame Workshop is the largest producer of children$s educational
show. They seek for new ways to make the world of media more valuable for children
and do research to e-pand their own knowledge about what appeals to children and
what helps them to learn, develop and grow. Though it is a not for profit organization,
it seeks for profit as it has three financial goals. assembling the funding partnerships
to support educational activities, to support educational activities with self.generated
revenue and to establish underlying financial stability by maintaining investment
portfolio. We agree that this organization is doing their business for over thirty five
years in all over the world with its e-isting system and policies, but they have already
started to have deficit. So there must be some areas that should be focused by them to
sustain in the international market for longer period.
I

2ocusing on #uman ;esource related issues we have identified in the previous part,
#; issue, we are going to discuss the problems at first and recommend some
solutions according to them one by one so that the Sesame Workshop can overcome
from deficit and earn a profit to operate their business successfully and conduct more
e-pansion throughout the world. +n the following one by one, at first we will mention
Pwhat$ are the specific problems we have identified, Pwhat$ is our recommendation to
solve these current problems, and Pwhy$ those are essential to the company.
0roblem% +
Sesame Workshop uses a length" hiring process for filling up a !acant
place and train their puppets ) writers without an" specific plan(
because the" do not ha!e an" separate 56 department in the
organi'ation#
The Sesame Workshop does not follow any specific rules to recruit, to select, to
compensate or to train their employees. They have no specific TJH plan for training
their writers and puppets where they believe that good script writing is the main
reason for their success. 2or co.production with other countries, they bring some
people from their partner country to >ew Iork and train them in writing educational
J entertaining segments for the show. They also construct puppets according to the
local culture and customs. Another issue is that their recruitment process is very slow
and they do not have any specified recruitment plan. So as they are now
internationally renowned, every single fault might cause a destructive issue for the
organization. That is why they must adopt new recruitment and training policies so
that they can further precede their business in a systematic way.
C'
6ecommendation% +
*he Sesame Workshop needs a separate 5uman 6esource 7epartment(
which will control such processes like- recruitment( selection( *raining
and 7e!elopment( and Compensation polic" etc#( which are !ital to the
compan" success in the long run#
We are suggesting them to open a new #; department where they have to restructure
their e-isting processes, like. recruitment, selection, training and development,
compensation strategy, organizational structure etc. Though without any #;
department they are operating their business successfully, if they open this department
their performance deficiency would be removed and they would overcome the deficit
easily. They need to change specifically the following two processes at firstN
Recruitment & Selection process
The Sesame Workshop has to create a ;ecruitment and Selection 1ommittee at first
which would be under the control of the newly opened #; department. The
committee would be consisting of some e-perienced and professional #; managers
or line managers who will maintain the whole process. They have to have a written
criterion following which the recruitment committee members will hire the puppets,
writers, musicians, animators etc. so that they can identify the right person /uickly.
*ut the final decisions should be taken by the )-ecutive managers of #; department.
Training & Development process
Their Training and Hevelopment process of employees is also not designed properly.
+n the given case we have found that in the co.production model of the Sesame
Workshop, they are providing training to their writers and puppets. *ut there is no
specific plan for training them. So they would do proper planning for train them
effectively. At first the company has to hire a trainer who will be recruited and trained
firstly by the e-isting persons, who are currently involved in these processes. After
giving the trainers proper training, a proper TJH plan would be made. So in this way
employees will be trained effectively in a systematic way and from the right trainers.
Wh" it is the best solution888
+n an organization, appropriate human resources assure that the right number and kind
of people are available at the right time and place, so that organizational goals can be
met. When the Sesame Workshop was broadcasting their show only in America, then
their activities were limited to that area. *ut as day by day they have spread out their
business throughout the world they must need to be in a systematic way. *ut the
Sesame does not have any separate #; department for which it does not follow any
specific rules to recruit, select, compensate or train their employees. So it is the best
solution for them to sustain in the international market
C%
0roblem% 9
*he emplo"ee turno!er for Sesame Workshop is !er" high as the
organi'ation does not focus on emplo"ee satisfaction( which indicates
lower moti!ational tools a!ailable in the organi'ation#
)mployee satisfaction is a very important for an organization like Sesame Workshop
because employees are the best part of an organization. +f they are not satisfied at all
there is possibility to switch off the =ob. *ut if employees are satisfied by their
employer and employer can give the right value to his employees an organization can
grow swiftly without having any doubt. And to satisfy employees fully need a proper
compensation policy where compensation is only the systematic approach to provide
monetary value to employees in e-change of their work performed. +t is the best
motivational tools for an employee. Without motivation, employees are not willing to
work hard and are not committed with the organization. As a result an organization
has to face loss at the end of year.

Similarly, Sesame Workshop also faces problems with their employees. Though it is
the largest producer of children$s educational program, has already e-panded their
business into more than %&' countries so far. +t has ?'' employees in the organization
to run the business successfully. *ut surprisingly it is not following any specific
compensation practice for their potential employees and e-ecutives. The reason
behind is their deficit condition over the past decades. The employees, who are
actually not satisfied with their =ob as they have to work hard, create disappointment
towards the employee and create a high employee turnover for the organization. 6n
the other hand Sesame does not provide any performance appraisal for their employee
contribution which also creates dissatisfaction towards the employees.
6ecommendation% 9
5uman 6esource 7epartment of Sesame Workshop needs to form a
compensation committee which will help to design a perfect and
moti!ated compensation polic" and help to introduce performance
appraisal to satisf" emplo"ees more and reduce high emplo"ee
turno!er#
To sustain in the international market with the same leading position and having profit
at the year end, #; department of Sesame Workshop which we already suggest to
open at first recommendation part, needs to follow a specific compensation policy for
the employees. *ecause it will help to motivate the employees and increase the
satisfaction level of them. +t also reduces potential employee turnover. So #;
department need to form a compensation committee and appoint an individual to
oversee the designing process of the new and effective compensation program. After
that they need to restructure their current compensation philosophy. They also need to
form a compensation policy which is successful and bold, imaginative yet practical to
motivate all the employees and increase the efficiency of Sesame Workshop.
C(
Form a compensation committee
To provide a new and perfect compensation policy, #; department of Sesame needs
to designate an individual to oversee the total situation. They also have to determine
whether his position will be permanent or temporary and from where they will hire
this employee, the cost of going outside regardless of inside, the cost of a consultant$s
review to make the process successful. After that #; needs to form a compensation
committee to determine the e-isting difference of compensation level between the
employees and the e-isting international market situation in the same position. Then
they need to decide the e-pected salary level which will motivate and satisfy the
employees beyond the borders without having any discrepancy. They also have to
restructure the benefit programs for their employees because all benefits are not
necessary for the employees always and it will differ from country to country.
Restructure the compensation philosophy
After recruiting the individual, #; needs to develop a new compensation policy as
they don$t follow any specific one. This compensation program will motivate the
employees more than now because it will consider all employees of the international
sales market and give compensation accordingly. As they already follow international
sales force which indicates that every employee gets same level of compensation. *ut
it is not possible to have similar demand from every part of the world. The demand of
compensation level varies from country to country. So they have to fi- it accordingly.
Introduce performance appraisal
As Sesame is large organization and having so much popularity and doing loss all that
time indicates that their workforces are not working efficiently. +t also indicates that
employees are not motivated by their performance so that organization is seeing loss
all the time. To solve this problem they need to come up with performance appraisal
program and reduce the basic salary level. We suggest to decrease the basic amount
part because it gives more security to the employees and employees are getting the
e-tra privilege of working less and worst. +t will appreciate employees to work hard
and efficiently and motivate them to do better. After doing these things we think that
they can solve their employee turnover problem easily.
Wh" it is the best solution888
2or the employer perspective relationship between the compensation and employee
satisfaction is a vital element. )veryone wants to be a profitable enterprise by
increasing the efficiency and productivity of employees. 6nly monetary rewards are
not sufficient to satisfy the potential employees also need some non.monetary tools.
<erformance appraisal also enhances the satisfaction level of employees. So
restructuring of the compensation level of employees is the only way to maintain the
growth, having profit position and sustain in both local and international market.
C?
0roblem% :
*hough Sesame Workshop ground their work in research( the" do not
ha!e an" specific 6)7 7epartment for which the" ma" face difficulties
in future as the" are continuing with the e&pansion throughout the world
and the" need to know !arious things about the new market place#
When the Sesame Workshop was broadcasting their show only in America, then their
activities were limited to that area. *ut as day by day they have spread out their
business throughout the world they must need to be advance and also proceed forward
in a systematic way. Though as part of their mission, they ground their activities in
research. *ut having a separate ;JH department would bring a blessing to them.
*ecause this is such a department which investigates not only in the outside world of
the organization, but also it$s inside. And as they are continuing with the global
e-pansion they must know about different cultures and norms, customer needs,
competitors who already e-ist in the market and so on.
6ecommendation% :
Sesame Workshop will ha!e to open a new 6)7 department where the
research teams will do !arious researches to obtain information about
the global opportunities the" ha!e and the inno!ati!e wa"s to increase
their profit margin#
;esearch and Hevelopment is an important part of business for organizing it in a
proper way. So we are recommending the Sesame Workshop to open a separate ;JH
department as soon as possible after opening the #; department. These two
departments would work for each other. *ecause without updated information, no
business can sustain for longer period in the same position in this competitive age. As
they have already been the largest single teacher of young children in the world, all
their local as well as foreign competitors are aware of their activities and strengths
points. So by adopting new, advanced and uni/ue policies, their competitors may take
their position in the market easily, which can be protected by practicing ;JH.

