Description
Hello, I have attached the assignment instructions, and a sample of a bad news memo(please see it) and notes on bad news memo and a memo template (please use it) This Bad News Memo does a number of things well:It uses the indirect method so reasons are given before the bad newsThe subject line is neutral and does not hint at the bad news to comeThe news is delivered clearly and without emotionThe writer begins with a bufferThe bad news is explained clearly in an easy to read formatEach reason is backed up by a source so reasons are credibleThe writer does not compare the new plan with the old plan that was betterThe memo finishes cleanly with no offer to discuss this further
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Memorandum
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
All Employees
Sarah Duerden, VP Operations
October 13, 2020
Healthcare Plan 2020
I want to commend all of you for your hard work and dedication to Mont Blanc this year. We
could not be prouder of the Mont Blanc staff and what we have accomplished this year in the
face of the challenges Covid-19 has presented.
Of course, we also faced some significant problems in the last two years. When COVID-19
initially came to the United States we elected to keep our fulfillment centers open. With this
commitment we made protecting our employees priority number one. This did however come
at a cost, something that other companies can relate to. From March to June of this year Inti
Pacheco of the Wall Street Journal reports that Target spent “nearly 1 billion dollars more this
year than last on worker-related expenses, including wages, paid leave and safety equipment
such as masks.”
We are not alone in the struggle of diminishing sales as well. Since the COVID-19 outbreak over
150 companies have seen lower profits. Jessica Bursztynsky of CNBC tracked 150 companies
and their warnings to investors about COVID-19. She states that companies such as Under
Armour (a brand that goes well with many of our products) will see sales lowered by “roughly
$50 million to $60 million during the first fiscal quarter of 2020.”
Finally, in addition to keeping our fulfilment centers open and experiencing lower sales we are
also seeing the health care industry take a hit. Bertha Coombs of CNBC found that more and
more states are not allowing elective procedures in the wake of COVID-19; with that comes low
growth in the medical industry, and with low growth we may see “medical costs balloon by 10%
above pre-coronavirus levels next year, which would make for the highest rate of medical-cost
inflation since 2007.” Thus, COVID-19 has affected the US healthcare system and we at Mont
Blanc anticipate significant disruptions in the next few years.
Subject: Healthcare and Mont Blanc
Date: October 13, 2020
Page Number: 2
Effective immediately Mont Blanc will see changes to our healthcare plan for all employees.
Please refer to the chart below for a clear view of the new plan.
Individual Plan
Saver Plan Deductible $2000.00
Choice Plan Deductible $600.00
Saver Plan Biweekly
$48.00
Contribution Cost
Choice Plan Biweekly
$90.00
Contribution Cost
Saver Plan Co-Pay
$50.00
Choice Plan Co-Pay
$50.00
Family Plan
$4300.00
$1200.00
$200.00
$300
$50.00
$50.00
Mont Blanc is one of the many hit hard by the Coronavirus. With increased internal costs, lower
sales, and lower funds going into the medical community which will lead us to face higher costs
Mont Blanc has no choice but to implement changes to our healthcare plan.
The future is bright at Mont Blanc, amidst this global pandemic we have not closed any centers
and have not let go of any of our partners. We have a strong core that will make it through this
everchanging time. We are optimistic about 2021 and anticipate growth by 2022. We want to
thank all of you for your dedication to Mont Blanc, one another, and our customers. For your
hard work we are adding two additional PTO days for all staff members starting January 1,
2021.
Works Cited
.
Bad News
Just as in life, the workplace isn’t always a bowl of cherries. Sometimes things don’t go
according to plan, and it’s your job to communicate about them in a way that doesn’t
ruin your relationships with customers, coworkers, managers, the public, and other
stakeholders.
Bad-news messages require care and skillful language because your main point will
meet resistance. Rarely are people okay being told that they’re laid off, their application
has been rejected, their shipment got lost, prices or rates are increasing, their
appointment has to be moved back several months, or they’re losing their benefits.
Though some people prefer that the messenger be blunt about it, in most cases
you can assume that the receiver will appreciate or even benefit by a more tactful,
indirect approach.
THE SEVEN GOALS OF BAD-NEWS MESSAGES
Keep in mind these seven goals when delivering bad news in person or in writing:
1. Be clear and concise to avoid being asked for additional clarification.
2. Help the receiver understand and accept the news.
3. Reduce the anxiety associated with the bad news as much as possible by
expressing sympathy or empathy.
