Bill Format Freelancer - DOC

							MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication


ASSIGNMENT # 3: Write a Problem-Solving Persuasive Message

Note: This assignment is designated as a Performance Evaluation Portfolio
Project (PEPP) and also counts as the B.B.A. required writing assessment
Due date for grading and feedback:                                      Per course syllabus
Point value for initial submission:                                     100 points

Due date for revision and posting to PEPP Portfolio:                    Per course syllabus
Point value for revision and posting to PEPP Portfolio:                 50 points

Selection of Problem:

Select one of the following options for this assignment. Note: See the case situations posted at
the end of this assignment for a complete description of each problem.

Option 1: Asking for Sick-Child Care

Option 2: Persuading Your Company to Change Its Collection Practices

Option 3: Persuading Disability Services to Increase the Handivan’s Hours

Option 4: Persuading a Magazine to Change Its Subscription Letter

Option 5: You may select a real problem or issue within your current job or one of your portfolio
          companies and write a memo to the appropriate person, identifying the problem and
          proposing a solution. Submit the situation and problem in advance for approval.

Instructions:

1. Review BAC Chapter 9.

2. Select your problem and use the following information to guide your work:
    The Six Questions for Audience Analysis on pages 22-23 of BAC (See also Analysis of
       the Problem on page 249 of BAC for an example of the type of information and the
       presentation, e.g., complete sentences, proper punctuation, grammar, etc.).
    The checklist in Figure 9.3 on page 218 of BAC.
    The Composing Process outlined on pages 112-113 of BAC.


3. Use the Audience Analysis Template posted on WebCT under Course Materials / Handouts
   to format and compose your audience analysis.
    Use the “save as” function to save this document to your hard drive.
    Name the file with your last name, first initial, and A3 (e.g., MayG A3) when you save.
    Open Microsoft Word and the A3 document template.
    Answer the audience analysis questions. Note: be sure to use complete sentences, proper
       punctuation, and grammar in this section. This will be graded for writing as well as
       content.

f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 1 of 6 Revised 10/10/03
MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication


        At the conclusion of your analysis, place your cursor outside the table at the bottom of
         the page, insert a page break (select “Insert” / “Break” / “Page Break” / “OK”) and start
         your memo on the new page.

4. Use the Memo Format provided in Figure A-10, Appendix A, pg. 579 with a font size of 12.
    Do not exceed three pages total (one page audience analysis and two page memo).


Collaboration:

1. For this assignment, you may work collaboratively with your team members to give and
   receive feedback on your initial draft.
    E-mail your draft to each team member asking for feedback on content and proofing for
       writing errors and typos. To allow time for turnaround, team members should receive
       your draft by the date noted on the course schedule.
    Use the Microsoft Word “Insert Comments” function to provide comments on the
       documents sent to you. Instructions on how to use the “Insert Comment” tool are
       included at the end of this document.
    You should return all edits to your team members by the date noted on the course
       schedule.
    Remember, your participation with your team members in this collaborative writing
       activity will be a major factor in the mid-semester CWT Peer Evaluation.

Submission for Grading:

1. Compose your assignment in Microsoft Word
2. Name the file with your last name, first initial, and A3, e.g., MayG A3.
3. Submit your Microsoft Word document by e-mail to garymay@mail.clayton.edu.
4. IMPORTANT: Use the following subject line according to your class section:
    Campus = Yellow A3
    Hybrid = Green A3
    Online = Red A3
5. Follow the submission criteria exactly. Points will be deducted for an incorrect file name and
   / or subject line. Five points per day will be deducted for papers received after the deadline.

Grading Criteria:

1. Your memo will be graded against CCSU’s Writing Criteria, including:

        Knowledge of the Subject
        Awareness of the Reader (reflects you-attitude, positive emphasis, reader benefits)
        Organization (follows pattern for problem-solving, persuasive messages)
        Format (conforms to Figure A10, pg. 579 and A12, p. 581, includes spelling, typos, etc.)
        Punctuation
        Sentence Structure (Grammar)
        Style and Creativity (See BAC pg. 91: “Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easier to
         Read”)

2. Two points will be deducted for each negative occurrence.
f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 2 of 6 Revised 10/10/03
MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication


Writing Assessment

This assignment counts as the official Writing Assessment for B.B.A. students. To pass the
Writing Assessment, the student must
    Earn 70 points (70%) on the initial submission of the assignment, and
    Not exceed six occurrences on any one criterion.


Students who do not pass the Writing Assessment will be required to take WLAB 2999 the next
semester.


Submitting Your Revised Assignment to Your PEPP Portfolio on iWebFolio:

Note: Check the following web site for more background information on PEPP:
http://business.clayton.edu/PEPP.htm. Additional policies, instructions, and tutorials for
iWebFolio can be found at http://business.clayton.edu/placement/iwebfolio/instructions.htm.

When you receive your graded assignment, make the necessary revisions, and save the revised
document to your hard drive with the word “revised” add to your file name, e.g. SmithA A3
Revised. Then submit your final product as an attachment to the MGMT 3120 course section in
your electronic portfolio in iWebFolio. After the deadline for posting, your instructor will
review and provide comments in iWebFolio, including a notation of grade points earned.

Important: Submission of the corrected paper to your electronic portfolio in iWebFolio by the
deadline listed in the Course Schedule is part of the requirement for this assignment. You must
post your paper (with the correct file name) by the deadline to receive the allotted points.
Postings after the deadline will be subject to point deductions at the rate of 5 points per day.




f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 3 of 6 Revised 10/10/03
MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication




Case Situations for Assignment 3

Option 1: Asking for Sick-Child Care

Day care is a fact of life for working parents in the United States. But day care centers won’t
accept sick children. So when their kids are sick, parents may have to call in sick themselves.
The problem wreaks havoc on schedules for production, travel, meetings, and presentations.

