The Merger - Workplace Drama Game [Recruiting]

[Heartsink]

"Breaking News: Marsden and Buxton & Lott unveil $8 billion merger"

Marsden is a management consulting white-shoe firm headquartered in Midtown, New York City. After some major restructuring in the post-covid era, Marsden announced on August 8th, 2022 a merger with struggling management consulting firm Buxton & Lott. On September 1st, 2022, the merger was approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). CEO Robert Marsden finalized the merger on September 19th, 2022. Meanwhile, former Buxton & Lott employees were asked to join their new Marsden divisions starting in October, with their former offices being closed and all New York activities centralized in Marsden's headquarters at 1177 Avenue of the Americas.

The two New York-based firms, who were previously fierce competitors, now consolidate into Marsden, becoming one of the largest management consulting firm in the world. Julian Crawford, who had been the CEO of Buxton & Lott since 2019, will serve as chairman of the combined company through the first annual meeting of shareholders, after which Robert Marsden will take over. Crawford's role had been one of the last sticking points for a deal with Buxton & Lott's board pushing for a bigger role for him. However, this did not materialize.

Will the new employees from Buxton & Lott integrate well into Marsden? We know how different their corporate cultures were. Only time will tell... or writers.

Game Information

• This is a workplace drama game, meaning the focus of the game will be on employees and their relationships at the office and outside the office.
• This game will be a sandbox freeform game with little GM involvement.
• This game will be in the NC: Human-Freeform Small Groups section.

Looking for

• Any type of character, from division bosses, sub-bosses, common employees, company attorneys, janitors, or even the street food stall guy outside the building. As long as there is a connection to the company, and consequently a connection to other players.
• Normal people with flaws, no perfect employee, no serial killer, no geniuses, etc.
• Drama, workplace politics and the likes will be a thing. It doesn't have to be romance or friendships, but can also be bribes, corruption, trying to get someone fired, etc.

Inspired By

The Office
Suits
Greys Anatomy
Misaeng
etc.

Keep In Mind

• As a sandbox freeform game, The Merger may include elements that may be triggering for some players such as sexual harassment, sexism, and other types of workplace abuses.
• While the game aims to be realistic, it does not require players to have extensive knowledge of anything work-related in particular, as the focus of the game will not be on character's work.

Current Cast

The table below is a round-up of the cast and at-a-glance information as of the latest update on May 26th, 2021:



Some demographics info:

The average active character age is 34. 9/29 active characters are in their 20s. 15/29 active characters are in their 30s. 3/29 are in their 40s. 1/29 is in their 50s. 1/29 is in their 60s.

14 active characters are cis women and 15 are cis men.

As for "Race":
Non-Hispanic White: 55.2% ~ 16/29
Black: 10.3% ~ 3/29
Mixed: 10.3% ~ 3/29
Asian: 10.3% ~ 3/29
"Hispanic and Latino": 6.9% ~ 2/29
Middle Eastern: 6.9% ~ 2/29

Depending on the age range you want your character (if working at Marsden), here's a rule of thumb for consulting positions (with some exceptions):

• min >22-23 | ideal: 22-23 | max: 30: Junior Analyst (Intern) - Completing or Completed Bachelor's
• min >23-25 | ideal: 24-45 | max: 65: Analyst - Completed Bachelor's
• min >25-27 | ideal: 27-40 | max: 55: Junior Consultant - Completed Bachelor's and Master's or Completed Bachelor's and experience
• min >27-29 | ideal: 30-45 | max: 65: Senior Consultant - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and experience or Completed Bachelor's and significant experience
• min >29-31 | ideal: 33-50 | max: 65: Manager - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and significant experience or Completed Bachelor's and very significant experience
• min >31-33 | ideal: 35-55 | max: 65: Senior Manager - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and very significant experience or Completed Bachelor's and very significant experience
• min >33-35 | ideal: 37-65 | max: 70: Deputy Director - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and very significant experience or Completed Bachelor's and extremely significant experience
• min >35-37 | ideal: 40-70 | max: 75: Director - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and extremely significant experience or Completed Bachelor's and extremely significant experience
• min >40-45 | ideal: 45-75 | max: 80: Higher Executive - Completed Bachelor's and Master's and extremely significant experience or Completed Bachelor's and extremely significant experience

The minimum is really if they're gunning for promotion after promotion and remains very unlikely. To be an exception (e.g. Barbara Weissman), your character would need an external factor such as corruption.

For alma mater (education), I recommend any top universities in the US and ideally an Ivy League university such as UPenn, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, etc. <- This is especially true for recent graduate hires and interns.

Character Sheet

Code Select Expand

[center][size=18pt]CHARACTER NAME[/size][/center]

[float=right][img height=300 padding=10]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][/float]

[b]NAME:[/b] Character Name (In Native Language If Applicable)
[b]BIRTH AND AGE:[/b] e.g. 8 August 1995 (Age 27) AGE AT TIME OF RP ON OCTOBER 1ST 2022
[b]HEIGHT/WEIGHT:[/b] e.g. 5'4" (1.63 m) / 112 lbs (51 kg)
[b]HAIR COLOR:[/b] e.g. Brown
[b]EYE COLOR:[/b] e.g. Brown
[b]ETHNICITY:[/b] e.g. Mexican-American
[b]DISTINGUISHING MARKS:[/b] e.g. Tattoos, broken nose, piercings, thin eyebrows, big nose, body weight, body height

[b]FACE CLAIM:[/b] MUST BE CONFORM TO ELLIQUIY RULES

[b]BIRTHPLACE:[/b] WHERE WERE THEY BORN?
[b]RESIDENCE:[/b] WHERE DO THEY LIVE?
[b]POSITION AT MARSDEN:[/b] NAME OF POSITION - COMPANY DIVISION - FLOOR
[b]COMMUTE MODE:[/b] HOW DO THEY USUALLY COMMUTE TO WORK?
[b]HOBBIES:[/b] LIST AT LEAST FIVE (5) THINGS THEY LIKE OR THINGS THEY ENJOY DOING
[b]DISLIKES:[/b] LIST AT LEAST FIVE (5) THINGS THEY DISLIKE

