Business Writing - Routine Messages

Assignment 2

Routine Messages

Rough draft due: Friday, May 4th (Bring two copies of rough draft for in-class workshop)

Final draft due: Monday, May 7th (Upload to Canvas by 11:59 PM)

Length: 2 messages, 250-300 words per message. Single-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides.

Points: 200

Objective

To announce organizational restructuring, write one routine positive message addressed to investors, and one routine negative message addressed to employees affected by the layoffs.

Purpose

Like an internal memo, routine positive or negative messages function as short-form documents with a clear purpose and pertinent information. Positive and negative messages are similar in function, but include rhetorical challenges in terms of audience: where the intended audience for a positive message is eager and interested in what you have to say, the audience for a negative message is instead anxious and unwelcoming. In both cases, delivering an effective message will require you to adapt what you’ve learned regarding tone, emphasis, and direct/indirect approaches.

Note

Strategies for writing routine messages are provided on the other side of this sheet.

Scenario

As the head of a company, you’ve determined that organizational restructuring is necessary in order for your company to stay solvent and adapt to changing market trends. Investors will be happy to hear about the restructuring and its long-term positive impact, but employees are anxious about impending layoffs.

Using details provided below, prepare one positive message addressed to investors and one negative message addressed to employees affected by the layoffs:

Reasons for Restructuring	Impact of Restructuring
· Outdated business model · Employees experiencing low morale · Stakeholders/investors losing confidence · Financial losses are becoming significant · Company is less competitive in current market · Corporate debt is becoming difficult to manage · (Any additional reasons you’d like to include.)	· Many employees will be laid off · New structure will require re-training employees · Corporate interest payments will be reduced · Many departments will become more efficient · Underutilized assets/teams will be sold · Company branding and marketing will be revitalized · (Any additional outcomes you’d like to include.)

Structure and Formatting

This assignment will consist of two separate messages. You can include both messages in one .doc file, ensuring that the messages are clearly labeled (e.g. “Routine Positive Message” and “Routine Negative Message” at the top of either message).

For your positive message, use the internal memo format (See “Memos” page 561).

For the format of your negative message, refer to Figure 11.6 on page 295. E.g.:

Title of Negative Message

May 8, 2017 by Student Name

Introductory paragraph begins here. Section headings are allowed, but do not include indents. Single-space throughout with one line between paragraphs.

Note

Strategies for writing routine messages

Developing content

Having trouble developing content (or hitting the minimum word count)? Try brainstorming with some of the following questions:

· What secondary and tertiary audiences will be reached by either message? What sort of information will those secondary and tertiary audiences want to know? (E.g. What do customers care about? Or stockholders? Or news outlets?)

· In the case of a negative message, are there any positive angles? (See “Sending Negative Organizational News” on page 294)

If you’re still stuck, try gathering ideas from real-world examples. A useful repository for real-world business correspondence is www.bizcominthenews.com Click on “Company Examples for Your Classes,” located in the white bar below “BizCom in the News” and select “Chapter 6” or “Chapter 8” as necessary.

Establishing organization

If you’re having trouble deciding how to organize the messages, refer to:

· “Checklist: Writing Routine Replies and Positive Messages” (on page 263)

· “Checklist: Creating Negative Messages” (on page 289)

Assessment criteria

Your assignment will be graded according to the following criteria:

Criteria	Description of Criteria
Awareness of Situation (See pages 93-96 and pages 120-126)	Message content demonstrates the writer’s awareness of the particular communication situation, including the general purpose, specific purpose, and the audience’s needs.
Selection of Information (See pages 96-98)	Information included in the message satisfies the audience’s needs in an accurate, ethical, and pertinent manner. If research is included, sources are credible and relevant to the situation, as well as purposefully and properly integrated and cited per assignment guidelines.
Style and Tone (See pages 126-138 and pages 151-157)	The writer’s style of expression cultivates a tone that is appropriate to the purpose of the message and to the audience’s needs. The writer has carefully revised her/his message for readability, clarity, and concision.
Organization (See pages 103-111 and pages 133-138)	The message is reasonable in scope and appropriate in approach (direct or indirect). The main point is clearly stated at the outset and consecutive points and details support the main point in a unified and coherent manner on the sentence-, paragraph- and whole-document levels.
Production Quality (See pages 148-164)	Design and formatting choices are appropriate to the communication situation, and the message demonstrates a professional level of proofreading.

Types of Feedback

I can provide two different types of feedback for the major assignments in this course. Written feedback (an end comment and in-line feedback) is provided for complete rough drafts sent to me via e-mail by 11:59 PM the day before an assignment is due. This type of feedback is useful for the kind of writer who likes to revise throughout multiple drafts in order to produce a final version.

Rubric feedback (ratings provided through the assignment rubric) is available by default, and it’s used to indicate areas of strength and room for improvement in an uploaded assignment. The rubric provides ratings based on assessment criteria, and is useful for writers who write a final draft in one or two sittings and need general feedback to make improvements on subsequent assignments.