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BCOM 7 7th Edition Lehman Solutions
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7 Delivering Bad-News Messages
IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL FIND:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
KEY CONCEPTS
KEY TERMS
CHAPTER OUTLINE
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
CASE ASSIGNMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1 Explain the steps in the inductive outline and understand its use for specific situations.
2 Discuss strategies for developing the five components of a bad-news message.
3 Prepare messages refusing requests and claims.
4 Prepare messages handling problems with customers’ orders and denying credit.
5 Prepare messages providing constructive criticism.
6 Prepare messages communicating negative organizational news.
7 Prepare messages responding to crises.
KEY CONCEPTS
Bad-news messages typically require an inductive strategy. Situations covered include sharing
bad news, refusing a request, denying a claim, refusing an order, denying credit, delivering
constructive criticism, and communicating negative organizational news. The construction of
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in
part.
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bad-news messages involves more delicate human relations issues than good- and neutral-news
messages.
KEY TERMS
TERM PAGE TERM PAGE

Counterproposal 116 Fair Credit Reporting Act 123
CHAPTER OUTLINE
7-1 Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern 111

7-1a Channel Choice and Commitment to Tact 111
7-1b Use of the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill 111
7-1c Exceptions to the Inductive Approach 113
7-2 Developing a Bad-News Message 113
7-2a Writing the Introductory Paragraph 113
7-2b Presenting the Facts, Analysis, and Reasons 114
7-2c Writing the Bad-News Statement 115
7-2d Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining” Idea 116
7-2e Closing Positively 116
7-3 Refusing a Request 117
7-4 Denying a Claim 119
7-5 Denying Credit 122
7-6 Delivering Constructive Criticism 123
7-7 Communicating Negative Organizational News 124
7-7a Breaking Bad News 125
7-7b Responding to Crisis Situations 128
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1
Explain the steps in the inductive outline, and understand its use for specific situations.
Using the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

• Reasons are easier to understand if given before bad news
• Reasons might be ignored when bad news is given first
• Disappointment in bad news might interfere with ability to understand reasons
Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern

• Emphasize the close tie between customer loyalty and an organization’s ability to handle
difficult situations with tact and empathy.
• Encourage students to share examples based on their own experience.
Channel Choice and Commitment to Tact
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• Discuss channel choices for negative communication with this question: “Have you ever been
fired from an employment position? How did your supervisor handle firing you or laying you
off—in person, over the phone, via a letter, or via email?”
• Show a video clip from the “The Apprentice” and discuss Donald Trump’s use of “you’re
fired.” Remind students that his directness is not the usually the best choice of organizational
pattern and word use when letting an employee go.
• Discuss face-to-face communication as an ideal channel for negative messages because of the
rich nonverbal messages and opportunity for feedback to minimize the misinterpretation of
highly sensitive messages.
• Discuss the increase in email to deliver bad-news messages because of honesty, accuracy, and
lessened discomfort. However, stress the importance of considering the impersonal nature of
email for bad-news messages.
Use of the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

• Discuss assessing the reader’s likely reaction to the bad-news message.
• Discuss the sequence of the bad-news messages. Stress the possible negative reactions to bad
news positioned before the explanations as you show the visual.
Exceptions to the Inductive Approach

• Lead a class discussion of occasions when the deductive approach for a negative message
may better serve the writer’s purpose.
 The message is a second response to a repeated request.
 The matter is insignificant in its resolution.
 The request is ridiculous, immoral, unethical, illegal, or dangerous.
 Cultural issues dictate the message be delivered differently.
 The sender wants to demonstrate authority.
Discuss strategies for developing the five components of a bad-news message.
Developing a Bad-News Message

• Point out that a bad-news outline has five sections with specific principles involved in writing
each: (a) introductory paragraph, (b) explanation, (c) bad-news statement, (d)
counterproposal or “silver lining idea,” and (d) closing paragraph.
• Have students study the ineffective and effective applications of the inductive outline
illustrated in the textbook or from examples they find on their own.
Writing the Introductory Paragraph

• Discuss techniques about techniques for developing the introductory paragraph.
• Review possible opening with the following examples:
o Imply bad news if possible. Use subjunctive mood.
Example: Had you selected a variable rate, you could have taken advantage of
the recent drop in interest rates.
o Use positive language that accents the good.
Example: NOT: We cannot ship your order until . . . .
INSTEAD: Your order will be shipped when. . . .
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o Offer counterproposal that shows writer wants to help.
o Example: Although our current personnel shortage prevents us . . ., we can
(alternative).
o Use stylistic techniques:
Complex sentence—bad news in the dependent clause
General terms and abstract nouns
Passive voice
Example: NOT: You failed to verify the payroll figures.
INSTEAD: The payroll figures must be verified. (passive)
Please verify the payroll figures.
(Focuses on the solution rather than the problem)
Writing the Bad-News Statement

• Discuss ways to minimize the impact of bad news and techniques for writing the bad-news
statement.
• Reinforce principles of writing the bad-news statement.
• Discuss de-emphasis techniques.
Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining” Idea

• Emphasize that offering an alternative instead of a flat “no” keeps communication open and
avoids damage to egos.
• Discuss possible analogies to help students understand the effect of the counterproposal: The
counterproposal is to the “no” response as a highway detour is to the desired route.
• Remind students that effective counterproposals (states what you can do or offer) or the
“silver lining” (provides a thought that turns the discussion back in a positive direction)
approach are the best approach to continuing customer loyalty. Customers satisfied with the
handling of a bad-news situation and with the offered counterproposal will be the customers
who return to a business.
Closing Positively
• Discuss techniques for writing the closing paragraph.
o De-emphasize the negative
o Unify the message
o Include a positive, forward-looking idea
▪ Reference pleasant idea from discussion
▪ Use resale or sales promotion
▪ Express willingness to help in another way
• Have students work in pairs or small groups of 3 to study the approaches used in the closing
paragraphs in the model documents in the chapter.
• Summarize the discussion of techniques for developing the sections of a bad-news message
by asking students to recall an incident when they received or communicated a disappointing
message. Did the sender apply the principles presented in the chapter? Lead them in a
discussion of ways the message could have been improved.
 Because each of the five sections of a bad-news message poses unique challenges,
the class can benefit from concentrating on certain portions of messages. For
example, after a writing problem is defined, students in certain parts of the classroom
could write the first sentence; others, the explanation; others, the refusal sentence;
and others, the final sentence. Sentences could be collected and some selected for
reading aloud or displayed.
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 As a writing assignment, students write individual sentences or paragraphs instead of
an entire bad-news message.
Prepare messages refusing requests and claims.
Types of Bad News Messages

• Introduce all the types of bad news messages.
• Remind students that determining whether a message is bad news focuses on perceived
reaction to the message.
Refusing a Request
• Discuss successful refusals for requests/favors.
• Point out that refusing employee requests is just as important as refusal letters that must build
customer goodwill. The same type of sensitivity and honest explanations are needed.
Prepare messages handling problems with customers’ orders and denying credit.
Maintaining Goodwill and Customer Loyalty

• Discuss the challenge of refusing customer claims while maintaining goodwill and
developing customer loyalty. Ask students why the inductive approach is helpful in this
situation. The inductive approach softens the bad-news by explaining the refusal and
increasing customer understanding.
• Emphasize the importance of tone in customer in customer refusals.
Denying a Claim
• Discuss the general sequence of ideas in an adjustment refusal.
• Ask students to critique and/or revise the poorly written claim denials from examples in the
book or one the instructor provides.
Resale Material while Building Goodwill and Loyalty

• Lead a discussion of possible reasons for not being able to send merchandise that has been
ordered.
• Discuss the need to include sales promotion or resale information in the refusal to promote
future sales or the image of the company.
• Stress that the inductive outline is recommended to minimize the customer’s disappointment
and including resale is important to build customer loyalty and retain goodwill.
Denying Credit
• Emphasize the legal implications involved in refusing credit and the importance of having
legal counsel review credit refusal letters.
• Review the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
• Emphasize the value of resale in a credit refusal letter.
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Prepare messages providing constructive criticism, communicating negative organizational news,
and responding to crises.
Delivering Constructive Criticism

• Emphasize that writing messages that point out negatives is a part of civic responsibility.
However, the motive should be to help; vindication is not a legitimate motive.
• Discuss the content and style of constructive criticisms. Emphasize the legal and ethical
implications in a good example. Ask students to respond to the following questions:
 What is the sender’s motive in preparing the letter? Is it to vent anger or help the
customer?
 What writing techniques were used to ensure that your motives are genuine?
 What is gained from positive and negative points?
 Why were details of specific behaviors and incidents necessary? Explain the
guidelines you will use for selecting information to include in constructive criticisms
that you deliver.
Communicating Negative Organizational News

• Discuss the importance of internal communication as contributing to employee morale and
overall customer service—if employees are happy, customers will tend to be happy.
• Consider the company that does not keep employees informed of upcoming meetings,
changes in policies, etc. How can these employees communicate effectively with clients or
vendors without enough information?
• Compare employee morale to customer goodwill in terms of their importance and their fragile
nature.
• Remind students that regular communication with employees via staff meetings, an
organizational newsletter, or chat opportunities with company management will aid during
times where management must convey negative messages about an organization.
• Lead students in a discussion of occasions when memorandums and email messages are
appropriate and inappropriate means of communicating bad news.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Appropriateness of the Inductive Outline: In pairs, describe either a personal or business-

related situation you faced in which you had to share bad news with someone. How did you
structure your message? What channel did you use for sharing the news? Was your strategy
effective?
Responses will vary. Students should focus on the need for inductive outline except in the special
circumstances. They should also consider the points regarding channel choice. If time permits
following the small-group discussion, ask a spokesperson from each group to summarize the
results of the discussion. This topic could also lead to the presentation of an oral report.
2. De-emphasizing Negative Ideas: Prepare a list of techniques for de-emphasizing a refusal.

