Chapter 02 Planning Business Messages

Which of these are steps involved in the prewriting phase of the writing process? Check all that apply. - Editing - Analyzing - Researching - Adapting - Drafting - Anticipating

- Analyzing - Adapting - Anticipating

After identifying the purpose of your message, you should select the most appropriate communication channel. When determining the most effective channel for your message, which of these should you consider? Check all that apply. - Importance of the message - Sender's composing preference - Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity required - Degree of formality desired - Necessity of a permanent record - Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message - Amount of effort involved

- Importance of the message - Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity required - Degree of formality desired - Necessity of a permanent record - Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message

At the executive board meeting, Elena presents her proposal to use nontraditional distribution channels. - Sender encodes message - Receiver decodes message - Message travels over channel - Sender has an idea - Feedback travels to sender

- Message travels over channel

Which of these are qualities of successful business writing? Check all that apply. - Entertaining - Focused on conveying the needs of the writer - Purposeful - Concise and to the point

- Purposeful - Concise and to the point

Who might be the secondary audience for your message? Check all that apply. - Retail associates at other locations - Competing retail stores - Your boss

- Retail associates at other locations - Your boss

Why is it important to identify the purpose of your message before you start writing? Check all that apply. - To establish goodwill - To impress your associates - To determine how to present your message - To impress your boss

- To determine how to present your message

Experts suggest that ____________ of your time should be spent on the drafting phase.

25 percent

You are writing a memo to staff members outlining the solution to a lingering problem. Some are intimately familiar with the problem; others are not. You consider what the staff members know and how they might react to the proposed solution.

Anticipating

Jeanine, I want you to write the report because I'm too tired. Plus, you are a better writer than I am.

Audience oriented

Look at the problem from the perspective of the audience instead of your own.

Audience oriented

Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

Face-to-face meeting

Missy Sanchez sends her coworkers a thank-you note for the generous retirement gift.

Feedback travels to sender.

You are a store manager for a midsize shoe retailer located near the campus of a large state university. During the summer months, you need fewer retail associates. You have a great team and don't want to impact employee morale negatively by laying off members of the team. Therefore, in order to reach the best outcome, you decide to try to convince your retail team to schedule vacation time carefully so that no one will be laid off for the summer. Should the tone for this message be formal or informal?

Formal

A good writer anticipates the audience of a message. Although you can't always know exactly who the audience is, you can imagine the general characteristics of the receiver. Profiling your audience allows you to adopt the appropriate tone, language, and channel. Which of these are appropriate questions to ask when profiling your audience? Check all that apply.

How must I reshape my message to make it understandable and acceptable to others to whom it might be forwarded? Who is my primary audience? What position does the audience hold in my organization? Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message? What is my relationship with the audience?

Dear Riko, Thanks for lunch. I had a great time, and we accomplished a lot. Those pictures of your kids are adorable. Listen, I wanted to see if we could schedule a meeting with the big boss for Friday to go over the survey plan we made at lunch. Could you try to set something up when you both are available? I can be free any time on Thursday or Friday. Those pictures of your kids are adorable. Before sending the message, it occurs to you that your email will probably be forwarded to your supervisor. What will you need to change to make the message appropriate for both a colleague and your supervisor?

Make the message more formal, remove the personal discussion, and give more specifics about the survey plan.

Marianna is writing a letter to a customer informing them that Flannery Electronic will not be able to replace their defective stereo because the warranty has expired.

Marianna has chosen the correct channel

You read carefully, checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.

Proofreading

Rehanna decides to propose a cost-saving reorganization of the company's client database.

Sender has an idea.

What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To rebuild the customer's goodwill

We strive to make all of our customers feel satisfied with their video game purchases, so we invite you to exchange "Gods of Parnassus" for another video game from our large inventory. Although we are unable to offer refunds for opened games, we believe you will be able to choose a suitable replacement. As you may have read on the box label or in the game guide, "Gods of Parnassus" features flashing lights that may cause epileptic seizures in rare instances. You may want to check the warning labels on any future purchases to ensure a safe and enjoyable gaming experience. What is the primary purpose of this message?

To refuse a refund

Conciseness and clarity are what count in business.

True

You just got back from a convention where you saw some new software that you think the information technology director could use. You can get a discount on the software for the next 6 weeks because you attended the convention. Unfortunately, the IT director is on vacation this week. How should you tell him about this opportunity?

You should use an email

Encoding is the process of converting-----into words and gestures.

ideas

The retail team will likely have a ____________ response to the message you send.

negative

Feedback is provided by the___________ and indicates whether or not the message was understood.

receiver