4. Maintain trust and respect between you and your audience to ensure the
possibility of good future relations.
5. Deliver the bad news in a timely fashion in the appropriate channel(s).
6. Avoid the legal liability that comes with admitting negligence or guilt.
7. Achieve the designated business outcome
INDIRECT BAD-NEWS MESSAGE ORGANIZATION
Key to achieving Goal #2 of delivering bad news—i.e., helping the receiver understand
and accept information they don’t want to hear or read—is organizing the message
using the indirect approach:
The typical organization of a bad-news message is:
1. Buffer offering some good news, positives, or any other reason to keep
reading
2. Reasons for the bad news about to come
3. Bad news
4. Closing pleasantly/forward look
1
If you tactlessly hit your audience over the head with really bad news, you run the risk of
them rejecting or misunderstanding it because they may be reeling from the blow and
be too distracted with anger or sadness to rationally process the explanation or
instructions for what to do about the bad news. A doctor never delivers a really serious
diagnosis by coming right out and saying “You have cancer!” first thing. Instead, they try
to put a positive spin on the results (“It could be worse”), discuss test results in detail,
talk about treatment options, and only then come around to telling the patient the bad
news. At that point, being clear about the bad news ensures that the receiver
understands the gravity of the situation and is therefore motivated to follow through on
the therapeutic recommendations given earlier.
Key to avoiding misunderstandings when delivering bad news, then, is the following
four-part organization:
1. Buffer
2. Justification
3. Bad news + redirection
4. Positive action closing
Part
Example Message
1. Buffer
Thank you for your order. We appreciate your interest in
our product and are confident you will love it.
2. Explanation
We are writing to let you know that this product has been
unexpectedly popular with over 10,000 orders submitted
on the day you placed yours.
3. Bad news +
redirect
This unexpected increase in demand has resulted in a
temporary out-of-stock/backorder situation. Despite a
delay of 2-3 weeks, we will definitely fulfill your order as it
was received at 11:57pm on October 9, 2018, as well as
gift you a $5 coupon towards your next purchase.
4. Positive action
closing
While you wait for your product to ship, we encourage you
to use the enclosed $5 coupon toward the purchase of
any product in our online catalog. We appreciate your
continued business and want you to know that our highest
priority is your satisfaction.
2
BAD-NEWS MESSAGE BUFFER
Begin with neutral or positive statements that set a welcoming tone and serve as
a buffer for the information to come. A buffer softens the blow of bad news like the
airbag in a car softens the driver’s collision with the steering wheel in a high-speed car
accident. If there are any silver linings that can calm the poor person about to be
pummeled by the dark thunder clouds of bad news, here at the beginning would be a
good time to point them out. The following are some possible buffer strategies:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Good news: If there’s good news and bad news, start with the good news.
Compliment: If you’re rejecting someone’s application, for instance, start by
complimenting them on their efforts and other specific accomplishments you
were impressed by in their application.
Gratitude: Say thanks for whatever positive things the recipient has done in your
dealings with them. If they’ve submitted a claim that doesn’t qualify for an
adjustment, for instance, thank them for choosing your company.
Agreement: Before delivering bad news that you’re sure the recipient is going to
disagree with and oppose, start with something you’re sure you both agree on.
Start on common ground by saying, “We can all agree that . . . .”
Facts: If positives are hard to come by in a situation, getting started on the next
section’s explanation, starting with cold, hard facts, is the next best thing.
Understanding: Again, if there are no silver linings to point to, showing you care
by expressing sympathy and understanding is a possible alternative
BAD-NEWS JUSTIFICATION
The justification explains the background or context for the bad news before delivering
the bad news itself. Let’s say that you must reject an application, claim for a refund, or
request for information. In such cases, the explanation could describe the strict
acceptance criteria and high quality of applications received in the competition, the
company policy on refunds, or its policy on allowable disclosures and the legalities of
contractually obligated confidentiality, respectively. Your goal with the explanation is to
be convincing so that the reader says, “That sounds reasonable” and similarly accepts
the bad news as inevitable given the situation you describe.
On the other hand, if you make the bad news seem like mysterious and arbitrary
decision-making, your audience will probably feel like they’ve been treated unfairly and
might even escalate further with legal action or “yelptribution”—avenging the wrong in
social media. While an explanation is ethically necessary, never admit or imply
responsibility without written authorization from your company cleared by legal counsel
if there’s any way that the justification might be seen as actionable (i.e., the offended
party can sue for damages).