Provide an example of your own for each technique.
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Students should list the techniques for de-emphasizing bad news shown on the lecture slide. The
exercise will be an excellent review of these techniques before students prepare an assignment for
a grade.
3. Determining Appropriate Sequence of Ideas: Deductive or Inductive: Identify whether each

of the following messages should be written deductively or inductively based on the receiver’s
likely reaction to the message.
MESSAGE ANSWER
a. A message from a customer service manager saying no to a customer’s
Deductive
third request for a refund that was previously denied.
b. A message from a company president to reject a contract proposal offered
by an international business partner whose cultural style is direct and Inductive
forthright.
c. A message refusing a customer’s request to reduce his monthly payment
for Internet services. He contends busy signals prevented him from Inductive
connecting most of the time
d. A message from an automobile dealer informing a customer that the
Inductive
delivery of a custom-order vehicle will be delayed two months.
e. A message from an appliance manufacturer authorizing the replacement of
Deductive
an under-the-counter ice machine that is still under warranty.
f. A message from a human resources manager refusing an employee’s
request that the manager “fudge” to a lender about his reported income to Inductive
help him qualify for a home loan.
g. A message from a financial planner apologizing for not placing an order to
Deductive
buy mutual funds for a customer.
h. A message from the chief financial officer of a local business agreeing to
Deductive
serve on a fund-raising committee for a community service organization.
i. A message extending appreciation for the outstanding work of a consulting
firm that spearheaded your successful effort to obtain ISO 9000 Deductive
certification.
4. Choosing an Effective Channel: For each of the situations in the previous activity, decide
which communication channel would be most appropriate. Explain your reasoning.
SITUATION CHANNEL
a. A message from a customer service manager saying no Mailed Letter because of the
to a customer’s third request for a refund that was amount of requests the
previously denied. customer has sent. You made
need written proof of refusal.
b. A message from a company president to reject a contract Mailed Letter or email. Foreign
proposal offered by an international business partner business partners receive email
whose cultural style is direct and forthright. more quickly, but the situation
may call for a more formal
refusal.
c. A message refusing a customer’s request to reduce his Reply with the same format in
monthly payment for Internet services. He contends which the message was
busy signals prevented him from connecting most of the received for the customer’s
part.
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time convenience.
d. A message from an automobile dealer informing a Phone call or email. The
customer that the delivery of a custom-order vehicle will customer expects the vehicle
be delayed two months. soon and expects a phone call
upon arrival, making this the
most appropriate channel.
e. A message from an appliance manufacturer authorizing Email or mailed letter.
the replacement of an under-the-counter ice machine Response to a routine request is
that is still under warranty. fairly informal.
f. A message from a human resources manager refusing an Mailed letter. Sensitive
employee’s request that the manager “fudge” to a lender situation involving management
about his reported income to help him qualify for a and an employee requires
home loan. written evidence.
g. A message from a financial planner apologizing for not Mailed letter to imply sincerity
placing an order to buy mutual funds for a customer. and repair customer relations.
h. A message from the chief financial officer of a local Mailed letter. Provides written
business agreeing to serve on a fund-raising committee message as a reminder of his
for a community service organization. engagement.
i. A message extending appreciation for the outstanding Mailed letter to imply sincerity
work of a consulting firm that spearheaded your and provide a written copy of
successful effort to obtain ISO 9000 certification. gratitude.
j. A message acknowledging shipment of an order and Email or mailed letter. Form
extending credit to a first-time customer. letter would be most
appropriate for this routine
message.
5. Writing Inductive Openings: Revise the following openings so that they are inductive.
a. Because your all-in-one printer did not show any defects in workmanship until three
months after the warranty expired, we cannot honor your claim.
b. We received many applications for this position, but an internal candidate was selected.
c. Dampier Enterprises cannot participate in the Magnolia Charity Benefit this year.
d. This letter is in response to your complaint of April 9.
e. Company policy does not allow me to approve the proposed transaction.
a. We’re pleased that you’re an owner of the new all-in-one printer. . . . (from positive
beginning, discuss the warranty and how it is good for a certain amount of time. Then deliver
the bad news.
b. Thank you for your interest in working for our company. We had many internal as well as
external candidates. . . . . (After establishing rapport, indicate reasons for hiring an internal
candidate and qualifications of hired candidate.)
c. We want to commend you for the work of the Magnolia Charity in helping the community. In
past years, Dampier Enterprises has been a proud supporter of the charity benefit. . . .
(Provide justification of why the company can’t support this year but hope it can in the
future.)
d. Thank you for taking the time to write to us. Your letter of April 9 provides us with valuable
feedback. . . . (Go on to discuss specific feedback of the letter.)
e. Thank you for your request to approve the proposed transaction. . . . (Discuss the importance
of the transaction and the place of company policy.)
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6. Revising for Positive Tone: Revise the following refusal sentences to ensure positive tone.
a. We cannot accept an application sent after May 9.
We gladly accept all applications submitted through May 9.
b. Employees cannot smoke in the building.
Employees may smoke in any designated smoking areas outside of the building.
c. I am sorry, but we cannot be responsible for the service charges on your car; the damage
occurred at the dealership, not our factory.
Any service charges can be handled best at the specific dealership where damage occurred.
d. Your request for transfer to the London office has been denied.
We feel your skills are needed and best used in your current assignment.
7. Denying an Employee’s Request: Analyze the following email. Pinpoint its strengths and
weaknesses and then revise the email as directed by your instructor.
Your desire to participate in this fund-raising activity is admirable, but we must refuse to
support your relay team. Ashland Industries does not have any specific rules in place to
handle this particular situation, but as the president it is my responsibility to safeguard
expenditures of this type. Six hundred dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps you should
consider raising the money yourself. If you have questions about this decision, please
contact your data control manager for a copy of our corporate policy on charitable
contributions.
A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:
Organization
• States the bad news before presenting the reasons for the refusal (deductive rather than
recommended inductive approach for bad-news messages).
Content
• Uses negative and condescending tone throughout.
• Refers reader to policy on charitable contributions but previously states the company has no
rules for this request.
• Gives no alternative suggestions Gives no indication of desire to continue to work with the
reader.
Style
• Uses overly informal language and also misspells the word (“a lot”).
8. Denying a Request: Analyze the following letter. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses and
then revise the letter as directed by your instructor.
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Dear Kyle:
I am pleased and honored to have been asked to serve as treasurer of the United Way
campaign for the coming year.
However, I regret to inform you that I cannot accept this position. Don’t take this
personally as it is my personal policy to refuse all nominations. The demands of my
accounting practice keep me on the road an enormous amount of time, and you must
understand that sleep is a luxury during the notorious “busy season” for accountants.
Once again, I appreciate the confidence you have placed in me but am sorry that my plate
is much too full to accept this outstanding service opportunity. Please contact me in the
future if I can help in any way.
Organization
• Repeats bad news in closing paragraph.
Content
• Uses “however” as first word in second paragraph which may alert reader to coming bad-
news before explanation is offered.
• States that his sleep is more important than serving the organization.
• Chooses strong language in refusal (“I regret to inform” “I cannot accept” ).
• Offers alternative that seems less than sincere (“contact me in the future if I can help in any
way”).
Style
• Begins with “I.”
• Uses redundancy is with “pleased and honored.”
• Uses cliché (“my plate is much too full”).
• Misspells word (“notorious”).
9. Denying a Claim: Analyze the following letter. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses and
then revise the letter as directed by your instructor.
I am sorry you were dissatisfied with the sports celebrity we subbed for your dedication
ceremony. Although you obviously feel your claim has merit, refusing to pay us is just not
going to work for us. Ms. Vonetta Flowers’ injury and hospitalization was out of our
control—just not our fault. We felt sure you would be overjoyed we came through with
someone at the last minute. Our contract states specifically that we would provide you a
substitute; we did our part and we expect you to do your part and pay us for our services.
We appreciate your business and hope that you will consider us the next time you need a
sports celebrity for a function.
Organization
part.
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• Does not give convincing details for the refusal.
Content
• Begins with “I” and an apology.
• Closes with an insincere sales promotion that does not offer any positive alternative.
• Expresses certainty when cannot be certain.
• Assumes no responsibility for outcome (“out of our control” “just not our fault”).
Style
• Seems accusatory (“obviously you feel”)
• Comes across as superior (“we did our part and we expect you to do your part”)
• Uses slang (“subbed” and “just not going to work for us”).
• Uses cliché (“We appreciate your business”).
10. Constructive Criticism: Analyze the following email. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses
and then revise the email to the director of the Pink Ridge Golf Academy as directed by your
instructor.
As an avid golfer, I am always looking for anything that will help me improve my game.
After talking with your staff and reading your advertisements, I was convinced that
attending your two-day golf school would allow me to take my game to the next level. The
instruction I received the first day was acceptable; however, I regret to say that the second
day I spent at your exclusive golf school was a total waste of my time and $1,000.
On the second day I was assigned to Stan Campbell, the “remarkable” putting instructor
you’ve plugged in every ad I’ve seen, to receive a private lesson. Words can’t describe my
disgust at his incompetency and the total lack of common courtesy he displayed during the
18 holes of golf I played. He rarely made comments or suggestions, even when I hit poor
shots. In fact, he didn’t watch several of my shots as he was too busy taking calls on his
cell phone or gazing into space.
If you wish to stay in business, you should take immediate action to correct these
shortcomings.
Organization
• Uses inductive outline; begins with a neutral idea.
• Repeats bad news in closing paragraph.
Content
• Uses “however” in third sentence, which may alert reader to coming bad-news before
explanation is offered.
• Uses strong language in message (“I regret to say,” “a waste of my time”)
• Ends with a negative idea that might seem like a slap in the face.
Style
• Begins with “I”
part.
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• Uses cliché (“waste of my time,” “words can’t describe”)
REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. Explain the appropriate channel and outline for a message that conveys bad news.
Under what conditions would a writer be justified in choosing an alternate outline or
channel?
The outline for bad-news messages is as follows: (a) begin with the neutral idea that leads to the
reason for the refusal; (b) present the facts, analysis, and reasons for the refusal; (c) state the
refusal using positive tone and de-emphasis techniques; and (d) close with an idea that shifts
emphasis away from the refusal. Using an alternate outline and placing a refusal in the first
sentence may be justified when (a) the message is the second response to a repeated request; (b) a
very small, insignificant matter is involved; (c) a request is obviously ridiculous, unethical,
illegal, or dangerous; (d) a writer’s intent is to “shake” the reader; (e) a writer-reader relationship
is so close that satisfactory human relations can be taken for granted; or (f) the writer wants to
demonstrate authority.
When possible, bad news should be conveyed face-to-face because this channel allows
for better feedback and nonverbal cues. However, using a face-to-face communication for bad
news also provides the opportunity for the interaction to become about personalities instead of
issues. Bad news can be conveyed electronically or through snail mail when geographic location
prevents face-to-face interaction or when the sender is trying to disperse the personal implications
for the interaction.
2. What three functions does the first paragraph of a bad-news message serve? Does “i am
responding to your letter of the 25th” accomplish both of these functions? Explain.
The first paragraph (a) lets the receiver know what the letter is about (without stating the obvious)
and (b) serves as a transition into the discussion of the reasons (without revealing the bad news or
leading the receiver to expect good news). The stated sentence does not accomplish either
purpose; it is an empty acknowledgment.
3. Discuss how a counterproposal and implication can be used to de-emphasize the bad-
news statement to assist a communicator in achieving the human relations goal of
business communication.
A counterproposal is an alternative to the action requested. It is an expression of empathy and

