Exercises and Problems

and their Suggested Answers

Chapter 2
1
Revise these sentences to improve you-attitude and positive emphasis. Eliminate any
awkward phrasing. In some cases, you may need to add information to revise the
sentence effectively.

1. It will be necessary for you to submit Form PR-47 before you can be reimbursed
for your travel expenses.
2. Starting next month, the company will offer you a choice of three HMO’s.
3. I’m sorry you were worried. I’m happy to tell you that your request to change
health plans arrived by the deadline.
4. A penalty of $100 in addition to the annual fee is automatically assessed for late
applications postmarked March 2 or later. No penalty will be charged if you
bring the application and fee to our office by March 1.
5. After hours of hard work, I have negotiated a new employee benefit for you.
6. I was Treasurer of the accounting Club. Of course, we didn’t have much
responsibility, but I was able to put into practice principles I learned in the
classroom.
7. In this workshop, you will learn how to manage subordinates more effectively.
8. We are pleased to send you a copy of “Investing in Stocks,” which you requested.
We hope you call us when you are ready for more information or to purchase
stocks.
9. If you have any problems using your e-mail account, I will be glad to try to
explain it so that you can understand.
10. If you submitted a travel request, as you claim, we have failed to receive it.

Answers
Acceptable answers include the following:
1. You will be reimbursed for your travel expenses after you submit Form PR-47.
2. Starting next month, you will have your choice of three HMO’s
3. Your request to change health plans arrived by the deadline.
OR You’ve been changed to Physicians’ Health Plan as you requested
4. You can save $100 if you pay on or before March 1.
OR (if ethics require making the negative clear): Make sure that your application
is in our office or postmarked by March 1 to avoid a $100 late fee.
5. You are now eligible for a new dental plan.
6. As Treasurer of the Accounting Club, I was able to put into practice principles I
learned in the classroom.
7. In this workshop, you will learn new management techniques.
In this workshop, you will learn how to manage subordinates even more
effectively.
 (Note: The second revision is OK only if the readers are all good managers. If
someone is weak, it should not be used, since it could create legal liability for the
company.)
8. Here is the copy of “Investing in Stocks” that you requested. When you’re ready
to purchase stocks, just call the toll-free number listed in the booklet.
9. If you have questions about your e-mail account, just ask.
10. We don’t have a record of your travel request. So that the request can be
processed, please turn in another copy.
(Note: “another” is needed to acknowledge the reader’s assertion that the request
has already been submitted.)

2
Revise these sentences to improve you-attitude and positive emphasis. Eliminate any
awkward phrasing. In some cases, you may need to add information to revise the
sentence effectively.

1. No subcontractor shall be employed without the previous consent of the Director.

2. I am delighted to tell you that we have chosen you as one of our summer interns.
We hope you will like working here.
3. I have worked each summer for the last six years in my family’s business.
Perhaps because the owners were my parents, I was given some real assignments
– not just the usual gofer and clerical work that most high school and college
students do.
4. After the performance review, Jane Ross from Human Resources will meet
individually with you and with other managers to help you identify ways to work
on two or three or your major shortcomings.
5. Your comments on the survey are completely confidential. Nothing you write can
ever be used against you in any way.
6. Don’t worry about getting your story in the next newsletter. It isn’t filled up, so I
didn’t have to delay your story till next month.
7. You will pay $30 more if you wait till after October 1 to register for the
conference.
8. If you have any problems doing double-sided printing, I will be happy to try to
help you.
9. Since the questionnaire is lengthy and time-consuming, you may not want to
complete it right now. It is OK to set it aside and even take it home, as long as
you don’t keep it more than two weeks.
10. If you sent in a check with your order, as you claim, we have failed to receive it.

Answers
Many different revisions are possible. Acceptable answers include the following.
1. Subcontractors can be employed after receiving the consent of the Director.
2. You have been chosen as one of our summer interns.
3. While working for my family’s business during the last six summers, I gained
valuable experience in bookkeeping, accounting, marketing, and purchasing.
4. After the performance review, you can discuss ways to strengthen your
management skills with Jane Ross from Human Resources.
5. Your comments on the survey are completely confidential.
6. Your story will be in the next newsletter.
(even better: specify the title of the story and the issue in which it will appear.)
7. You can save $30 when you register for the conference by October 1.
8. Omit the sentence.
OR Instructions for double-sided printing are posted on the copier.
9. You have two weeks to answer the questionnaire, and you may take it home.
10. Just send a photocopy of your canceled check for order #68309.

3
Suggest nonsexist alternatives for each of the following:
Cleaning lady
Mailman
Congressman
Night watchman
Garbage man
Repairman
Male nurse
Salesman
Mail boy
Waitress

Answers
cleaning person, janitor
mail carrier, letter carrier
member of Congress, Representative
guard, security guard
sanitation worker
repair expert, repair worker
sales person, sales clerk, sales representative
courier
server

Chapter 3
1
In each of the following situations, label the audiences as initial, gatekeeper, primary,
secondary, or watchdog.

3. Carolyn is marketing auto loans. She knows that many car buyers choose one of the
financing options presented by the car dealership, so she wants to persuade dealers to
include her company in the options they offer.
5. John is a college professor who is applying to the American Free Enterprise
Foundation to fund research he wants to do. The Director of the Foundation reads all
proposals to determine that they fit the foundation’s criteria and then funnels them to
experts for opinions. Two experts read each proposal, summarize it for the selection
committee, and rank it against the other proposals they have read. The selection
committee will vote on which proposals to fund and whether to fund them fully or at a
reduced rate.

Answers
3. Primary audience: customers who choose a loan source
Gatekeeper: dealers who may or may not recommend her to clients
Secondary audiences: sales people who explain loan options
Watchdog audiences: the banking community, better business bureaus, people
who study the Web
5. Primary: The selection committee, which will vote
Secondary: The experts who will summarize proposals and rank them
Initial and Gatekeeper: The Director of the foundation

2
Assume that your company has decided to give stock options to all workers, not just top
executives. As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), you want to write a memo about the
program that will answer employees’ questions and build support for the program. Pick a
specific company that you know something about and answer the following questions
about it.