Pick a business, government office, nonprofit agency, or educational institution that you know
something about. Assume you work for the organization you select. Write a memo to the upper
management of your organization, urging that it provide sick care service. One model is to
create a site in a central area. An organization big enough to need a site just for its employees’
children may be able to create one on-site. Small companies will want to team up with several
other small businesses and split the cost.


Option 2: Persuading Your Company to Change Its Collection Practices

You’ve been hired in the credit department of a major retail chain. In your third week on the job,
you get this note from your boss:
        Here’s a list of customers with open accounts. All of them passed our credit requirements at one
        time, but now they’re late. As is our practice, when they didn’t pay their bills we sent a second
        bill a month later and a third bill the month after that. Now it’s time for a letter. Since the list is
        long, write a form letter, but make it sound like an individual letter. Merge the letter with this list
        of names and addresses and sign each one individually.

You have a better idea. Write a memo to your boss recommending that the company policy be
changed to send a second bill a week or two after the due date for the first and to send a first
letter one month – rather than three months – after the original due date if the bill still hasn’t
been paid.


Option 3: Persuading Disability Services to Increase the Handivan’s Hours

Assume that our university has a “Handivan” that takes students in wheelchairs from their
residences or apartments to campus locations and back again. But the van stops a 6 p.m. (even
though there are evening classes, lectures, and events). And it doesn’t take people to off-campus
restaurants, movies, grocery stores, or shopping centers. Write to the Director of Disability
Services urging that the Handivan’s services be increased.




f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 4 of 6 Revised 10/10/03
MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication



Option 4: Persuading a Magazine to Change Its Subscription Letter

You’re Director of Customer Service for a new magazine named Parenting 2000. (Actually,
you’re the whole customer service department, but you negotiated the higher title when you took
the job six weeks ago). Much of your work is routine, but you also respond to customer
complaints. In the last three weeks, you’ve received 36 letters complaining about a direct mail
letter soliciting new subscriptions. The complaints fall into three categrories:

1. The largest category, with 19 complaints. Here’s a sample:
        You claim you magazine will “help you persuade your husband to do his share of the parenting,
        whether it’s changing diapers or helping enforce curfews.” This implies that most men have to be
        “persuaded” to “help” – as if raising kids were really the wife’s job. We, like many couples we
        know, are both actively involved in our children’s care and have been from the very beginning.
        Your letter insults men and parents.

2. The next biggest category, with 14 complaints. Here’s a sample:

        Your letters assumes that every mother has a husband who can share the work of raising a child.
        It’s really odd that a magazine that claims to be about parenting in the new millennium doesn’t
        seem to realize that there are a lot of single parents out there, doing the best we can. Why exclude
        us? And why should I subscribe to a magazine that isn’t for me?

3. A category with three complaints. Here’s one of them:

        Many of the examples in your letter (how to choose a nanny, should your child be in a private
        school) suggest that your magazine is really for rich, conservative, white families. You don’t
        mention any concerns of parents of color or of people who are trying to prepare their children to
        be good citizens in a multiracial world. Shame on you!

From your training and experience in customer service, you know that few people take the time
to write letters of complaint, even when they are disappointed or angered by a product, service,
or ad. So these three dozen letters likely represent a much larger sample of recipients who didn’t
like the subscription letter. Even worse, judging from these complaints, the subscription letter
misrepresented the magazine: the issues you’ve seen (in print and preparation) have useful
information for all parents, whatever their politics, marital status, ethnicity, or income level.

After a little investigation, you find that the letter was written by a freelancer hired by the parent
corporation. You think the letter needs to be changed immediately. And people at the magazine
should get a chance to comment on drafts before a final letter is mailed out.

Write a memo to the CEO of the publishing group, Lana Salazar, urging that this subscription
letter be replaced and that future letters come to your office for review before they go out.




f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 5 of 6 Revised 10/10/03
MGMT 3120 Managerial Communication



Using the Microsoft Word Insert Comments Function

The Insert Comments Command allows you to place a reference mark in the document where
you want to comment and then enter your comment in a special pane. When the document is
returned, the author can review your comments by rolling the cursor over the highlighted
comments.

A. Adding Comments to a Document

1. Open the document from e-mail.
2. Position your cursor where you want to add a comment and highlight the word, phrase, or
   sentence by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the cursor.
3. Choose the Insert / Comment command. Word inserts a highlight mark at your cursor, opens
   the comments pane, and positions the cursor in the pane for you to type your remark.
4. To add another comment, repeat these steps.
5. When you have finished, select “Save As,” add your initials to the file name, and save the file
   to your hard drive.
6. Minimize Word and return to your e-mail program. Reply to your team member’s e-mail,
   attaching the edited Word document.

A. Viewing a Document with Comments

1. Open the document.
2. Roll your cursor over the highlights and the comments will “pop up.”
3. You can also choose the View / Comments command to open the pane and review all the
   comments together.
4. You can print the comments separately from the document by choosing the File / Print
   command and selecting Comments in the Print What box, and then clicking OK.
5. You can also print the comments together with the document. Choose the File / Print
   command. Choose Documents in the Print What box. Click the options button. Turn on the
   Comments check box in the Include with Document section in the Options dialog box. Click
   OK.
6. To delete a comment, place your cursor on the highlight, right mouse click, and select Delete
   Comment.




f882b010-6d29-4c5f-8cb4-e2b47057642e.doc Page 6 of 6 Revised 10/10/03