goodwill for the customer that seeks to strengthen and maintain positive, long-term relationships.
4. What objectives should the final paragraph accomplish? Should the closing sentence
apologize for action taken? Should it refer to the statement of refusal to achieve unity?
Explain.
The final paragraph (a) de-emphasizes the unpleasant part of the message, (b) conveys some
useful information that should logically follow bad news, (c) shows that the writer has a positive
attitude, and (d) adds a unifying quality to the message. The closing sentence should not
apologize for action taken. Because valid reasons for the refusal have been provided, an apology
is inconsistent. Why apologize for doing what is right? The apology weakens confidence in the
part.
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decision. The last paragraph should bring a unifying quality to the whole message; however,
restatement of the refusal would only serve to emphasize it.
5. In which part of a refusal message would resale and sales promotional material be most
appropriate? Explain.
A refusal may begin with a resale statement about the product. Sales promotional material would
be most appropriate in the final paragraph (or even in a postscript). In earlier paragraphs, it would
be confusing.
6. Discuss the legal implications involved in writing credit refusals.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) requires that the credit applicant be notified of the
credit decision within 30 calendar days. Applicants who are denied credit must be informed of the
reasons for the refusal and be reminded that the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides them the right
to know the nature of the information in their credit file. The ECOA also prohibits creditors from
discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin,
gender, and marital status.
7. What elements make criticism “constructive”?
Constructive criticism should (1) present facts, not opinions, (2) provide evidence to support
claims made, (3) use positive language when possible, and (4) provide possible solutions for the
problems.
8. Why is the effective handling of negative information of such importance to a company?
Employees are seeking honest answers from management about critical matters related to the
organization. Morale is fragile, easily damaged, and difficult to repair. Managers who can
communicate negative information in a sensitive, honest, and timely way are successful in
calming employees’ fears and doubts and in building positive employee relations.
9. Saying “no” is not difficult; the challenge is to do so while protecting goodwill. Explain
the rationale and significance of this statement.
Giving a receiver bad news is generally easy when the sender does not care about the receiver’s
reaction or whether the receiver takes time to consider the reasons and explanations for the
negative response. The difficulty arises when a sender takes the time to consider the receiver’s
reaction and to convey the bad news as gently and positively as possible.
10. Frequent channels for delivering business messages include written, electronic, and
face-to-face means. What criteria would you use in selecting the appropriate channel for
delivering bad news?
In selecting a channel for delivering any message, the sender should consider (1) the receiver’s
reaction to the message, (2) the need for the “personal touch,” (3) the need for a written record,
and (4) and the channel for the original message (for example, with customer orders).
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FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
1. Communication Success Stories: Conduct an electronic search to locate an article that

deals with successful negative communication in a company or organization. Prepare an
abstract of the article that includes the following parts: (1) article citation, (2) name of
organization/company, (3) brief description of communication technique/situation, and (4)
outcome(s) of the successful communication. As an alternative to locating an article, you
could write about a successful communication situation in the organization/company for
which you work. Be prepared to present your abstract in a memo and give a short
presentation in class.
Daniel Pelling, a driver for Atwood Corp., sent the following email to the firm’s suggestion
box:
***
Our manager informed us that you were looking for inexpensive ways of rewarding people
who receive the employee-of-the-month award. I believe you should give that person the
week off with pay. You’re going to pay the person anyway and the rest of us will work just a
little harder to cover for that person.
Discuss Internet search strategies for the assignment. For instance, talk about full-text databases
available online through your library. Discuss key words for searching; for instance,
“communications” will produce many hits, but narrowing it by using words such as “public
relations” or “successful” will limit more closely to the desired subset of articles. Evaluate
abstracts for completeness and correctness of language and citation.
2. Rejecting an Employee’s Suggestion: Read the following scenario and complete the related
exercise.
As the chief executive officer, write an email message to Daniel Pelling rejecting his idea.
Although you applaud his willingness to work a little harder, you are not sure that all
employees would share his commitment. In addition, your human resources director pointed
out that many employees work in unique jobs where vacation time must be planned in
advance to keep the business operating efficiently.
Responses should be inductive, have a counterproposal, and thank Daniel sincerely for his input
to encourage further communication.
3. Bad-News Speeches: Refer to a recent political or business event in which bad news was
shared and prepare a written critique that includes (1) an assessment of the effectiveness of
the message and the manner in which it was delivered, (2) an analysis of the results, and (3)
a summary of what you learned from your analysis. Be prepared to share your critique with
the class in a brief presentation.
Student content will vary. Evaluate informally based on grammar and grasp of the application of
inductive sequence
4. Critique of Bad-News Messages Produced by Real Companies: Locate an example of both a

well-written and a poorly written bad-news message and analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of each document. Prepare a visual of each and present your critique to the class.
part.
14
Student content will vary.
5. Loan Denied for Poor Credit Customer: Assemble in groups of three to four and read the
following scenario and complete the related exercise.
Having decided to build an addition to their home, Larry and Alice Sherman made an
application for a $35,000 loan from a finance company. A consumer credit report revealed
a consistent record of slow payment. On several occasions, they paid only after forceful
attempts at collection. As branch manager of the finance company, you have invited the
Shermans to come in to discuss the refusal.
As a group, develop a voice script explaining how you intend to deliver this negative news to
your customer.
Each group’s script should follow the deductive outline (follows).

I. Neutral opening to start conversation
II. Explain the problem
III. Provide alternative solution
IV. Cordial closing
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
1. Training for Employee Sensitivity: a Priority at Wilson Street Grill: Read the following
scenario, then complete activities a through c.
The Wilson Street Grill in Madison, Wisconsin, is one of many restaurants that have
successfully hired employees with mental disabilities. The federal Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from discriminating against disabled job
applicants and employees in businesses with 15 or more employees. Many hotels and
restaurants have found that employees with disabilities are often excellent employees who
work hard and care about their work. The rate of turnover for workers with mental disabilities
is often lower than the turnover among high school and college students employed at these
same restaurants.
The Wilson Street Grill is no exception; more than one third of its employees have a
disability. All new employees receive orientation and training, which includes information on
working effectively with those who have disabilities. It is important that employees
understand the issues of discrimination and how the ADA law impacts the employees at the
Wilson Street Grill. New employees are supervised and mentored on a regular basis so that
they can work effectively with the current staff.
As manager of the Wilson Street Grill, you recently hired Jonathan, who completed his
orientation a month ago. He regularly works with Sue, a mentally disabled employee with
Down syndrome who has been an excellent employee for two years. Jonathan appears to be
patient with the other employees who have disabilities, but seems easily frustrated with Sue.
Jonathan has refrained from speaking rudely to her in public, but his general behavior
communicates a very negative attitude. You recently observed a negative communication
part.
15
exchange between Jonathan and Sue. Jonathan often responds to Sue’s questions by ignoring
her or giving her terse answers. He has rudely interrupted her conversations with fellow
employees on numerous occasions. Often when she starts a routine task, he takes over and
does it for her. He refuses her efforts to help him learn certain tasks. Sue has not complained
to you, but she has talked to other employees about the problems with Jonathan. As the
manager of Wilson Street Grill, you need to warn Jonathan about his unacceptable behavior
and provide constructive criticism.
a. Write a memo to Jonathan that will be placed in his personnel file. The memo should
adequately warn Jonathan about the consequences of his behavior and should contain
relevant facts to explain the law. Visit your campus library to complete additional
research on the Americans with Disabilities Act so that you understand how this law
impacts management.
b. Develop a voice script that could be used by the manager for delivering this warning and
constructive criticism to Jonathan. Your instructor may ask you to role play your
conversation with another student in the class.
Student responses will vary but should follow these guidelines:
(1) Remind Jonathan that The Wilson Street Grill has a history of providing excellent work
opportunities to employees with physical and mental disabilities. Currently more than a third
of the workers have disabilities. Generally, these workers effectively perform tasks and have
good attitudes toward their jobs. The Wilson Street Grill has created an environment that
helps those with disabilities succeed.
(2) Review the federal Americans with Disabilities Act with Jonathan. The importance of
observing this law was discussed at his orientation. Identify his specific actions that could be
interpreted as discrimination against employees with disabilities. Warn Jonathan of the
consequences of his negative behavior which could result in dismissal.
(3) Suggest that he observe how other employees relate positively to their co-workers who have
disabilities. Provide him with written material and a video that provide additional examples
of discriminatory behavior. Conduct a follow-up review in 30 days.
c. In a small group, produce a short video presentation that could be shown to new hires at
The Wilson Street Grill on working with those who have disabilities.
The video might start with a short bulleted list that explains the highlights of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Then demonstrate how this act affects employees at The Wilson Street Grill.
Using role-play between co-workers, depict several common situations that might occur on a
daily basis. Present an example of negative interaction with employees who have disabilities.
Follow each of these examples with a scene showing the appropriate interaction that should have
occurred. End the video with the engaging facts and case stories about how the restaurant has
successfully employed workers with disabilities.
2. Employee Bad News: An Employee Video/Computer Lounge: Read the scenario below
before completing the related writing activity that follows.
Employees have requested the construction of a video/computer lounge where employees

