Blog Post 288-311

Termination of Employment:

Johnny is the southeastern regional controller of the Toys “R” Us company.  Due to several consecutive quarterly losses, the company is forced to close down one of the store locations.  The closing of this store will cost many workers to lose their jobs as a result, which includes managers, clerks, maintenance workers, and security guards.  Johnny needs to deliver the hard news to all of the workers who will soon be laid off in the best manner possible.  While constructing this message, there are several things that Johnny must keep in mind before sending out the bad to prevent the least amount of harm, damage, outrage, and shock from all of the workers.

Solution:

Johnny should deliver the news with a message that begins with a buffer to start off sounding somewhat positive and to convey appreciation.  Then start easing into the bad news to not be blunt and harsh.  After telling the workers the bad news, Johnny should clearly lay out the reasons for termination, which would be the unprofitability of the store, which is causing huge losses for the company.  The best medium for this message would have to be in person.

Rejection of Job Applicant:

BB&T recently just opened a new major branch in Charlotte’s uptown area.  This new branch attracted hundreds of applicants for the bank teller positions that are now currently available.  However, there are only a limited number of positions that can be given out.  The vast majority of the applicants will have to be turned down even though they may have many appealing qualities and qualifications.  The newly appointed managers of the BB&T branch will have to come up with a way to appropriately turn down these applicants.

Solution:

BB&T should send the applicants a message that conveys appreciation for expressing interest in the company.  BB&T should not give exact reasons for not being chosen and they should not say that they will review the applicant again in the future.  BB&T should also end the message with wishes for success in the future for the applicant and be as polite as possible.

- In what other ways could the situations mentioned above be handled? Which one would prove to be the most effective?

Blog Post In Class 2/12/15

Chic Fil A

As the new Corporate Executive Officers of Chic Fil A, Taylor Westmoreland, Muz Syed, and James Palacio, we would like to announce the resignation of the previous CEO, Dan T. Cathy.  We will no longer make charitable contributions to anti-gay organizational groups.  We would like to formally address the recent accusations against our company, and as of now, we are making it clear that we are indifferent toward same-sex marriage.

We still consider this company a Christian organization to preserve the founder’s original goals and mission.  However, we will not discriminate or challenge any other person’s opinions, beliefs, or views.  We do not believe that the comments of the previous CEO reflect on the true nature of Chic Fil A.

From this point on, we also uphold the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize same-sex marriage.  We know that not everyone may agree on this outcome, however, we would like to maintain a neutral position to accommodate the needs of all of our customers.

Blog Post 123-136

Writing effectively within the workplace is one of the most important factors to any kind of businessperson.  Without proper writing techniques, a job seeker may not be able to get a job, and at the same time, others may not be able to maintain employment.  This is a skillset that cannot be emphasized enough.  Many college graduates go through their years without having proficiency in writing.  Through my personal experiences, I found that there are certain areas of writing that need more focus than others.

Grammar and punctuation are probably two of the biggest challenges that writers struggle with the most.  When participating in peer-review activities in prior English courses, it astounded me how so many students were lacking knowledge of basic knowledge and punctuation.  I could not believe how any student could be accepted into the university with such poor writing skills.  Subject-verb agreement and comma placement are usually the most common errors found in writing.

            One thing that helped me become a better writer was knowing my audience or having a conversation.  Everyone knows how to talk to certain people such as elders, professors, employers, and children.  Some writers cannot identify who they would be communicating with in their works so much of the writing may seem inappropriate for particular contexts.  A good idea to keep in mind is identifying who will be receiving the message, and writing in a manner (style or tone) that would be best suited for that situation.  In other words, make sure it sounds good to the recipient of the message.  For example, managers are not friends so they should not be treated as one.

            Another factor to be aware of in writing is to keep sentences and paragraphs not overly complex.  Long, unnecessary words and phrases do not need to be included to sound professional.  Also ideas must flow smoothly and transition well into different topics.  A well-organized and coherent written work will not be jumping around unrelated topics.  This is where paragraphs become useful because they are usually how ideas are separated.  Keeping writing simple and organized is never a bad way to go. 

Being conscious of these tips could be more than half the battle for many novice writers.  Carrying on these simple skills into the real world can really make a big impact when it comes to business.  In the end, it could make a difference when trying to get promotion or maintaining a good client relationship.

In your opinion, what is the most important factor to be aware of when writing to any kind of audience?

The website for UNC Charlotte provides a good example of persuasive style and tone to attract potential students.  While reading, I became interested in finding more information about the campus life and offerings.

" The Campus Events website is your resource for hundreds of activities and events held at UNC Charlotte throughout the year. Search this online calendar by date or event categories such as speakers, arts, entertainment, recreation, career, and more. Promote your own campus department or student organization's activities by submitting your campus events online."

This blurb makes the campus sound lively and exciting by using words such as hundreds, recreation, and entertainment.  A prospective student or parent may read this and become influenced into choosing this school.  The school uses thumbnails that make the campus look packed with students who are all excited to be there.

http://www.uncc.edu/landing/campus-life

Bovée, Courtland L., and John V. Thill. "Achieving Success Through Effective Business Communication." Business Communication Today. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. Print.

Blog Post 88-98

Blog Post 88-98

It is important to keep in mind how to properly construct any type of message in business.  The presence of any errors, offending comments, or typos can ruin the intent and reputation of any company.  The best way that I learned to approach any kind of writing is called process writing.  It consists of four stages, which are: planning, drafting, revising, and editing.  For my personal benefit, I also included another stage at the end called peer review.  I learned this process from my first English professor in college who I also had for the second English course as well.  I found this method very effective.  The extra step that I added was sometimes used in the course, but it was not listed as a stage.

Many people tend to neglect the planning stage.  However, I find it to be one of the most critical of all the stages.  My professor taught us to do this in the best fashion of our choice, which is why most people neglected it I theorize.  I found that brainstorming and free writing were the most effective methods for planning because it produced the best results for me.  When it came time to drafting, I felt as if I never ran out of ideas, and sometimes new ideas would branch out of old ideas while writing.  This is where a lot of other students struggled because of the lack of prewriting.

When it came the time to revise and edit, I found it better to just combine the two stages into one.  Basically, I would call it review where revising is correcting the organization and content, and editing is correcting the punctuation, grammar, wording, and sentence structure.  By combining the two stages, I would save time and understand my own writing style better.

The peer review was particularly important to me like the planning stage because it would give me an extra opinion and perspective about my writing.  This part would especially be important in the business world because it would catch any issues that would be normally invisible to the writer before reaching the audience.  In the work place, a coworker or superior would suffice just like a classmate in school.  This third party approach would also remove any bias or even add important details that would otherwise be lacking.

For my question to the reader, I would ask what is your approach when it comes to writing any kind of work, if there is any?

Bovée, Courtland L., and John V. Thill. "Achieving Success Through Effective Business Communication." Business Communication Today. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. Print.