[b]PERSONALITY:[/b]
WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? THIS CAN BE IN PARAGRAPH FORM OR POINT FORM, HOWEVER YOU MUST LIST 5-10 PERSONALITY TRAITS FOR THE LATTER

[center][img height=250 padding=5]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][img height=250 padding=5]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][img height=250 padding=5]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][img height=250 padding=5]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][img height=250 padding=5]INSERT IMAGE LINK[/img][/center]

[b]BACKGROUND:[/b]
WHERE ARE THEY FROM? WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? HOW IS THEIR FAMILY LIKE? HOW LONG HAVE THEY WORKED AT MARSDEN? MINIMUM ONE PARAGRAPH

[b]LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN:[/b] DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH? SPANISH?

[b]FLAWS:[/b] (MINIMUM OF FIVE)
[list]
[li]FLAW #1 - EXPLAIN[/li]
[li]FLAW #2 - EXPLAIN[/li]
[li]FLAW #3 - EXPLAIN[/li]
[li]FLAW #4 - EXPLAIN[/li]
[li]FLAW #5 - EXPLAIN[/li]
[/list]

[b]GOSSIP:[/b]
[list]
[li]WHAT ARE COWORKERS SAYING BEHIND THEIR BACK?[/li]
[li]LIST AT LEAST THREE[/li]
[/list]

[b]DESIRED PLOTS[/b]
[list]
[li]WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTER TO IN THIS GAME[/li]
[li]LIST AS MANY AS YOU LIKE[/li]
[/list]

EXAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET: ROBERT MARSDEN

ROBERT MARSDEN

NAME: Robert "Bobby" Marsden
BIRTH AND AGE: 25 April 1962 (Age 60)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'10" (1.77 m) / 159 lbs (72 kg)
HAIR COLOR: Strawberry blond
EYE COLOR: Dark blue
ETHNICITY: English-American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Thin lips

FACE CLAIM: Kenneth Branagh

BIRTHPLACE: New York City, NY
RESIDENCE: New Canaan, CT (main) & Midtown, NYC (apartment)
POSITION AT MARSDEN: CEO - Executive - 42nd
COMMUTE MODE: 2020 Lincoln Navigator Luxury SUV
HOBBIES: Sex, alcohol, basketball, sailing, fishing
DISLIKES: His wife's old age and depreciating beauty, cold weather, homeless people in the city, affirmative action, feminism

PERSONALITY:
An Ivy League graduate, the social life there made Bobby a man and shaped his future personality, full of confidence and privileges. He is used to have what he wants and usually does not take no for an answer. He has an eye for business and making money, which kept him where he was, but his main weakness is women. Bobby has never been faithful to his wife, which is more of a trophy wife than anything from his perspective. He likes them young and submissive. Bobby is a showoff, he likes to wear expensive suits and has a suave allure about him. He is nevertheless a traditionalist, treating those he considers below him as of little importance, which includes most of his employees and people that appear to make less money than him. If someone's net worth his higher than his, he will respect them. That, however, only applies to men. He shamelessly objectifies women and uses them to get physical rewards.

BACKGROUND:
Bobby was born in New York City and grew up in Brooklyn Heights, the son of William Marsden, founder of Marsden. He has a younger sister, Emily (born 1964), and a younger brother, David (born 1966). After finishing high school, Bobby enrolled at Yale University. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania; he graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in economics from the Wharton School of UPenn and a Master of Business Administration. He then started working at his father's company and quickly rose in importance, taking more and more responsibility. Het met his wife Carol - 6 years younger than him - in 1991 and married her in 1992. They have two children, a daughter named Juliet (born 1995) and a son named Nathan (born 1998). The couple relocated to New Canaan, CT in 2005.

After his father's retirement in 1999, Bobby took over the company as the CEO after being voted in by shareholders. William Marsden eventually passed away in 2019 at age 88, with Bobby inheriting most of his shares in the company, his siblings getting the remainder. While not personally owning a majority of shares, Bobby's position as CEO is not in danger as he has consistently increased the company's profile within the industry through the 20+ years of his leadership. 2020-21 was a difficult period, not only because of the coronavirus pandemic, but also because of a case of sexual harassment against him which he quickly managed to quiet down and solve with money. 2022 started with a company restructuring which he insisted was necessary to perform well in the post-covid era. This included the controversial acquisition and merger with former competitors and fellow NY-based management consulting firm Buxton & Lott. While shareholders ultimately voted for the merger, it was definitely not unanimous.

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: Monolingual English speaker

FLAWS:

• Arrogant - Bobby thinks of himself as better than most people and people not outside his social class to be beneath him.
• Alcoholism - Heavy drinker, he seems to always have a drink in hand.
• Misogynist - Belittles women often and thinks little of them in general, only seeing their value for sex
• Selfish - He is only concerned about himself, not caring at all about his wife, for example.
• Abusive - Has mistreated family members and employees in the past and continues to do so, especially with his wife.

GOSSIP:

• Known by high-level male employees to look inappropriately at female employees and make indecent suggestions.
• There was a sexual harassment case against him but it was dropped.
• Rarely ever seen in the building; does he actually come to work? Does he sleep in his office?
• Has huge personal stock investments in cryptocurrencies.

DESIRED PLOTS

• As the CEO, he is not meant to be a character that interacts with most other characters, but he can be the big villain or hero at times depending on what others have in mind for plots. Supporting role mainly.
• Possibly clash with former Buxton & Lott people.
• Could be interesting to have a female employee try to suck up to him to get a better position and he exploits that.