can relax and check on personal email and computer work during their breaks. Write a
short memo denying this request. Consider a counterproposal or alternative idea to the
employees’ request.
part.
16
Example of Poor Response:
Subject: No Employee Video/Computer Lounge
How can you even consider asking for our company to fund a video game/computer
lounge for employees?! Our employees are here to work, not to play.
Allowing our employees time with video games and unmonitored computer use goes
against every management principle I’ve ever learned. Employees should conduct their
personal computer business on personal time and use their spare time at home to play
video or computer games. An office is for work, not play. Besides, the cost of installing a
separate area for these video breaks would be exorbitant. Our vice president would never
agree to spend money on this right now.
I will try to convince management to allow a fifteen-minute time frame every day for
personal Internet use within certain parameters, but you should not get your hopes up.
Weaknesses in response:
• Reveals refusal in subject line
• States refusal before explanation
• Uses negative language and condescending tone without giving com-plete explanation for
refusal
• Offers possible alternative, but reluctant tone seems insincere
Improved Response:
Subject: No Employee Video/Computer Lounge
How can you even consider asking for our company to fund a video game/computer
lounge for employees?! Our employees are here to work, not to play.
Allowing our employees time with video games and unmonitored computer use goes
against every management principle I’ve ever learned. Employees should conduct their
personal computer business on personal time and use their spare time at home to play
video or computer games. An office is for work, not play. Besides, the cost of installing a
separate area for these video breaks would be exorbitant. Our vice president would never
agree to spend money on this right now.
I will try to convince management to allow a fifteen-minute time frame every day for
personal Internet use within certain parameters, but you should not get your hopes up.
Josie, in response to your idea, I have submitted a request to management that we

consider adding an “e-break” to our company Internet policy that will allow employees
to use the traditional 15-minute coffee break time to conduct personal business on their
computers or play short games likes Solitaire or Minesweeper. The article you sent me
last month provided some good research to support this idea. Let’s see how this goes,
and we will revisit the employee video game/computer lounge idea in the future.
part.
17
Improvements in response:
• Cushions bad news with sincere compliment for suggestion
• Transitions to reasons and provides complete explanation for refusal
• Restates reason for saying “No” and offers counter-proposal to de-emphasize refusal
3. Constructive Criticism: Food Critic Gives Restaurant Thumbs Down: Read the following
scenario, then develop a full sentence outline below.
One of the Downtown Disney restaurants in Orlando, Florida, is Bongos Cuban Café
created by Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio. Like many Disney restaurants, Bongos
Cuban Café hires international college students as part of the Disney College Program at
the Walt Disney World Resort. Food and beverage servers in these restaurants must have
the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and prior experience in the restaurant
industry. Similar to servers in most restaurants, these international students take menu
orders, refill beverages, carry food and drink, bus tables, and handle payment.
Angelica is a new server from Brazil who has worked for a month at the Disney location
of Bongos Cuban Café. Although Angelica seems to communicate well with customers,
the manager of the restaurant has received several verbal complaints from customers
about her service. Most recently, an irate customer sent a letter complaining about the bad
service at the restaurant. Although Angelica was the server for this customer, not all of
the problems mentioned in the letter were her fault. The customer was served on New
Year’s Eve when several servers called in sick; therefore, service was very slow. The
restaurant ran out of iced tea during lunchtime, and the customer could not get any refills.
The customer ordered a menu item that was not available, and orders were served to the
wrong party at the table. The customer requested a credit on the bill for the iced tea,
which the management approved, but the final bill was incorrect.
In the letter, the customer demands a credit for the cost of the total bill, which is about
$120 for the party of four. Most important, the customer is a food critic for a travel
magazine and has enclosed a copy of the negative review he wrote for your restaurant.
Since the restaurant is on Disney Resort property, it is especially important that customers
have a good dining experience. It is an expensive restaurant, and because of the location
and the cost, people expect great food and excellent service. As the restaurant manager,
your job involves ensuring that your staff provides this quality. You need to discuss with
Angelica the problems that have been identified by customers who have complained
about her service. You also need to decide how to respond to the customer complaint.
Student responses will vary, but a sample outline appears below:
I. Start the conversation with a neutral or positive opening.

A. A neutral opening may include acknowledging the challenge of serving customers
during peak tourist season.
B. A positive opening may start with good comments about Angelica's work
performance during her two months of employment. Customers have commented on
her friendliness and positive attitude. Point out the strengths she brings to her job.
part.
18
II. Emphasize the important qualities of good restaurant service.
A. Remind Angelica that this includes efficient service, attention to customer requests,
accuracy in taking orders and tabulating bills.
B. Remind Angelica that the restaurant is on Walt Disney World Resort property and
that customers expect excellent food and service.
III. Provide additional training for Angelica.
A. Provide specific instructions on how Angelica should take orders, serve food and
beverages, and tabulate bills.
B. Assign her to "shadow" another server for a day.
IV. Summary
A. Set specific performance goals that you will evaluate in one month.
B. Ask if she has any questions.
4. Adjustment Refusal: No Sympathy for Bank Customer with “Bounced Checks”: Read the
scenario below then complete the written activity that follows.
Banks that are located near universities frequently compete with each other to attract college
students as customers. These banks may offer many services that are attractive to students,
such as free checking, lower required account balances, convenient ATM locations on
campus, longer hours, student loans, and credit cards. The banks tailor services to the college
student market.
Many college students may be opening a checking account for the first time. Often these
students may not understand the responsibilities of handling a checking account or may fail to
read the information that is provided by the bank at the time the account is opened. Careless
errors, inaccurate recordkeeping of transactions, and failure to balance a checking account
can be a costly error for anyone, particularly a college student on a limited budget.
Rachel is a new college freshman, living away from home for the first time. She has opened a
checking account with Regions Bank. During the first two months of the semester, she wrote
checks for many purchases and used her debit card for cash withdrawals; she accurately
recorded all these transactions in her checkbook. Now busy with classes and college
activities, she became more careless, and didn’t take time to record withdrawals or to balance
her checking account. On a visit to deposit a check in the bank she received a record of her
balance to date which showed that she had money in her account. During the next few days,
she used her debit card for several meals out with friends and wrote checks to pay for various
items. She then received notice that 10 of these transactions had “bounced.” The fee for each
insufficient funds notice was $27. She has gone to the bank requesting that the fee be waived.
The “balance to date” did not include several outstanding checks that were credited to her
account the next day.
Activity:
As the customer service manager, compose a letter to Rachel denying her request to waive this
fee for checks with insufficient funds. Conduct research necessary to recommend a plan for
protecting against future insufficient fund fees.
part.
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5. Adjustment Refusal: Airline Passenger Struggles with Online Ticketing: Read the scenario
below, then respond to the customer in question with an email that explains the problem and
proposes a solution.
Most airline passengers who travel frequently are accustomed to booking their flights online
using one of the many available websites, such as Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com,
Expedia.com, and so on. These websites provide access to detailed flight information,
including costs. Customers conveniently make an airline reservation, pay for it, and receive a
boarding pass prior to departure. Frequent fliers find that online ticketing services often save
them money and time. The sites are user-friendly and relatively easy to navigate; users follow
the step-by-step directions carefully and submit the appropriate information for the
transaction to be completed. People who use these sites quickly become familiar with how
they work; however, problems can occur for travelers who are not computer literate, who fly
infrequently, and who are booking flights online for the first time.
You are a reservation agent for U.S. Airways and frequently handle calls from novice users of
online sites. Today you receive a call from a customer who is frantic and complains that she
cannot print a boarding pass for the flight she has “booked” using Travelocity.com. The flight
is scheduled to depart for Florida, a popular winter destination, within 24 hours. By making
airline reservations six weeks ahead of scheduled departure, the cost was less than $300. The
customer is unable to recall if she received an email from Travelocity.com with the
confirmation number of her reservation. After checking the reservation system, you discover
no reservation for this person. Apparently, she did not complete the online reservation and
properly submit the information as she cannot find any charges for the ticket on her recent
credit card bill.
Responses will vary but should follow these guidelines:
V. Neutral opening to start conversation

A. Acknowledge that online reservation systems can sometimes be confusing when
passengers first use them.
B. Remind the customer that each online service has slightly different instructions, and
it is important to complete all steps in the proper sequence.
C. Inform her that all online reservation systems send a follow up email with a
reservation confirmation number. This email is the customer's documented record of
the flight reservation.
VI. Explain the problem
A. Tell the customer that the reservation system does not list her as a ticketed passenger
and that she will have to book a new flight.
B. Empathize with her frustration and assure her that you'll find her another flight,
although it will cost more.
C. Remind her that it is peak travel time and that the main goal is to find a flight to the
desired location in time for the holidays.
VII. Provide alternative solution
A. Find another flight at the best available price.
B. Complete the new reservation
VIII. Cordial closing
A. Wish her a safe flight and happy holidays.
B. Remind her to check her email for confirmation of future online reservations.
part.
20
CASE ASSIGNMENT
ANONYMITY IN CYBERSPACE
Do you have a right to anonymity in cyberspace? Should you have this right? Two current views
prevail about the right of anonymity. One view sees it as limiting the free flow of information; by
having a wealth of information available, people can communicate, shop, and conduct business
with ease. Access to information allows you to find a friend’s email address that you had
forgotten or to track down an old friend in another city. The opposing view sees the right to
anonymity as a protection of individual privacy; without anonymity, unidentified parties can track
where you go in cyberspace, how often you go there, and with whom you communicate. At the
present time, you are typically required to reveal your identity when engaging in a wide range of
activities. Every time you use a credit card, email a friend, or subscribe to an online magazine, an
identifiable record of each transaction is created and linked to you. But must this always be the
case? Are there situations where transactions may be conducted anonymously, yet securely?
Several methods currently exist for surfers to protect their anonymity in cyberspace:
• Anonymous remailers: A completely anonymous remailer, or chain remailer, sends mail

