Answer:
The answer is option A) encoding
Explanation:
Encoding, with respect to a business context, refers to the process of a specific method of communication. It involves creating a way of accurately communicating a message, an idea, or anyother insight. In our question, Brian could have sent an email to everyone telling them that they would be promoted or he could have told them verbally. But he chose to adopt a different method by assigning meaning to a golden flag and giving them to star performers. He essentially encoded the message stating that a person is eligible for promotion in the act of delivering golden flags to the employee who performed well.
Keep in mind that the enployees who recieved the flag and understood they were eligible for promotions were "decoding" the message.
Brainstorming on the other hand refers to the concept of thinking out of the box and thinking strategically to come up with new ideas, initiatives, solutions and so on and so forth. Brian may have brainstormed earlier when thinking of a way of communicating eligibility for promotion to the employees. Through this process, he would have come up with the "idea" of using the gold flags.
Benchmarking is also an incorrect option here since it refers to the process of comparing an existing thing to another better alternative.
So, in light of the above, the answer is A) encoding.