Bobby's Residences

$5 million, 5,500 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms mansion in Norwalk, CT




$4,000/month, 758 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, apartment located 0.1 mile from Marsden headquarters in Midtown, NYC

Bobby's Commute

EXAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET: DEREK LEE

DEREK LEE

NAME: Derek Lee
BIRTH AND AGE: 9 June 1989 (Age 33)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'10" (1.77 m) / 132 lbs (60 kg)
HAIR COLOR: Black
EYE COLOR: Brown
ETHNICITY: Chinese-American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: N/A

FACE CLAIM: Huang Xuan (黄轩)

BIRTHPLACE: Flushing, Queens, NY
RESIDENCE: Long Island City, Queens, NY
POSITION AT MARSDEN: Senior Consultant - Risk Management - 38th
COMMUTE MODE: Subway
HOBBIES: Swimming, gaming, riding the subway, pet sitting, reading
DISLIKES: Kpop, anime, clubbing, dancing, expensive things

PERSONALITY:
Derek is extremely ambitious and wants to advance within the company as far and as quickly as he can. He is meticulous and a great planner, always doing things when he is supposed to. More introverted than extraverted, Derek likes to keep most things to himself and is not interested in other people's personal lives. While he may appear serious, he can also have a laugh and be laid back at times, although he rarely has the luxury to, more often than not overworking himself so he can be somewhat satisfied. At the end of the day, he tends to blame himself for any problem at work or things that aren't his fault. He becomes frustrated and impatient easily, which affects his mood often. Moreover, he gets jealous of successful people, even if they are friends, and finds it difficult to congratulate people who are doing better than him. Outside work, he is less hardcore and in a way more himself. However, he has difficulty detaching himself from his professional life and is drawn back checking his phone every two minutes to see if he's needed. He only really lets loose when he gets drunk, suddenly turning into a confident party animal.

BACKGROUND:
Derek was born and raised in Flushing, Queens, NY. His parents are immigrants from Guangdong, China who moved to the US in the 1980s. He has an older brother, Joshua (born 1984), and a younger sister, Evelyn (born 1991). After finishing high school, Derek enrolled at NYU, studying actuarial science and graduating in 2012. He then joined Marsden as an intern under a 1-year contract, before joining on a permanent basis in 2013 as an Analyst. He has been working at Marsden ever since, starting to study part-time to earn an MBA from the Columbia Business School of Columbia University. After four years of nonstop working and studying, he earned his MBA in 2017 and was promoted to a Junior Consultant position in the Autumn. Three years later in 2020, moving upward in the Marsden corporate ladder, he earned another promotion and became a Senior Consultant, leading his own Risk Management team. He lives in a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 639 sq ft apartment under a $4,000/month mortgage in Long Island City, Queens, near Queensboro Plaza.

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: English & Cantonese fluently; rudimentary Spanish

FLAWS:

• Workaholic - Always working, overtime is his kingdom, meaning he has little time for himself.
• Cheapskate - He is very reticent at the idea of spending money, unless it's to spend on himself.
• Self-blame - If something goes wrong, he tends to blame himself easily even if it isn't his fault.
• Impatient - He doesn't like when things don't go as fast as they should go.
• Jealous - Gets jealous easily of people who achieve or have things he desires.

GOSSIP:

• Always at the street food vendor in front of the building during lunch break.
• Always working overtime and the last to leave.
• Wears really cheap suits from Zara, Uniqlo and the likes.

DESIRED PLOTS

• People to show him that life is not all about work.
• Romance.
• Swimming shenanigans.
• Could train an intern or Junior Analyst.

Derek's Apartment

Derek's Commute

EXAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET: JAMILA HARB

JAMILA HARB

NAME: Jamila Harb
BIRTH AND AGE: 19 February 1976 (Age 46)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'2" (1.57 m) / 119 lbs (54 kg)
HAIR COLOR: Black
EYE COLOR: Brown
ETHNICITY: Lebanese-American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Has a Lebanese cedar tattooed on her left ankle and Maronite cross on her right ankle.

FACE CLAIM: Salma Hayek

BIRTHPLACE: Beirut, Lebanon
RESIDENCE: Gramercy Park, Manhattan, NY
POSITION AT MARSDEN: CPA, Director - Accounting & Auditing Division - 40th
COMMUTE MODE: Subway (R)
HOBBIES: Food discovery, reading, traveling to sunny destinations, yoga, watching musicals
DISLIKES: Unprofessional behavior, sexists, dogs (she's scared of them), food that tastes cheap, sports

PERSONALITY:
Jamila is a professional, calm and collected person. Judgmental, she tends to see flaws in people before their qualities, perhaps out of habit of looking for faults in things as her job. She managed to get as high as she has in her career thanks to her determination and driven personality. Remarkably observant, she excels at her job and prides herself in work well done. However, this flawless professional side comes with high stress due to high expectations, not only due to her position but also as a successful woman. This constant pressure makes her achievements the more sweeter but her failures the more bitter. She manages to handle that stress and use it to fuel her drive and passion. She easily forms friendships with colleagues and espouses Marsden's corporate clan culture, but is highly demanding of the people under her, with expectations of hard work, loyalty and a respectable professional image. She doesn't single out colleagues when there is a reproach to make, instead focusing on team blame and what the team could have done to help each other out better. On a more personal basis, she can be at times projecting and hypocritical, hiding her own insecurities that way.

