Negative or Bad News Message
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You have been navigating the waters at E227 Global Solutions quite nicely these past few weeks, and you are feeling confident that you can handle any writing task that comes your way. Then, you learn of a delicate situation involving one of the company’s long-time friends and supporters. Your writing skills are going to be tested as you are asked to craft a response refusing the request made by our corporate ally. This is no ordinary refusal, since a valuable corporate relationship is at stake. You must approach this message with care and plan accordingly.
View the scenario which will provide the background you need to proceed with the message.
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Week 5 Negative News Message Transcript
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Our company E227 Global Solutions has hosted an annual tech think tank convention for the past 10 years. Over the past 3 years the company has been expanding the conference to include robotics and a section in medical technology. After much effort, planning, and negotiation, the company has secured a high-profile keynote speaker for the next convention. The planning committee couldn’t be more pleased with the potential for the next convention to gain national and possible international attention.
A few days ago, one of the convention planners received a letter from Maribel Rivera, one of our convention’s long-time attendees, requesting to be the keynote speaker at this year’s convention. Her small company has recently made in-roads in developing technology that may change the way we interact with our electronic devices. Ms. Rivera explains that she wants the keynote speaker role for the visibility it will provide as she seeks to promote this new technology and recruit the right talent to take the technology’s development to the next step.
Maribel Rivera has supported and promoted our convention since its inception and has presented in 8 of the past 10 years. One of those years, she stepped in at a moment’s notice to present when one of the scheduled presenters cancelled a day before his scheduled presentation. Rivera’s company has also utilized our manufacturing facility to produce electronic components and collaborates regularly with our research and design team. Our company values the relationship we have developed with Ms. Rivera, and we wish to maintain a strong working relationship with her.
SCENE: Three people from the planning committee are meeting to discuss plans. The committee leader, Ariel McCarthy, shares the news of the letter with the other two committee members.
Ariel McCarthy: Thanks for attending the meeting, team. Our first order of business has changed from the itinerary I sent earlier today. We have an e-mail that we have to discuss. Maribel Rivera wants to be a keynote speaker.
Jakob Watson: That’s a problem. We wanted to focus this year on robotics and medical technology.
Shavonne Reedy: I received an e-mail from Dr. Robert Binter today, too. He affirmed that he’s going to be the keynote speaker, and he has his presentation ready.
Ariel McCarthy: Dr. Binter is going to bring this year’s convention a lot of good attention—international attention. He has a stellar reputation in the medical technology community, and anything he says makes the news in exactly the places where we want to be seen.
Shavonne Reedy: I think we all agree that we’re going to stick with our plan and keep Dr. Binter.
Jakob Watson: Dr. Binter is the best choice to take our convention to the next level, but we don’t want to sever ties with Maribel Rivera.
Ariel McCarthy: We’ve done a lot of business with her over the years.
Shavonne Reedy: How many times has she stepped in and filled a presentation slot for us when someone else had to cancel?
Jakob Watson: Several times. Our convention’s been going for 10 years, and I think she’s been to almost all of them, even when it was a small group of people in a hotel conference room.
Ariel McCarthy: Right, our event has really grown, but we don’t want to leave our familiar faces behind. Maribel’s company has been a good customer, too, for our manufacturing facility.
Shavonne Reedy: We don’t want to leave dollars behind, either, just to promote the convention. Let’s not forget her involvement with our research and development team. Her company does a lot to support our efforts there.
Ariel McCarthy: Yet we want to expand our horizons beyond the past and go with Dr. Binter and his medical technology presentation. What should we say to Maribel Rivera?
Guidelines
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To Complete the Negative News Assignment:
1. View the negative message media piece for the scenario surrounding the message you will write.
2. Complete the Week 5 Negative Message Planning Questions found in Doc Sharing. Insert your responses directly after each question.
3. Write the message in the appropriate document format indicated in the scenario.
4. Add the written message to a new page on the planning questionnaire, and submit as ONE Word document. (To add a new page at the end of your questionnaire, place your cursor after the last item on the questionnaire and press CONTROL and ENTER.)
5. Submit the completed planning questions and written message to your Dropbox by the due date/time.
A Successful Message Will Include the Following:
• The message written in the proper document format.
• Accurate and thoughtful responses to each planning question.
• Evidence the writer fully and firmly grasps the circumstances surrounding the message.
• Evidence the writer fully and firmly grasps the purpose/goals of the message, including selecting the appropriate organizational approach.
• Full and complete original text that demonstrates an awareness of audience needs in relation to the message.
• Proper use of formatting and style (e.g., bullets, headings, lists, and so forth).
• An awareness and proper use of all ten writing conventions for professional writing (as appropriate), covered in Week 2.
• Use of proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Grading Rubrics
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Category Points % Description
Planning/Writing/Completing Questions 30 30 Questions in all three sections have been completed accurately and thoroughly.
Content 25 25 Content fulfills the purpose of the assignment clearly and completely; quality of information; adequate support and development; ideas work together as a unified whole; shows reader awareness; written in student’s own words
Style and Conventions 25 25 Written for intended audience; professional tone and style; employs clarity, conciseness, fluency, positive tone, you-attitude, etc.; free of grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. errors
Structure/Organization/Format 20 20 Effective document design (e.g., headings, bulleted lists, etc.); formatted in correct business letter format; information presented in a logical arrangement using the indirect pattern of organization effectively
Total 100 100 A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.
This is an outline of the three-step writing process, which should apply to your analysis of a Week 5 scenario presented in the Negative and Bad News Message tab. Answer the case questions related to each step directly on this form. For the three-step process questions, you may use short phrases and sentences for your answers. Then add a page break, and write a message as directed in the Negative and Bad News Message tab and save the document as one file.
Student name
I. Plan
A. Analyze the Situation
1. What is your general purpose?
2. What is your specific purpose?
3. Exactly what do you want your audience to think, feel, or believe after receiving your message?
4. Who is your primary audience?
5. What is the audience’s background?
6. What are the audience’s reactions likely to be to your message?
B. Gather Information
1. What information does your audience need to receive?
2. What facts must you gather in order to create an effective message?
C. Organize the Information
1. What is your main idea?
2. Will you use the direct or indirect approach?
3. Why are you using the approach you chose?
II. Write
A. Adapt to Your Audience
1. How will you show sensitivity to your audience’s needs?
2. How much credibility do you already have with your audience?
3. How will you establish the additional credibility you need?
4. Will your tone be informal or more formal?
B. Compose the Message
• You DO NOT have to attach your first draft.
III. Complete
A. Revise the Message
List three or more changes you made between your first draft and final draft suggested by the prompts in the revision checklist on page 155 in Chapter 6.
1. First change
2. Second change
3. Third change
4. Additional changes
B. Produce the Message
Use effective design and layout for a clean, professional appearance. Proofread the Message.
Review for errors in layout, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics.
• You DO NOT have to list typos and mechanical errors.
C. Submit these questions and your responses along with a fully formatted message to the audience in the Dropbox as one Word file.