Mcom 3395: Chapter 13 Writing Email, Memos, and Proposals

HealthToolz manufactures clinical equipment for hospitals and other healthcare organizations. Their engineering design team needs additional funding to develop a new machine that will radically change the way surgeries are carried out. Jennifer consults with a subject matter expert to write up information about the machine for the proposal. She explains the current technology and its limitations, and then shows how HealthToolz's new machine can plug the holes. Then she proceeds to explain the technology and finally the safety features. In which part of the proposal will Jennifer's content appear? Transmittal Conclusion Introduction Body

Body

Marty heads the customer care division at his organization. In order to personalize the company's reaction to customer complaints, he implements a system where each complaint is assigned to an executive who replies to the complainant by letter. To streamline the process and make it easier to write the letters quickly, Marty has the corporate communications team come up with a set of standard phrases and sentences that can be used. What are such phrases and sentences called? Forms Boilerplates Proposals Transmittals

Boilerplates

What types of letters are generally printed on paper and sent via the postal service? Form Informal Business Personalized

Business

Alina's boss asked her to create a report on the department's new account. So Alina goes ahead and prepares an 8-page report and includes all the necessary information. She groups the information under subheads, and puts in a summary at the end. After she finishes, Alina runs spellcheck on the document to ensure there are no typos. Then she prints the report and has it spiral bound. When Alina submits the report to her boss, he praises her for doing an excellent job. What quality did Alina display in her work? Appropriate courtesy Conciseness Responsible representation Completeness

Completeness

An effective business message clearly conveys ideas and thoughts in as few words as necessary. What is this quality called? Completeness Correctness Conciseness Appropriateness

Conciseness

Liza is planning her department's office retirement party for Min, a manager. She needs to know how many of her coworkers are attending so she can plan the menu and quantities of food, so she sends out an email to everyone in the department. The email just contains a subject and no body content. The subject line reads, "Retirement party for Min. 5/30, conference room. Coming?" What aspect of email etiquette did she leave out? Thanks Suggestion Solution Deadline

Deadline

Elana, the procurement manager at a software development company, was unhappy with the products the stationery supplier was providing them. After repeated conversations with Jake, the supplier's contact, Elana felt she had to escalate the issue. She composed an email to her manager and Jake's. In the email, she used phrases such as "incompetent" and "grossly unfit for the job" to describe Jake, but before she sent the message, she reread it and realized it was too harsh. What should Elana do next, and why? Elana should check that her information, grammar, and spelling are correct; this ensures that Elana is perceived to be a thorough professional. Elana should delete the portions of the email that contain personal attacks on Jake; this ensures that Elana comes across as a responsible person. Elana should prove Jake's incompetence by including the entire chronology of their communications; this ensures that all the facts are available. Elana should write a very lengthy email; this ensures that the managers get a detailed explanation that accounts for her complaints.

Elana should delete the portions of the email that contain personal attacks on Jake; this ensures that Elana comes across as a responsible person.

CarTech is a small company that manufactures specialized spare tires for high-end automobiles. Due to a design defect with one tire model, CarTech was forced to ask their clients to issue a recall of the tires. They then sent an RFP to several PR firms to find help with restoring their brand's image. Raman's firm responds with a proposal that suggests CarTech remind the general public that it has been supplying the spare tires for luxury cars for over a decade, and remind their clients that it would be difficult to find another company in the area that could take their place. What component of the proposal does this information supply? Key messages for the program Basic strategies and tactics for the program The current situation of the potential client Goals and objectives of the program

Key messages for the program

What are generally used by organizations as an internal means of communication? Proposals Letters Reports Memorandums

Memorandums

Amira is looking to change jobs. Her friend, Hector, tells Amira about an opening in her company. Amira asks Hector for the HR recruiter's email, and then sends the recruiter an email asking about the position, details, and responsibilities about the role. In this context, what type of email did Amira write? Informal Official Professional Personal

Professional

Which type of document is a management technique used to pitch new services, programs or policies? Brochures Manuals Proposals Reports

Proposals

The PR department of an accounting firm wants to start holding an annual inter-departmental football tournament and invite clients to watch the games. A team starts preparing a proposal to the board of directors requesting finances. What should the team write in the proposal, and how should they write it? They should show the benefits to the board of directors; they should emphasize how the tournament will generate publicity for their firm. They should show why the tournament is necessary; they should explain how it relates to needs such as enhancing the firm's credibility among investors and customers. They should explain how the tournament will satisfy the firm's PR needs; they should suggest ways to organize the tournament to address these needs. They should call on the board of directors for action; they should be specific about the resources and budget they require to organize the tournament.

They should call on the board of directors for action; they should be specific about the resources and budget they require to organize the tournament.

An organization may select two to four PR agencies and ask each of them to complete a request for proposal, or RFP, when it is looking to select and use the services of a PR firm. wants to give the firms a formal presentation about its work. wants to learn more about the firms' credentials. is measuring the return on its investment in each firm.

is looking to select and use the services of a PR firm.

People today are in constant communication and bombarded with information on a daily basis. The challenge or stress of dealing with this excessive information is often referred to as information collection. clutter. overload. attenuation.

overload.

The reports that organizations prepare about an issue related to the organization or the industry are called _______ papers. white annual memorandum proposal

white