BACKGROUND:
Jamila was born in Beirut, Lebanon to Maronite Christian parents, the youngest of three siblings. When she was four years old, the Harb family left Lebanon due to the ongoing Lebanese Civil War. First moving to Canada in 1980, the family relocated in Dearborn, Michigan as relatives had settled there. Despite being refugees, her father's educational background allowed him to find work quickly in Metro Detroit, meaning the Harb family was comfortably middle-class. After finishing high school in 1995, Jamila enrolled at the Henry Ford College in Accounting, pursuing her studies two years later at Wayne State University to earn herself a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She then continued her studies at Columbia University, plus a summer internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers, earning her MBA in 2001. She was granted a CPA license by the New York State Board of Public Accountancy and started working at Goldman Sachs. She met her husband there and married him in 2007 at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn. After five years, she sought new opportunities and accepted a job at Deloitte, where she worked until 2013. That year, she got a higher-paid position at Marsden, working in the Accounting & Auditing Division. Since then she climbed the ranks with stellar performances and earned herself the top spot as Director of the Accounting & Auditing Division in 2020 after the previous Director retired. She lives in Gramercy Park, Manhattan with her husband and her two kids, Gabriel (born 2009) and Nadia (born 2012). Despite a harmonious marital life, both her and her husband were extremely busy people, though her husband ended up sacrificing more to take care of the children than she did, as she made more money than him. This led to some frustration from her side, as her husband became fatigued easily and less inclined to satisfy her romantic and sexual needs. As a result, she became more tempted by her own sexual inclinations, realizing she was bisexual when she had a brief affair with a woman in the last year.

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: American English, Levantine Arabic and rudimentary French

FLAWS:

• Extremely busy - As a career woman and a mother of two children, Jamila has little to not time for herself.
• Defenseless - Jamila is physically weak and doesn't know how to fight, making her vulnerable to any kind of physical attack.
• Judgmental - She can be ridiculously excessive when judging people if she thinks what someone is doing is wrong, even for minor stuff.
• Limited social life - Her social life revolves around her work and family, meaning she has little friends outside those two groups.
• Adulterous - Has cheated on her husband in the last year with a woman.
• Heavy smoker - Developed a smoking habit due to stress and finds it hard to quit.

GOSSIP:

• She'll know if you drank or did drugs the night before.
• Her clothes are always immaculate.
• She eats at fancy restaurants a lot.

DESIRED PLOTS

• Mentoring a younger or new employee.
• Naughty employees to scold.
• A more serious affair.

Jamila's Apartment

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,471 sq ft apartment in Gramercy Park, Manhattan

Jamila's Commute

PM me your Character Sheet or leave it in this thread with the caption that it's a finished sheet, as I've seen many WIPs.
Questions are always welcome.

Threads

Recruitment & Information
Accepted Characters
OOC
Marsden Headquarters
Outside the Office
Residences
Communications
Events

[Heartsink]

Company Information

The CEO



U/C

Company Divisions

Executive Division
Handles the business, planning, decision-making and also financial review. This division links with other divisions to ensure the smooth flow of information and operations.

Positions

Chairman: Julian Crawford (NPC)
Treasurer: TBD
President & Chief Executive Officer: Robert Marsden
Chief of Financial Officer: TBD
Chief Operations Officer: TBD
Executive Vice President: TBD
Senior Vice President for Health & Public Services: TBD
Senior Vice President for Resources: TBD
Senior Vice President for Products: TBD
Senior Vice President for Communications, Media & Technology: TBD
Senior Vice President for Finance: TBD
Personal Secretary to the CEO: TBD
Executive Secretary: TBD
Executive Secretary: TBD
Executive Secretary: TBD
Executive Secretary: TBD

Legal Division
Tasked to oversee and identify legal issues in all divisions. They also offer training and assistance with employee manuals to ensure that the company and employees are kept up to date on workplace law. This division also involves handling customer complaints in a professional style and represent the company if sued. They also handle filing of legal documents on government agencies. This division reports to the Chief Legal Officer.

Positions

Chief Legal Officer: TBD
Vice President of Legal Affairs: TBD
Legal Director: TBD
Legal Manager: TBD
Senior Legal Counsel: TBD
Junior Legal Counsel: TBD
Paralegal: TBD
Legal Intern: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Accounting & Auditing Division
Offers financial management and evaluates the effectiveness of the company's internal controls, corporate governance, and accounting processes. Internal audits provide management and board of directors with a value-added service where flaws in a process may be caught and corrected prior to external audits. This division reports to the Chief Financial Officer.

Positions

Director of Accounting & Auditing: Jamila Harb
Deputy Director of Accounting & Auditing: TBD
Internal Auditor: TBD
Managerial Accountant: TBD
Financial Accountant: TBD
Tax Accountant: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Human Resources
Responsible for managing the employee life cycle (i.e., recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and firing employees) and administering employee benefits. This division reports to the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Positions

Chief Human Resources Officer: TBD
Human Resources Vice President: TBD
Director of Human Resources: TBD
Deputy Director of Human Resources: TBD
Compensation & Benefits Manager: TBD
Recruitment Manager: TBD
Employee Manager: TBD
Training Manager: TBD
Work Safety Manager: TBD
Senior HR Generalist: TBD
Junior HR Generalist: TBD
HR Analyst: TBD
Paralegal: TBD
Senior Recruiter: TBD
Junior Recruiter: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Logistics Division
Responsible for IT, web presence, hardware, software and development within the company. Company communications and public relations are also handled through this Division. This division reports to the Chief Information Officer.

