Written Communication: Communicating a Change

Assessment 4 Instructions: Written Communication: Communicating a Change

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· PRINT

· Write a formal memo to your manager using appropriate tone, language, and structure.

Introduction

Communication has changed over the years, and this has affected how we communicate with each other in our personal and professional lives. We use different communication tools every day, from texts and email to video and computer software. There are many benefits to this, and one of these is collaborative communication. For example, multiple people can make changes to one document using services like Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365, making digital collaboration much easier!

For this assessment, you will craft a message to your supervisor recommending guidelines for communication. You will also demonstrate your digital proficiency by choosing an appropriate communication tool for your team to use.

Overview

Communication has changed over the years, and this has affected how we communicate with each other in our personal and professional lives. We all use different communication tools every day, such as text, email, video, and computer software. There are many benefits to this, and one of these is collaborative communication. For example, multiple people can make changes to one document using services like Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365, and others! However, with so many communication options, miscommunication and overlooked messages can cause problems in the workplace.

For this assessment, you will craft a formal memo to your supervisor, Wanda, and offer suggestions to streamline your workplace’s communications. You will also demonstrate your digital proficiency by choosing an appropriate communication tool for your team to use.

SCENARIO

After you re-send Printables’ shipment and ensure that Sara Robins received it and her refund for the missing package, your manager, Wanda, asks you to determine why no one from ABC, Inc. noticed the error until the customer contacted her. Upon investigating, you determine that an important internal email went into the Shipping Dept. manager’s junk box. In order to ensure this does not happen again, you propose that email be used for certain, pre-determined communications only and that another digital tool be used as a way to encourage employee engagement and to minimize overlooked messages.

Instructions

1. Consider the scenario above and craft a formal memo to Wanda, using the Memo Template [DOCX], in which you:

1. Develop criteria for sending internal emails. Be sure to consider the culture of the work environment and the team at ABC, Inc.

1. Hint: bullet lists are common in workplace communication.

. Write a summary of why the criteria you selected are the most appropriate for communicating via email to this particular team. You may use and cite course material in your memo. Be sure to consider the four components of written communication—purpose, audience, tone, and structure—to describe why some messages should be communicated via email and why some should be communicated via an app.

· In addition to an internal email, you realize that it would be easier to use a messaging app like Slack or WhatsApp to communicate updates and problems with shipments. Write a brief explanation that identifies a digital tool that would be appropriate for your team to communicate some messages in the future. In your memo to Wanda, report on the tool, including:

. When and for what purpose it could be used.

. Why it would be an effective tool for this purpose.

. How a message may need to be modified to fit within the digital tool you selected (consider formality, tone, length, et cetera).

· Evaluate your memo and how Wanda would react by completing the Six Ws Worksheet for Assessment 4 [DOCX]. If needed, edit your memo.

· Submit the memo in one Word document using the Memo Template [DOCX]. Also, submit your completed Six Ws Worksheet for Assessment 4 [DOCX] worksheet.

Requirements

· Format: Use the Memo Template. Use Microsoft Word, Calibri 12-point font.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

· Competency 1: Interpret a speaker's message to develop an appropriate response.

· Evaluate a memo and anticipate audience reactions by considering the Six Ws of communication.

· Competency 2: Develop professional written communications in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.

· Write concisely and directly, using active voice.

· Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.

· Competency 3: Use appropriate technology solutions to effectively communicate time-related tasks.

· Articulate appropriate criteria for a team to communicate via email, providing reasons for the criteria being the most appropriate.

· Make a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, explaining when, why, and how it would be effective.