Research inside the organization
After opening the ;JH department inside the organization, the Sesame will have to
hire new employees through the recruitment and selection committee. There would be
various research teams for various problem solutions. At first they have to collect
information about their e-isting employees including B puppets, writers, animators,
set workers, musicians etc. if they need any other facilities or change in compensation
policy. As currently they are not providing them any e-clusive incentives, this is very
important for them to know whether their workers are satisfied or not. So before
hiring new employees or to lay off the employee they must research the compensation
CC
level that is e-pected by the e-isting employees so that they can attract the new with
better compensation strategy.
Research outside the organization
The Sesame Workshop will also have to research about the outside world of the
organization. Fike. whether there is any organization wants to enter into the market or
not, if there is such anyone then what is the compensation level that are paid to their
workers by them, at what level their own children customers are satisfied, what other
people think to improve their show, what deficiency they have, what appeals to
children and also about new or innovative ways to improve the show. So for these
particular researches they must have to create a separate research team.
Research in other countries
The Sesame Workshop has to be very careful to make their show for different
countries for which they need to research about the people for hiring the puppets,
writers, musicians etc. as they are spread out internationally. 2or the growing
competitiveness of the business world they must need to adopt the new and innovative
ideas to attract more children as well as retain their e-isting customers. They will have
to hire the local people to make co.production and the new hired employee might not
ad=ust with their own business culture for which the organization might need to train
them according to their corporate culture or might adopt the new culture themselves
to sustain in the new market. So they must obtain information about the technologies
that are used by the local companies of that country, their culture, norms, customer
needs, their satisfaction level, and standard of e-isting service provided by the local
companies etc. by a separate research team.


Wh" it is the best solution888
Though the Sesame Workshop is focusing on research factors, it needs a separate
;JH department. *ecause along with searching for new ways to attract children, it
has to be very careful to make their show for different countries for which they need
to research about the people for hiring the puppets, writers, musicians etc. as they are
spread out internationally. +n other countries the culture might be different, hiring
process might be different, people might be different, and the compensation policy
might be different. So before spreading out every country in the world, they must
know theses information very well. Additionally, for the growing competitiveness of
the business world they must need to adopt the new and innovative ideas to attract
more children as well as retain their e-isting employees and customers. And thus we
think that this is the best solution for them to be the leader in the global market place.
C&

0roblem% ;
Sesame Workshop is ha!ing a deficit for man" "ears for which it prefers
to go for downsi'ing ) la"ing off their emplo"ees to reduce their
operational cost( which causes a high emplo"ee turno!er for the
organi'ation#
To run on deficit is very worrying for an organization. >o one want this in their
business, everyone wants to deal with profitable position. +t is also similar for the
Sesame Workshop. Though it is a not for profit organization, they generate revenue
for the organization and e-pand their business over time. So it is necessary for them
run on profit position. *ecause no company can sustain in this compitative world
having loss over the time. To ad=ust the situation Sesame prefers to go for downsizing.
And downsizing of an organization means that they lay off their employees in a large
scale to reduce their cost and meet their breakeven point as early as possible. +f they
can meet their breakeven they can go for a profit position. As Sesame had operating
surplus in only %33( and %338 and over the time they face tremendous loss and
e-pand their business over %&' countries, they wanted to change the situation by lay
off. And the total number of employees was about ?'', down from more than C'' in
%333. *ut this type of large downsizing creates a frustration towards the potential
employees who are working with the organization currently. This frustration will also
reduce the efficiency of the employees because the corporation focuses on the
employees lay off only to reduce the cost.
6ecommendation% ;
*o resol!e operating loss o!er time( 56 department of Sesame
Workshop needs to focus on growing small market( in!est more on
financing acti!ities( introduce commercials on program time( encourage
broadcaster to go for licensing agreement( stop the e&pansion polic" of
the organi'ation without allocating resources and maintain the current
market for generating more operating re!enue#
As Sesame wanted to reduce cost and have some operating profit for the organization,
they go for downsizing by lay off their employees and they lay off appro-imately %&'
or more employees. *ut it could not be the right solution to reduce cost by lay off as
they don$t stop their e-pansion program and creates contradictory issue for the
organization. And by lay off they cannot sustain in the market for a long time. As
generally Sesame Workshop is a small company with large e-pansion, we suggest
them to solve the problem in other way which will be more beneficial for them. After
analyzing the case we will suggest them to go for introducing commercials between
the children$s program time as they can distinguish between advertisement programs
to generate more revenue. They also can focus on small growing market and invest in
financing activities to accumulate money immediately. We also suggest to encourage
C4
the broadcaster to licensing fees and to stop e-pansion policy of the organization as
they don$t have enough resources.
Focus on small growing market
To generate revenue for the organization in a short time we suggest Sesame to focus
on small growing market as they now focusing more on large growth potential
markets. *ut we think in small market there more opportunities to generate revenue
easily than large market. To do so they need to do a market research on small market
and based upon their result they can choose some small markets and target them
easily to generate money from them either by new attractive, innovative program or
by selling their product like puppet, clothing, purse, T.shirts, key chains, earrings and
so on.
Introduce commercials between the programs
As the children can understand or distinguish the program content and commercials
easily, Sesame can go for introducing commercials between the children$s program to
generate revenue from the commercials. +t is a very profitable business without
costing the company more. To do this they need to communicate with the right people
who are involving in these commercial deals. After listening their condition and
terms, Sesame can go for an agreement with them and generate a free money from
them easily without giving too much effort.
ncourage broadcaster for licensing
Though Sesame has C'' licensor around the world to broadcast their educational
program, they also doing lots of co.productions. +t is not generating revenue as
licensing. So we suggest them to encourage the broadcaster for more licensing
agreement so that they can generate money easily and have operating profit. To do so
they need to communicate with the e-isting broadcaster as well as new one and give
them some e-tra benefits to influence in licensing agreement.