Positions

Chief Information Officer: TBD
Public Relations Officer: TBD
Director of Logistics: TBD
Deputy Director of Logistics: TBD
Information Security Expert: TBD
IT Support Manager: TBD
System Administrator: TBD
Network Administrator: TBD
Developer: TBD
Tester: TBD
Technicians: Oliver Spencer
Receptionist: TBD

Risk Management Division
Not to be confused with the Auditing Division which is a corporate unit, the Risk Management Division is predominantly a business unit that supports other business divisions in assessing risks in their projects. It also supports the Auditing Division in assessing the company's internal risks with a dedicated Internal Risk Team. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Chief Risk Officer: TBD
Director of Risk Management: TBD
Deputy Director of Risk Management: TBD
Internal Risk Manager: TBD
Internal Actuary: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultants: Derek Lee
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Financial Division
Business unit responsible for management consulting for financial services companies such as large banks, investment companies, etc. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Financial Director: TBD
Deputy Financial Director: TBD
Financial Executive: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultant: TBD
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Health & Public Services Division
Business unit responsible for management consulting for healthcare and public services entities from private corporations to government agencies. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Director of Health & Public Services: TBD
Deputy Director of Health & Public Services: TBD
Health & Public Services Executive: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultant: TBD
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Resources Division
Business unit responsible for management consulting for natural resources companies such as oil & gas giants, mining companies, etc. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Director of Resources: TBD
Deputy Director of Resources: TBD
Resources Executive: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultant: TBD
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Products Division
Business unit responsible for management consulting for new products, this division partners with companies to research, design, and launch new products and services. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Director of Products: TBD
Deputy Director of Products: Tonia Stone
Products Executive: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultant: TBD
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Communications, Media & Technology Division
Business unit responsible for management consulting for technology companies from social media giants to television networks. This division reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Positions

Director of Communications, Media & Technology: TBD
Deputy Director of Communications, Media & Technology: TBD
Communications Executive: TBD
Media Executive: TBD
Technology Executive: TBD
Senior Manager: TBD
Manager: TBD
Senior Consultants: Kevin Sparks
Junior Consultant: TBD
Analyst: TBD
Receptionist: TBD

Corporate Culture




Marsden operates under a clan company culture. As the name suggests, this type of company culture is suggestive of shared goals and values, a spirit of participation and the feeling of unity and solidarity. Clan culture is inspired by the structure and functioning of a family, fostering a feeling of "we-ness" in the workplace. Marsden thus aims to offer a supportive environment defined by semi-autonomous work teams and employee-involvement programs. Due to the shorter distance between management and employees (due to the lesser number of management levels), decision making is a much faster process. Additionally, communication is easier and more candid between the two parties. Unlike market culture, this type of culture fosters a feeling of teamwork and collaboration. In 2022, Marsden ranked #8 on Forbes' "America's Best Employers".

By comparison, Buxton & Lott operated under a market culture in which the goal was to get down to business, get work done, and achieve results. This was often a competitive environment, even among coworkers. The purpose of being at work in a company with this type of culture is to make as much profit and capture as much market share as possible. Note that neither culture is necessarily better than the other, as some people may thrive in one or the other or in neither. Additionally, the clan culture at Marsden does not exempt it from having toxicity in the workplace.

Headquarters


1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, NY

Lobby



Floors
(Marsden occupies floors 32 to 42)

Floor 42: Executive Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 41: Legal Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

(features other amenities such as showers, lockers, music rooms and a wellness center)

Floor 40: Accounting & Auditing Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 39: Human Resources

Plan (Click For Full Size)

(features other amenities such as bicycle racks, seven interview rooms and the only ping pong table)

Floor 38: Risk Management Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 37: Logistics Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 36: Health & Public Services Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 35: Resources Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 34: Products Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 33: Communications, Media & Technology Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Floor 32: Financial Division

Plan (Click For Full Size)

Nearby Locations
Midtown Club, hip night club located half a mile away from Marsden's headquarters


Hell's Gentlemen's Club, adult entertainment club located a mile away from Marsden's headquarters


Gym & Swim Club, located half a mile away from Marsden's headquarters;
35% of membership fee is covered by Marsden for its employees

[himawari]

INTERESTED

[Foxy DeVille]

Interested and already got an idea knockin' around mah noggin.

[Herizen]

I'm so into this. Probably because it's a little close to home at the moment. Not that I live in New York... or am part of a major conglomerate that may be in the midst of a merger... or whatever. You get it.

I will keep on top of this 24/7.

[Heartsink]

INTERESTED

Yay!

Interested and already got an idea knockin' around mah noggin.

Ohh I like that

I'm so into this. Probably because it's a little close to home at the moment. Not that I live in New York... or am part of a major conglomerate that may be in the midst of a merger... or whatever. You get it.

I will keep on top of this 24/7.

Hahah sounds good, I'm still a bit skeptical about attracting interest as I'm assuming a lot of people on E don't want a reminder of work lol



Glad to have all your interests so far  >:) O:)

Added a Forbes cover spoof for a bit of fun and will add more company information in the near future

[himawari]

I have a character or two in mind.

Face Claim: Bae Su Ji and Adelaide Kane (tent)

[Sparky01]

Interested. I can craft a character based on balance needs or that can help support the plot.  Perhaps a Buxton & Lott exec to to match/oppose the Marsden.

[Mature Desires]

Very interested!

[Heartsink]

I have a character or two in mind.

Face Claim: Bae Su Ji and Adelaide Kane (tent)

Sounds promising!

Interested. I can craft a character based on balance needs or that can help support the plot.  Perhaps a Buxton & Lott exec to to match/oppose the Marsden.

Entirely up to your creative desires; if you feel like making a hawkish employee that's all about statpadding their numbers or a meek "yes man" employee who's having a rough time, for example, you could do either or both or anything else as long as they're realistic

An exec from Buxton & Lott is definitely possible, with the different corporate cultures to consider especially for an exec. For lower ranked employees, their personalities don't necessarily have to fit the corporate culture of the company they're from, Marsden or Buxton & Lott, as them not fitting could possibly ease their integration with the merger if they're from Buxton & Lott. Could also for example be a Marsden employee who doesn't fit with their culture and welcomes the new ideas coming from the Buxton & Lott people. Could be a purist Marsden exec or division leader who's intent on bringing the new additions to the "Marsden way". There's definitely many possibilities to explore  :-)

Moreover if you wish to ignore the corporate culture clashes/merger plot altogether and have your character(s) focus on other stuff that is completely suitable too

Very interested!

