Business Communication

Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can't submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. Once you've submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.

This particular Touchstone gives you an opportunity to practice your communication, technology, and productivity skills. You will show that you can use written communication, digital tools, and time management to solve a customer issue. (You’ll also have a chance to practice your self and social awareness skill as you craft your message.) Together, these skills will allow you to communicate your best with a variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes both in and outside work, making you more productive no matter what task you take on.

Plan and Communicate a Time-Based Task

SCENARIO: On Monday morning, you arrive at work and discover you have an email from your manager, Sara, about a customer service issue. She is worried because one of the company’s most important clients did not receive their shipment. While she acknowledges it isn’t your fault, she needs you to work quickly to resolve the issue. Her email outlines some tasks that must be completed in order to address the problem and fast track the solution:

So last Friday, our client didn’t receive their shipment, and now it’s Monday, making it three days late. We need this problem fixed soon. I need you to email Renee Colon, the client’s executive assistant, right away. Apologize for the delay and let her know we’re fixing this issue, but don’t overdo it. Make sure they know we appreciate their business. Then, contact Accounts Receivable. Have them issue a full refund on the customer’s delivery costs and send confirmation of the refund to them as well. Make sure the client is not charged for the new delivery either. And have Shipping expedite the new shipment and send tracking info to the customer. If you contact both departments by the end of today, Accounts Receivable should be done by Tuesday at the latest, and Shipping should have the package out the door with tracking by Wednesday.

The table below lists the relevant tasks and deadlines that need to be done to accomplish the stated goals.

Goal	Task	Due Date	Status
Inform customer	Email Renee Colon	Monday	To do
Inform relevant departments	Contact Accounts Receivable (AR)	Monday (end of day)	To do
	Contact Shipping	Monday (end of day)	To do
Refund customer	AR issues refund to customer	Tuesday	To do
	AR does not charge for replacement	Tuesday	To do
	AR sends confirmation to customer	Tuesday	To do
Ship replacement package	Package is expedited	Wednesday	To do
	Tracking info sent to customer	Wednesday	To do

ASSIGNMENT: This assignment has two parts. The first part is to prepare a clear and concise email communication (no more than two paragraphs in the body of the email) to the customer that will inform them about the new delivery date and the refund to compensate for the inconvenience. The second part is to communicate an internal plan regarding the refunding and redelivery of the shipment. You will draft a message to your colleagues in the Accounts Receivable and Shipping departments about the time frame of each task that clearly identifies who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed. You will need to select an appropriate tool to communicate this message to your colleagues and explain why this would be an effective tool for this purpose. For this assignment, you will:

· Demonstrate your ability to craft messages for the appropriate purpose, tone, structure, and audience.

· Be sure to include all the important information you need to communicate.

· Select an appropriate tool for workplace communication.

· Edit your messages for organization and style, ensuring professionalism with respect to formatting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

A. Directions

Step 1: Download Template

Download the Touchstone 4 Template.

Step 2: Complete Each Part

Complete each part of the template using the scenario from above.

Part 1: Customer Email

Review the scenario and email message from your manager. Then write an email message to the customer (no more than two body paragraphs) that informs them about the new delivery date and the refund to compensate for the inconvenience. Your message should be limited to no more than 12 sentences or 200 words.

Review your message to ensure that:

· It includes information relevant for the customer, including the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.

· It emphasizes important points using style mechanics common in professional writing.

· It uses professional language and tone appropriate for a response to an important customer.

Part 2: Communicate a Time-Based Task

Review the scenario and email message from your manager. Also, review the to-do items that need to be completed and their deadlines in the chart above.

Based on this information, you will need to communicate an internal plan regarding the refund and redelivery of the shipment by drafting a message to your colleagues in the Accounts Receivable and Shipping Departments. Your message should clearly identify who has what task and the time frame for completion.

Select an appropriate tool from the following list to communicate this message to your colleagues. Explain why this would be an effective tool for this purpose.

· Chat message (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams)

· Email (e.g., Microsoft Outlook)

· Video Message (e.g., Webex, Zoom)

· Text message (e.g., Android of iOS text messaging)

· Voicemail (e.g., Conference phone, cell phones / smartphones, Google Voice)

Then, construct your message. Format it appropriately for the tool you have selected. If you selected a video message or voicemail tool, provide a written transcript of your message below. Your message should be limited to no more than 12 sentences or 200 words.