Use additional strategies to make the justification more agreeable such as focusing on
benefits. If you’re informing employees that they will have to pay double for parking
3
passes next year in an attempt to reduce the number of cars filling up the parking lot,
you could sell them on the health benefits of cycling to work or the environmental
benefit of fewer cars polluting the atmosphere.
If you’re informing a customer asking why a product or service can’t include additional
features, you could say that adding those features would drive the cost up and you
would rather respect your customer’s pocketbooks by keeping the product or service
more affordable. In any case, try to pitch an agreeable, pro-social or progressive benefit
rather than saying that you’re merely trying to maximize company or shareholder profits.
THE BAD NEWS ITSELF AND REDIRECTION
Burying the bad news itself in the message is a defining characteristic of the indirect
approach. Far from intending to hide the bad news, the indirect approach frames the
bad news so that it can be properly understood and its negative (depressing or angerarousing) impact minimized.
The goal is also to be clear in expressing the bad news so that it isn’t misunderstood
while also being sensitive to your reader’s feelings. If you’re rejecting a job applicant, for
instance, you can be clear that they didn’t get the job without bluntly saying “You failed
to meet our criteria” or “You won’t be working for us anytime soon.” Instead, you can
clearly imply it by putting the bad news in a subordinate clause in the passive voice:
Though another candidate was hired for the position, . . .
The passive voice enables you to draw attention away from your own role in rejecting
the applicant, as well as away from the rejected applicant in the context of the
competition itself. Instead, you focus on the positive of someone getting hired. While the
rejected applicant probably won’t be throwing a celebration party for the winning
candidate, the subordinate clause here allows for speedy redirection to a consolation
prize.
Redirection is key to this type of bad news’ effectiveness because it quickly shifts the
reader’s attention to an alternative to what they were seeking in the first place. Some
kind of consolation prize (e.g., a coupon or store credit) helps soothe the pain and will
be appreciated as being better than nothing, at least. Even if you’re not able to offer the
reader anything of value, you could at least say something nice. In that case,
completing the sentence in the previous paragraph with an active-voice main clause
could go as follows:
. . . we wish you success in your continued search for employment.
This way, you avoid saying anything negative while still clearly rejecting the applicant.
POSITIVE ACTION CLOSING
4
As we’ve seen in previous explorations of message organization, the closing here
involves action information. If your redirection involves some alternative, such as a
recommendation to apply elsewhere, some follow-up details here would help the reader
focus on the future elsewhere rather than getting hung up on you and your company’s
decision. Your goals here are the following
•
•
•
Ensure that the reader understands the bad news without rehashing it
Remain courteous, positive, and forward-looking
End the conversation in such a way that you don’t invite further correspondence
The first and last goals are important because you don’t want the reader to respond
asking you to clarify anything. The second goal is important because you ultimately
want to appear respectable and avoid giving the reader a reason to smear your
reputation in social media or proceed with legal action against you.
5
Duerden
Assignment 4 Bad News Memo: Return to Office
Draft Due: Sun 2 Mar
Peer Reviews Due: Mon 11 Mar (by end of class)
Polished Draft Due: Sun 17 Mar
Remember people do not like bad news. Therefore, you must use the indirect method to deliver
bad news.
Include a Works Cited page using correct MLA Documentation
Use at least 3 sources including the one I have linked below.
You should use sources for this from magazines like Forbes or The Wall Street Journal or
Business Insider or newspapers like The New York Times and newsites like CNN. In other
words, these should be sources that use fact checkers and are respected by the business
community and not someone’s personal blog site. You need at least one source and a quote
from that source to back up each reason.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/ml
a_formatting_and_style_guide.html
Background:
Valhalla, a fictional online outdoor store similar to REI has allowed workers in its
headquarters to work from home while those in the brick and mortar stores have been
back in person for two years and those in the warehouse have never been able to work
remotely. Like many other companies (see this article for example: The Companies
Backtracking on Flexible Work) the upper management at Valhalla believes that those
working remotely need to return to the office for many reasons. Your supervisor in HR
has asked that you draft the bad news Memo that management will send out. You have
been told that you need to use the indirect method (that is buffer, reasons for the bad
news, then the bad news).