Stop e!pansion for available resources
Sesame has already e-panded their business over the world and they are producing
their programs for %&' countries. *ut as they are facing deficit over the period and
having low resources, we suggest them to stop e-pansion program of the organization.
*ecause e-pansion in a new area is related with costs. And for a small company with
no money cannot entire in a new geographic area one by one. When they have
available resources they can go for further e-pansion. And for now it is important to
maintain the current market and generate revenue from there.
Wh" it is the best solution888
To resolve the above problem we think that these are the best solutions because these
will generate more money in a short time than cutting the cost by downsizing which
was not a good idea and creates high potential employee turnover and low growth
rate. We think that stopping the e-pansion policy will help Sesame to reduce the cost
CD
figure more easily and introduction of commercial, focus on small growing market
and encouragement of licensee help to generate more revenue in a short time.
0roblem% <
Sesame Workshop had reorgani'ed their organi'ational structure in a
!ertical wa" in +,,- to focus more on larger market along with ignoring
the smaller market( which caused harm to the organi'ational profit
margin#
According to the reorganized international activities structure, in Sesame Workshop
main office there is total five e-ecutive layers where the other managerial J low.end
layers are still not in consideration. Thus it indicates that they are maintaining a
vertical organizational structure or lengthy hierarchical process which consumes time
and money both. The main problem with this structure is. it does not focus on the
maintenance markets, which means the smaller markets where they are currently
generating revenue but having limited growth potential. *ut they need the same effort
for co.producing in both large and small markets, where small markets are supposed
to be profitable for them. So by ignoring this kind of growth opportunities associated
with small markets, actually they are hampering their own financial condition.
6ecommendation% <
Sesame Workshop must restructure its organi'ational la"ers in
hori'ontal wa"( which is currentl" structured !erticall"( so that e!er"
plan could be implemented more easil" and /uickl" and also the" can
utili'e the international growth opportunities associated with the small
markets b" focusing on both smaller and larger markets#

