Routine Inquiry

Assignment Guidelines: Routine Inquiry Readings

 Lesikar’s Chapter 6, pages 116 – 121

 Sample Routine Inquires, pages 122 – 123

 Sample Memorandum format, pages 97 - 981

Instructions You have a few topic options for this assignment, but please understand that you must choose one of

the topics listed here. Otherwise, the assignment will need to be rewritten, and a grading delay will

occur.

No matter which topic you choose, you will write a Routine Inquiry designed to glean information that you need via relevant, specific questions. You should include a full Memorandum heading as though you were sending the document to your chosen professional. This business professional can be a family friend, acquaintance, a person you work(ed) with, someone from whom you need information for work purposes, or simply someone you admire in the professional world. To obtain the information you need, you will create a Routine Inquiry that includes a set of questions you hope to have answered. You should format your Routine Inquiry in business Memorandum format (see the example below, as well as pages 97 – 98 of your textbook). Your inquiry should include an introduction of yourself and why you are writing the inquiry. You’ll also need at least 4-5 good questions that will help you determine what your next steps would be. These questions will of course vary depending on which topic you select. With this in mind, please use the guidelines underneath each topic choice below to inform your writing choices. Audience and purpose are key elements of this assignment.

Assignment Notes: • Create this Routine Inquiry in Memorandum format as a Word document. • Your submission should be 1 or 2 pages. Remember, the focus is on being clear with your needs and

questions rather than filling space to meet a specified assignment length. • You will upload your finished document to the appropriate upload area as a .doc or .docx file. The topic options are described below. Choose one of the following topics:

Option #1: Online Meeting Software You are a manager for a local restaurant chain with five locations within the city. Each month,

the management team has a luncheon meeting in which they discuss any issues that have

arisen, the financial health of the business, progress on current initiatives, any ideas for creating

new business, and various other topics.

1 You will lose points if your Memorandum format is not correct

You think these meetings are a great idea, but you wonder if they are really worth the time and

expense involved.

Having recently attended a meeting of the Restaurant Managers Association (RMA), you learned

that many of your peers are conducting these business meetings online. One online meeting

technology you kept hearing about was _______________ (WebEx, GoToMeeting, or some

other relevant online meeting provider—you choose the specific product). You decide to

research the product’s website, view the demo, and study the fact sheet about the product. You

determine that this product might be a great alternative to holding these monthly meetings on-

site.

To gather more facts before approaching your supervisors, you decide to consult a person2 you

met at the RMA meeting. This person seemed to know a lot about online conferencing and the

particular product you’re interested in.

Think very carefully about what you would like to learn; for instance, you would not want to ask

any questions that can be readily found on the product’s website. Your target reader is a busy

professional who has no personal interest in the topic, so plan your document accordingly and

create a Routine Inquiry that includes good questions for this topic.

Option #2: Venue for Company Retreat The CEO of the small company where you work wants to schedule a relax-and-recharge retreat

for company employees. You have been given the task of finding a suitable venue for this

retreat. Your company is located just outside of Washington, D.C., and the CEO wants to hold

the retreat in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia, which is about 90 miles from the city. The

CEO specified that the retreat should be more like a getaway than a business meeting, so a cabin

is preferred over a hotel. The retreat is for the 20 company employees only; families are not

invited.

After some research, you believe you have found the ideal place: a large, isolated cabin

overlooking the valley. You learn about the property from the website. Here are the specs listed

on the website: The cabin will sleep 20 and is equipped with a large kitchen, a deck with 20

chairs, a large-screen TV, and a game room. The cost is $50 per person per day, except on

weekends and holidays, when the rate is increased.

But you need to know more. You have tried calling and emailing the venue with no luck. You

therefore decide to send a Routine Inquiry to the venue’s owner3 in an attempt to get the

information you need.

Evaluate the information provided above, and determine what other factors you would need to

know before booking your company’s retreat at this venue.

2 You will need to make up a name for this person. 3 Make up a name for this person.

Option #3: Career Exploration As a part of your career exploration, you recently discovered that a mentoring organization exists that provides advice to people who are considering career paths. This organization is called Mentors, Inc. You have been considering a particular career, and you want more information about it from an experienced professional. Thus, you have decided to interview a business professional from Mentor’s, Inc., to do learn more. Write a Routine Inquiry in which you ask your questions. Find out the main elements you want to know about this field of employment in a way that shows consideration for the reader and demonstrates your own serious interest in the type of job that the mentor does.4 If you were to contact a career mentor, think about the types of questions you might ask: specifics about the field, advice for how to enter the field, skills needed for success, etc., are all things you might include in your inquiry.

Sample Format: Please see the following document, in addition to the information in your textbook, for an idea of how

you should format this assignment.

4 Please make up a name for this person.