Wooohoo  >:)



To anyone interested, there is no character limit planned since this is a big company and I believe in the "make as many as you can handle" notion

[Deante]

My plate is too full for this, but I just want to compliment the theme. I love workplace stuff, sexy people in lovely professional attire, etc.

[Foxy DeVille]

Guess I'll go ahead and toss my gal up...

Jazmin Estrella

JAZMIN ESTRELLA

NAME: Jazmin Ysabel Estrella de Santiago
BIRTH AND AGE: 11 February 1994 (Age 28)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'8.5" (1.63 m) / 141 lbs (64 kg)
HAIR COLOR: Dirty Blonde
EYE COLOR: Dark Brown
ETHNICITY: Nuyorican
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Several men have given the unsolicited opinion of “that booty.”

FACE CLAIM: Carmen Carrera

BIRTHPLACE: Manatí, Puerto Rico
RESIDENCE: East Harlem, Manhattan
POSITION AT MARSDEN: Paralegal - Human Resources - 39th
COMMUTE MODE: Bus
HOBBIES:Clubbing, working out, checking out artists in her neighborhood, sunbathing, fashion, cosmetics, her phone, sports with basketball in particular (she's a Knicks fan), listening to classic pop divas, rom coms, her snake Eva, Latin American food, the beach, drinking fruity cocktails, enjoying her cannabis prescription.
DISLIKES: Judgmental people, overly personal questions, being called “Jazz” or “Jazzy,” Americans that don’t know that Puerto Rico is part of the United States, chasers, backhanded compliments, guys who think they're players (but there’s a good chance she’ll still fall for them), cooking (because she’s terrible at it).

PERSONALITY:
Jazmin is a fun-loving young woman with little filter, the sort that sings a little too loud in public. She can be pretty snarky and foul-mouthed but doesn’t try to really hurt someone with her words. She's very sociable and always looking to do stuff with people. A longtime resident of Manhattan, she loves the borough and spends much of her free time exploring it, especially her neighborhood of East Harlem as she finds the Latin American culture there enchanting. Jazmin is definitely into her glam and loves compliments on her physical appearance. In spite of her bold and brassy personality, she doesn't like talking about her past and a lot of her go-go-go energy comes from wanting to deflect people from getting too close to her. She is a proudly out trans woman and does what she can to help the LGBTQ community. Jazmin feels both blessed and sometimes a bit guilty about how smooth her transition has gone and tries not to take her privileges for granted.

BACKGROUND:
Jazmin was born in Manatí, Puerto Rico to a father that constantly cheated on her mother. When she was eight her mother had enough and took her to kids to New York where she had family. Things were fine after that unil Jazin was twelve and discovered things like boys and doing her hair and make-up. Normal girl stuff but unfortunately that wasn’t what it said on her birth certificate so her rather conservative mother wasn’t happy at all. Jazmin began spending more time at the apartment of her much more accepting abuela (“grandmother” to those that don’t habla español). By the time she was sixteen Jazmin was practically living there as well as being a frequent visitor to a pair of Brazilian drag queens that lived in the same building. Through them Jazmin became part of New York’s drag ball scene and joined the House of Estrella. She became a talented performer but when she was eighteen she realized she needed to do more than dress like a woman on weekend nights and began transitioning. It wasn’t an inexpensive process and Jazmin’s waitressing job didn’t have benefits. She considered escorting and made it as far as posting an ad on a few sites but couldn’t go through with it. Luckily her abuela came through for her again, deciding her rainy day fund should be used to brighten her grand-daughter’s life. When Jazmin legally changed her name she replaced her deadbeat dad’s with that of the House that was more family than he ever was. When she approached her mid-twenties, Jazmin decided she needed to have some sort of plan besides going to clubs. While she had an icy relationship with her mother and a lukewarm one with her older sister Ana, she got along great with her brother-in-law Sam. A lawyer, he suggested she go to school to become a paralegal and she took his advice. After Jazmin was done in a couple years, Sam got in touch with a law school buddy who worked at Buxton & Lott. That got her an interview and she nailed it. Jazmin has worked in the Human Resources department for about three years now. She helps keep the staff up to date on workplace law and makes sure proper policies are being followed. With her outgoing personality Jazmin is usually the one that give seminars for HR, making her a familiar face to many of the employees. While usually upbeat Jazmin is nervous about the merger since she doesn’t know if her new bosses will be as accepting as her old ones. And right now would be a bad time to have to find a new job. She has a nice affordable studio at the Carolina in East Harlem not too far from her abuela and friends. Jazmin also has a lot of credit card debt that she was already wondering how she’s going to handle before all this went down. Oh, the fun life of a working girl..

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: Jazmin was raised speaking Spanish and English. She also picked up on Portuguese pretty quickly from her Brazilian friends and learned a decent amount of Italian before a vacation to Milan.

FLAWS: (MINIMUM OF FIVE)

• Unlucky in love - Her fondness for bad boys (and girls and those that lie betwixt) has led to some pretty unhealthy relationships.
• Spendthrift - Jazmin likes clothes and makeup and having a really good time. Her credit card wishes she didn't like them quite so much.
• Crass sense of humor - Some people share it, others... not so much.
• Complainer - Jazmin will sometimes just unload all her problems on someone, even if they really don't want to hear about them.
• Procrastination - She'll try to put off unpleasant situations, which frequently makes things worse.

GOSSIP:

• ”Oh look, it’s the diversity hire.”
• ”Dude, that ass has seen more traffic than the Holland Tunnel.”
• ”You see a lot of her kind out on the corner, if you know what I mean.”
• ”How can she be a paralegal? She’s not even American.”
• ”Somebody has to be paying for that wardrobe.”
• ”Like, I’ve never seen it but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

DESIRED PLOTS

• Having champagne tastes on a beer budget is starting to catch up to her.
• Worrying the new bosses won’t be as inclusive or accepting.
• Someone at work finds one of her old escort ads online.
• Papi’s home!