The Sesame Workshop is maintaining too many layers in their organizational
structure, which is not a proper way of operating a business. *ecause it consumes too
much time as every decision has to be passed through every layers from top to
bottom. Another thing is that it also acts as a barrier for employee and top level
relationship development. The less the number of layer in an organizational structure,
it is better for the organization itself. So we strongly recommend to the Sesame
Workshop to reorganize their organizational structure again and try to make it
horizontally spread, by removing at least one or two layers, not vertically.
Another aspect of the reorganization of international operations is that it does not
focus on the maintenance markets, which means the smaller markets where they are
currently generating revenue but having limited growth potential. This reorganization
resulted in a revised classification of markets and countries in which they were
broadcasting or planning to broadcast. As a result, a decision was made to reduce the
managerial time spent on the smaller markets and to focus more on the larger markets.
*ut the problem is they need the same effort for co.producing in both large and small
markets, where small markets are supposed to be profitable for them. Fike in )gypt,
C8
+ndia, 2rance, *razil etc. they have a growth opportunity though it is not potential. So
by ignoring this kind of growth opportunities associated with small markets, actually
they are hampering their own financial condition.
Focus on Smaller "arkets at #rst to generate
revenue
To overcome their deficit condition, focusing on the smaller markets will help them a
lot. So we are strongly recommending to the Sesame Workshop not to ignore these
small countries and to focus on both larger and smaller markets to generate revenue
which has been very essential for them at this deficit situation. As they have lots of
co.production opportunities e-isting in some countries, they should go towards those
countries to generate revenue. They must focus on generating revenue to overcome
the poor financial condition. *ecause without financial resources their production
cannot be precede on as nowadays broadcasters are not ready to pay for the shows. So
anyhow they must try to co.produce their shows with those profitable countries where
many of their oldest customers want to make a good relationship with them. +n this
way they will easily over come their deficit profit margin.
Reduce the $rganizational %ertical &ayers
We have recommended earlier that they must open a new #; department where they
will reform every policy. After generating revenue from the smaller markets, they
must open it as soon as possible, because they have to reorganize their e-isting
organizational structure which is currently in vertical way. The vertically organized
structure does not benefit an organization, because it kills too much time and effort to
make a decision or to implement it. +t also hampers the chance of developing the
employee.employer relationship. So they must reorganize the structure such a way so
that they have a proper process of /uick decision making. After opening the #;
department the #; manager will restructure the organizational structure into a
horizontal one. As the Sesame Workshop is a small firm, though they have spread out
all over the world, they must maintain the organizational layer lesser so that in less
time they utilize their resources to the highest e-tent. +n this way will easily overcome
the deficit condition and will be able to invest in other larger markets with high
growth potential.
Wh" it is the best solution888
As the Sesame Workshop is maintaining too many layers in their organizational
structure, it kills too much time as every decision has to be passed through every layer
from top to bottom and it also acts as a barrier for employee and top level relationship
development. Though its children educational shows are very famous everywhere and
it has spread itself all around the world, it is still a small firm with a low profit margin
or even suffering from a deficit for many years. Another aspect is that it does not
focus on the smaller markets where they are currently generating revenue but having
limited growth potential. They want to further e-pand their business only in those
countries where they have high growth potentiality. *ut they have not enough money
afford such large pro=ect in those countries as there the broadcasters are no more
C3
interested to pay out the fees. So they must focus in the smaller markets where they
had done the business earlier and there the people are also interested to work with
them. So we think it is the best solution for them to generate the revenue for
overcoming the poor financial condition and afford the new policy maintenance cost.
0mplementation
fter identifying some problems that are Sesame Workshop currently having,
in the previous recommendation section we have recommended some
suitable solutions respectively for each of them aligned with organizational
goals. And now in this part we are going to implement whatever plans we have
discussed in the previous part. 6ur planning and recommendation are of no use unless
they are properly implemented and utilized to the full e-tent. Without a sound #;
framework, and without healthy #;! practices, even the best ever compensation
packages will fail to get the most out of even the best employees on earth. So an
appropriate organizational environment must be in place that will foster the
effectiveness of the proposed compensation plans. Without implementation, planning
is only wastage of time, money and labor. Therefore, effective and timely
implementation of suitable plans is essential to make them successful.
A
To implement a plan some resources like. time, money, and place must be properly
allocated with preference, because without the proper allocation of these resources no
plan can be successfully implemented. As Sesame Workshop is the largest producer of
children$s educational shows, it must have to be very careful and focus on some
specific issues which we have identified so far. We have made the respective plans to
solve those identified problems by also taking into account their business type, market
factors, economic condition of the world, their financial condition and also their core
values. As it is a non.profit organization it has very limited source of earning. *ut it
needs a high profit as they have very high operational cost. So they re/uire
sponsorship for their created programs. *ut for the increased competition and change
in human nature they are having very lower profit margin or deficit for a long time.
So to overcome it they must adopt new policies and implement them effectively and
within a proper time.
+n this subse/uent implementation section of the case solution, we have to answer
some subse/uent /uestions regarding the implementation process following our
identified problems along with their solutions. We will discuss elaborately in this
section P#ow$ we would implement our recommended plans, PWho$ is going to
implement them, PWhere$ we would implement them and at last, but not the least P*y
when$ we would implement them. After answering all these /uestions following the
problems one by one hopefully we will be able to implement our plan timely and
effectively. Without a sound framework and without a healthy work environment,
even the best ever plans will fail. Therefore, an appropriate organizational
environment must be in place that will foster the effectiveness of our proposed
implementation plan. We have come up with some realistic implementation plan that
&'
will foster the Sesame Workshop to the highest e-tent to achieve the highest market
share not only in the global market. All those implementation plans are described in
the ne-t pages one by one along with their problems and proposed solutionsN
0roblem% +
Sesame Workshop uses a length" hiring process for
filling up a !acant place and train their puppets ) writers
without an" specific plan( because the" do not ha!e an"
separate 56 department in the organi'ation#
6ecommendations%
*he Sesame Workshop needs a separate 5uman 6esource
7epartment( which will control such processes like- recruitment(
selection( *raining and 7e!elopment( and Compensation polic"
etc#( which are !ital to the compan" success in the long run#
Though without a #; department the Sesame Workshop had been operating their
business for many years and making children educational shows all over the world,
they must open a new #; department for more performance efficiency in service
providing. +n this competitive age, to sustain in the market and to overcome their main
problem of deficit it must have to adopt new strategy J here the #; plays a key role
in helping companies deal with a fast.changing competitive environment.
We have suggested the Sesame Workshop to open a #; department where they have
to create a ;ecruitment J Selection committee to recruit the actors, writers, puppets,
animation, musicians or other set workers for providing an effective show to their
children customers. We also suggested them to hire some trainers to train their both
new and e-isting workers according to their skill re/uirement. These activities cannot
be maintained properly without proper guidance and monitoring. This is the main
reason we recommend the Sesame Workshop to open a new #; department to guide
their employees in a systematic way.
How it would be implemented?
Sesame Workshop must implement those plans, which we have suggested in the
previous recommendation part, effectively so that it can easily overcome the deficit
problem /uickly and also to foster itself towards a systematic way. We all know that
without proper implementation, no plan can be successful. To open a new #;
department the Sesame will have to hire some professional #; people from outside
who will later decide how to develop the department. At first they have to create an
outline about how many levels would be there in this department and how to fulfill
those positions like B the Mice <resident of #;, Hirector of #;, )-ecutive managers,
!id.level managers, Supervisors, #; specialists and clerical staffs. Then they must
divide the whole department into some other segments according to the work
&%
varieties. Such as for recruitment J selection process they must have a recruitment J
selection committee, for training their employees they need a TJH section, for
distributing the salary or any other compensation issues they need to open a
compensation committee and so on.
So everything would be in a systematic way and under the supervision of #;
departmental #ead so that he can have the evidence of every activities going on in his
department. They need to focus on establishing specifically the two processes of
recruitment and training processes at first. The whole procedure of developing these
two different divisions within the #; department is given below one by oneN
Recruitment & Selection process
After opening the #; department the Sesame Workshop has to create a new
;ecruitment and Selection 1ommittee at first which would be under the control of the
newly opened #; department. The committee would be consisting of some
e-perienced and professional #; managers or line managers who will maintain the
whole process of recruitment and selection. After creating the new policy and
following it properly the committee will recruit employees for #; positions. After
hiring the #; people from outside for the first time a proper outline or criterion would
be made so that they can recruit the right puppets, writers, actors, musicians, set
workers, animators etc. for their production in a systematic way. They must create a
=ob description by doing the =ob analysis as they need to fulfill the new positions.
After that they would conduct the traditional ways of recruitment, like B
advertisement, interviews or test so that they can identify the right people for their
organization. So in this way by following the specific criterion they can identify the
right person /uickly. *ut the final decisions should be taken by the )-ecutive
managers of #; department.
Training & Development process
+n the given case we have found that in the co.production model of the Sesame
Workshop, they are providing training to their writers and puppets. *ut there is no
specific plan for training them. So they must do proper planning for train them
effectively, because Training and Hevelopment is crucial for an organization to make
their employees to be productive, efficient and potential. +f the employees are not
productive and efficient enough then it$s really difficult to meet the organizational
needs, ob=ectives and goals. Though the Sesame Workshop is providing training to its
new as well as its e-isting puppets and script writers according to their personal
re/uirements and also the culture and customs of the local areas, there should be some
proper planning to train them effectively. +n this way their efficiency in making shows
will increase more and their marginal profit will increase.
At first the company has to hire a trainer who will be recruited by the ;ecruitment J
Selection 1ommittee and be trained firstly by the e-isting persons, who are currently
involved in these processes. After giving the trainers proper training, a proper TJH
plan would be made so that the trainers can train the employees following a standard.
>e-t they have to create a policy in which all the new.hired employees have to be
trained primarily or oriented to the corporate culture and its commitment to serve their
&(
customers. Then they would be sent to the field work. )-isting employees will also be
trained by the trainers if they are needed to be trained for their own knowledge
lacking. +n this way employees will be trained effectively in a systematic way and
from the right trainers and therefore they help to achieve the corporate goals.
$ther 'R related issues
+n #;! there are some other issues besides these two processes e-plained in the
previous page. They are. compensation system, organizational structure, orientation,
and so on. With developing a new department of #; the Sesame Workshop will have
to hire #; people to manage all these processes. The #; managers would have to
create a proper guideline to orient the new employees, maintain a good relationship,
and effective compensation policy. As lacking of any compensation system is a big
issue for the Sesame Workshop, we have solved this problem by a separate
recommended plan. )verything in the #; department would be under control of the
e-ecutives and all managers have to report them about the monthly progress of their
operation and the e-ecutives will later show the reports to the group <resident.
(ost )llocation
<roper cost allocation is another issue for Sesame Workshop to figure out correctly
before they go for implementing the program. As it is a small organization with
limited resources, it is very important for them to allocate the money carefully to
implement this plan. They don$t have enough money available to do this, at first they
must utilize the opportunities for co.productions they have from small markets like
)gypt, +ndia, and *razil etc. 2rom there they can generate revenue and with this
surplus they can remove the deficit problem and use this money to open the #;
department. To open a #; department they must consider a big amount of money
anyhow as they have to add a full #; team in their business operation. They will have
to pay for giving the new #; people their office space for which they might e-pand
their current building space, also for office furniture, "ob advertisement, recruitment
process for hiring people, for maintaining separate committees and last but not the
least for developing the new policies. They also have to consider the payroll of all
additional employees in #; department including the trainers for the TJH section of
#;H. So cost has to be properly allocated so that the whole plan can be successfully
implemented within proper time.
Who would implement it?
>o plan can be successful if it is not implemented in proper manner by the right
person. And opening a new #; department is a big issue which cannot be
implemented easily. *efore starting the developing process the Sesame Workshop
must choose the right person for the implementation. According to us the current
recruiters are the people who will hire some e-perienced #; people from outside for
creating the ;ecruitment J Selection 1ommittee. And after designating the newly
hired #; people in the right position in the committee, they would recruit other #;
&?
managers by using a newly made guideline. After that the committee will also hire
some trainers from outside to train their e-isting and new writers, puppets and other
workers, and also to make a proper TJH plan for the organization.
Where it would be implemented?
The place where the plan would be implemented is also an important issue for the
Sesame Workshop. When they were broadcasting their shows only in America, then
their activities were limited to that area. *ut as day by day they have spread out their
business throughout the world they must need to be advance and also proceed forward
in a systematic way. So they would implement the plan in their main office at first.
Then they would open the department in every other regional offices. *ut as they are
suffering from a deficit for many years, they must consider the financial resources at
first for which they would focus to open the department in America and with the
increase in revenue generated from new opportunities, they will move forward to
other countries to implement the plan further. *ut before opening the department
there, they must research on the business culture and employee behavior those larger
markets so that they can figure out if they need to make any change in their newly
made policies, which would be made for their local operation.
By when it would be implemented?
+mplementing any plan without proper timing has no value. So the Sesame Workshop
must implement the plan within a specific time. They must target a date within which
they will come up with their new #; department. We suggest that as they have not
sufficient financial resources to develop a new department at first they go for entering
into the small markets where they have great international growth opportunities. And
after that they might be able to generate a surplus and with that money they will come
up with implementation program. As #; is an important part of every organization, as
soon as possible they need to develop it so that they can have the feedback of it before
they go for further e-pansion in other larger market. We recommend them that as they
have no specific policy regarding the #; issues; they must adopt the plan within si-
to eight months. +f they cannot develop it within this period then they might change
the targeted time period to implement the plan. *ut one thing they must concern that
the time should be as soon as possible, otherwise the plan might not be effective
anyway.


