assignment of business communication

The purpose of the business message portfolio assignment is for you to practice applying the principles of effective written business communication in a variety of situations: good news and neutral (Chapter 8), bad news (Chapter 9), and persuasion (Chapter 10).

You will prepare the following three messages on Microsoft Word based on scenarios and example formats described in the eBook (not SmartBook):

Message #1: A Favorable Response, (a typed and printed e-mail). Use e-mail format Use your name and address for the sender. Make up a signature file for yourself. Example format: Int+PPChap+8A.

Granting a Customer’s Request for Free Shipping: You’re a customer service representative at CarParts.com, a mail-order retailer, and you recently received an email message requesting that you pay the shipping for the return of a part that was incorrectly represented on your website. The customer makes a good case, and the purchase records confirm his order. Also, the website does list the wrong number for the part (a problem that you have the webmaster correct immediately). The purchase records also show that this customer buys from you quite often.

You’ll be glad to pay the return shipping for the wrong part (you will send him a prepaid UPS label) and will credit his account once you receive it. You will also encourage him to purchase the correct part from you. Overall, you’ll do your best to restore any goodwill that the incident may have cost you and make the customer feel good about ordering from you again.

Message #2: A Negative Announcement, (a typed and printed memo). Make up a logo for Peck and Briggs. Make the message to Mr. Richard Peck and from you. Don’t forget to initial the final draft. Int+PPChap+9B.

Making Do with Old Computers: You work as an administrative intern for Peck and Briggs, a small but well-respected public accounting firm located in Cleveland, Ohio. Traditionally, Peck and Briggs has replaced its employees’ computers on a rotating schedule every three years. But the recession has required some cost-cutting measures, and those who are waiting for replacement computers will now need to wait another year before receiving their upgraded computers. In addition, everyone in the firm will need to be advised that computers will now be replaced on a four-year, not three-year, schedule. This means that they will need to make do with the Microsoft Office suite that is on their current computers, since that software is upgraded only when the computers are replaced. (This issue will not affect the accounting software, since the firm uses Intact.com, a cloud-based software service, rather than software on their own computers.)

Your task is to draft a message for Mr. Peck, senior partner, to send to all employees informing them of the new policy.

Message #3: A Persuasive Request, (a typed and printed letter). Make up a name and letterhead for your company. Make up a name and inside address for one survey respondent. Sign the letter with your name. Format for Business Letters described on Int+PPChap+10A.

Recruiting People to Serve on Your Email Advisory Panel: You work at the company headquarters for a chain of retail stores (you decide what kind). One of your jobs is to recruit customers for your email advisory panel. Customers who join this panel receive approximately eight surveys a year on such topics as product selection, customer service, and the general shopping experience. Essentially, the panel is a group of loyal customers who make it easy for you to get feedback that helps your stores remain competitive. For each survey they complete, the panel members are automatically entered into a drawing for $1,000. They do need to complete every survey in order to continue to be panel members

Your first step in recruiting members is to include on customers’ receipts an invitation for them to visit the company website, take a survey, and have their names entered into a drawing for $1,000. Anyone who takes this first step then receives an email inviting him or her to join the panel.

Write the letter invitation, persuading one person who has already shown interest in the store to join the panel and become a regular survey respondent.

Revising the messages: After writing the drafts, you will revise/polish them (see Chapter 2) until the messages are ready to “send.” You may work on all messages at once. Letting the drafts “rest” between times of working on them can help you find weaknesses. Please do not copy from the textbook.