Charge of the Holiday Party for Your

¶ … charge of the holiday party for your organization or department. Your boss says, "Should we have a formal sit-down dinner with just the employees? Or should we have an informal picnic with families and dogs? Please send a comparison with your recommendation."

This essay compares and contrasts two different options for our annual corporate holiday party, a formal sit-down dinner exclusively for employees, and an informal picnic with families and dogs. I argue we should have a picnic, based on several key assertions.

Many employees get to see each other every day, and adding families into the mix will help workers get to know each other better. (Contrast based on family or not)

While many of our employees work together every day, we are a large firm with several departments, and not all employees know each other very well. A sit down dinner will allow them to interact outside the office, but they will be limited to the people around them once the formal dinner and presentation have begun.

i. Dinners at formal restaurants are delicious and many employees may never have been to this restaurant before.

ii. This will allow them to dress up in their best clothes and see each other out of uniform.

B. On the other hand, workers' families can interact in a less-formal setting at a picnic, with games, activities and freedom to move around.

i. Families naturally intermingle because children like to play together, which allows the workers and spouses time to get to know each other.

ii. Having games like horseshoes and volleyball will break the ice for employees who have never met, and may be shy or uncomfortable talking to new people.

III. Having an event where families can attend will be more convenient for them.

(Contrast based on family status again but different criterion).

A. They won't have to find babysitters.

i. This will save them cost.

ii. This will save them the trouble of finding a sitter and perhaps dropping off and picking up the kids.

B. Not all employees have families.

i. This may be putting the convenience of the workers with families above the interest of the employees who don't have families, who may prefer a sit-down dinner. We don't know yet; they could prefer neither.

ii. The single employees will also be able to mingle and have fun at the picnic iii. The loss of preference to the workers who prefer a formal dinner will not actually be a harm, but a mild inconvenience, compared to the greater inconvenience of the ones with families.

IV. Since our annual holiday gathering is in September, people will want to be outside moving around and enjoying the early fall weather before winter comes.

(Contrast based on inside or outside)

A. The weather is perfect this time of year.