[Sparky01]

*Edited to remove WIP character sheets.*

Characters submitted to GM

[Mellific]

I'm definitely interested. Nice thread, Heartsink. I've never seen a group game idea quite like this one.

[Flower]

*plants flag too* (^^)

[Mellific]

Always nice to see lovely familiar faces! ^^

I'm going to claim Zooey Deschanel and Sam Claflin.

[Mellific]

NAME: Viola Drewitt
BIRTH AND AGE: April 20th, 1990 / 32
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'5" / 125 lbs.
HAIR COLOR: Dark brown
EYE COLOR: Light blue
ETHNICITY: American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Viola switches between wearing contacts and glasses. Her glasses are thick, tortoise shell frames.

FACE CLAIM: Zooey Deschanel

BIRTHPLACE: Stillwater, Minnesota
RESIDENCE: Yonkers, New York
POSITION AT MARSDEN: Director of Human Resources - HR Department - 39th Floor
COMMUTE MODE: Subway train
HOBBIES: Singing | Reading | Journaling | Vintage shopping | Tea
DISLIKES: Coffee | Litter | Smoking | Hard liquor | High heels

PERSONALITY:

• Quirky
• Optimistic
• Fun-loving
• Selfless
• Creative
• Enthusiastic
• Imaginative
• Childish
• Micromanaging
• Awkward

BACKGROUND:

Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, Viola never dreamt that she would actually move to the Big Apple, though it had always been a dream of hers, ever since she was a child. As a kid, Viola was always just a little dorky, preferring to stay inside while her peers were soaking up the sun. She spent most of her time at summer camp reading in the air conditioning. This wouldn't change throughout her teen years. Viola blossomed somewhat later in life, not really bothering with boys until it was time to start thinking about a prom date. Of course, by then it was too late to secure a date to prom, so she wound up going with a friend and the entire evening was the exact opposite of romantic. This trend would continue on into her adult years. College was spent in Minnesota, keeping her close to family and friends, while dates with guys were as difficult to navigate as ever. Thankfully, a lot of growth did happen for Viola in college and when she graduated with a degree in Human Resources, she finally said goodbye to her parents (Nathan and Jocelyn) and moved out. She started out doing an internship at a local warehouse, learning the HR ropes, before signing up with a recruiter who had tracked down her professional profile online. After being offered a position at a corporate office, Viola realized that her dreams could expand even taller, and after gaining over a decade of experience in HR, it was time to soar to new heights. She applied when there was an opening at Buxton & Lott, on a whim, not thinking she'd get it. But, she was hired in the summer of 2019, just a couple of months before the Marsden merger, which she is still struggling to navigate.

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: English and ASL

FLAWS:

• Immature - Sometimes Viola can act in an immature way or react to things in a slightly childish manner.
• Emotional - Viola can't always contain her emotions and they sometimes just spill out at random times.
• Micromanages - Viola has a tendency to think that she knows what is best and sometimes meddles where she should not.
• Nosy - On occasion, Viola has been known to let her curiosity get the better of her and involves herself in others problems.
• Spontaneous - When it comes to certain things, Viola might act without thinking carefully first.

GOSSIP:

• "Does she have ADHD?"
• "How old is she? She dresses like a kid."
• "I heard that her parents are deaf."

DESIRED PLOTS

• Frienemies
• Roommates
• Professionals to challenge her professionalism
• Saucy drama that she somehow gets tangled up in
• Romance and beyond

[Mellific]

NAME: Oliver Spencer
BIRTH AND AGE: May 4th, 1993 / 29
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'0" / 180 lbs.
HAIR COLOR: Dark blonde
EYE COLOR: Deep green
ETHNICITY: American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Scar on left ankle from injury that happened during childhood

FACE CLAIM: Sam Claflin

BIRTHPLACE: Sarasota, Florida
RESIDENCE: Hoboken, New Jersey
POSITION AT MARSDEN: IT Technician | Logistics Division | 37th Floor
COMMUTE MODE: Cab or Uber... Sometimes he walks
HOBBIES: Gaming | Paintball | Eating | Computers | Beer
DISLIKES: Traffic | Winter | Instruction packets | Tutorials | Flat beer

PERSONALITY:

• Curious
• Observant
• Communicative
• Easygoing
• Openminded
• Stubborn
• Hot-headed
• Easily stressed
• Independent
• Overthinker

BACKGROUND:

Life in Florida was as sunny as the commercials, for young Oliver. Growing up with two sisters wasn't always easy, but later in life, Oliver would be thankful for it. He was the middle child, with Lilian being the eldest and Priscilla being the youngest. Sometimes he felt ignored, but that was mostly middle kid syndrome. His parents, Brandon and Sandra, did their best with what they had. For as often as there was arguing and fighting, there was also love between all five of them. Oliver and Lilian became closer the older they got and eventually, she came out to him. He was the only person that she trusted with the information. He helped her tell their parents, who took some time to warm up to the idea that their firstborn daughter would not be gifting them biological grandchildren. Oliver knew he wanted to work with computers since he was a kid. He loved taking things apart and figuring out how to put them together again. Much of his time was spent tinkering with things and understanding how they worked. He took as many computer-centered courses as he could in school and wound up with a degree in Information Technology after attending University in New Jersey. The college helped him land a job afterward, which mostly consisted of building up his resume by doing freelance projects. He hopped around from healthcare IT to entertainment IT and eventually, IT at Marsden. He's been with the company now for nearly five years and is acclimating to the merger.

