Choose one of the professional scenarios (LISTED BELOW) AND Write a Professional Email Message (in the form of Figure 5.1 on page 76 of BCOM7) from the perspective of a character in the scenario. The email should discuss the communication issue provided in the scenario and should be addressed to another character from the scenario.
The message should take the form of an email; however, you will submit your assignment to the online course shell.
The professional email message must adhere to the following requirements:
1. Content:
- Address the communication issue from the scenario.
- Request a face-to-face meeting to discuss the issue (at a specific time).
- Concentrate on the facts of the situation and avoid using overly emotional language.
- Assume your recipient is learning about the situation for the first time through your communication.
2. Format:
- Use a descriptive subject line or heading.
- Include an appropriate and professional greeting / salutation.
- Use email form including: To:, From:, Subject:, and Signature.
3. Clarity / Mechanics:
- Focus on clarity, writing mechanics, and professional language/style requirements.
- Run spell/grammar check before submitting.
4. Your assignment must:
- Be typed, single-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. Your professor may provide additional instructions.
ENG315 Professional Scenarios
1. Saban is a top performing industrial equipment salesperson for D2D. After three years of working with his best client, he receives a text message from Pat (his direct manager) assigning him to a completely different account.
Pat has received complaints that Saban gets all of the good clients and is not a “team player.”
Saban responds to the message and asks for a meeting with Pat to discuss this change. Pat responds with another text message that reads: “Decision final. Everyone needs to get a chance to work with the best accounts so it is fair. Come by the office and pick up your new files.”
Moments later, Saban sends a text message to Karen, his regional manager and Pat’s boss. It simply reads, “We need to talk.”
2. Amber, Savannah, and Stephen work for Knowledge, Inc. (a consulting company). While on a conference call with Tim Rice Photography (an established client), the group discusses potential problems with a marketing campaign. Tim Rice, lead photographer and owner of Tim Rice Photography, is insistent the marketing is working and changes are not needed.
Amber reaches over to put Tim on “Mute” but accidently pushes a different button. She immediately says to Savannah and Stephen that the marketing campaign is not working and that “…Tim should stick to taking pretty pictures.”
Tim responds, “You know I can hear you, right?”
3. James shows up to work approximately five minutes late this morning, walks silently (but quickly) down the hallway and begins to punch in at the time clock located by the front desk.
Sarah, the front desk manager, says, “Good morning, James,” but James ignores her, punches in, and heads into the shop to his workplace. Sarah rolls her eyes, picks up the phone, and dials the on-duty manager to alert her that James just arrived and should be reaching his desk any moment.
4. Paul works for the website division of SuperMega retail company. He receives an email late Friday afternoon that explains a new computer will launch at the end of next June and it will be in high demand with limited stock. Also contained in the three-page-message is that customers will be able to preorder the item 30 days before launch according to the production company. Paul is asked to create a landing page for consumers who are interested in learning more about the product.
By mistake, Paul sets up a preorder page for the product that afternoon (well in advance of the company authorized period) and late Friday evening consumers begin to preorder the product. Sharon, Vice President of Product Sales at SuperMega, learns of the error Saturday morning and calls Paul to arrange a meeting first thing Monday morning. Sharon explains to Paul on the phone that the company intends on canceling all of the preorders and Paul responds that the company should honor the preorders because it was not a consumer error. After a heated exchange, Paul hangs up on Sharon when she insists that the preorders will be canceled because of Paul’s error.
51b : Following these guidelines will enable you to use email efficiently and effectively when communicating with both valued coworkers and outside parties:
• Send to single or multiple addressees. The same message can be sent to one or many recipients simultaneously. Sending an email message to multiple recipients routinely involves keying the email address of each recipient into a distribution list and selecting the distribution list as the recipient.
• Provide a useful subject line. A descriptive subject line assists the receiver’s understanding of the message and is helpful for future reference to it. Additionally, a well-written subject line in an email message will help the receiver sort through an overloaded mailbox and read messages in priority order. When writing a subject line, think of the five Ws—Who, What, When, Where, and Why—to give you some clues for wording. For instance, “Budget Committee Meeting on Thursday” is a more meaningful subject line than “Meeting.”
• Restate the subject in the body of the message. The body of the message should be a complete thought and should not rely on the subject line for elaboration. A good opening sentence might be a repetition of most of the subject line. Even if the reader skipped the subject line, the message would still be clear, logical, and complete.
• Focus on a single topic directed toward the receiver’s needs. An email message is generally limited to one idea rather than addressing several issues. If you address more than one topic in a single email message, chances are the recipient will forget to respond to all points discussed. Discussing one topic allows you to write a descriptive subject line, and the receiver can file the single subject message in a separate mailbox if desired. If you must send a lengthy email, preview the topics to be covered in the introduction and then divide the message into logical sections for easy comprehension.
• Sequence your ideas based on anticipated reader reaction. As you learned previously, ideas should be organized deductively when a message contains good news or neutral information. Inductive organization is recommended when the message contains bad news or is intended to persuade. Email messages should be organized according to the sequence of ideas—for example, time order, order of importance, or geography. As a general rule, present the information in the order it is likely to be needed. For example, describe the nature and purpose of an upcoming meeting before giving the specifics (date, place, time).
• Make careful use of jargon, technical words, and shortened terms. The use of jargon and technical terms is more common in email messages than in business letters. Such shortcuts save time with audiences who will understand the intent. In practicing empathy, however, consider whether the receiver will likely understand the terms
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