Bad News:
Management must inform employees that they are now mandating a return to the office for
everyone at Valhalla headquarters. There will be no hybrid options. Those unwilling to comply
will be considered as having resigned. The change will be effective Aug 1, 2024.
The Assignment:
Please write a memo1, relaying the negative message based on the text above. Write an
INDIRECT bad news message. Refer to chapter 10.
1. Start with a buffer
2. Next present at least 2 reasons or even 3 reasons
(facts/evidence/circumstances/events/examples to justify the negative message from the
company. To accomplish this, use Google to search for reasons why companies want a
return to the office. Try to base reasons on real examples, evidence, fact/
events/circumstances. Use sources to back up these reasons. Cite the author of the
source in your sentence. For example, “According to John Brown of Forbes magazine”
In your reasons, be specific and concrete. Generic abstract reasons are not persuasive.
3. Develop these two or three reasons in sufficient detail so that the reader will clearly
understand why the company wants everyone back in the office and use a source to
back up each reason. Try to think about this from management’s point of view and why
they want people back in the office. Then think about the employees and what will
persuade them that this is a reasonable course of action with which they need to comply.
Think about why remote working was adopted and the reason for it. Now what has
1
Memos are used when you need to make sure that everyone received a written copy of a document.
Duerden
changed? What, for example, might make them less hesitant about the return to in
person office work.
4. Now after your 2 or 3 reasons relay the bad news clearly and honestly
5. Make sure you think about how to format this information. It needs to be easily read
6. Explain carefully any changes in office policies and procedures that employees need to
follow or that will reassure them.
7. End with a respectful close.
8. Please use a standard memo format (see pages 571). You need the headings: To,
Date, From, and Subject Line. You will also need some kind of company logo at the top
of the page and a title indicating this is a memo.
9. Use a ready-made Memo template from Word, but do not choose one with flowers etc.
A plain template is better and then add your company Logo at the top before the To,
From etc. Click on “file” and then “new template” and search for Memo templates or
make your own.
10. Subject line should not preview or forecast the bad news.
11. Do not compare the new working in-person policy with the old policy of remote
work. Do not offer alternatives.
Remember Memos have a twofold purpose: they bring attention to problems and they solve
problems. They accomplish their goals by informing the reader about new information like policy
changes, price increases, or by persuading the reader to take an action, such as attend a
meeting, or change a current production procedure.
When preparing to write a memo, ask yourself the following questions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the purpose of the memo? What will it tell its recipient(s)?
Why do the recipients need this information?
What are the most important facts that the recipients need to have?
Is there a change that will be occurring? If so, what is the change and when will it
occur?
Is there an action that the recipients need to take? If so, exactly what do they need to
do? How do they take this action?
Is there any information (contact names, numbers, URLs) they need in order take
this action?
Is there any accompanying documentation (reports, forms, charts) that the recipients
need? (These can be included as attachments to the memo or be found on a
website)
Grading Criteria:
• Effective use of the indirect method: reasons before the bad news
• Appropriate Memo Format
• Effective Content: Your Bad News memo must present all the necessary information
in a clear and concise way.
• Effective persuasive reasons (2 or 3) before you give the bad news
• Effective use of sources to make each reason persuasive
• Effective Word Choice, Sentence Structure, and Paragraph Structure: Make sure
you pay careful attention to the selection of your words, the structure of your
sentences, and the structure of your paragraphs. Short, concise paragraphs are
important in business communication
• Effective Visual Layout: You should present your information in a way that is visually
accessible to your audience. Consider using 1.) numbers, 2.) spacing, and 3.) bullet
items to make key points stand out. Readers will be likely to return to this memo to
find out about the changes to the office when they return.
• Error free prose (spelling, grammar, and punctuation)
• Correct MLA Works Cited Page
Company Name
Memorandum
To: Recipient Name
From:
Subject:
CC: CC Name
Some of the sample text in this document indicates the
name of the style applied, so that you can easily apply the
same formatting again. To get started right away, just tap
any placeholder text (such as this) and start typing.
View and edit this document in Word on your computer, tablet, or phone. You
can edit text; easily insert content such as pictures, shapes, or tables; and
seamlessly save the document to the cloud from Word on your Windows, Mac,
Android, or iOS device.
Want to insert a picture from your files or add a shape, text box, or table? You
got it! On the Insert tab of the ribbon, just tap the option you need.
Find even more easy-to-use tools on the Insert tab, such as to add a hyperlink or
insert a comment.