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: English and learning Italian because he wants to visit Italy

FLAWS:

• Sensitive - Oliver can take a long time to move on from setbacks and heartbreak.
• Criticism - He doesn't handle criticism very well and tends to internalize and obsess over it.
• Humor - Sometimes Oliver doesn't pick the best times to make jokes or be lighthearted.
• Follow-through - Oliver is great at ideas, but not so great with the plans.
• Relaxed - Sometimes his perpetual relaxation state can make others think he is lazy.

GOSSIP:

• "I don't know, does he give you a bisexual vibe?"
• "Just ask him to unblock those websites you want to visit. He's cool."
• "You don't think he'd use this as blackmail against people, right?"

DESIRED PLOTS

• Rivals turned friends
• Drinking pals
• Defining his sexuality
• Romance and beyond

[himawari]

NAME: Heather Kim Soo Young (김수영)
BIRTH AND AGE: 8 August 2001 (Age 21)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT:  1.63 m / 51 kg
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Brown
ETHNICITY: Korean-American
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: -NA-

FACE CLAIM: Bae Suzy

BIRTHPLACE: Houston
RESIDENCE: New York City
POSITION AT MARSDEN: Media Liaison Officer (INTERN) - Communications, Media & Technology Division - 33
COMMUTE MODE: Bus/Subway/Taxi
LIKES: Dancing (K-Pop in particular), cooking, drinking Starbucks, anything relating to the arts and the sound of rain.
DISLIKES: Feeling lonely, drinking alcohol, racist people, science/maths,  spiteful people, people calling her "so young" and deadlines.

PERSONALITY:
She is considered a very soft spoken and polite girl. Due to her upbringing, she has a fear of authority and constantly feels the need to bend over backwards for them so that she would not get in trouble or anger her superiors. She is also charismatic whenever she opens her mouth and is able to convince/encourage/reassure/persuade people. Confident in the things that she do (routinely) however not as confident when it comes to trying something new. Willing to try new things but needs a bit of coaxing and encouragement to do it. 

BACKGROUND:
Her parents moved from South Korea to America when they were pregnant with her in hopes to give her a better life. Both of her parents opened a Korean restaurant in the city. As a young girl, she watched her parents cooking in the kitchen cooking authentic homecooked Korean dishes for people. She picked up a few skills here and there as she helped out in the kitchen during her elementary school days. She learned a few recipes from her parents as she got older and she enjoy cooking ever since then. Being Asian and having a name which was not what it sounded like, she was bullied all throughout her schooling days. Her parents were strict to her as well and that made her pretty quiet knowing that she could not speak up and share her thoughts.

The day she actually spoke up and aloud was in drama club which she joined all through high school. It was a teacher who encouraged her to speak out and showcase herself. It was only then she wanted to be an actress when she grew up. She signed up for dance classes and was so into it until her parents shook their heads and disapproved of where she planned to go in her life. They told her being an actress does not bring money to the table and she should go get a business degree and help with the family's restaurant business. But she refused and thus her family did not pay for her studies in the Media Arts.

Soo Young worked part-time whilst trying to study and when she finally graduated, she was left with some study debts. Knowing New York City was a place of the arts (Broadway, fashion, etc......), she took the huge risk of moving to a new city. She lives in a very cheap apartment and to make ends meet, she found a job at Hell's Gentleman's Club as one of the dancers. It was there she chose an English stage name for herself, "Heather". She has been dancing for a while until she met someone from HR from Marsden. Whilst she danced a private dance for him, she told her she was a media student trying to make ends meet. He mentioned an internship program that they had which if she does well, she could secure a job there and that was how she became an intern at Marsden's Media division. An intern's pay is only so much so on some nights, she would pick up shifts at the gentleman's club just to be able to cover rent and her daily living expenses.


LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: English and little bit of Korean.

FLAWS:

• Thinks she has already grown up since she had moved out of the house but actually is still pretty naïve about the world.
• Occasionally blur and forgetful, needs constant reminders.
• A daydreamer.
• Naïve in love.
• Extremely gullible

GOSSIP:

• Would give paid lap dances in private (if the price is high enough).
• Would sleep her way to the top if she could.
• Is she really 21?

DESIRED PLOTS

• Have some sort of sexual tensions with someone.
• In/out of office romances.
• Have someone find out from the office about her part-time job dancing at the gentleman's club.

[Eikichi]

Interest removed.

[himawari]

Always nice to see lovely familiar faces! ^^

I'm going to claim Zooey Deschanel and Sam Claflin.

MEL!!! jumps on

[Mellific]

MEL!!! jumps on

HIMA! <333 Glomps

All of these characters are looking so bootyful! ^^

[himawari]

HIMA! <333 Glomps

All of these characters are looking so bootyful! ^^

I brought an old friend back to play with.  :P :P :P

[Heartsink]

My plate is too full for this, but I just want to compliment the theme. I love workplace stuff, sexy people in lovely professional attire, etc.

Cheers mate, if your plate lightens up, do come around  :-)

I'm definitely interested. Nice thread, Heartsink. I've never seen a group game idea quite like this one.

Hehe thank you Mel, glad to have your interest  >:)

*plants flag too* (^^)

And yours as well Flower  XD



I'm not currently at the stage of reviewing sheets, as this game is still in 'Interest Check' mode for now.

I do appreciate the sheets made though, and would ask those that made sheets to stay updated with the edits that I will likely make in the near future in the first and second information posts of this thread. One notable edit is a change of floors for the Financial Division and the Logistics Division who will be switched. More information will be provided on the company's structure/hierarchy especially.

I'm like 50% done drawing the office's floor plans as well:

Sneak Peak at the Executive Division at Floor 42

These, I hope, will help add spatial awareness for writers.

[himawari]

I'm like 50% done drawing the office's floor plans as well:

Sneak Peak at the Executive Division at Floor 42

These, I hope, will help add spatial awareness for writers.

sweet mother of artistic talented human beans. that's like hecking awesome.