1. Is the company’s stock traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ? Or is the stock

privately held?
2. What is the value of a share? What has happened to the value in the last three
years? The last year? The last month? What changes seem likely in the future?
3. Why has the company made this decision? Are options designed to recruit and
retain much-in-demand employees? To offset low salaries? To motivate workers
to increase profit? Or something else?
4. What is the company’s competitive position? Is the company growing rapidly,
going along without much change, or struggling? Are its products in demand?
Does it have a reputation for quality and service?
5. How much do employees know about the stock market and about options?
6. Is it likely that most employees have enough extra cash to exercise their options?
7. How old are employees? Are they saving for first homes, for children’s college
funds, or for their own retirement?

Your organization will no longer pay overtime; instead, workers can receive time off
during subsequent pay periods to compensate for the extra hours they’ve worked. You
must write a memo explaining the change and minimizing the resentment employees may
feel. Pick a specific organization that you know something about and answer the
following questions about it.
1. Do most employees work overtime, or is overtime concentrated in certain
divisions or at certain levels of the organization?
2. Is overtime seasonal or year-round? Does it result from travel? From working
extra hours in the office? Is it predictable? How much control do individual
employees have over whether they work extra hours?
3. How important was the extra money from overtime to employees? How do you
know?
4. Is it likely that employees can take compensatory time off easily, or do pressures
of work make it hard to be out of the office?

4
Your organization hires many “temporary” workers, some of whom have held temporary
jobs for years. You want to persuade the organization to convert at least some of these
temporary jobs into full-time permanent positions. You plan to write a memo and create
a presentation designed to make your case to upper management.

Pick an organization you know something about and answer the following questions.
1. What exactly to “temps” do?
2. Will it cost the organization money to convert the lines to permanent positions?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages from the organizations’ position of
hiring permanent workers?
4. How are temps treated? Are they well paid? Do they get benefits? Can they grow
professionally?
5. Is it likely that the people who hold the temporary positions will be able to
compete successfully for the permanent positions? How competitive is the job
market?
6. What is the organization’s competitive position? Is it growing? Shrinking?

Chapter 4

1
Identify and correct the errors in denotation or connotation in the following sentences.
1. I will take credit for the mistake.
2. The technology for virtual reality looms over the horizon.
3. The three proposals are diametrically opposed to each other.
4. In her search for information, she literally devoirs The Wall Street Journal and
several business magazines each week.
5. Approximately 489 customers answered our survey.

Answers
The incorrect word is bolded.

1. I will take credit for the mistake.

Taking “credit” implies that the actions have been good.
Possible revision: I will take responsibility for the mistake.
2. The technology for virtual reality looms over the horizon.
Ominous objects and people “loom.”
Possible revision: The technology for virtual reality beckons over the horizon.
3. The three proposals are diametrically opposed to each other.
A diameter only has two ends.
Possible revision: The three proposals differ radically.
4. In her search for information, she literally devoirs The Wall Street Journal and
several business magazines each week.
“Literally” would mean to chew up the paper and swallow it.
Possible revision: In her search for information, she devours The Wall Street Journal and
several business magazines each week.
5. Approximately 489 customers answered our survey.
An exact number isn’t “approximate.”
Possible revision: Four hundred eighty-nine customers answered our survey.

2
Write two sentences to describe each of the following situations. In one sentence, use
words with positive connotations. In the other, use negative words.
1. Lee talks to co-workers about subjects other than work, such as last weekend’s
ball game.
2. Lee spends a lot of time sending e-mail messages and monitoring e-mail
newsgroups.
3. As a supervisor, Lee rarely gives specific instructions to subordinates.

Answers
The first sentence uses terms with positive connotations; the second is negative.
1. Lee builds good relationships with co-workers.
Lee wastes time talking about trivial topics.
2. Lee keeps up-to-the-minute with e-mail and newsgroups.
Lee avoids work by sending e-mail messages and monitoring everything that
comes out on e-mail newsgroups.
3. Lee empowers subordinates to achieve corporate goals in their own way.
As a supervisor, Lee is vague and undecisive.

3
3. As per your request, the undersigned has compiled a report on claims paid in
1997. A copy is attached hereto.
4. Please be advised that this writer is unable to attend the meeting on the fifteenth
due to an unavoidable conflict.
5. Enclosed please find the schedule for the training session. In the event that you
have alterations which you would like to suggest, forward same to my office at your
earliest convenience.
Answers
Many revisions are possible
3. Here’s the report you asked for on the claims paid in 1996.
4. I’ll be out of town the 15th and can’t attend the meeting.
5. Enclosed is the schedule for the training session. If you’d like to suggest changes,
send them to me by September 15 and 5pm.

Identify the passive verbs in the following sentences and convert them to active verbs. In
some cases, you may need to add information to do so. You may use different words as
long as you retain the basic meaning of the sentence. Remember that imperative verbsare
active, too.
1. The marketing plan was prepared by Needra Smith.
2. With the assistance of computers, inventory records are updated and invoices are
automatically issues when an order is entered by one of our customers.
3. When the Web page is finalized it is recommended that it be routed to all
managers for final approval.
4. As stated in my resume, I speak Spanish fluently.
5. All employees being budgeted should be listed by name and position. Any
employee whose name does not appear on the “September Listing of Salaried
Employees” must be explained. If this employee is a planned replacement,
indicate who will be replaced and when. If it is an addition, the reason must be
explained.

Answers
1. Needra Smith prepared the marketing plan.
2. The computer automatically updates inventory records and invoices when one of
the customers places an order.
3. When you finish the Web page, send it to all managers for final approval.
4. As my resume states, I speak Spanish fluently.
5. List all employees on the budget by name and position. Explain any employee
whose name does not appear on the “September Listing of Salaried Employees.”
If this employee is a planned replacement, indicate who the new employee
replaces and give the date, if the employee is an addition, explain the reason for
adding a line.

1. Eliminate words that say nothing. You may use different words.
a. It is necessary that we reach a decision about whether or not it is desirable to
make a request that the office be allowed the opportunity and option of hiring
additional workers.
b. The purchase of a new computer will allow us to produce form letters quickly. In
addition, return-on-investment could be calculated for proposed repairs. Another
 use is that the computer could check databases to make sure that claims are paid
only once.
c. There are many subjects which interest me.

Answers
a. We need to decide whether to ask to hire additional workers.
b. A new computer would allow us to produce form letters quickly, calculate return
on investments for proposed repairs, and check databases to make sure that claims
are paid only once.
c. Many subjects interest me.

