Routine and Goodwill Emails

Required Reading:
Boothby, K. (2012, Nov 17). Writing skills have declined in the era of email. Leader Post. Retrieved on Feb 10, 2015, from http://www(dot)canada(dot)com/Business+communication+skills+have+declined+email/7392043/story.html
Campanizzi, Jane (2005). The Write Stuff for Quality. Retrieved on Feb 10, 2015, from http://qpc(dot)co(dot)la(dot)ca(dot)us/cms1_035856.pdf.
Christensen, G. J. (2003). Professional Email Needs Attention. Retrieved on Feb 10, 2015, from http://www(dot)csun(dot)edu/~vcecn006/email.html
Assignment Overview
Routine and Goodwill Emails
You are an Employee Communications Manager at a large service firm, such as a bank, or an advertising or consulting firm. Since it is a large firm, there is considerable diversity in the cultural makeup of the employees. You will assume this role throughout the Case Assignments in the course.
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Case Assignment
Read the article “Tame the email beast!” by Garbringer (2008). Create an email in a letter format, to all of your fellow employees, to announce an email policy that you have just created. You are not persuading; you are announcing. Specify the response that you want from the email (e.g., ask the recipients to email a receipt response). Your email must start with an introduction and end with a conclusion. You must be tactful and professional. Remember, some of those folks have been around a long time, and some are beginning their very first jobs.
Then write a second email—a goodwill email—to your fellow employees thanking them for complying with the policy.
Finally, write a brief summary explaining why you chose to emphasize these principles in your email and discuss at least three rules that you used from the article “Tame the email beast!” and why you wrote your message as you did. In this summary, please discuss your objectives and how you used the other background readings.
This section of the assignment should include at least 2 references , properly cited, to articles from the assigned background materials.
Your assignment will be graded on logical flow, ease of reading, tone of message, references to articles, understanding of concepts, and (for that extra special touch) tasteful creativity.
Please choose a suitable policy. Be careful about cultural sensitivities since this is a large firm with culturally diverse employees. You will re-visit the policy in Module 4.
Be careful: Remember that emails can be leaked! If your email appeared on Page 1 of the Wall Street Journal, would you be proud or embarrassed?
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Assignment Expectations
1.One email announcing a new policy after reading the required articles. You may choose a policy that you are familiar with. However, since you will be making a presentation in Module 4 on this policy, please be sure to choose one that has a sufficient impact on the organization. Please use proper English. Sentences must be properly constructed and free of grammatical and typographical errors. No citations are needed in the email.
2.One short goodwill email, presumably sent a few days after the routine email, thanking those who are complying with the new policies, and encouraging the others to begin doing so. Please use proper English. Sentences must be properly constructed and free of grammatical and typographical errors. No citations are needed in the email.
3.A summary explaining which principles and rules you used when composing both your emails. The explanation should make use of at least two sources from the required readings, properly cited and referenced. Your summary should be prepared as an academic essay and contain appropriate citations and a formal bibliography.
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Case General Expectations
In the Case Assignments, students will assume the role of a Manager in Employee Communications Manager in at a large service firm, such as a bank, or an advertising or consulting firm. Students will assume this role throughout the Case Assignments and be challenged with different scenarios, requiring written and verbal communication.
Formal citations and a bibliography are required unless otherwise stated.