through remailing locations. Each location takes the header information off the mail and
sends it to the next location. When the mail gets to its final destination, the recipient has no
idea where the mail originated. What makes the system truly anonymous is that the remailing
locations that the message goes through typically keep no records of the mail that comes in or
goes out. This procedure makes the mail impossible to track.
• Pseudo-anonymous remailers: These single remailers work similarly to the chain remailer.
The mail is sent to a remailing location, the header information is stripped at this site, and the
mail is forwarded to its final destination. As with the chain remailer, the recipient has no idea
where the mail originated. What makes the single remailer pseudo-anonymous is the fact that
single remailers typically keep records of the mail that comes into and goes out of their
systems. This procedure makes the mail traceable.
• Pseudonymity: This process consists of sending mail through cyberspace under a false name.
Like the single remailer, the recipient will not immediately know who the mail came from,
but the mail is completely traceable.
• Anonymizer website: By visiting http://www.anonymizer.com, you can learn how to stop
any specified website from gathering information on you. When you use the anonymizer
software to access a particular website, the anonymizer goes to that website for you, grabs the
information, and sends you the information from the site. As far as the website knows, it has
been contacted only by the anonymizer website. This secures your transactions and keeps
“nosy” websites from gathering information on you.
In spite of consumer interest in protecting anonymity, the federal government opposes total
anonymity due to legitimate interests that are at stake. If total anonymity existed, the government
would be unable to track down people who use cyberspace to violate the laws of libel,
defamation, and copyrights.
Sources: M Kim, "The Right to Anonymous Association in Cyberspace: US Legal Protection for Anonymity in Name,
in Face, and in Action", (2010) 7:1 SCRIPTed 51, http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/script-ed/vol7-1/kim.asp; Makeever,
J.J. (1996, October 3). Privacy and anonymity in cyberspace. A law of cyberspace? http://host1.jmlx.edu/cyber/1996/r-
priv.html.
part.
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Activities
1. Locate an article on the issue of online anonymity. Print out the article and prepare a two-
page abstract that includes the following sections: (1) reference citation, (2) overview, (3)
major point, and (4) application.
This activity gives students the opportunity to practice their abstracting skills. Evaluate the
assignment according to the adequacy of coverage in the four sections and accuracy in grammar,
punctuation, and writing style.
2. Prepare a chart that summarizes the advantages and the disadvantages of online anonymity.
Advantages included in the chart may include protection of individual privacy, protection against
electronic tracking, and freedom of expression due to undisclosed identity. Disadvantages may
include inability to locate parties electronically, hindrances to online shopping, and irresponsible
online behavior due to lack of identity.
3. Take a position on the anonymity issue, either to support the right to anonymity or to defend
the need for identification. In writing, present a defense of your position, giving reasons
and/or evidence.
Advantages and disadvantages identified in Activity 2 can be expanded into reasons for the
position taken.
part.
22
Another random document with
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that made a song in her heart despite all the trials—so much of a song that
occasionally it flowed into words, and Dorothy's untrained voice was sweet
and clear. She rarely used it over her work, but on this Monday twice she sang
clear and loud,—
"Mine is an unchanging love;

Higher than the heights above."
Mrs. Morgan heard it—heard the tune; caught no words—wanted to hear

none. The spirit of song was not in her heart that morning. All she said was,—
"Don't, for pity's sake, go to singing over the dish-pan. I always thought that
was a miserable, shiftless habit. There is a time for all things."
And Dorothy, wondering much when was her time to sing, hushed her voice
and finished the melody in her heart. So it seemed to her, when the day was
done, that really it had been an unusually hard one. Many steps added to the
usual routine. A dish broken; a leaking pail sending water all over the clean
floor; John's muddy feet tracking through the kitchen just after the mopping
was done; John's hands—traces of them on the clean towel; and then, by
reason of trying to do two things at once at the mother's bidding, she actually
allowed the starch to scorch. So that, in truth, when she sat down in the
wooden-seated chair of her own room for a moment's breathing space, before
it was time to set the table for tea, she looked back over the day with a little
wondering sigh. What had she done this day for the glory of God? How could
he possibly get any glory out of her honest efforts to do her whole duty that
day? True, she had resisted the temptation to slam the door hard, to set down
the tea-kettle with a bang, to say, in an undertone, "I don't care whether it is
clean or dirty," when her attention was called to some undone task. Yet what
had been the result? Mother certainly had never been so hard to please.
"She has found more to blame to-day than she ever did in the days when I
only half tried," said poor Dorothy to herself.
So where was there any glory for the Master to be found in the day? Even
then came the mother's voice calling,—
"Well, are we to have any supper to-night? or must I get it, with all the rest?"
Then Dorothy went down, and I am afraid that she set the cups and saucers
on the table with more force than was needed. Life looked full of pin-pricks
that hurt for the time being as much, or at least she thought they did, as
though they had been made with lancets.
What was the trouble with Mother Morgan?
I do want you to understand her. She did not understand herself, to be sure;
but that is no reason why you should not show more discrimination. It had
been an unusually trying day to her. Apart from the pressure of domestic
cares, which she, in common with many other housekeepers, made always
twice as heavy as they should be, her nerves, or her heart, or her conscience,
or all these combined, had been stirred within her by the words of prayer in
the twilight of the Sabbath. Memory took her back to an old hillside farmhouse,
surrounded by fields less rich and fruitful than those near which she dwelt; to
an old arm-chair, in which an old man sat night and morning, by his side
another chair, in which an old woman sat night and morning; and together
they read out of the same Bible, together they knelt and prayed, and this cold-
faced mother had heard herself prayed for many a time, not only by that old
man, but by the gray-haired woman. And they were her father and her mother,
both sleeping now, side by side, under the snow; and being dead, yet
speaking—speaking loudly to her on that very Monday. As she looked at
Dorothy she felt as though she were wronging her of a birthright. Dorothy had
never heard her mother pray as she had heard her old mother many a time.
Dorothy's mother had never said to her,—
"Dorothy, I want you to be a servant of God more than I want anything else."
That was what leer mother had said to her when she was Dorothy's age, and
many a time afterward; and she was not a servant of God yet, and her
conscience reproached her; and her child had never heard such words, and
her heart reproached her. As truly as I write it, she pitied Dorothy. Yet, can you
understand that this very feeling actually made her voice sharper and her
words more impatient when she spoke to her? The human heart unchanged is
a very strange and contradictory thing.
But I want to tell you what Dorothy Morgan does not know.
Her mother did discover the immaculate condition of the pudding-kettle, and
said aloud—
"I declare, for once this is clean!"

CHAPTER XX.
CLOUDS.
I HAVE been tempted to linger over these first weeks connected with Louise
Morgan's home-coming in order that you might get a clear view of the
surroundings and a true idea of the family life. Now, however, I shall have to
take you away into the spring. The long, cold, busy winter, with its cares and
opportunities, had passed away, and the buds and blossoms, foretelling of the
coming summer, had begun to appear on every hand.
Many changes, subtle and sweet and strong, had been going on in the
Morgan household. Dorothy had held steadily on her course; the first lesson in
her Christian experience being ever present with her, that in the very smallest
matters of life her light might shine for Christ. She was learning the important
lesson to be "faithful over a few things." Little realized she the importance of
this faithfulness. Not an idea had she of the number of times in which the
mother had regarded her curiously, as she looked in vain for careless ways or
forgotten duties, and admitted to herself that "something had come over
Dorothy, and she only hoped it would last." Oh yes, it would last. Dorothy
believed that. She had anchored her soul after the first hours of unrest on the
sure promise of His "sufficient grace," and had no idea of doubting him. Not
much outside work had she been able to take up. Yet, little by little, came
changes. Carey Martyn was full of schemes.
"See here, let us do thus and so," was a favourite phrase of his, and he was
growing more and more fond of saying it to Dorothy.
The bright curtains in the parlour had not been taken down again; the old-
fashioned sofa still held its place in the coziest corner; and now that the sun
was getting around the corner, peeping in at the pleasantest window, the room
took a still more cheery look, and Dorothy had fallen into the habit of touching
a match to the carefully laid fire almost every evening just after tea, and one
by one the different members of the family dropped in.
The long-neglected old-fashioned brass knocker often sounded during these
days. People who had never called on the Morgans, chiefly because of the
fear that they would be coldly received, began to discover that Mrs. Lewis
Morgan was a very pleasant woman, very glad to see her friends; and the
mother was not so disagreeable as they had supposed; and, "really, that shy,
silent Dorothy had improved wonderfully."
Thus it was when the spring opened, only a few months since the new-
comer's first entrance; and nothing very remarkable, so far as outward eyes
could see, had transpired, and yet in a hundred little ways things were
different.
But on this particular May morning when I bring you into the family circle the
prevailing atmosphere was gloom.
In the first place it rained—a soft, sweet spring rain, when the buds swell, and
leaves almost seem to increase in size while you watch, and the spring
flowers nod at one another, and the world, though in tears, seems to the
happy heart to be keeping holiday. Yet, as Louise Morgan stood at her window
and watched the dripping eaves, and listened to the patter on the roof, and
saw the low gray clouds sail by, a rainy day seemed to her a dreary thing.
The truth was, the Morgan family were in trouble. During these passing
months Louise and her husband, reinforced by Dorothy, and afterward by
Carey Martyn, had carried John Morgan about on their hearts as special
subject of constant prayer. Louise had been often eager, persistent, steadfast
for a soul before; yet it seemed to her that the desire had never been so
intense as in this instance; and as she looked over the past, it seemed to her
that she had never had so little encouragement. From the time when she took
that walk home with him in the moonlight, and tried to speak earnest words,
John Morgan had seemed to withdraw more utterly into himself. He carefully
avoided Louise; he refused, positively, all invitations to attend church on the
Sabbath. He plainly informed Lewis that he was wasting words in trying to talk
religion at him, and might consider himself honourably excused from any such
attempts; and to Dorothy, who, with tearful eyes and trembling lips, said simply
to him one night in the darkness, "O John, won't you give yourself to Jesus?"
he unceremoniously and roughly answered, "Shut up."
In every respect John had seemed, during the last few months, to travel
rapidly backward. The corner grocery now saw him more frequently than ever
before; indeed, almost every evening, late into the night, was passed there.
The smell of tobacco and of liquor lingered more constantly now about his
clothing, and pervaded the atmosphere of his room. In vain did Louise
struggle to keep that room pure. Gradually it had changed its outward
appearance. Christmas and Now Year, and then John's birthday, had been
helpful anniversaries to her plans. The bed was spread in spotless white; the
twisted-leg stand had its scratched and pointless top concealed under a white
and delicately crocheted tidy; a little rocker occupied the corner by the
window, with a bright-coloured tidy fastened securely to its back. The space
between the hall door and the clothes-press was occupied by a neat toilet-
stand, with all the convenient accessories of the toilet carefully disposed on it;
the walls were hung with two or three choice engravings and an illuminated
text; and on the white-covered stand there daily blossomed, in a small pure
vase, a rose, or a bunch of lilies of the valley, or a spray of delicate wild flower
—some sweet-breathed treasure from the woods or garden, which struggled
with the tobacco-scented air—placed there by Louise's tasteful fingers.
Once she ventured on a gift in the shape of a nicely-bound Bible, containing

John's name and her own on the fly-leaf, and she made a place for it on the
white-covered stand; but found that the very next morning it had been placed
on the highest shelf in the clothes-press along with a pile of old agricultural
papers that reposed there from one house-cleaning to another. All of these
patient little efforts had been greeted hitherto with nothing but frowns or
sneers or total indifference.
John Morgan seemed to have deliberately determined to ruin his prospects for
this life and the next, and to forbid any one to hold him back. Yet they did not
give him up, these four. The more hopeless the case seemed to grow, the
more steadily did they try to hold their grasp on the arm of power.
But on this rainy morning of which I write, not one of the four but had been
plunged into more or less anxiety and gloom. Apparently, not only had all their
efforts failed, but the subject of them had resolved to remove himself from all
further influence or molestation from them. The threat that he had often and
often made, to leave his home and go where he pleased, he had now
determined to put into execution. A week before he had suddenly and fiercely
announced his decision, and no amount of persuasion had effected the least
change. He was indifferent alike to his father's advice or threats.
"You needn't give me a copper if you haven't a mind to," he had said sullenly
during one of the stormy talks. "I'll risk but that I can take care of myself. I can
beg or can drown myself, if I feel like it. Anyhow, I'm going, and there's no kind
of use in talking."
"But where are you going?" pleaded the mother.

