Discussion

Bad News About Your Report

Contains unread posts

For this discussion, please refer to "Writing a Bad News Message," which was one of the reading materials for week 7.  You should also review the link from Purdue University on "Examples of Bad News Memos," which is one of the reading resources for week 8.

https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~pbawa/421/examples%20of%20bad%20news%20memos.htm

Then do the following:

Step 1: BY FRIDAY Post your research report as a Word or rtf attachment (this is so a classmate can read it);

• In the subject line, put your first name and the name of your report topic.
• In the body of the message, summarize your WA4 report -- problem and solution in ONE paragraph.

Step 2: BY SATURDAY Choose a classmate's research report and post a response telling him/her that you are reading his/her report - only 1 reader for each report, please; If you choose a report that is already being read, there will be no credit for your response.

Step 3: Write a memo to tell the person whose report you have read that the company/community/etc. WILL NOT be implementing the recommended solution to the problem he/she has proposed. You will have to be creative in offering reasons why the solution cannot be implemented (money, opposition from stock holders, higher command or management, etc., are typical reasons for such decisions).

Here is a helpful explanation of how to handle such a memo:

Bad News Memos

Post your research report draft as your FIRST POSTING Friday and the response informing your classmate you are reading the report by Sunday to this discussion post. BY SUNDAY Post your memo as your second response to the person you have chosen.

By Tuesday, respond to your bad news memo with tips for writing bad news memos and references to the required reading re: bad news memos.

This exercise gives you practice in one of business/professional writing's toughest tasks - saying no. 

Remember, try to follow the advice from "Writing a Bad News Message."  Saying no to a request is difficult, but with the strategies you'll learn in the readings mentioned above, you'll be able to convey the message effectively.

Doing this should give you all the knowledge you need to give your classmate bad news. :-)