The following appeared in a memo from a budget planner for the city of Grandview.” It is time for the city of Grandview to stop funding the Grandview Symphony Orchestra. It is true that the symphony struggled financially for many years, but last year private contributions to the symphony increased by 200 percent and attendance at the symphony’s concerts-in-the-park series doubled. In addition, the symphony has just announced an increase in ticket prices for next year. For these reasons, we recommend that the city eliminate funding for the Grandview Symphony Orchestra from next year’s budget. We predict that the symphony will flourish in the years to come even without funding from the city.”

The following appeared in a memo from a budget planner for the city of Grandview.

“It is time for the city of Grandview to stop funding the Grandview Symphony Orchestra. It is true that the symphony struggled financially for many years, but last year private contributions to the symphony increased by 200 percent and attendance at the symphony’s concerts-in-the-park series doubled. In addition, the symphony has just announced an increase in ticket prices for next year. For these reasons, we recommend that the city eliminate funding for the Grandview Symphony Orchestra from next year’s budget. We predict that the symphony will flourish in the years to come even without funding from the city.”

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

The memo states that ‘it is time for the city of Grandview to stop funding the Grandview Symphony Orchestra (GSO).’ The memo continues by describing a number of positive statistics that indicate that the GSO is thriving. The memo is correct in pointing out that individual donations have increased by 200 percent, and attendance at concerts in the park series has doubled. These statistics indicate that the GSO is attracting new audience members, and this trend is a positive indicator for the future of the orchestra. The memo also correctly states that the orchestra has made some positive changes, such as increasing ticket prices for next year and announcing that the orchestra will ‘flourish in the years to come.’However, the memo fails to mention any negative statistics. It is important to consider all relevant factors when making such recommendations. For example, how many people are actually attending concerts in the park? The memo states that attendance doubled. However, it does not provide an accurate number of how many concert-goers there are at all. The memo also fails to mention the attendance numbers of previous years. Without this information, it is difficult to know whether the increase in attendance is simply due to more people going to the concerts or whether the concerts in the park are becoming more popular as a result. If the increase in attendance is due to increased attendance, then there may be more demand for concerts in the park in the future. If, on the other hand, the orchestra is attracting new audience members, but concert attendance is still low, then it might be time for the city to discontinue funding the symphony. The memo also fails to mention the GSO’s annual budget. The memo only states that the orchestra has ‘announced an increase in ticket prices for next year.’ However, it does not specify how much the orchestra intends to charge for each individual concert. If the increase in ticket prices is drastic, then it is likely that the number of audience members will decrease, resulting in even less revenue for the orchestra.

If the goal of the memo is to determine whether or not the GSO will continue to perform well in the future, it is crucial to determine how many people actually attend concerts. Without this, it is not possible to know whether the orchestra is successfully attracting new audience members or whether the attendance numbers are simply due to higher ticket prices. If the increase in attendance is due to increased ticket prices, then it is likely that the orchestra will still perform well in the future. If the increase in attendance is due to increased attendance, then it is possible that the orchestra will flourish, but further investigation is necessary.

In conclusion, in order for the memo to be valid, it would need to include a number of relevant statistics that indicate whether the GSO is improving, or if the organization is floundering. Without this crucial information, the memo would be little more than a prediction.