One less indifferent than John could not have failed to notice that her face was
pale and her voice husky with pent-up feeling.
"Just exactly where I like, and nowhere else. If I knew where that was I might
tell you, but I don't. I never did as I pleased an hour since I was born, and I
mean to do it now."
What was the use of talking to one in such a mood? Yet they talked, and
argued, and threatened, and used sharp words, and bitter words, and words
that were calculated to leave life-long scars on hearts; and the talks were
frequently renewed, and lasted away into the midnight; and at last John had
declared that he would not stand this sort of thing another hour, and he would
not take any money—not a copper of it, even if it was offered; and he would
not take his clothes along—not a rag.
"You can sell them to the first rag-man that comes along, and build another
barn with their value, for all I care," he said to his father, in a pitiful attempt at
sarcasm.
And then, without another word or a glance at his mother or a pretence at

good-bye, he strode out of the room, closing the door after him with a bang.
That was the evening before, just at supper-time, and though his mother did
that night what she had never done before in her life—put some of the supper
down, carefully covered to keep warm for John—he came not. The next
morning's milking was done without him, and as the long rainy day waned it
became evident to each heart that John was gone.
Now I have not told you the worst of this. For the past week the mother's heart
had been wrung with such anxiety that she had humbled herself in a manner
that she, a few days before, would not have imagined possible. She had
followed Louise one morning up to her room, coming with slow and doubtful
tread, closing the door after her, and looking behind her in a half-frightened
way, as if to be sure that there were no other listeners to her humiliation than
this one, and had said to Louise, catching her breath while she spoke,—
"You know how I feel about John. I have heard you talk about praying over
everything; if you believe that it does any good, why don't you pray to have
him kept at home?"
"Mother," said Louise, coming close to her, taking the hard old hand in hers, "I
do pray for him, every hour in the day, almost every minute it seems to me,
and I believe it will do good; I believe He will hear our prayer. But there is no
one who could pray for John as his mother could. I do so desire to have his
mother's prayers infold him like a garment. Won't you pray for him?"
"I'm not a praying woman," said Mrs. Morgan, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Still, if I believed in it as you do, I would pray now if I never did again."
Then she turned and went swiftly away. She had actually humbled her proud
heart to ask her daughter-in-law to pray for John! She could not get away from
the feeling that Louise's prayers would be likely to avail if any would. More
than that—but this at the time was known only to her own heart, and to the
One who reads the heart—in the silence and darkness of her own room, after
Nellie was asleep, and before Farmer Morgan had drawn the last bolt
preparatory to coming to his bed, she had got down on her knees and had
offered what, in her ignorance, she thought was prayer. "O God," she said, "if
thou hearest human beings in their need, hear me, and keep John from going
away." There was no submission in her heart to the divine will, no reference to
the name which is the only name by which we can approach God, no
realization of anything save John's peril and a blind reaching out after some
hand that had power. Yet it was a nearer approach to prayer than that mother
had made for fifty years!
Neither could she help a feeling, which she told herself was probably
superstition, that something somehow would prevent John from carrying out
his designs. Yet the days went by, and no unseen arm stretched out its hand
of power to arrest John. Instead, the rainy day wore on with the feeling settling
down hopelessly on the mother's heart that her son had gone from her with
hard words on his lips, and with the echo of hard words from her sounding in
his heart. For, so strange a thing is this human heart, Mrs. Morgan had
actually never seemed more hard or cold to her son than she did during the
week that her heart was torn with anxiety for him.
But I have not told you the worst of this. The days moved on, and it became
evident to all that John had carried out his threat and was gone. Then the
mother's grief and dismay found vent in hard and cruel words. She turned in
bitterness from Louise, yes, and from Dorothy, indeed from every one. To
Louise she said plainly it was not strange that John had wanted to get away;
she had given him no peace since she had been there; always tormenting him
to go to church or to prayer-meeting, or to do something that he did not want
to do. For her part, she did not see but he was quite as good as those who
were always running off to meeting. He could not even have any peace in his
own room; it must be cluttered up with rubbish that any man hated—vases to
tip over, and tidies to torment him!
And she flung the tidies on a chair in Louise's room, and folded and packed
away the cover which she said she had been "fooled into buying," and
restored every corner of that little hall chamber to its original dreariness. And,
worse than all, she declared that she hoped and trusted she would hear no
more cant about prayers in that house. She had not been able to see for many
a year that the kind of praying that was being done in these days
accomplished any good.
To Dorothy she declared that if she had had the spirit of a mouse she might
have exerted herself, as other girls did, to make a pleasant spot for her
brother; that she had never tried to please him in anything, not even the
mending of his mittens when he wanted them; she would rather dawdle over
the fire roasting apples with Carey Martyn than give any thought to her own
brother.
Now all this was bitterness itself to poor Dorothy, whose own heart reproached
her for having been so many years indifferent to her brother's welfare, but who
had honestly tried with all the force of her heart to be pleasant and helpful to
John ever since she had been doing anything from a right motive.
Neither did Mrs. Morgan spare her husband. She would not have let a boy like
that go off without a penny in his pocket, she said,—no, not if she had to sell
all the stock to get him ready money. He had as good a right to money as
Lewis ever had, and he had been tied down to the five barns all his life. No
wonder he ran away. He showed some spirit, and she was glad he had.
Do you suppose Farmer Morgan endured this in silence? Not he. And sharp
words grow sharper, and bitter feelings ran high, until the once quiet kitchen
was transformed into a Babel of angry words, and poor Louise could only go
away and weep.
But I have not told you the worst of this: actually the worst was in this Christian
woman's own sore heart. The awful question, "Why?" had crept in and was
tormenting her soul. She had been sincere in her prayers; she had been
honest in her desires; she had been unwavering in her petitions. Why had
God permitted this disastrous thing to come? Had she not tried—oh had she
not tried with sincere desire ever since she came into this home to live Christ
in it? Why, then, had she been allowed to so utterly fail? Would it not be to
God's glory to save John Morgan's soul? Was it not evident that through him
the mother might possibly be reached? Was it not perfectly evident that John,
at home, under her influence and Lewis's and Dorothy's, would be in less
danger than away among strangers, wandering whither he would? Was it not
perfectly evident that this conclusion to their prayers had caused Mrs. Morgan
to lose faith in prayer—to grow harder and harder in her feelings toward God
and toward Christians? Why was all this allowed?
She had prayed in faith—or, at least, she had supposed she had; she had felt
almost sure that God would answer her prayer. She had said to Dorothy, only
the night before John went away—said it with steady voice and a smile in her
eye—"I don't believe John will go away; I don't think God will let him go."
And Dorothy, half-startled, had answered: "O Louise, I don't mean to be

irreverent, but I don't understand. How can God keep him from going, if he will
go?"
And Louise, smiling outright now, so sure was she of her trust, had answered:
"I don't know, dear; he has infinite resources; I only know that I believe he will
do it."
Now what had become of her faith? It grieves my heart to have to confess to
you that this young servant of Christ, who had felt his "sufficient grace" in her
own experience again and again, allowed Satan to stand at her elbow and
push before her that persistent and faithless "Why?"
It was that word in all its changes which was crowding into her heart, on that
May morning, as she looked out at the dripping eaves and the leaden clouds.
CHAPTER XXI.
HEDGED IN.
As for John, perhaps he was quite as much astonished at the turn of events
as was any of the family. It is true he had been threatening for many weeks to
turn his back on the old homestead, but it is doubtful if he had really, during
that time, a well-defined intention of doing any such thing.
No plans as to where he should go or what he should do had taken shape;

only a vague unrest, and a more or less settled determination to some time
get away from it all.
Therefore, as he turned his back on the familiar barns and long-stretching

fields, and went out from them in the darkness of that May evening, not one of
the family was more in fog as to what he would do next than was John
himself. Instinctively he turned his steps to the village, spending the evening in
his old haunt, showing only by a more reckless manner than usual that there
had been any change in his life. In fact he realized no change; he never
turned toward the family road leading homeward as he came out from that
corner grocery at a later hour than usual; but he stopped abruptly before he
reached the top of the hill, considered a moment, then turned and retraced his
steps, and presently struck out boldly on the road leading cityward. The great
city, only sixty miles away, was of course the first point for an enterprising
young man about to start out in life for himself.
About midnight he reached the station where the express train stopped. By
the station lamps he discovered that the eastern-bound train would be due in
five minutes. He drew from his pocket the handful of silver and copper that
constituted his available means, slowly counted them, lounged into the
station, and inquired the price of a ticket to the city, then smiled grimly to
himself to discover that after purchasing one he should have just fivepence
left. "I guess I can live on that for a week or so," he muttered; "father could. If I
can't I can starve. I'm going to the city anyhow." And the ticket was bought.
Presently came the train, and our reckless young traveller sauntered into it,
selected the best seat he could find, settled himself comfortably, and went to
sleep, apparently indifferent to the fact that his mother was at that moment
shedding bitter tears for him. No, he was not indifferent; would not have been,
at least, had he known the fact. Nothing in all his young life's experience
would have amazed him more. He did not understand his mother, which is not
strange, perhaps, when one considers that she had spent years in learning
how to hide her heart away from the sight of those she loved best. John
Morgan actually did not believe that he had ever caused his mother to shed
one tear; he did not believe that she loved him. What did he know about
mother love, save as she revealed it to him?
It is not my purpose to take you wandering with John Morgan. Even if we had
time for it, the experience would be anything but pleasant. He went into many
places where you would not like to follow; he did many things that were better
left undone, and are much better left untold. Yet I will be just to poor, silly,
wicked John. He held back, or rather was held back by a force which he did
not in the least understand, from many a place that otherwise he would have
entered. There were depths of sin and folly into which he had abundant
chance to sink, and from which nothing in his own depraved heart kept him
from sinking, and yet into which he did not sink. He would have smiled in
superior scorn over the thought that the incense of prayer, which had been
rising day and night concerning him during the passing weeks, had anything
to do with the unseen force that held him when he would have plunged
headlong. Still he was held. He is not the first one who has been saved from
self-shipwreck by a power outside of himself, unrecognized and unthanked.
Still it must be confessed that John Morgan took long enough strides in the
road to shipwreck, and did what he could for his own overthrow, goaded
meantime by an exasperating and ever-increasing sense of failure. Here was
he at last, his own master, able to work, if he could find anything to do, or to
let it alone, just as he pleased; no one to direct, or, as he had always phrased
it, to "order." No one to complain, no one to question—a life of freedom at last.
Was it not for this he had pined? It was humiliating to discover that it did not
satisfy him. He could not, even for an hour, cheat himself into believing that he
was happy in the life that he had chosen. A very vagabond of a life he led. He
tried working and lounging and starving, and the time hung heavily. It was
more than humiliating, it was exasperating; but the fact remained that he could
no more get away from the memory of that clean, sweet-smelling, sweetly
kept room, in which he had lately passed his nights, than he could get away
from his own miserable self. Nay, the very smell of the wild-wood violets which
had nodded on him from the tiny vase that last morning at home, and which
he had affected to despise, seemed to follow and haunt him. How perfectly
absurd it was in him here, in the very centre of this great centre of life, to
actually long for a whiff of those wild violets! He sneered at himself, and swore
at himself, and longed for them all the same.
So passed the days, each one bearing him steadily downward, and yet each
one holding him back from the downward depths into which he might have
plunged. And the summer heats came in all their fierceness and wilted him
with their city-polluted breath; he had been used all his life to the free, pure air
of the country. At times it was hard for him to believe that this crowded, ill-
smelling city could belong to the same earth on which the wide-stretching
harvest-fields lay and smiled. And the summer waned, and the rich, rare
October days, so beautiful in the country, so barren of all interest to the
homeless in a great city, came to him, and John Morgan had actually become
a tramp! The work which he had at first despised and hated he now could not
find; and if he would not carry his early threat into execution and literally
starve, he must tramp and beg. Now starving had lost its charms somewhere
among the parchings of those summer months; he had so nearly tried that
way as to shudder over it; to ask for a bite at the back door of country-looking
houses was more to his mind.
One never-to-be-forgotten October day he shook himself out from the shelter
of a wrecked car, near which he had passed the night, and resolved upon a
breakfast of some sort. I wish I could give you a picture of him. His own
mother would not have recognized him. His clothing in the old days had been
none of the finest, but whatever passed through Mother Morgan's hands was
clean, and carefully mended. Now this bundle of rags and dirt would have
been in danger of being spurned from her door without a second glance.
"There is no excuse for filth!" she was wont to say grimly. Her son John had
heard her say it many a time. He thought of it this morning as he shook
himself; yet how could he help the filth? He had no clothes, he had no place in
which to wash, he had nothing with which to brush, and very little left to brush!
True, he had brought himself into this very position, but of that he did not
choose to think; and besides, everybody knows it is easier to get into certain
positions than to get out of them. I wish I could tell you how he felt. He did not
understand his own mood. He was not repentant, not in the least; if anything,
he was more bitter and defiant than ever. But he was disappointed: assuming
control of one's own actions was by no means so comfortable or desirable a
lot as he had imagined. There were days in which he believed that to have
milked the gentle cows, and cared for the fine horses, would have been a
positive relief. It was not work that John had shirked. Yet he had no idea of
going home; his proud spirit and defiant nature would not let him even suggest
that thought to himself.
On this particular morning he had resolved to try again for work. He managed
to get on the last car of an outgoing goods train, and was thus whirled a few
miles into the country. At the first station he jumped off, and began his search
for work. He found a farmer who was compassionate, and gave him wood to
carry into the already well-stocked shed by way of earning his breakfast.
Presently the farmer came to the door and called:
"We are about ready for breakfast now. You can come in while we have
prayers and then have breakfast."
"I don't want prayers," said John, stopping short midway between the door
and the wood-pile, his arms full. "I asked for something to eat, not for praying."
"I know that, and you shall have the something to eat; but a little praying won't
hurt you. Why, man, you can afford to be thankful that you have found a
chance to eat again!"
"No, I can't," said John fiercely. "If I can't have the breakfast without the
praying, I'll go without the breakfast."
"Very well," said the sturdy farmer, "I'm bound you shall then. I declare, if a
fellow has got so far that he can't even listen to a word of prayer, he doesn't
deserve to eat."
"Then I'll starve," said John in anger, and he threw the wood on the floor and
strode away.
"Oh, I don't know about that, father," said a motherly voice, and a motherly
face looking out after angry John. "Seems to me I'd have given him some
breakfast if he didn't want to come to prayers. Maybe he was ashamed to, he
looks so much like a rag-bag."
"Why didn't he say so then!" said the disturbed farmer. "Who expected him to
fly off in a passion at the mention of a prayer? He's a hard case, I'm afraid."
That was true enough; and yet the incident was not so much against John as
it sounds. Poor John! he was angry at his own heart for remembering, with a
certain lingering touch of tenderness, that prayer in the kitchen at home in the
Sabbath evening twilight; he wanted no experience that would call it up more
plainly. Breakfastless, and supperless last night, John Morgan! There had
always been plenty to eat in his father's house. What a bitterness it was to
think that, now he was independent, he was actually a dependent on the
chance charities of the world!
He tramped on; he was growing hungrier; he felt that he really could not work
now until he had a chance to eat; it was actual pauperism this time. A neat-
looking house, a neat kitchen door; he knocked at it and asked for a bit of
bread. A trim old lady answered it,—
"Yes, to be sure. Come in. And so you're hungry? Poor fellow! It must be hard
to be hungry. No home, I suppose?"
John shook his head.
"Poor fellow! You look young too. Is your mother dead, did you say?"
All the while she bustled about, getting a savoury breakfast ready for him—a
cup of steaming coffee, and a bit of meat, and generous slices of bread and
butter—bread that looked and butter that smelled like his mother's. And this
was a farmhouse, and a neat, clean kitchen, and a yellow painted floor.
At that last question a strange feeling came over John Morgan. Was his
mother dead? "No," he almost said. He would not have liked to nod his head
to that. And yet, here he was among the October days, and it had been early
May when he left her. How many funeral processions he had passed on the
streets since, and he had had no word from his mother. Down in the pasture
meadow one day his father had said to him, "Don't plough that bit up; I've
never made up my mind to it. In spite of me, it looks as if it was meant for a
kind of family burying-ground." There was a great tree there and a grassy
hillside, and a small clear stream purled along very near. How did he know but
a grave had been dug on that hillside since he went away? His heart gave a
few sudden thuds, and then for a minute almost seemed to stop beating.
Could it be possible that John Morgan really loved his mother! He was eating
his breakfast now—a good breakfast it was, and the trim old lady talked on.
"Well, there are a good many homeless people in the world. It must be hard;
but then, you know, the Master himself gave up his home, and had not where
to lay his head—did it for our sakes too. Wasn't that strange? Seems to me I
couldn't give up my home. But he made a home by it for every one of us. I
hope you've looked after the title to yours, young man."
No answer from John. The old lady sighed, and said to herself, as she trotted
away for a biscuit for him,—
"He doesn't understand, poor fellow. I suppose he never has had any good
thoughts put into his mind. Dear me! I wish I could do something for him
besides feeding his poor, perishing body."
But John did understand perfectly. What was the matter with all the people this
morning? Why were they so persistently forcing that subject at him? He had
been wandering almost six months, and had never met so many
straightforward words concerning it in all the months as he had this morning.
Is not it possible, John Morgan, that God's watching Spirit knows when to
reach even your heart? The little old lady trotted back, a plate of biscuits in
one hand and a little card in the other.
"Put these biscuits in your pocket; maybe they'll come good when you are
hungry again. And here is a little card; you can read, I suppose?"
The faintest suspicion of a smile gleamed in John Morgan's eyes as he

nodded assent.
"Well, then, you read it once in a while just to please me. Those are true
words on it; and Jesus is here yet trying to save, just the same as he always
was. He wants to save you, young man, and you had better let him do it now.
If I were you I wouldn't wait another day."
As he tramped down the street, his inner man so wonderfully refreshed by the
good coffee and bread and butter, he could not help looking at the card,
which, also, after that breakfast, he could not help taking, although he wanted
to put it into the cheery fire. It was a simple enough card, and printed on it in
plain letters were these words, "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Then
underneath, "I am the bread of life. He that believeth on me shall never
hunger." Still lower on the card, in ornamented letters, the words, "The Master
is come, and calleth for thee." Then a hand pointing to an italicized line, "I that
speak unto thee am he."
"Queer mess that," said John, and he thrust the card into his pocket and
strode toward the village depot. He meant to board the next train and get a
little farther into the country, and continue his search for work. The train
arrived, and he succeeded in slipping into it. But it was hardly fairly under way
when he discovered that he had miscalculated, and was being borne back
toward the great city, instead of farther into the country.
"I don't care," he said. "I don't know what I want of the country. On the whole, I
may as well try my chances in the city. I'll go up Greenwich Street and try my
luck in the warehouses. I can roll boxes about now since I've had another
breakfast."
But the train presently switched off and ran into another station, into another
part of the city, wherein John was as total a stranger as though he had just
dropped from the clouds.
"Where on earth am I?" he said bewildered, swinging himself down from the
top of the car and looking around. "Just my luck. I'm nowhere. East, west,
north, south,—which way shall I go? I'll go north. Which is north? Or no, I
won't; it's coming winter. I guess I'll go south, and walk as long as it looks
interesting, and see where I'll bring up. What difference does it make which
way I go?"
All the difference in the world, John Morgan. It is a link in the chain which is
narrowing around you. It is one of the apparently trivial movements which will
have its silent, unnoticed, unthought-of part in helping you to decide which
way you will go during all your future, and at what station you will finally land.
CHAPTER XXII.
CORDS UNSEEN.
THE morning service was just over in the great church on Lexington Avenue.
A large company of men and women lingered in the broad aisles, shaking
hands with each other, saying a word here and there in subdued happy tones.
A looker-on, who was familiar with religious meetings, and who yet had not
been present at this one, would have known by the atmosphere lingering in
the church that the worshippers had been having a happy time. They were
loath to leave; they gathered in little knots, at convenient standing-places, and
discussed the events of the hour and the prospects of the evening. Large
numbers of the ladies had packages of white cards in their hands—not unlike
calling-cards in size and texture, and quite as carefully written on as ever
calling-cards were. The handwriting was peculiar—delicate, gracefully
rounded letters, skilful flourishes. Somebody had considered the work
important, and had bestowed time and skill.
"Estelle dear, won't you go forward and get some of the cards? I see very few
here who will go up Fairmount Street, and you may be able to reach some
who will be otherwise neglected."
So spoke one of the lingerers, a fair-faced woman, with silver-tinted hair, to a

