Presenting Positive Information Assignment
Assignment: Using what you have learned from the text and sound principles of effective business communication, write a memo or letter, as appropriate, responding to one of the following cases.
When you have finished with the draft, please attach it to the discussion board group where you find your name. Beginning next week, you will discuss and respond to each other’s drafts (assignment sheet for that forthcoming). Also, turn in the assignment dropbox with a note that says you have attached your draft. As always, if you have questions please feel free to contact me through FerrisConnect or at thomaj21@ferris.edu.
Due Dates:
First Draft – 10.19 (attached to discussion board groups)
Revision Plan/Reflect – 10.26
Final Draft – 11.2
Case A: Fraud at Earthlink. You work at Earthlink, a major Internet provider as a customer service representative. You have received numerous e-mails like the following.
What gives? I received an official notice from Earthlink that if I didn’t update my records, my service would be discontinued. I carefully reviewed my records and they seemed up to date. The e-mail asked me to click on it and answer questions but I couldn’t get it to work. Why the heck is my account in trouble?
You got to look at one of the e-mails and boy does it look official, including the use of the www.earthlink address, the Earthlink logo, and official sounding language. The thing is that it isn’t an earthlink communication. Somehow someone hacked your system despite your virus protection. Yuck. In fact, those who received the e-mail in question probably do have their accounts in order. You know you need to get an e-mail out to your customers. They need to know that their service is not going to be discontinued. But how can they tell the official from the un-official e-mail. Well, they certainly shouldn’t provide any confidential information in response to any e-mail, even one that looks like an official earthlink email. All they really need to do is click on Member Account and check their account. If the account looks good, it probably is good. If they do need to make any changes, they really should only do it on the official accounts page. They can really help you and help themselves. If they could click on Member Services, there is a section there for reporting Fraud. Really all they will have to do is copy in the actual e-mail they received, even the address line. That will let your security people track done this clown. Your security people are already tightening the firewall to take into account this act of fraud. But, it is the first time really that any one has been able to and has posted such a fraudulent message to your customers. Not only will you get the guy; this is very unlikely to happen again, though there is always some vulnerability on the internet. Heck, your spam blockers and security filters are the best in the business; and they are only going to get better. If they are really unclear about their account or the status of the e-mail or really for any problem with Earthlink, they can check on the Help icon on the left and click on the Online Chat Help that will contact them with a real representative who will be able to solve their problem. With the increased electronic security, they shouldn’t be getting such a bogus e-mail any time soon. The stupid fake e-mail has created a lot of ill-will. You know you can take the space in a longer e-mail to really give your members the good news and help build positive customer relations over this situation.
Case B: Promotion Any One? Jenna Swift is a great hourly worker for the small company of Lux Electronics which makes electronic parts. She was hired originally as a jack of all trades administrative assistant at $10 an hour. She has pitched in where ever you asked whether as a receptionist, designing data bases, updating web pages, or carrying on correspondence. When your Accounting and Purchasing person, Ted Langstrom, was fired because of his high error rate, Jenna stepped right up to the plate. Even though her background was in marketing with no accounting experience, she learned PeachTree on her own and has been doing all the basic accounts payable and accounts receivable and has been handling an increasingly large amount of the purchasing. Your CFO Angel Markum and your head accountant Tony Rivers have been very impressed with Jenna. She is quicker than Ted and makes very few errors. Better still she checks her errors. Still, you know she could be more effective if she weren’t an hourly employee, subject to overtime rules and all the rest. The CEO Bill Tidewater would like to name her to a salaried position as Assistant Accountant for $25,000 a year. It really isn’t much of a raise, because as she will know cash flow is tight right now. You would like to see her continue doing accounts receivable and payable as well as all of purchasing. She is able to build a great relationship with your clients, though she is a little fussier about ethics than you would like. In the end, she has to realize that you sign all checks and if you decide not to pay an invoice or insist on a reduction, your decision is final, even if she doesn’t like it. She probably knows that as a salaried employee that her work schedule will be based on the tasks and not the hours. There will be weeks when she would work more than 40 hours; and she can be called in on the weekend. Of course, she would be entitled to the Salaried Employee Health Benefit and get her health insurance without having to pay the $120 a month premium required of salaried workers. You know that she is ambitious and the best reason for moving to the salaried position is that it would give her more esteem when she looks for another position or even looks to advance at Lux. She will also be able to participate in the decision making meetings about suppliers, payment schedules, and other accounting related matters. You wonder if she knows that without a degree in accounting, there is a limit to how far she can go in that field. She does have a real skill in the area and could advance if she took some more accounting course, even if through virtual colleges like Phoenix University, but she would be better off with a full accounting degree. You are currently the head of human resources, but jobs in this company are slippery. Bill Tidewater has asked you to write to Jenna Swift explaining her options for promotion to a salaried position but in a way that doesn’t close the door to her continuing as an hourly worker. Right now Bill indicated that the company needs her, and he doesn’t want to scare her away.