· SCORING GUIDE

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

VIEW SCORING GUIDE

Written Communication: Communicating a Change Scoring Guide

CRITERIA	NON-PERFORMANCE	BASIC	PROFICIENT	DISTINGUISHED
Articulate appropriate criteria for a team to communicate via email, providing reasons for the criteria being the most appropriate.	Does not articulate appropriate criteria for a team to communicate via email, providing reasons for the criteria being the most appropriate.	Articulates criteria for a team to communicate via email, though they may not be the most appropriate for the given team and situation.	Articulates appropriate criteria for a team to communicate via email, providing reasons for the criteria being the most appropriate.	Articulates appropriate criteria for a team to communicate via email, providing reasons for the criteria being the most appropriate, including balancing the pros with cons of implementing the criteria.
Make a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, explaining when, why, and how it would be effective.	Does not make a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, explaining when, why, and how it would be effective.	Makes a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, but without providing sufficient explanation.	Makes a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, explaining when, why, and how it would be effective.	Makes a case for a chosen digital tool being the most effective for a team to use as an alternative to email, explaining when, why, and how it would be effective, including balancing prose with cons.
Evaluate a memo and anticipate audience reactions by considering the Six Ws of communication.	Does not evaluate a memo or anticipate audience reactions by considering the Six Ws of communication.	Describes a memo but does not evaluate or anticipate its effect.	Evaluates a memo and anticipates audience reactions by considering the Six Ws of communication.	Evaluates a memo and anticipates audience reactions by considering the Six Ws of communication, describing how the memo was adjusted to address those reactions.
Write concisely and directly, using active voice.	Does not write concisely and directly, using active voice.	Writes passively, with a tendency toward wordiness.	Writes concisely and directly, using active voice.	Writes concisely and directly. Conveys precise and unequivocal meaning through clear and consistent use of active voice.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.	Does not support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.	Sources lack relevance or credibility, or the evidence is not persuasive or explicitly supportive of main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations.	Supports main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.	Supports main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence. Skillfully combines virtually error-free source citations with a perceptive and coherent synthesis of the evidence.

Resources: Conflict Communication

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· PRINT

· Writing negative messages is a part of professional communication, such as refusing a request from an employee, informing the team of a resignation, or even something as common as canceling the holiday party because of budget cuts. Read the following to see how to create these messages successfully:

· Thill, J. V., & Bovée, C. L. (2020). Excellence in business communication (13th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.

1. “Writing Negative Messages,” pages 284–307.

As you know, email communication is a common way to discuss issues, both positive and negative. Read the following article to see how an act as simple as “cc-ing” your boss can create a loss of trust, and perhaps conflict, in the workplace:

. Haesevoets, T., De Cremer, D., De Schutter, L., McGuire, J., Yang, Y., Jian, X., & Van Hiel, A. (2019, June). Transparency and control in email communication: The more the supervisor is put in cc the less trust is felt. Journal of Business Ethics, 1–21.

Read about strategies to manage workplace conflict and about how negotiating with others can achieve a mutually desired result:

. Thill, J. V., & Bovée, C. L. (2020). Excellence in business communication (13th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.

3. “Managing Workplace Conflict,” pages 50–53.

3. “Developing Your Skills as a Negotiator,” pages 54–56.

As you learned previously, nonverbal cues are a part of how people perceive you and your message. View the following video to see the importance of using correct body language in uncomfortable face-to-face interactions:

. Seven Dimensions (Producer). (2019).  4 Communication skills everyone needs  [Video]. Films on Demand.

Resources: Digital Tools for Collaboration

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· PRINT

· There are tons of digital tools for collaboration. In this assessment, you will choose a digital tool that is appropriate for communicating a particular message. Review the links below for just a sample of some available tools:

· Slack. (n.d.). https://slack.com/

· Slack. (2019).  What is Slack?  [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYqxQGmQkVw

· Google Drive. (n.d.). https://drive.google.com

· Zoom. (n.d.). https://zoom.us/

See this list for more examples:

· Bika, N. (n.d.).  15 collaboration tools for productive teams.  https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/collaboration-tools

Read the following article to see how the use of online collaboration increases the motivation and creativity of students. As you read, think about how motivations and creativity could also be increased in the workplace. Pay particular attention to the Discussion and Conclusion part of the article.

· Sarwar, B., Zulfiqar, S., Aziz, S., & Ejaz Chandia, K. (2019). Usage of social media tools for collaborative learning: The effect on learning success with the moderating role of cyberbullying. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57(1), 246–279.

Resources: Writing a Proposal Memo

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· PRINT

· Now you have had opportunities to communicate messages in emails. But workplace communication can take many forms; one of those – a memorandum, or memo for short – is typically longer, more detailed, and more formal than an email. For this assessment, you will write a formal memo that proposes a solution. Read more about writing persuasive proposals:

· Thill, J. V., & Bovée, C. L. (2020). Excellence in business communication (13th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.

1. “Completing Business Messages,” pages 188–206.

1. “Writing Persuasive Messages," pages 322-335.

1. "Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals," 355-360.

1. “Planning a Proposal,” pages 378-383. Pay particular attention to the example of a proposal memo on page 378.

1. “Writing Reports and Proposals,” pages 397-99.

For your proposal to be persuasive, it is important to use current and reliable information to support your position. It is equally important to give credit to the person or organization whose information you draw on. Read more about finding and citing reliable sources:

. Thill, J. V., & Bovée, C. L. (2020). Excellence in business communication (13th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.

2. “Completing Business Messages,” pages 188–206.

2. "Supporting Your Message with Reliable Information," pages 361-370.

2. “APA Style,” page 576.