&C
0roblem% 9
*he emplo"ee turno!er for Sesame Workshop is !er"
high as the organi'ation does not focus on emplo"ee
satisfaction( which indicates lower moti!ational tools
a!ailable in the organi'ation#
6ecommendations%
5uman 6esource 7epartment of Sesame Workshop needs to form
a compensation committee which will help to design a perfect and
moti!ated compensation polic" and help to introduce
performance appraisal to satisf" emplo"ees more and reduce high
emplo"ee turno!er#
Sesame Workshop is the largest producer of children$s educational program and has
?'' employees. *ut surprisingly it has no specific compensation policy for their
potential employees and e-ecutives. The reason behind is their deficit condition over
the past decades. Though they are running successfully in the world wide it is now
creating problems for the sustaining growth of the organization. The employees are
not satisfied with their =ob and compensation level which creates disappointment
towards the employee and create a high employee turnover for the organization. 6n
the other hand Sesame does not provide any performance appraisal for their employee
contribution which also creates dissatisfaction towards the employees. +n this
competitive age, to sustain in the international market and to overcome their main
problem of deficit it must have to adopt new compensation policy and performance
appraisal to satisfy the employees most and reduce the turnover.
We have suggested the Sesame Workshop to structure new compensation policy for
the employees of separate geographic area. *ecause in different country the life style
are different and the e-pectation of the employees are also different from others. So
we cannot give same level of compensation and performance appraisal to all. Hevelop
compensation level also for the actors, writers, puppets, animation, musicians or other
set workers for providing an effective show to their children customers. We also
suggested them to hire a consultant to oversee the designing process. These activities
cannot be maintained properly without proper guidance and monitoring. This is the
main reason to recommend the Sesame Workshop to develop a specific and proper
compensation policy and performance appraisal to motivate their employees in a
systematic way so that employee turnover becomes low.
How it would be implemented?
&&
Without implementation the recommendations become worthless. So, Sesame
Workshop must implement those plans, which we have suggested in the previous
recommendation part effectively. So that it can easily overcome the deficit problem
/uickly and also to foster itself towards a profitable enterprise.
To develop a new compensation practice towards all employees in different countries,
the Sesame will have to hire individual personnel who will oversee the program and a
consultant who can give the best suggestions to employees. At first they have to
create an outline about new compensation level and performance appraisal for every
employee including the Mice <resident, Hirector, )-ecutive managers, !id.level
managers, Supervisors, specialists and clerical staffs. After that they have to do
market research and prepare a compensation policy which can reflect both the
employees and employer most. They also need to focus on individual performance
level which will improve the efficiency of work performed by the worker and
otherwise they are not willing to work hard and precisely. The whole procedure is
given below one by oneN
Form a compensation committee
To change or restructure the compensation philosophy of Sesame workshop #; has to
designate or hire an individual to oversee the program. +n this way they also have to
determine whether the position of recruiting person will be permanent or temporary,
the cost of hiring from outside regardless of inside. After that, they have to calculate
the cost of a consultant$s review to make the process successful and they also have to
determine the budget considering the available resources and the capability to follow
the process to solve the problem. >e-t it has to form a compensation committee
consisting of officers from every region. Then they have to come up with such
compensation system that encourages employees to work hard and efficiently and take
the organization toward the profitable industries. After that they need to decide the
salary level and benefit programs for the employees whether it will offer at, above
than industry average
Structure the compensation philosophy
>ow #; department of Sesame has to develop a new compensation policy as don$t
have now for all which will motivate the e-isting employees more than now and
attract the new comers. Without satisfaction of employees may do lots of hard work
but can still fails to grab customer satisfaction. Sesame need to decrease the basic
salary about C', to &', of total salary and other percentiles can be covered by
benefit program. This will help employees to feel that they are valued for the
organization and organization needs their efficiency along with potential productivity
because Sesame has already in a loss position for several years. So Sesame needs a
balanced compensation policy which will competitive for the international market
considering different culture and demand of employees which also relevant,
achievable and practical to implement.
stablish pay grade system
&4
The 1ompensation committee which we suggest to open at first has to conduct a =ob
analysis and evaluation of all employees considering the place factor and prepare the
=ob classifications. Then develop a model of =ob description for e-empt and non
e-empt positions for international market. Then committee has to rank the =obs based
upon the employee$s capability of producing the educational program for children.
Then committee has to verify in ranking model with industry market data and
relatedness of =ob responsibility to the organization. After that for a good result of
compensation policy has to prepare a matri- organizational review and flow chart on
the basis of re/uired tasks and duties of the employees. Then committee has to
determine the pay grades or monetary range of a position at a particular level and
determine the difference between each salary step and a minimum and ma-imum
spread of pay range. They also have to develop a salary administration policy and
document the general company policy. After doing all the analysis they need to
determine what will be the basic salary for the employees of Sesame as they don$t
have it yet.
We suggest giving employees C' to &' percentile base pay which will ensure the
employment security towards his =ob. 6ther portion of salary has to be related with
their performance and the level of producing programs efficiently. Sesame can also
introduce the individual cash or non cash recognition, per/uisites and rewards for the
performance. They can introduce reward system and promote employees based upon
that. To ensure low employee turnover they have to focus on the demand of
employees in different region because they are international organization and are
going to %&' countries.
*erformance appraisal
They also have to evaluate employees of Sesame on their performance. They can do it
by peer appraisal and ?4' degree performance appraisal. This will help to motivate
employees to produce more educative program for the children and maintain the
sustain growth in international market. To do this they can do a internal market
research on their employees of different countries and based upon that introduce
performance appraisal. And this program needs to announce first because employees
don$t have any idea about this previously. They also can give some percentage of
incentives for reaching the pre set goal to individual as well as production teams.
(ost allocation
1ost allocation of a program is the most important thing because if anyone misses it
to do, he has to face a lot of problem and loss according it. <roper cost allocation is
very important issue for Sesame Workshop to figure out correctly before they go for
implementing the program because it is a small organization with large e-pansion and
limited resources. So it is very important for them to allocate the money carefully to
implement this plan. As they don$t have enough money available to implement this
program they can redistribute the salary level which will not cost them more. They
also can establish licensing fees so that they can generate the re/uired money easily.
They also can focus on small growing markets so that can easily accumulate the
resources. They also have to consider that employees are the element who can foster
&D
the growth of the company and hiring individual, consultant takes a huge cost. >ot
only that performance appraisal, reward system also want resources to implement it.
And last but not least, based upon their cost allocation they have to decide that this is
possible or not to allocate the proper resources to implement this recommendation.
They also have to forecast, plan and spend money in e-act place.
Who would implement it?
+mplementation in proper manner by the right person is very important to ensure
successful recommendation. Structuring new compensation policy and performance
appraisal program in an international organization is /uite difficult to implement. To
implement it Sesame Workshop must choose the right person who can make this
impossible in possible. #; people are the right person who can easily structure the
compensation program easily without facing lots of problems. +n this case the group
vice president !artha Man 0elder can give suggestion to the #; people to implement
a new compensation program and performance appraisal which will help to satisfy
employees in all markets and reduce the employee turnover.

Where it would be implemented?
+t is important to consider the place where the compensation policy will be applied for
the Sesame Workshop. When they were locally broadcasting their shows, their
activities were limited to that area. *ut as they are now e-pand their business in %&'
countries they have to implement it for all the areas. +f they don$t do it, other parts of
organization will dissatisfy with the discrepancy policy. So they would implement the
plan in their main office at first. Then they have to consider it in large production
program office and last on the small growing market so that employees are satisfied
with their =ob and motivate to do better program for Sesame. *ut as they are suffering
from a deficit for many years, they must consider the financial resources at first. 6ne
more thing they need to consider that they are already focusing on international sales
but we suggest them to focus compensation policy on customization basis.
By when it would be implemented?
Time is the most important factor in implementation part. *ecause if we suggest a
recommendation and the organization decide to implement it after & years that will not
be =ustifiable. And it will totally hamper the financial position of the organization and
the pro=ect will be a =ust loss investment. So the Sesame Workshop must implement
the plan within a specific time. They must target a date within which they will come
up with their new specific and proper compensation policy with performance
appraisal system. We suggest that as they don$t have sufficient financial resources to
come up with a new compensation policy and performance appraisal system, at first
they can go for entering into the small markets where they have great international
growth opportunities or they can use their financing activities to collect the money.
&8
And after that they might be able to generate an e-tra portion of revenue and with that
money they can come up with implementation program. As satisfaction of the
employees are the most important part of every organization to run the organization
for a long time, as soon as possible they need to develop compensation policy and
performance appraisal system in their organization. We suggest to develop #;
department first as they don$t have yet and within 4 to 8 months they need to come up
with it before going for further e-pansion. +f they cannot develop it within this period
then they might change the targeted time period to implement the plan.
0roblem% :
*hough Sesame Workshop ground their work in research(
the" do not ha!e an" specific 6)7 7epartment for which
the" ma" face difficulties in future as the" are continuing
with the e&pansion throughout the world and the" need to
know !arious things about the new market place#
6ecommendations%
Sesame Workshop will ha!e to open a new 6)7 department
where the research teams will do !arious researches to obtain
information about the global opportunities the" ha!e and the
inno!ati!e wa"s to increase their profit margin#
;esearch and Hevelopment plays a vital role for every organization to sustain in the
competitive market for longer time. So we have recommended to the Sesame
Workshop to open a ;JH department as soon as possible after opening the #;
department to solve the above problem. These two departments would work for each
other. *ecause without updated information, no business can sustain for longer period
in the same position in this competitive age. As they have already been the largest
single teacher of young children in the world, all their local as well as foreign
competitors are aware of their activities and strengths points. Additionally, new and
innovative ideas for the show are the crucial elements for their success. So by
adopting new, advanced and uni/ue policies, their competitors may take their position
in the market easily, which can be protected by practicing ;JH.
Though as part of their mission, they ground their activities in research. *ut having a
separate ;JH department would bring a blessing to them. *ecause this is such a
department which investigates not only in the outside world of the organization, but
also it$s inside. And as they are continuing with the global e-pansion they must know
about different cultures and norms, customer needs, competitors who already e-ist in
the market and so on. That is why we suggested them to be more advance and open a
new ;JH department where there would be various research teams working for
different research items both inside and outside the organization.
How it would be implemented?
&3
;esearch and development is very much essential for the Sesame Workshop because
they currently do not have any ;JH department, though they ground their activities
in research. So we are going to suggest them a plan about how they can develop a
;JH department and how they use it in their regular business operation. To develop
the ;JH department in the main office, at first they have to hire additional marketing
people from outside who have the knowledge about how to do market and industry
research. They would be recruited by the new #; recruitment J selection committee
members. After they get hired by the company, the e-ecutive manager of the
department would have to create some research teams and designate them.
5nder the control of newly opened ;JH department there would be various research
teams working for different research items both inside and outside the organization.
There must be a planning of how and e-actly on what they have to research and they
must be given a dead line within which they have to collect the needed information.
+n this way through the research teams the organization would be able to obtain the
needed and advanced information, like. current level of their employee satisfaction J
their need, scope of improvement, new technology for increment of efficiency along
with reducing operational cost, and also for any information they need to enter into
the other countries within a reasonable and shorter time. We have divided our
recommendation or suggested plan into three segments depending on the various
research teams$ =ob. research inside the organization, outside the organization and in
other countries. They are described belowN

Research inside the organization
After opening the ;JH department and hiring new employees through the
recruitment and selection committee the research people would be divided into three
segments, one of which will work for researching inside the organization. At first they
would have to collect information about their e-isting employees including B puppets,
writers, animators, set workers, musicians etc. if they need any other facilities or
change in compensation policy or not. As currently they are not providing them any
e-clusive incentives, this is very important for them to know whether their workers
are satisfied or not. So before hiring new employees or to lay off the employee they
must research the compensation level that is e-pected by the e-isting employees so
that they can attract the new potential people to work with them providing those
people a better compensation than other competitors.
Research outside the organization
The age is no more fle-ible to sustain with the same position for longer time. So the
Sesame Workshop will also have to research about the outside world of the
organization. Those various issues include. whether there is any organization e-isting
which wants to enter into the market in the upcoming days or not, if there is such
anyone then what is the compensation level that are paid to their workers by them, at
what level their own children customers are satisfied, what other people think to
improve their show, what deficiency they have, what appeals to children and also
about new or innovative ways to improve the show. So for these particular researches
they must have to create a separate research team.
4'
Research in other countries
Though the Sesame Workshop grounds their work in research and they have been
focused so far on researching about cultural differences among countries, it has to be
very careful to make their show for different countries. *ecause this age has been
more competitive day by day. 2or this specific research area, they need to research
about the people for hiring the puppets, writers, musicians etc. as they are spread out
internationally. 2or the growing competitiveness of the business world they must need
to adopt the new and innovative ideas to attract and retain their children customers.
They will have to hire the local people to make co.production and the new hired
employee might not ad=ust with their own business culture for which the organization
might need to train them according to their corporate culture or otherwise might adopt
the new culture themselves to sustain in the new market. So they must obtain
information about the technologies that are used by the local companies of that
country, their culture, norms, customer needs, their satisfaction level, and standard of
e-isting service provided by the local companies etc. by a separate research team.
(ost )llocation
)very plan should have some budget to be implemented properly in time. So cost is
another issue for the company to figure out correctly before they go for implementing
the program. To open a new ;JH department the Sesame Workshop must consider a
big amount of money as they will have several additional ;esearch teams working for
their business in three different phases. inside the company, outside the organization
and in other countries. So it will cost them a lot. *ut preparing for the budget is wise
as they will get the benefit for having such a department which will work for their
own purpose. They must allocate the total budget for the ;JH department among all
the activities they need to conduct for opening a totally new department. They will
have to give the new employees additional office space for which they need money.
The other areas where they will need money are. for travel e-pense of research,
recruitment process for hiring people, for maintaining separate committees and last
but not the least for developing the new policies. Among them the travel e-pense will
cost them more as their business has been already globally spread out. So keeping
everything under consideration cost has to be properly allocated so that the whole
plan can be successfully implemented.
Who would implement it?
The person for implementing the plan must be chosen carefully beforehand so that the
other resources including time, money etc. is not wasted. >o plan can be successful if
it is not implemented by the right person. So before starting the department
developing process the Sesame Workshop must choose the right person for the
implementation. The Sesame Workshop has been maintaining a research works to
make their shows effective and interesting. So they must have some research workers
e-isting in their organization. #ere we are suggesting the company to open this ;JH
department after they open the #; department. And that is why the recruitment J
selection committee will be available that time to hire new employees for this
4%
department. After they get hired by the company, the e-ecutive manager including
some people from e-isting research workers of the department would have to develop
some guideline, to create some research teams and designate them in the right
positions according to their research areas. The research manager would develop a
schedule and the supervisor will monitoring that the research team is working
properly or not. So the main source for implementing the plan would be the
;ecruitment and Selection committee to hire employees for this particular department
and after that all the other activities would be done by the whole ;JH department
itself.
Where it would be implemented?
<lace is another factor to be considered before implementing any plan. And it is
particularly very important for the Sesame Workshop as they want to continue their
business e-pansion globally. When the Sesame Workshop was broadcasting their
show only in America, then their activities were limited to that area. *ut as day by day
they have spread out their business throughout the world they must need to be
advance and also proceed forward in a systematic way. So it has been a critical issue
for them at which place they should develop the ;JH department at first. We strongly
recommend them to open the department at their company main office at first as soon
as possible. When they will realize that it really helps them in continuing their
business operation, they will precede the implementation process of this plan in other
offices situated in other counties. *ut before opening this department in other
countries they must research through their own research teams about their cultural
adoption of this new policy. Thus they can figure out if they need to make any change
in their local research policies. So finally we are suggesting the Sesame Workshop to
develop the ;JH department serially in the following wayN
Inside their copan! in "nited States
After reali#ing the result, in other prefera$le countries

By when it would be implemented?
Time is another important factor in the implementation procedure. +mplementing any
plan without proper timing has no value. So the Sesame Workshop must implement
the plan of establishing a new ;JH department within a dead line. They must target a
date within which they will come up with this new department. We strongly suggest
that as ;JH is very important for them as they have already e-panded their business
globally and still wanting to e-pand in larger markets. Another important reason for
necessity of ;JH is their business type. They ground their every work in research as
they make show for children$s education for which anyhow they try to make the show
interesting to them. So as soon as possible they need to develop it in 5SA at first.
They must adopt the plan within eight to ten months =ust after they open the new #;
department.
4(


0roblem% ;
Sesame Workshop is ha!ing a deficit for man" "ears for
which it prefers to go for downsi'ing ) la"ing off their
emplo"ees to reduce their operational cost( which causes
a high emplo"ee turno!er for the organi'ation#
6ecommendations%
*o resol!e operating loss o!er time( 56 department of Sesame
Workshop needs to focus on growing small market( in!est more
on financing acti!ities( introduce commercials on program time(
encourage broadcaster to go for licensing agreement( stop the
e&pansion polic" of the organi'ation without allocating resources
and maintain the current market for generating more operating
re!enue#
Hownsizing of an organization in a large scale to reduce cost and meet the breakeven
point is very worried things for an organization because it lay offs potential
employees and creates frustration towards them who are working with the
organization currently. This frustration will also reduce the efficiency of the
employees because the corporation focuses on the employees lay off only to reduce
the cost. As Sesame wanted to reduce cost and have some operating profit for the
organization, they go for downsizing by lay off their employees and they lay off
appro-imately %&' or more employees. *ut it could not be the right solution to reduce
cost by lay off as they don$t stop their e-pansion program and creates contradictory
issue for the organization. And by lay off they cannot sustain in the market for a long
time. 6n the other hand, they have already been the largest single teacher of young
children in the world, all their local as well as foreign competitors are aware of their
activities and strengths points. So we recommend Sesame Workshop to focus on small
growing markets to generate the revenue and meet the breakeven point easily. We also
recommend them to invest more on financing activities and raising the fund for the
not for profit organization, introduce commercials on program time, encourage
broadcaster in more licensing agreement. 2or their better position we suggest Sesame
not to e-pand more in this time as don$t have available resources to support the
e-pansion program.

4?
How it would be implemented?
Sesame Workshop must implement those plans, which we have suggested in the
previous recommendation part, effectively so that it can easily overcome the deficit
problem /uickly and also to foster itself towards a systematic way. We all know that
without proper implementation, no plan can be successful. And as Sesame Workshop
is a small company with large e-pansion, we suggest them to solve the problem in
other way which will be more beneficial for them. After analyzing the case we will
suggest them to go for introducing commercials between the children$s program time
as they can distinguish between advertisement programs to generate more revenue.
They also can focus on small growing market and invest in financing activities to
accumulate money immediately. We also suggest to encourage the broadcaster to
licensing fees and to stop e-pansion policy of the organization as they don$t have
enough resources. >ow we are suggesting following the following stepsN

Focus on small growing market
0enerating revenue for the organization in a short time we suggest Sesame to focus
on small growing market as they now focusing more on large growth potential
markets. To do so they need to do a market research on small market and #;
department is responsible for conducting this market research on all the small markets
for the organization. After that based upon their result they have to evaluate small
markets where they can easily capture and earn more revenue. When they can choose
or target some small markets to generate revenue they have to decide by which way
they can generate it, which program or product can attract more customer than others
and have to evaluate them accordingly. <roduct can be new attractive, innovative
program or physical their product like puppet, clothing, purse, T.shirts, key chains,
earrings and so on. >e-t they have to come up with the desired product of the regions
and advertised about that so that the organization can earn more money and increase
the total revenue amount.
Introduce commercials between the programs
As the children can understand or distinguish the program content and commercials
easily, Sesame can go for introducing commercials between the children$s program to
generate revenue from the commercials. +t is a very profitable business without
costing the company more. To do this #; department needs to communicate with the
right people who are involving in these commercial deals like commercial head of the
advertised company. We also suggest them to come up with that commercial which
are only for children and can educate children$s something, not destroy their future
because the programs are mainly for the preschool children. After listening the
advertised companies terms and condition, Sesame can go for an agreement with them
to show the commercials between the programs. *y doing these things they can
generate huge money from them easily without giving too much effort and having
unaffordable cost.
ncourage broadcaster for licensing
4C
Sesame has already C'' licensor around the world to broadcast their educational
program to generate the earnings. *ut they also e-pand their business by going for co.
productions with other countries where licensing is not workable and is not generating
revenue as licensing. *ut now we suggest them for going to licensing agreement
because co.productions also increase the cost for the organization where as licensing
does not re/uire that much of money or costing. So we suggest them to encourage the
broadcaster for more licensing agreement by consulting them with individually or
group to convince them and they need to show licensors profit e/uation to them. After
convincing them they need to review the step as licensor are not introducing any bad
product for the children or not. After that they need to make an agreement with them
for a specific period of time.
*y doing this Sesame can generate money easily and have operating profit. To do so
they also need to communicate with the e-isting broadcaster as well as new one and
give them some e-tra benefits to influence in licensing agreement.

Stop e!pansion for unavailable resources
Sesame has already e-panded their business over the world and they are producing
their programs for %&' countries and want top reach at every part of the country in the
world so that they can educate all the preschoolers. Sesame serves children as a
teacher and they like to aware all the children. *ut they are now facing deficit over
the period and having low resources to go for further e-pansion and like to reduce
their cost by lay off. So we suggest them to stop e-pansion program of the
organization now as don$t have enough resources to follow up. +f they want to e-pand
more now, they will actually kill the business because e-pansion in a new area is
related with costs and no organization can sustain having deficit all the time. And for
now it is important to maintain the current market and generate revenue from there.
To do so they need to consult with %4 boards of directors and show the actual position
of the company. With the support of board of directors #; department can stop the
further e-pansion and can target already e-isted markets. So that they can generate
money eventually save the organization from loss by stopping it from further
e-pansion.
(ost )llocation
+mplementation of a program is totally associated with huge cost, so cost is another
issue for the company to figure out correctly before they go for implementing the
program. 2ocusing on small growing market, introducing commercials between the
programs, encouraging broadcaster for licensing agreement are not associated with a
great cost. So Sesame can easily implement this part and generate revenue from it. 6n
the hand stopping further e-pansion will reduce the cost for the organization. And by
the e-tra balance Sesame can implement their priority based implementation program.
*ut preparing for the budget is wise as they will get the benefit for having such a
department which will work for their own purpose. Leeping everything under
consideration cost has to be properly allocated so that the whole plan can be
successfully implemented.
4&
Who would implement it?
Who will implement the discussing solutions is very important because if it is go in a
wrong hand, it will cost the organization a lot and may be the organization will not
interested to implement it further. >ormally it is the responsibility of #; department
to convince the board of directors to accompany with the solutions. +f the board of
directors is decided to implement the solutions, #; department can come up with the
best implementation program and start to implement the program. #ere cost is needed
to be considering because already Sesame is in a deficit position.
Where it would be implemented?
+t is important to consider the place where the compensation policy will be applied for
the Sesame Workshop. Without knowing the place Sesame cannot go for
implementation because they serve in %&' countries and their product varies from
country to country. So they have to target a specific area for the implementation
purposes where the solutions would impact and successful. So they need a market
research and based upon that has to select a specific area. +f they don$t do it,
organization has to face huge cost regarding the implementation in a wrong area. *ut
as they are suffering from a deficit for many years, they must consider the financial
resources at first.
By when it would be implemented?
We know time is valuable; this will also true for implementation a program also and is
the most important factor in implementation part. *ecause if we suggest a
recommendation and the organization decide to implement it after several years when
the problem is not e-isted ant more that will not be =ustifiable. And it will totally
hamper the financial position of the organization and the pro=ect will be a =ust loss
investment. So the Sesame Workshop must implement the plan within a specific time
period. They must target a date within which they will come up with their small
market strategy, commercials between programs ideas because these are easy to
implement and are relatively less cost oriented. We suggest that as they don$t have
sufficient financial resources to come up with a new strategy they can first stop their
e-pansion policy over the world and maintain the current market successfully. After
that they can come up with other programs. We suggest to stop further e-pansion as
early as possible specifically in a month because it actually increases the deficit
portion more. And Sesame can implement other implementations within si- to eight
months. +f they cannot come up within this period then they might face a large deficit
problem from where they may not survive.
44
0roblem% <
Sesame Workshop had reorgani'ed their organi'ational
structure in a !ertical wa" in +,,- to focus more on larger
market along with ignoring the smaller market which
caused harm to the organi'ational profit margin#
6ecommendations%
Sesame Workshop must restructure its organi'ational la"ers in
hori'ontall" so that e!er" plan could be implemented more easil"
and /uickl"( and also the" can utili'e the international growth
opportunities associated with the small markets b" focusing on
both smaller and larger markets#
The Sesame Workshop is maintaining too many layers in their organizational
structure, which is very time consuming and also acts as a barrier for developing
between employee and top level relationship. We all know that the less the number of
layer in an organizational structure, it is better for the organization itself. So we
strongly recommend to the Sesame Workshop to reorganize their organizational
structure again and try to make it horizontally spread not vertically, by removing at
least one or two layers.
Another reason behind our recommendation is that their current structure does not
focus on the smaller markets where they have limited growth potential but are
currently generating revenue. This reorganization resulted in a revised classification
of markets and countries from which a decision was made so that they reduce the
managerial time spent on the smaller markets and to focus more on the larger markets.
*ut the problem is they need the same effort for co.producing in both large and small
markets, and where small markets are supposed to be more profitable for them to
generate short term revenue. Fike in Australia, 1anada, >etherlands etc. they have a
growth opportunity though it is not potential. So by focusing on this kind of growth
opportunities associated with small markets, they will easily overcome their poor
financial condition.
4D
How it would be implemented?
We have divided our recommendation into two phases. at first they have to focus on
the smaller market so that they can overcome the deficit problem, which they are
having for many years ago. And after they generate surplus, which means a higher
profit margin, from co.producing with those smaller markets, like in )gypt, +ndia,
2rance, *razil etc., they will be able to open a #; department where they will come
up with new reformed organizational structure. +n the ne-t page we have e-plained
the whole procedure following which the Sesame Workshop can implement our
recommended plan.
Focus on Smaller "arkets at #rst to generate
revenue
We are strongly recommending to the Sesame Workshop not to ignore these small
countries and to focus on both larger and smaller markets to generate revenue which
has been very essential for them at this deficit situation. To overcome their deficit
condition, focusing on the smaller markets will help them a lot. As revenue generation
has been vital for them, the Mice <resident of 1o.production will manage the whole
procedure how to co.produce or broadcast their shows in those countries. *ut it must
be approved by the 0roup Mice <resident of the organization. *ecause without
financial resources their production cannot be precede on as nowadays broadcasters
are not ready to pay for the shows. So anyhow they must try to co.produce their
shows with those profitable countries where many of their oldest customers want to
make a good relationship with them. +n this way they will easily over come their
deficit condition.
Reduce the $rganizational %ertical &ayers
We have recommended earlier that they must open a new #; department where they
will reform every policy. After generating revenue from the smaller markets, they
must open it as soon as possible, because they have to reorganize their e-isting
organizational structure which is currently in vertical way. The vertically organized
structure does not benefit an organization, because it kills too much time and effort to
make a decision or to implement it. +t also hampers the chance of developing the
employee.employer and top.level management. customer relationship. So they must
reorganize the structure such a way so that they have a proper process of /uick
decision making.
After opening the #; department the #; manager will restructure the organizational
structure into as horizontal as possible. As the Sesame Workshop is a small firm,
though they have spread out all over the world, they must maintain the organizational
layer lesser so that in less time they utilize their resources to the highest e-tent. A
supervisory committee can be formed who will ensure that people can give their
feedback and ideas directly to the top level as well as all other level where they want.
This committee will also ensure that top level employee can interact with the
customers so that they can get the direct feedback. !ainly the duties of this
48
committee will be to involve employees from all levels from top level e-ecutives to
the clerical positions.
According to the traditional organizational structures, top level e-ecutives do not have
any relationship with the customers, but we have recommended them to establish such
a structure which will look like a reverse pyramid. +n the reverse pyramid there will
be customers in every corner which indicates that all level managers will have
relationship with customers. +n this way their decision making process will be faster
as they do not have to discuss with the low level employees to know about the
customers$ needs. 5ltimately in this way will easily overcome the deficit condition
and will be able to invest in other larger markets with high growth potential.
Who would implement it?
To implement our recommended plan, the Sesame Workshop must go to those
countries where they have not very high growth potential but have a great opportunity
to generate short term revenue. As revenue generation has been vital for them, the
Mice <resident of 1o.production will manage the whole procedure how to co.produce
or broadcast their shows in those countries. *ut it must be approved by the 0roup
Mice <resident of the organization. After generating revenue and from that money
after opening the #; department the #; manager will restructure the organizational
structure into a horizontal one. A supervisory committee will ensure that people can
give their feedback and ideas directly to the top level as well as all other levels where
they want. This committee will also ensure that the top level e-ecutives can interact
with the customers so that they can get the direct feedback. As the Sesame Workshop
is a small firm, though they have spread out all over the world, they must maintain the
organizational layer lesser so that in less time they utilize their resources to the
highest e-tent.
Where it would be implemented?
<lace is another crucial element to consider for implementing our plan. We are
recommending Sesame Workshop to implement the plan by focusing on small
markets at first for co.producing and broadcasting their shows. So the place would be
those countries where their older customers e-ist and who are interested to work with
them, like Australia, 1anada, >etherlands etc. so that they can generate revenue
/uickly within two months. And the ne-t phase of this implementation process is to
reform their organizational structure which would be occurred in their main office at
first and if successfully implemented then go for further process to other countries. So
ultimately we recommend them to implement the plan in those smaller markets and
after that in their main office.
By when it would be implemented?
43
2or Sesame Workshop now it has been very important to overcome from the deficit
condition as soon as possible. *ut their ignorance of smaller market is the main
barrier to overcome the problem, which they could not recognize earlier. So we have
recommended that as they have lots of co.production opportunities e-isting in some
countries, they should go towards those countries at first to generate revenue. *ecause
without financial resources their production cannot be precede on as nowadays
broadcasters are not ready to pay for the shows anymore. And after that they would
open the new #; department where they will reform their organizational structure in
the way we have recommended. So this plan should be implemented partially within
one to two months and after generating revenue from the small markets, further
implementation will occur within si- to eight months when the new #; department
would be opened.
!ppendi)
rgani'ational Structure =0artial> of Sesame Workshop%

D'
The Group President
The Group Vice
President
The Regional
Vice President
for Latin
America & Asia
The Regional
Vice President
for Europe,
Africa & Middle
East
The Co-
production Vice
President
The Regional irector
The !enior irector
Managers
"ther Professionals

It continues up to clerical positions
#ote$ As in the given case there is nowhere mentioned that after the Senior Hirector
what other positions are maintained by the Sesame Workshop, we have assumed that
there would be some other layers including !anagers, supervisors, Specialists, and
clerical staffs after the Senior Hirector position.
%eference
1. www.sesamestreet.com
2. !T"#1$ Human %esource ana&ement
D%