Case C: Longwood Country Club Charity Drive You work as Head Pro at Longwood Country Club, an exclusive club in Nedik, MA, a 20 - 30 minute drive outside of Boston, MA. This 18 hole club is fairly attractive (you can imagine your own features as long as they are reasonable). You suggested two years ago at the meeting of a board of directors that a charity tournament would be a great idea for the club. You had heard many members suggesting that the club should do more for charity and that they as members would like to do something. The board loved the idea. You and Bob Packwood, the owner of the club, have been at work ever since. It was decided that the funds raised by the tournament should go to the Boston Children’s Hospital, affiliated with Harvard’s Medical School, that offers the highest levels of care to children from around the world. In fact, U.S. News & World Report’s 13th guide to America’s Best Hospitals ranked Boston Children’s Hospital first in pediatrics. You can find out more about this hospital at http://web1.tch.harvard.edu. The funds from the tournament will go directly to help defray the costs of poor children.
Mr. Packwood has lined up several celebrities who are willing to play in the tournament. These include Antoine Walker, Vin Baker, and Bruno Sundov of the Boston Celtics; Derek Lowe of the Boston Red Sox; Boston area Congressmen Michael E. Capuano and Stephen F. Lynch; P.B.S personality Loretta LaRoche; Bailey Chase, actor in Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Kimiko Tanaka, sports reporter; Janice Conrad, editor and chief of Boston Magazine : and Carl Franklyn, CEO of Boston Financial Group. These celebrities are not only donating their time but are contributing as much as $10,000 of their own money to the hospital. Members and non-members get to play in the tournament at a cost of $1000 for members and $2,000 for non-members. This money is tax deductible, of course. The tournament will end with an extensive banquet honoring the winners which will give the participants a chance to meet with the celebrities. People will play as parts of foursomes. The membership of the foursomes will be rotated such that every participant will have the opportunity to play with one of the celebrity guests. The tournament will be held on Friday June 20, Saturday June 21, and finish on Sunday June 22. You know that this is a long time from now, but you have learned from the past that people book things as much as a year in advance. A plaque honoring the top three finalists will be placed in the display case in the Club’s pro shop. Each of the top three finishers will receive a plaque honoring his or her achievement. The club, of course, will be closed for those three days to regular play. Any member who doesn’t wish to participate is welcome to watch the tournament free of charge. However, the banquet will not be open to any but the tournament participants. You know that every one who participates will have a great time. If this works out well, you would like to make it an annual event. Since the initial idea was yours, Mr. Packwood has asked you to write to the members explaining the tournament and encouraging them to be involved.
Case D: You work as a customer service representative for Nokia (321 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 32016 phone # (317) 294-6851), a company that cells cell phones. You received the following letter from a customer:
PO Box 106
Frozen Lake, AL 21503
January 15, 2002
Nokia Corporation
321 Sunset Drive
Los Angeles, CA 32016
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like a replacement for my Nokia cell phone. The product number is ex327891641.
In November, I ordered a cell phone from Nokia by mail since we have no electronic stores here in Frozen Lake. For November and early December, the phone worked reasonably well, despite the expected poor reception. On the first of January we had a cold snap and temperatures plunged to forty degrees below zero. I left my cell phone on the seat of the truck for six hours while I chopped wood. When I came back to the car, I could not get the cell phone to turn on. I brought the cell phone and brought it inside and still the cell phone would not turn on. I tried to charge the battery. After a twenty four hours, the cell phone would still not work.
If you wish, I will be able to return my cell phone before I receive a new one. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Frank Candor
You showed the letter to several technicians. The technicians all agreed. The prolonged exposure damaged the battery. The battery that standardly comes with the phone can be so extensively damaged by prolonged exposure to extreme cold that it can no longer carry a charge. You looked around your product line and discovered that the battery called the Extreme Life battery actually handles the cold better. This twelve hour battery costs forty dollars retail, compared to thirty dollars for the standard battery; your cost for the extreme life battery is actually twenty dollars. You checked the sales records on Mr. Candor. Indeed, he did order the cell phone by mail. He did not specify the extreme life battery, but despite his Alaskan address, no one from the company thought to contact him to recommend the Extreme Life battery. Even the Extreme Life isn’t really made for forty degree below zero weather. You shudder at the thought of a winter that cold. In fact, to prolong the life of his battery when Frank is outside for any more than an hour in very cold weather, he should keep it with him, under his coat, where it will be kept warmer.
Finally, you spoke to your manager, Ms. Janice Hartley. Actually, Mr. Candor’s problem does not fall under the warranty since the warranty does specify that the battery and cell phone not be left for any length of time for temperatures under zero or over ninety five. Nonetheless, Ms. Hartley indicated that you should send him one Extreme Life battery free of charge as a gesture of goodwill. Of course, because under cold conditions any battery tends to lose its charge, Mr. Candor might want to purchase a second battery. Write to him first, Ms. Hartley stated, and set him straight on the entire situation. Also let him know the battery will be coming. Who knows what happens to the mail up there? You thank Ms. Hartley. You are almost to the door when she offers one last parting comment, Make certain that he appreciates our effort.