6
Revise each of the following sentences to create parallelism.
1. Training programs
 Allow employees to build skills needed for current and future positions.
 Employees enjoy the break from routine work.
 Training programs are a “fringe benefit” that helps to attract and retain good
employees.
2. Newsletters enhance credibility, four times as many people read them as read
standard ad formats, and allow soft-sell introduction to prospective customers.

Answers
1. Training programs
 Allow employees to build skills needed for current and future positions.
 Provide a break from routine work
 Serve as “fringe benefits” to help attract and retain good employees
2. Newsletters enhance credibility, are read by four times as many people, and allow
soft-sell introduction to prospective customers.

Chapter 7
1
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of the following subject lines. Which is the
best subject line in each group? Why?
1. a. Subject: New Employee Benefit
b. Subject: Tuition Reimbursement Will Now be Offered to Yomans Employees Who
Take Work-Related Classes and Earn at Least a “C”
c. Subject: New Tuition Reimbursement Policy
2. a. Subject: HTML Web Page Memo
b. Subject: Search Strategies and Design Choices for My Toronto Web Pages
c. Surfing the Net and Catching Waves
3. a. Subject: Schedule for 1999 Campus Interviews at California Colleges and
Universities
b. Subject: Times and Places for Campus Interviews with Job Candidates during the
1999 Recruiting Season at California Colleges and Universities
c. Subject: Interview Schedule
4. a. Subject: Your Memo of August 14
 b. Subject: Progress on Joint Venture Projects in Japan
c. Subject: Problems with joint Venture Projects in Japan

Answers
1. c is the best subject line. a is too vague; b is too long
2. b is the best subject line. a is too vague; c is too cutesy
3. a is the best subject line. c is vague; b is too long; a is both clear and concise
4. b is the best subject line. a is too vague; c is too negative for an informative memo

2
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of the following first paragraphs. Which is
the best paragraph in each group? Why?
1. a. Our employees have some concerns about teams.
b. Thank you for authorizing the questionnaire on what people like and dislike
about working in teams. As you know, teams are crucial to our organization, and finding
out where people are is the first step to making teams better.
c. Our employees would like workshops or training sessions on three aspects of
working in teams; dealing with difficult team members, resolving conflicts, and
rewarding people for their efforts.
2. a. We have evaluated the grade point averages of all students in the School of
Business.
b. It has been a long term, and all of you who have worked so hard are to be
commended.
c. Congratulations on making the Dean’s List this past term!

Answers
1. a. Vague. Suggests that this is a negative message.
b. The reader does know this; the paragraph is filler and hype.
c. This sentence specifies the main point of the message, which is what the
first paragraph of an informative message should do.
2. a. This paragraph lacks you-attitude.
b. This paragraph is too negative and too impersonal.
c. This is the best sentence.

3
To reduce medical expenses, your company has hired a stress consultant. Today, you get
this e-mail message from him:

Subject: Low-Cost Way to Relieve Stress

Though my research isn’t finished, one this is already clear. Many workers sit at
computers and telephones all day, almost glued to their chairs. They should get up
to stretch and move at least twice a day. In other companies I’ve worked with,
people take group breaks; some companies play music or positive affirmations. I
recommend that you implement this immediately.
You decide this is worth a try, as long as people are back at work quickly – 10 minutes at
the most. Group breaks sound like a good idea, so that people on break don’t bother
people who are still trying to work and so that everyone actually stretches. Music?
Maybe, as long as the whole group agrees and it doesn’t bother people in other units. If
the idea doesn’t work, it can be dropped after a trial.

a. Write to all employees, encouraging them to take breaks to stretch and move
twice a day.
b. Write to all supervisors, telling them to monitor the breaks and end them on time.
c. Write to the consultant, saying you’re implementing the idea on a trial basis.

Answers
Here is a possible revision:

Dear Ms. Hebbar:

Audrey Lindstrom, who has worked for the Franklin County Human Services Child Care
Center for five years, can spend two hours and King Elementary School’s Career Day
November 12.

Ms. Lindstrom has another commitment later in the day, so she’ll need to leave by 3pm.
Please call her at 424-1234 to discuss
1. Which two hours you would like her to be at King Elementary School.
2. What aspects of her job you’d like her to cover
3. The format you’re using:
 Should she prepare a speech? (How long?)
 Will there be a panel?
 How much time is allotted for questions?
 How many people will be in the audience?
 Will all grade levels be together, or will she be speaking to specific grades?
 Will all students attend each speaker, or will participants speak concurrently?

Ms. Lindstrom trains contracted Center personnel on policies and procedures of the
department. Your students will see the importance of trained day care providers in our
neighborhoods.

Thank you for asking our agency to be part of your schools’ special event. Our future
lies in the hands of today’s students.

Sincerely,

4
For years, businesses have asked employees to suggest ways to save money. Your city
government has adopted the same program, asking city employees to suggest ways to
help balance the city budget. The suggestion committee, which you chair, has voted to
adopt five money-saving suggestions.
1. Direct deposit paychecks to save distribution and printing costs. Suggested by
Poh-Kim Lee, in Recreation and Parks.
2. Buy supplies in bulk. Suggested by Jolene Zigmund, in Maintenance.
3. Charge nearby towns and suburbs a fee for sending their firefighters through the
city fire academy. Suggested by Charles Boxell, in Fire Safety
4. Set up an honor system for employees to reimburse the city for personal
photocopies or phone calls. Suggested by Maria Echeverria, in Police.
5. Install lock boxes so that meter readers don’t have to turn off water valves when
people move. This causes wear and tear, and broken valves must be dug up and
replaced. Suggested by Travis Graton, in Water Line Maintenance.

Each suggestor gets $100. The Accounting Department will cut checks the first Monday
of next month; checks should reach people through interoffice mail a few days later.

a. Write to one of the suggesters, giving the good news.

b. Write to all employees, announcing the award winners.

Answers
Subject: Award for Your Suggestion

Congratulations! Your suggestion for installing lock boxes on water meters has been
adopted by the city government and you will receive a $100 reward for that suggestion.

The government realizes that these meters go through a lot of wear and tear when turned
off as people move. Digging up and replacing the broken valves costs money, so your
suggestion makes perfect sense.

The Accounting Department will be cutting checks on Feb. 1. You should receive your
reward check through interoffice mail a few days after that date.

Once again, thank you for your suggestion and for helping Columbus balance its budget!

Chapter 8

1
Which negative pattern would you use in each situation? Why?

1. Rejecting a worker’s suggestion for saving money.

2. Telling a colleague who wanted to attend a workshop that it is full.
3. Telling employees that they cannot post personal Web pages on the company’s
Web site.
4. Telling your supervisor about a problem in your unit.
5. Informing customers that prices are going up.
6. Giving a subordinate a negative performance appraisal.
7. Turning down an internship that you’ve been offered.
Answers
1. Reason refusal. No alternative exists.
2. Refusal-alternative-call for action. “Let me know if you want to be on the waiting
list.”
3. Reason-refusal-alternative.
4. Problem-reason-alternatives – recommendation-call for action.
5. Negative-goodwill ending.
6. Negative-what person must do to avoid being fired.
7. Buffer-reason-refusal-goodwill ending.

2
You maintain the Caples Web page, which provides information about award-winning

Subject: Text of Letters

The text of the letters is too small to actually read. Even when I click on the pictures,
the next picture isn’t much bigger. Please provide pages that we can actually read.

direct mail campaigns. Today, you get this e-mail message:

You can’t do it. You don’t have the copyrights for the letters (most are held by the
companies sponsoring the letters, though occasionally the ad agency retains the
copyright). Some award-winners aren’t willing for the text to be released because they
don’t want their successful strategies to be imitated by competitors. Asking the company
or the advertising agency for a copy might work, depending on who was asking and how
the letter would be used.
Write the message.

Answers
Reorganizing this message to start with current paragraph 4, then current paragraph 3,
then current paragraph 2. Current paragraph 1 can be omitted; or the first sentence can be
omitted and the second sentence moved to the new first paragraph.

3
Today, your e-mail includes this message from Ralph Jared, a newly hired employee:

Subject: Need upgrade

I need an upgrade on WordPerfect. I called Kami Nygen because the keystrokes

weren’t working – only to discover that the version on my computer isn’t the
current software on which I’ve been trained but an earlier version. Kami told me
that everybody here has the old version. I want a copy of the new version.
According to reviews in PC Magazine, it has several useful features.
Company policy is to upgrade software only when the new version offers a major
improvement. In the judgment of your company’s computer experts, the newest version
of WordPerfect doesn’t offer enough additional features to warrant upgrading. And you
won’t upgrade just for one person. People sometimes need to share documents, and
that’s simpler when everyone uses the same version.
Write the message.
Ralph responds:

Well, I really want the new version of WordPerfect. I have it on my computer at

home, and it’s a nuisance not to have it here, too. I’ll bring in a copy from home.

Company policy prohibits employers’ installing programs other than those officially
approved (and purchased by the company). You want to keep all programs the same so
that documents can easily be shared.
Respond to Ralph’s message.

Answers
Make sure you understand the reason for the negative here. The second message is a bit
harder to write, since one must tell Ralph that he cannot bring (possibly illegal) software
from home.

4
From time to time, organizations raise prices or impose separate fees for services that
were previously free. Think of an increase in the prices your customers pay and tell them
about it.

Answers
This can be reason-negative-goodwill ending or simply negative-goodwill. The goodwill
ending should focus on the seller’s selling points. Any price increase will make some
people thing about going elsewhere, so it’s important to reiterate the benefits the seller
provides.

5
Sometimes a company must drop a supplier because its prices are too high or its quality is
too low. Think of a situation when you’ve had to give bad news to a supplier, and create
the necessary message.
Hint: do you want to close the door t future communication? Or would you be willing to
do business with this supplier if the company could offer you a lower price or higher
quality?

Answers
This exercise is straightforward if the supplier’s prices are higher than competitors’ or its
quality lower.
6
As part of a money-saving campaign, the governor has directed that state workers
will no longer receive overtime pay. When they work more than 80 hours in a two-week
pay period, they may take “compensatory time off.” That is, someone who works 85
hours during one pay period may take off five hours in later weeks to “compensate” for
the original overtime.
Compensatory time off must be approved by the supervisor. During very busy
times, no compensatory time off will be approved. And normally only half a day may be
taken off in any one week. That is, someone can’t work 120 hours during the first half of
the month and then take off the next week.
As director of a state agency, it’s your job to pass the word along to your people.
Write a memo.

Hints:
 How do people in your state view government workers? How willing are voters to
approve tax increases to fund state programs?
 What kinds of jobs do government workers do?
 In some agencies, overtime will be seasonal (winter snow removal, budget season).
In others, it may depend on the workload and be less predictable.
 The change will benefit people who would rather have time than money. But some
people may experience this policy as a pay cut.
 What is the job market in your state? How likely is it that disgruntled workers will
quit their jobs?

Answers
Use the “hint” questions to help understand that some may find this message good news,
but some will find it very negative as they had come to count on the extra income. If
your university is state-supported, this policy would cover nonacademic workers.

Good messages will note the contribution that a specific agency makes to the state and
bolster workers’ feelings of self-worth.

7
In addition to events from September to May, the Business Club at State University also
hosts a summer weekend from Friday to Sunday at a local hotel with sports events and a
panel of business people. It’s a popular event, and you get a good turnout even though
many members have summer jobs in other cities and have to come back for this event.
The Social Chair makes the reservations and plans the sports events; the Program
chair lines up the panel members. As President, you asked both of them to get to work
early, and the Program Chair had panelists lined up three months before the event. At
that time, the Social Chair still hadn’t made reservations, but he said he’d get right to it.
You were really busy and assumed he’d take care of it. Six weeks later, you realized you
hadn’t heard anything, so you called him. He said he was working two jobs, hadn’t made
the reservations, and didn’t have time to. Berating him wouldn’t do any good, so you
called the hotel. It was booked solid for the weekend you’d planned (and announced). Of
all the weekends that month, only the weekend before was available. You took it.
You’ve left messages on the Program Chair’s answering machine asking her to notify the
original panelists, see how many of them are free the week before, and line up some
additional speakers if necessary.
Now you must notify club members that the date of the event has been changed.
Some of them may be able to make changes easily, but some will have scheduled time off
or bought nonrefundable airline tickets. You don’t know how many panelists you’ll
have, or who they’ll be. And the letters will arrive at most a month before the event.
Write a form letters to members.
Hints:
 None of this is your fault. How detailed should you be about the reason for the
change and the person responsible?
 See Chapters 9 and 11 for information about writing persuasive letters.

Answers
The best letters are persuasive, convincing people to attend the event. Read chapters 9
and 11 for organization and persuasive strategies.

Chapter 9
1
You’ve finished preparing a draft of brochure text for a client. Before you do the
artwork, you want to get approval on the text and page layout. You’ve been sending
messages back and forth through e-mail, but you want your client to see the layout, font
sizes, and so forth. Your document is in Microsoft Word for Windows for Office 97. If
your client also has that program (or a newer version), you could send the document as an
attachment, preserving the layout codes. If she doesn’t you’ll need to send the document
by overnight delivery. Send an e-mail message to your client, Carole Romano, to find out
whether you can send the document as an attachment.

Answers
Make sure you understand how to send attachments and what determines whether the
recipient can open the attachment.

2
Several months ago, your organization brought in a consultant to recommend ways your
organization could improve and become a “learning organization.” One of the
recommendations was that regular seminar sessions be held to acquaint people with the
“best practices’ in each unit, so that they could spread more quickly. You were put in
charge of scheduling these sessions. The first few went well, but attendance has fallen.
As a result, it’s harder to persuade people to present; with a small audience, they don’t
feel like taking the time to create a polished presentation.
Perhaps the usefulness of the sessions has run its course. But when you tried
tactfully to suggest that maybe it was time to end the sessions, your manager, Earl
Stanwyk, vetoed the idea.
 From: Earl Stanwyk
Subject: Re: continue Best Practices Sessions?

Of course we should continue them. So far, we’ve heard from fewer than half
the areas in the organization.

You may need to tinker with the time or format to get people to come to them.
I’ll authorize payment for modest refreshments. And if you’re having a hard
time getting speakers, ask Alodie. She developed our Web pages, which have
been getting a very good response. Tell her I told you to ask her.

The Director likes this program. It’s your job to make it succeed.

Write an e-mail message to Alodie Sun, asking her to give a presentation six weeks from
now. Assume that she says yes, and send an e-mail message to everyone in the
organization, persuading them to attend the talk.

Hints:
 Pick an organization you know something about and pick a time and format that will
attract people. What kind of refreshments should you have? What time of day is
best? Would people prefer a session with more discussion? Would a plain
presentation or one with slick graphics be more successful?
 Pick a subject line that will attract people without misleading them. “Free donuts”
will backfire when people find out they have to come to a session to get them.
 How busy are people going to be when this presentation is scheduled? If it’s crunch
time, how can you make them want to come? What kind of presentation (in terms of
content or involvement) could Alodie give that will be easy for you to sell?

Answers
Discuss in a group the reasons why people have stopped coming to sessions, and
brainstorm ways to get the series going again.

3
Once upon a time, the generic office pot of coffee was good enough. But now employees
have to get just the right blend at their favorite java haunt. The only problem is that by
the time they walk there, wait, order, and walk back, they have have been gone 20
minutes or more. And the elevators are tied up with all this going up and down.

Create a message to solve the problem.

Hints:
 Use a business, government office, or nonprofit organization you know well.
 Be sure to answer possible objections:
a. “It’s healthy to get up, stretch, and walk for a few minutes.”
b. “Smokers go outside for cigarettes. I’ve got the right to go out for coffee.”
c. Coffee helps me to be creative and more productive.”
 Why is it important that people be in the office rather than at a coffee shop?

Answers
The challenge in this problem-solving message lies in convincing people that they need
to be at their desks. In some organizations, they don’t: advertising executives can
probably think just as well while walking to a coffee hut as anywhere else. Try to choose
organizations where being at one’s desk matters. (Organizations with lots of walk-in
traffic, especially those that are tax supported, are easiest.)

4
Everyone from the Salvation Army to Burger King is experimenting with telecards.
These credit-card-size cards give the holder prepaid long-distance time – usually 5 or 10
minutes, though the amount is up to the organization paying for the cards (“Playing the
‘Telecard’ Hand,” Inc., January 1996, ’84). The cards can be given away as a premium
or sold to people who will use them or distribute them as gifts. Users of the cards hear a
short promotional message before getting the access number to make calls.
Write a memo to the person in charge of marketing for your organization,
recommending that it adopt telecards.
Hints:
 Pick a business, government office, nonprofit agency, or educational institution that
you know something about.
 Should the cards be given away? To whom? Should they be sold?
 Can the cards enhance the organization’s image and build goodwill?
 What kind of promotional message would be most appropriate for your organization?

Answers
This assignment allows you to be creative. It also works well as a group assignment,
since memos are much stronger if you have good answers to the hint questions.

Chapter 10
1
Your organization hires many “temporary” workers, some of whom have held temporary
jobs for years. You want to persuade the organization to convert at least some of these
temporary jobs into full-time permanent positions. (Note: If you work for an
organization that hires lots of part-timers, you may modify this assignment to replace at
least some of the part-time positions with full-time positions.)
Write a memo to upper management, persuading the appropriate people to hire
permanent workers.

Answers
This problem is difficult because most organizations save money by hiring temporary
workers. The case is easiest to make in organizations that need skilled workers or pay
exorbitant fees to temporary agencies. The analysis below suggests ways to deal with
objections.
1. Who is (are) your audience(s)? What characteristics are relevant to this particular
message? If you are writing to more than one reader, how do the readers differ?
The person/group with the power to make the change. (At Ohio State, it
would be the department chair.) IF you aren’t sure of the power structure
in the organization you pick, it’s OK to guess. But you need to tell us –
through the analysis sheet – what assumption you’re making.

Relevant characteristics:

How important it is to save money, to maintain flexibility, to treat people

well.

If a group makes the decision (e.g., an executive committee), then we need

to know whether they agree on the goals (money, flexibility, treatment)
and whether they get along (in some organizations, morale is so bad that
person A will object to anything person B proposes).

2. What are your purposes in writing?

To persuade the organization (and the person with the power to make the
decision) to replace at least some temps with permanent employees.
To create a good image of the writer – aware of organizational constraints,
concerned about the success of the organization, realistic.

3. What information must your message include?

Exactly what the reader should do (probably authorize the change – the person
isn’t likely to actually place the ad, notify the temp agency, etc.)
A reason for acting promptly. Perhaps many new graduates are on the market,
and acting quickly will let us recruit them. If it’s a quiet time, making the change
now gives us time to get all our plans made before recruiting season begins. IF
it’s a really busy time (Christmas rush), making the change now would allow us
to evaluate our current temps, see whether we’d want to offer permanent jobs to
any of them.
Reasons to support claims and overcome objections. However, what these are
will depend on the organization and the audience.

4. How can you build support for your position? What reasons or reader benefits
will your reader find convincing?
These will vary, depending on the organization and the job. Responses to
possible objections include:
1. Money
a. Temporary agencies charge high fees. For low-level workers, even
with benefits, the cost may not be higher to the organization.
Some state governments have found the cost is actually lower. Do
the math to see.
b. If the cost of permanent employees is higher, maybe we can get
better qualified people who are trained more thoroughly, have
 more commitment to the organization, and so forth. Would need
to flesh out why these are important to the organization.
2. Cyclical
a. Look at hiring for past five years. What’s the lowest number of
temps/part-timers that we’ve hired? Maybe that number represents
a number that we can convert to permanent lines.
b. We can hire people with multiple skills, people who are creative,
so that in a downturn they can do other jobs for us.
c. If there’s a downturn, we may need to lay off permanent workers.
But we can get them back when the economy comes back. They’ll
need less training that newcomers from the temp agency. The best
part-timers/temps will find other jobs, even in a recession, and
won't ’e available when things pick up.
d. Even if we cannot convert all the temporary lines to permanent
lines, converting some of them helps individuals and the
organization.
3. Time needed to hire
True, hiring takes time. But then we control whom we get. If there are
many qualified people available, we’d have to look harder, but we can
make a better pitch in person than any temp agency can.
4. Time needed to train.
Yes, we might need to train, if few people are available. If many people
are available, we’d be able to hire people to meet our needs. But we could
train people to follow our procedures, use our equipment, people wouldn’t
have to ‘unlearn” anything.
5. Preference for temporary/part-time work
Have you asked them? Some people may have taken the job because it
was the best available at the time. Even if temp work suited them thenk, it
may not suit them now. Even if it suits them, they may not be the best
people for us – and we should hire the people who are best for us.
6. Need for low-level people
Studies show that when recruiters are up front about the drawbacks of a
job, turnover is low for those who are hired.
7. Inertia
Change is needed for the health of the organization.
Make the change as little as possible – make the reader’s job as easy as
possible – ask for the smallest action which will accomplish the goals.
Other benefits
8. Good corporate citizen – full timers get benefits. Hiring full-timers is a
responsible thing to do. We should exploit people.
9. Full-time workers are more committed to the organization, more likely to
do the creative thinking, problem-solving needed to continue success.
5. What objection(s) can you expect your reader(s) to have? What negative
elements of your message must you deemphasize or overcome?

Possible objections are:

 1. It will cost more to hire full-time workers because they’ll get benefits
2. Our business is cyclical. It’s better to hire temps whom we can let go
easily than to lay off full-time people.
3. Hiring full-time people takes time. With temps, we just take what the
agency sends.
4. We’d have to train permanent employees. The Temp agency trains the
temps.
5. Some people prefer temporary/part-time work. We’d lose them if we
switched to full-time jobs.
6. We need a lot of low-level people. If we hire people permanently, they’ll
expect to be promoted – but that just isn’t possible.
7. It’s easier to keep doing things the way we have been doing them

6. What aspects of the total situation may affect reader response? The economy?
The time of year? Morale in the organization? The relationship between the
reader and writer? Any special circumstances?

Think about company – why doe sit hire temps/part-timers?

How easy would it be to fill permanent jobs if they were available?
What time of year is it (relation to college graduation and availability of
new workers)?

2
Rising travel costs are eating into your company’s budget. Keeping salespeople on the
road is important, but they could travel more cheaply. For example, sometime it’s
possible to get a cheaper room rate by talking to the hotel directly rather than to the 800-
number; people should call both numbers to find out. And most hotels give discounts for
“corporate” rates or AAA membership. Sometimes one hotel will lower its rates to meet
another’s hotel’s rates. People who want a snack in their rooms should stop by a nearby
deli or grocery rather than eating the $18 jar of cashews in the minibar.
Write a memo to employees, persuading them to use company travel funds more
frugally.

Hints:
 Pick an organization you know something about.
 Rebut the counterarguments from exercise 10-3 (in text).

Answers
Try to investigate (in a group is best) different hotels’ charges for rooms and minibar
items.

Chapter 11

1
Write a letter persuading eligible students to join a campus organization.
a. Assume that your organization can afford only a one-page mailing, with address
and postage on the back of the page. Write a one-page letter.
b. Assume that postage is not an issue. Write a 2- to 3- page letter.
c. Create a brochure to publicize the organization.
d. Make a 3- to 5-minute presentation persuading students to join.
e. Write a memo to your instructor describing your target audience and your
strategy.

Hints:
 How much do students know about the organization? What information must you
give about programs, cost, time commitment, benefits, etc?
 What percentage of eligible students have joined in the past? What would motivate
students to join? What obstacles must you overcome?
 Will students at your school respond best to a low-key appeal, to humor, to a hard-
sell, or to some other approach?

Answers
This problem works best when you are active in campus organizations. If you’re not, an
alternative is to pair up with a student that may know a bit more than you. You can serve
as an “expert” about reasons people wouldn’t join, while those in the organization serve
as “experts” about what the organization has to offer.

Chapter 13
1
You are on the Executive Committee. This e-mail arrives from the Sales Manager.

Subject: Complaints about Travel Policy

My people really don’t like the current travel regulations. As you know, people
are reimbursed only for the least expensive airfare, which means they have to stay
over Saturday night. People want to leave right after the close of business Friday
to get home to spend time with their families.

This company depends on sales people. Let’s keep them happy. Please change
the travel policy to reimburse people for airfare even if it is not the lowest rate.

Write a group response recommending whether this policy should be changed.

Answers
There’s no bet decision, which means that groups could recommend different solutions if
they defend them adequately. Solutions from different people/groups can be discussed,
and after the discussion, have the groups write their memos.

2
You’re on the Computers Committee. You get this message from your manager.
 Subject: Need Internet Use Policy

We have no policy on Internet use. It is OK for people to play games or surf the Web
during work hours? Should we block access to certain Web sites?

The biggest problem may be responses to listservs and comments on electronic bulletin
boards. There’s no problem when people log on from home. But if they post
responses from their workstations here, people might think the commend represents the
official organizational stance on the issue – and it doesn’t.

Hint:
Agree on an office, factory, store, hospital, or other workplace to use for this problem.

Answers
There’s no best decision, which means that groups could recommend different solutions
if they defend them adequately. Solutions from different people/groups can be discussed,
and after the discussion, have the groups write their memos.

3
You’re on the Executive Committee of your union. Today you get a letter from a college
professor in your city:

Dear Union Executive Committee:

As you may know, I was on the team of reviewers reading the applications for the Les
Best Scholarship Award, given to children of union members.

The current prompt asks students to write a 1,000 word essay on “What the Union Has
Meant to Our Family.” The trouble with the topic is that students with poignant stories
have a real advantage over those whose parents have had more mundane experiences in
the union. So I think you need a new topic for next year. It’s OK to have something
related to unions, if you choose, but succeeding on the prompt shouldn’t depend on how
horrific the parents’ work experience has been.

Sincerely,
Patricia McKaslin, Ph.D.

Determine what the prompt for next year’s competition will be, and notify Professor
McKaslin.
Answers
There’s no best decision, which means that groups could recommend different solutions
if they defend them adequately. Solutions from different people/groups can be discussed,
and after the discussion, have the groups write their memos.

4
You are members of the School of Business’ Student Advisory Board. The school’s
Placement Director, Wade Wandowski, tells you:
As some of you may know, our internship program isn’t working as well as we’d like it
to. We try to screen employers, but some of them use an intern for go-fer work, so the
person doesn’t get any real experience. And many of them don’t write the detailed
evaluations we ask for, so assigning grades is a real problem. We need two things: a
form that can be filled out by organizations that want interns, so that we can approve only
those projects that will be good learning experiences, and a performance appraisal form
that’s easy for busy supervisors to fill out but informative enough for us to assign grades.

a. Create one or both forms.

b. Write a memo to the Placement Director explaining the choices your group has
made.

Answers

Review chapter 6.
There’s no best decision, which means that groups could recommend different solutions
if they defend them adequately. Solutions from different people/groups can be discussed,
and after the discussion, have the groups write their memos.

Chapter 14
1
Answer the following questions about a topic of your choice. Ask a reference librarian or
another expert for help.
Specific topic:
General field:

1. List the sources that index or abstract books, journal articles, and dissertations in
this field.
2. List any electronic indexes, bibliographies, or databases, in this field.
3. How can you locate newspaper articles on this topic?
4. What congressional committees or federal agencies would be most likely to have
published documents that might be useful in your research?
5. You don’t know whether or not any congressional committees have issued reports
that might help. What index can you check to find out?
6. You know that Edward Expert has done important work in your field. How can you
find out whether he has testified before a congressional committee?
7. What book is most likely to have statistics or facts that might be relevant to your
topic? Give the title of the book and its call number.
8. You know that Susan Scholar has done important work on your subject. How can
you find the names and references for other researchers who have extended or
challenged her findings? (Hint: researchers who build on someone’s work almost
always cite that person.) Give the title of the book and its call number.
9. List the name(s), department(s), and phone number(s) of faculty who might know
something about this topic.
10. List the name(s), position(s), and phone number(s) of anyone in the community who
might know something about this topic.
11. List the name of the reference librarian who could help you find sources on this topic
and the hours when he or she is on duty.
12. Give full bibliographic information for 5 to 10 newspaper, journal, or online articles,
books, dissertations, or government reports that seem relevant to your topic.

Answers
This problem is an excellent first assignment for any report based on library research.
You’re not cheating if you ask for assistance from a librarian; this assignment is designed
both to show you how helpful a research librarian can be and to have you find the one or
more of the people who can help you. If you know who the librarian is, you are more
likely to seek that person out for help when you need it.

The answers to most of these questions will vary with each of you. Answers that will be
the same for most students include the following:
5. Congressional Information Service Index and Abstracts
6. Monthly Catalog
8. Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, or Humanities Citation
Index

2
Evaluate each of the following questions. Are they acceptable as they stand? If not, how
can they be improved?
e. Survey of working women:
Are any of the following issues a problem for you at work? If so, check off how
serious a problem it is. If not, check “Doesn’t Apply”):

Very Somewhat Not Very Doesn’t

Serious Serious Serious Apply

I don’t get paid what I think my job is worth

I need better benefits
I work too many hours
I worry about losing my job
I don’t have the flexibility to meet
family responsibilities
I am under too much stress
I do not have the skills to get a better job
It’s hard to find quality child or elder care that I
can afford
I have lost a job or a promotion because of my race or sex
I know someone who lost a job or promotion because of
race or sex
I suffer other problems at my job (please explain
below):

Answers
It’s not clear what “serious” means here. For example, if I am not paid what I’m worth,
does “serious” mean I’m paid much less than I’m worth, or that the low pay means I’d
like to leave my job, or something else. Similarly, if “I know someone who lost a job or
promotion because of race or sex” does serious mean “I think that’s a serious problem” or
“the job/promotion the person lost was a big one, crucial to that person’s well being” or
“I’ve seen this happen often.” Right now, there’s no way to tell what the respondent
means. “Serious” may mean “often,” “large,” or something else.

A better design might be first to ask how often things have happened, then ask the
respondent to rank the problems in the order. Even here, wording will affect response.
Cosmic seriousness may differ from “makes it hard for me to do my best work.”

Chapter 16
1
a. Identify visuals that you might use to help analyze each of the following data sets.
b. Identify and create a visual for one or more of the stories in each set.
c. Identify additional information that would be needed for other stories related to these
data sets.
1. Projected Number of Jobs to be Gained or Lost, 1994-2005
Bank tellers: -152,000
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks: -178,000
Cashiers: 562,000
Computer operators (except peripheral equipment): -98,000
Data entry keyers (except composing): -25,000
File clerks: -42,000
General managers and top executives: 466,000
Home health aides: 428,000
Personnel clerks (except payroll and timekeeping): -26,000
Registered nurses: 473,000
Retail salespeople: 532,000
Systems analysts: 445,000
Teachers, secondary school: 386,000
Typists and word processors: -212,000
Source: Employment Outlook: 1994-2005. Bureau or Labor Statistics, December,
1995, in “1997 Career Overview: Where the Jobs Are, and Aren’t,” Black
Enterprise, np.
2. Cost of a half-page business letter dictated in 10 minutes:
1930 $.30 1978 4.77
1935 .52 1980 6.07
1940 .72 1983 7.60
1953 1.17 1985 8.52
1960 1.83 1988 9.69
1964 2.32 1990 10.85
1968 2.54 1993 12.28 – 18.54
1970 3.05 1995 13.02 – 19.97
1973 3.31 1996 13.60 – 20.52
1975 3.79

Source: “1996 Cost of a Business Letter,” Dartnell Corporation, September 30,

1996, 1, 4

Answers
1. Visuals to use to analyze the data set (trial visuals):
Paired bar graphs
Deviation bar chart

Possible stories and visuals:

Health care, sales offer opportunities. (bar graph)
Clerical jobs lose ground. (deviation bar chart)

2. Visuals to use to analyze the data set (trial visuals):

Line graphs
Bar graphs
The intervals of dates aren’t even, so the axis will need careful labeling.

Possible stories and visuals:

Cost of short letter shows steady rise. (line graph)
Cost of letter more than doubles in decade (1985 – 1995). (bar graph)
Cost of letter increases more than tenfold from 1940 – 1005. (bar graph)

Additional information needed for other stories related to this data set:
Cost of living, to compare change in cost of letter to inflation rate
Cost of postage, dictator’s time, and transcriptionist’s time, to create a
stacked bar chart.

3. Visuals to use to analyze the data set (trial visuals):

Bar graphs

Possible stories and visuals:

Blacks and families with school-age kids buy most sneakers. (bar graph)
 Teens, young singles, and young couples without kids most likely to buy
expensive sneakers. (bar graph)
Asian Americans and singles under 55 most likely to hunt for bargains.
(bar graph)

Chapter 19
1
Identify how the following information from business periodicals and trade journals
could be used in a job application letter.

1. Tomi Huang rents out tour buses – complete with drivers who speak Spanish,
English, or Chinese – to travel agents who book international clients to
Disneyland, Las Vegas, and other West Coast attractions. (Source: “Is
Immigration Hurting the U.S.?” Fortune, August 9, 1993, 79.)
2. Our business is communicating to the customers of our clients, and more and
more of those customers are of all colors and dimensions,” says Don Richards,
Leo Burnett’s Senior VP – Resource Development. (Source: Laurie Breeman,
“Burnett Striving for Relevance in Communications,” Advertising Age, February
17, 1997, S14.)
3. State parks are trying to increase visitorship and income. Ohio parks sell camping
gear and rent recreational vehicles. Clint Eastwood has filmed TV ads for
California’s parks. Texas has a glossy mail-order catalog with Stetson hats, silver
earrings, and limestone paperweights. The new revenues help to offset falling
state budget allocations. Overall allocations for parks have fallen 22% since
1980, while funds for capital improvements and maintenance have fallen 68%.
(Source: Terzah Ewing, “Meet the New Entrepreneurs: State Parks,” The Wall
Street Journal, February 11, 1997, B1.)
4. An ad for the Hyundai S coupe failed because the layout was poor. In this two-
page spread, the left-hand page contained the headline and copy; the right-hand
page contained a full page photo of the car in an eye-catching red. Interviewers
found that readers’ eyes went to the picture on the right; they didn’t go back to the
left to read the copy. As a result, they learned nothing about the car and were not
persuaded to buy it. (Source: Raymond Serafin, “Harkening Back to ‘Advertising
101,’” Advertising Age, March 23, 1993, S18.)
5. House of Blues is an “entertainment emporium” build around live music. It’s the
first theme restaurant with a concert hall used as a production studio. HOP
restaurants showcase African-American folk art and blues artifacts. (Source:
Kathleen Morris, “Oh Yeah, They Also Serve Food,” Business Week, February
24, 1997, 60.)

a. Answer the following questions:

 For what specific jobs would the information be most useful?
 What needs does the employer have?
 What kind of details could an applicant use to show that he or she could meet
that need?
  Would you use the information in the same way in a letter to a competitor
as to the company named in the source?

b. Write a paragraph using (directly or indirectly) the information in the

statement.

Answers

1. Information useful for jobs in travel, entertainment.

Employers needs: someone who knows foreign languages and tourist attractions.
Kinds of details writer could provide to show that he or she could meet those
needs:
Numbers of courses in a language, travel in a foreign country, volunteer or
paid work translating for international students, familiarity with tourist
destinations.

A letter to a competitor would use the information in basically the same way,
though it might be desirable to stress the market international clients represent.

2. Information useful for jobs in soft drink companies, supermarkets, restaurants,

and advertising.

Employer’s needs: someone who understands marketing, reasons people buy

Kinds of details writer could provide to show that he or she could meet those
needs:
Experience in sales and marketing; writing reports studying aspects of
marketing and reasons for buying decision; experience interviewing,
running focus groups, or observing consumer behavior. A letter could
also use the numbers in this material.

A letter would use different information depending on the industry. A letter to

Coke or Pepsi would probably use the numbers for that company, talking about
ways to raise sales. A letter to a restaurant might talk about the marketing
strategies.

3. Information useful for jobs in advertising agencies, broadcasting, or making TV

shows.

Employer’s needs: someone who can segment the market, who knows how to do
and interpret market research

Kinds of details writer could provide to show that he or she could meet those
needs:
Differences between interests of toddlers, kindergartners, and school-aged
children; names of TV shows that appeal to these various groups; details
 or aspects of shows that appeal specifically to how the writer identified the
target market)

A letter to ad agencies could refer to all shows. A letter to a TV network or

station should show an awareness of that network’s relative position and its
shows, though it would be OK to mention competitors’ shows.

4. Information useful for jobs in advertising, desktop publishing, writing newsletters.

Employer’s needs: someone who understands layout.

Kinds of details writer could provide to show that he or she could meet those
needs:
Experience creating or redesigning pages (for classes, volunteer groups,
jobs)

Letters to companies other than car companies would use the information in the
same way. A letter to a car company should show awareness of its ads and
competitive position. Mentioning specific models would also be a good idea.

5. Information useful for jobs in restaurant industry, representing recording and

visual artists.

Employer’s needs: someone who knows how to increase sales, which artists to
book

Kinds of details writer could provide to show that he or she could meet those
needs:
Music that is currently popular, experience in music production, in
curating art, or in using actual events to create ads for class, volunteer
groups, or businesses.

Letters to theme restaurants might use the information in the same way. Letters to
agencies representing artists might focus on less-well-known artists.