STREET ADDRESS, CITY, ST ZIP CODE
T TELEPHONE U WEBSITE
HOW TO WRITE A
MEMO
TODAY’S TOPICS
1.
Defining memos
2.
Preparing to write a memo
3.
Formatting memos
4.
Writing memos
5.
Revising the message
6.
Proofreading the message
DEFINING MEMOS
• Memos are company internal letters.
(E-mail is taking over their function.)
• Memos are more formal than e-mails, but
less formal than business letters.
• Originally used only in hard copy, they are
now often processed electronically.
• Memos vary in length.
(Short memos serve as inter- or intra-office communication;
long memos may serve as reports.)
PREPARING TO WRITE A
MEMO
• Learn your organization’s memo policy.
• Analyze the attitudes and expectations of
your audience.
— Consider primary, secondary, tertiary etc. audiences.
— Choose direct or indirect method.
• Know the purpose of your message.
MEMO
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
All Employees
Arthur Dahlquist, General Manager AD
June 21, 2008
Wide Area Telephone Service (WATS) Lines
WATS lines were installed three years ago to give all employees easier telephone
access to our customers and suppliers in other parts of the country. In fact, our
company’s growth rate has increased since then, and we attribute at least part of
that growth to the new telephone system.
As sales have increased, so have our telephone bills. But, over the past few
months, those bills have been growing faster than sales. It seems that a few people
have been using the long-distance lines to make personal calls. Such misuse of the
WATS lines reduces our profits (and thus the amount available for profit sharing by
all employees), and it ties up lines that are needed for business calls.
Please do your part to keep our company profitable and healthy. If you absolutely
must make a personal long-distance call during business hours, please charge it to
your home phone. Your colleagues will appreciate your consideration.
Sample Memo
Memo
FORMATTING MEMOS
1. Company Logo/Letterhead
Most companies use letterhead.
2. “Date” line
Lines up horizontally with printed To/From/Subject
3. “To” line
Use reader’s name: e.g. John. K. Klein
Define group: e.g. All employees,
FORMATTING MEMOS (CONT.)
4. “From” line
— Writer’s initials are added in ink.
— Instead of initialing next to “From” line, you may
sign your name below last line.
5. “Subject” line
— Provide a subject line that describes the topic and
focus of your message
— Be specific and accurate to aid filing and later
retrieval.
— Capitalize all major words except articles, prepositions,
and conjunctions.
FORMATTING MEMOS (CONT.)
For memos running two or more pages, use
a heading at the top of the second and
subsequent pages.
Brief Subject Line
Date
Page Number
or
Reader’s Name
Page Number
Date
FORMATTING MEMOS
(CONT.)
Features of standard memos:
1.
No salutation
Omit “Dear Chris Crowell, Dear Employees,”
2. No close
Omit “Sincerely, Cordially,”
3. No handwritten signature or signature
block
FORMATTING MEMOS
(CONT.)
4. Use full block format without indentation.
5. Headings are optional.
— Never use a separate heading for the first paragraph.
— Each heading must cover all the information until the
next heading
6. Double-space between paragraphs
7. Triple-space before a heading
WRITING INFORMATIVE
MEMOS
1. Present most important material first.
(The first sentence of the memo should explain clearly its
purpose, e.g. “The purpose of this memo is to request
authorization to travel to the Juarez branch Thursday to
meet with the other inspectors.”)
2. Arrange remaining material in
descending order of importance.
3. Provide logical order (e.g. cause/effect;
problem/solution)
4.
Use a moderately formal tone.
WRITING INFORMATIVE MEMOS
(CONT.)
Date:
June 3, 2008
To:
All employees
From:
James Pearce, Human Resources JP
Sample of
Informative Memo
Subject: Form for In-house Letters (Memos)
_______________________________________________________________
This is an illustration of our memorandum stationary. It should be
used for written communications within the organization.
Notice that the memorandum uses no form of salutation. Neither
does it have any form of complimentary close. The writer does not
need to sign the message. He or she needs to only initial after the
typed name in the heading.
Notice also that the message is single-spaced with double spacing
between paragraphs.
PROOFREADING THE
MESSAGE
Watch for
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Punctuation
CHARACTERISTICS OF
EFFECTIVE MEMOS
•
Civilized: use courtesy and tact
•
Concise: condense information
•
Coherent: use clear and logical structure
•
Compelling: use persuasive diction
•
Correct: follow conventions of quality writing
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