Review your message and make edits to ensure that:

· It clearly identifies who has what to-do item and by what time it needs to be completed.

· It emphasizes important points.

· It uses professional language and tone appropriate for internal communication with coworkers.

Step 3: Review Checklist and Requirements

Review the checklist and requirements to ensure that your Touchstone is complete.

Step 4: Submit

Upload your template using the blue button at the top of this page.

Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.

1. Email to the Customer

❒ Have you communicated all essential information to the customer regarding the actions you will take?

❒ Have you chosen the appropriate language and tone for this audience?

2. Message to Your Team

❒ Have you communicated all essential information to your team regarding the tasks and timeline?

❒ Have you clearly designated roles and responsibilities relating to the tasks?

❒ Have you identified the tool from the list provided on the template that you will use to deliver your message?

❒ Have you explained your reasons for choosing this tool?

❒ Have you structured your message with this specific tool in mind?

3. Formatting and Conventions

❒ Have you formatted both messages using the Touchstone template provided?

❒ Have you revised, edited, and proofread your messages to ensure they are clear and error-free?

B. Rubric

	Advanced (100%)	Proficient (85%)	Acceptable (75%)	Needs Improvement (50%)	Non-Performance (0%)
Customer Email: Tone and Language (20 points) Compose a professional email to the customer that uses appropriate tone and language for the audience.	Tone and language are appropriate for the audience.	Tone and language are mostly appropriate for the audience.	Tone and language are satisfactory for the audience but would benefit from revision.	Tone and language are mostly inappropriate for the audience.	Tone and language are entirely inappropriate for the audience, or there is no email to the customer present in the submission.
Customer Email: Content (20 points) Communicate all necessary information to the customer, including the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.	Includes all necessary information in the email to the customer, clearly identifying the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.	Includes most of the necessary information in the email to the customer, mostly identifying the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.	Includes some necessary information in the email to the customer, partially identifying the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.	Includes little necessary information in the email for the customer, incorrectly identifying the purpose of the email and how the errors will be addressed.	Does not include the necessary information in the email, neither identifying the purpose of the email nor how the errors will be addressed, or student did not submit.
Team Message: Content (20 points) Craft a message that will go to colleagues and includes all relevant information.	Submits a comprehensive message to colleagues that includes all relevant information.	Submits a complete message to colleagues that includes most relevant information.	Submits a message to colleagues that includes some relevant information.	Submits a message to colleagues that includes little relevant information or that includes irrelevant information.	Does not craft a message to colleagues, or does not include any relevant information.
Team Message: Responsibilities (20 points) Clearly identify the responsibilities of each team member and the timeline for each task.	Communicates clearly about the timeline for each task to the team, including all of the necessary information on who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed.	Communicates clearly about the timeline for each task to the team, including most of the necessary information on who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed.	Communicates about the timeline for each task to the team, including some of the necessary information on who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed.	Communicates about the timeline for each task to the team, but does not include who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed.	Does not clearly identify the responsibilities of each team member nor the timeline for each task.
Team Message: Choice of Tool (10 points) Choose an appropriate tool to communicate the message to colleagues and explain why that tool was chosen.	Chooses the most effective tool to communicate the message and provides valid reasoning for this selection.	Chooses an effective tool to communicate the message and provides some reasoning for this selection.	Chooses a sufficiently appropriate tool to communicate the message, and provides minimal reasoning for this selection.	Chooses an inappropriate tool to communicate the message. Reasoning for the tool choice is unclear.	Does not choose a tool to communicate the message, or does not explain why that tool was chosen.
Formatting and Conventions (10 points) Professionally format both messages and ensure they are clear and virtually free of errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling.	Messages are professionally formatted with clear, well-written sentences. Contain no grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.	Messages are professionally formatted with mostly clear, well-written sentences. May contain 1-2 minor grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.	Messages show inconsistent formatting and/or contain some unclear sentences. May contain 2-4 grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.	Messages lack clarity and/or consistent formatting. May contain more than four grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.	Messages are wholly lacking in clarity, and/or consistent formatting. Contains many grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.

C. Requirements

The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:

· Each email message should be limited to no more than 12 sentences or 200 words.

· Use a readable 12-point font.

· All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.

· Composition must be original and written for this assignment.

· Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.

· Submission must include your name and the date.

· Include all of the assignment components in a single file.

· Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx