PROBLEM You are the head of the catalog sales department of Branford’s, a large department store located in Miami. Most of your 17 full-time employees are high school graduates, and many of them are female. For beginning workers, you pay $2.50 per hour over the minimum wage, plus fringe benefits. Send a message to your employees informing them that management has decided that no one can take vacation or personal days during the months of November and December. The reason, of course, is that the holiday season is your busiest sales period. PROCESS Compose a few paragraphs describing how you solved this problem. In narrative form, provide information such as the following: 1. What is the purpose of your message? 2. Describe your audience. 3. Will you use a direct or an indirect organizational plan? (What is your audience’s likely reaction to this memo?) 4. What reasons can you give for your decision? 5. How can you stress the “you” attitude and use positive language to explain the reasons for this decision? 6. Will you format this document as a letter or memo? Why? PRODUCT Compose your document and follow the five steps in the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, formatting, and proofreading). Format the final version on letterhead stationery. Aside from answering the questions in the previous section, the letter should be about one page in length, and the entire assignment (letter, reflection, etc.) should be approximately 2-3 pages.