very graceful young woman, who was evidently her daughter, and who
evidently lingered, not so much from personal interest in the scene as
because her mother did. She turned full, wondering, and yet deprecating eyes
on her mother at the question.
"O mamma! I cannot offer those cards to people. I am not one of the workers,
you know; it isn't expected of me. You have some, and that will be sufficient
for our family."
"I am not going up Fairmount Street," the mother answered quietly. "I have
only enough cards to meet my own opportunities, daughter. If Louise were
here, dear, can't you think how she would scatter those little white
messengers?"
"Louise is good, mamma, and I am not, you know; you mustn't expect me to
be Louise. I can no more take her place in that way than I can in a hundred
others."
"Oh yes, you can, my child; it doesn't require any special skill to hand a card
of invitation to a passer-by, or even to speak a word of encouragement to the
half persuaded."
"But, mamma, how would it look for me to invite people to the meetings? I am
not one of the church members. It wouldn't be very consistent, I think."
The mother's eyes were sorrowful and questioning as they rested on the face
of her fair young daughter. She seemed not to know just what would be well to
answer to this. At last she said,—
"Estelle dear, even though you refuse Christ yourself, don't you wish that
many others might come to him? Poor, sad hearts who have not your
opportunities, nor know the way as you do—shouldn't they have their chance
to choose, and aren't you willing to extend the invitation?"
The young girl's cheeks flushed a deeper pink, and her eyes drooped, but she
answered steadily,—
"Certainly I am, mamma."
Then she went forward and received from the pastor a package of the
beautiful cards, turning them over curiously in her hand, wondering much how
it would seem to pass them out to people, and whether the cards would be
accepted or refused.
Simple little cards they were; nothing pretentious or formidable about them;
just an announcement of daily religious services, giving the hours of meetings
and the name of the preacher; then, on the reverse side, in the most exquisite
penmanship, this simple quotation, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee."
Estelle read it, and the glow on her cheeks did not lessen. There was certainly
something very solemn in the suggestion. Estelle could hardly help giving a
moment's attention to the inquiry whether the Master really were calling for
her. Could she have brought her heart to the point of believing that such was
the case, it would have been well with Estelle, for she could not have said the
Master nay. The sin in her case was that she would not study the subject long
enough to be able to believe that she was personally included in the call.
Nevertheless she went her way up Fairmount Street on her unusual errand, a
little touch of vexation in her face over the thought that Louise would have
done all this so well, and would so have delighted in it, while she must
bunglingly try to supply her place. It was about this time that John Morgan
turned into Fairmount Street, much wondering where he was and what he
could be expected to do next.
"Will you have a card, please?" And a vision of loveliness fell on his
astonished gaze, and a delicately-gloved hand was stretched forth with the
fair bit of pasteboard. "It is just an invitation to the meetings; we hope you will
come." And still the card was outstretched, and still John stood and stared.
What was there about that face and voice that seemed familiar to him as one
whom he had met in a dream or in the far-away unreality of some other
existence? It bewildered him to the extent that he forgot either to decline or
accept the card, but stood looking and wondering. Estelle felt the importance
of saying something further to this silent starer. "They have very good singing,
and great crowds come every evening. I think you will like it. Will you take the
card?"
Thus petitioned, John, roused from his bewilderment, put forth his hand for the
proffered card, because for the moment he could not decide what else to do.
Then Estelle, her mission accomplished and her embarrassment great, flitted
away from him around the corner. "What a strange-acting fellow!" was her
comment. "How he did stare! One would suppose he had never seen a lady
before. Dear me! He looks as though he needed a friend. Somehow I can't
help feeling sorry for him. I really hope he will go to the meeting; but of course
he won't." And Estelle Barrows actually realized that for such a dreary,
friendless-looking person as he the love of Christ would be a great
transformation. She did not mean that she, Estelle Barrows, in her beauty and
purity, surrounded by the safeguards of her high position, had no need of
Christ; neither did she realize that this was the logical conclusion of her
reasoning.
"What in the name of common sense has got into all the people to-day? They
are running wild on cards." This was John Morgan's comment. He was
ashamed and vexed to think he had so forgotten his sullenness and
indifference as to stare at the fair young face. He read the card carefully, more
to get away from his present thoughts than from any interest in it; but the
verse on the reverse side held his attention for a few minutes, from the fact
that the words were the very same as those on the card given him by the old
lady who had supplied his breakfast. It struck him as a strange coincidence.
Presently he thrust the bit of pasteboard into his pocket, and dismissed the
incident from his mind.
Not again did it recur to him until he was passing, during that same evening, a
brightly-lighted building, from whence there issued sounds of music.
Something in the strains recalled, he knew not how or why, the incident of the
morning and the card of invitation. "I wonder if this is the place?" he queried.
"It would be rather queer if I had blundered on the very building, without the
least notion of doing any such thing." He paused before the door, listening to
the roll of the organ as it sounded on the quiet air. "That organ doesn't squeak,
anyhow," he said grimly, recalling the organ scene in the old church at home,
and Louise's pleasure in its improved condition after he had taken hold of it.
Thoughts of her suggested the card again, and he brought it forth from his
pocket, and by the light of a friendly lamp compared the name on the card
with the name on the building before him. Yes, they agreed; chance or
Providence, according as you are accustomed to view these matters, had led
him to the very spot. Still he had no intention of going in. "Pretty-looking object
I am to go to church," he said, surveying himself critically, something between
a smile and a sneer on his face. "I would create a sensation, I fancy. I wonder
if the bit of silk and lace that gave me the card is in there? And I wonder if she
expects to see me? And I wonder where I have seen her before, and why her
face haunts me?"
The organ had been silent for some minutes; now it rolled forth its notes
again, and voices, that to John seemed of unearthly sweetness, rang out on
the quiet:—
"Come home! Come home! You are weary at heart;

And the way has been long,
And so lonely and wild!
Oh, prodigal child, come home! Oh, come home!"
Was John Morgan homesick? He would have scorned the thought. Yet at the
sound of these tender words a strange choking sensation came over him, and
something very like a mist filled his eyes. He felt, rather than realized, how
long and lonely and wild the way had been; still he had no intention of going
in. He would step nearer and listen to that music; those voices were unlike
anything he had ever heard before. He drew nearer under the light of the hall
lamp. He could see into the church. The doors stood invitingly open; the aisles
even were full. Some were standing, not well-dressed people all of them, by
any means; but some were so roughly clad that even he would not attract
attention by the contrast. A young man, well-dressed, with an open hymn-
book in his hand, stood by the door, almost in the hall. He turned suddenly,
and his eyes rested on John; he beckoned him forward, then stepped toward
him.
"Come right in, my friend; we can find standing-room for you, and the sermon
is just about to commence."
"I'm not dressed for such places," said John, imagining that he spoke firmly.
"Oh, never mind the dress; that is not of the least consequence; there are
plenty of men in here in their rough working-clothes. Come right in."
"Come home, come home," sang out the wonderful voices. And John Morgan,
still with no intention of going in, yet impelled by a force which he no more
understood than he understood his own soul, stepped forward and followed
the young man into the crowded church. The singing ceased, and the minister
arose and immediately announced his text, "Friend, how camest thou in hither,
not having on a wedding garment?"
The sentence was spoken so like a personal question that John looked about
him, startled. Could it be possible that the man was addressing him—actually
referring to his uncouth dress? This only for an instant; then he discovered
that no one was paying the least attention to him, and that his dress, rough
enough, was not worse than that of some by whom he was surrounded. But
the preacher's manner was so new and strange, so unlike anything that John
Morgan had ever met before, that, despite his own half-formed determination
to get out of this, he stayed, and looked, and listened.
If I could I would tell you about that sermon; but sermons on paper, reported
by a second party, are so very different from the words that come burning hot
from the heart of the preacher, that on second thought I have deemed it
unwise to make the attempt.
To John Morgan the entire service was like a revelation of mysteries. That
which had seemed to him bewildering and contradictory, and finally actually
exasperating in the plan of salvation, was made as clear as the sunlight, and
one by one his own daring subterfuges were swept from him, so that before
the sermon closed he felt that he indeed stood unclothed and speechless
before the King. What next? Where should he go now? Whither flee? Was he
not sufficiently wretched before? Had he need to feel these truths in order to
make his condition less endurable?
The sermon closed, the few words of solemn prayer followed, and the choir
took up the service. Strangely clear, at least to John's ears, were the voices

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IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL FIND:

TERM PAGE TERM PAGE

7-1 Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern 111

Using the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern

Channel Choice and Commitment to Tact

Use of the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

Exceptions to the Inductive Approach

Developing a Bad-News Message

Writing the Introductory Paragraph

Writing the Bad-News Statement

Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining” Idea

Types of Bad News Messages

Maintaining Goodwill and Customer Loyalty

Resale Material while Building Goodwill and Loyalty

Delivering Constructive Criticism

Communicating Negative Organizational News

1. Appropriateness of the Inductive Outline: In pairs, describe either a personal or business-

2. De-emphasizing Negative Ideas: Prepare a list of techniques for de-emphasizing a refusal.

3. Determining Appropriate Sequence of Ideas: Deductive or Inductive: Identify whether each

a. We cannot accept an application sent after May 9.

We gladly accept all applications submitted through May 9.

b. Employees cannot smoke in the building.

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS

A counterproposal is an alternative to the action requested. It is an expression of empathy and

6. Discuss the legal implications involved in writing credit refusals.

7. What elements make criticism “constructive”?

8. Why is the effective handling of negative information of such importance to a company?

1. Communication Success Stories: Conduct an electronic search to locate an article that

4. Critique of Bad-News Messages Produced by Real Companies: Locate an example of both a

Each group’s script should follow the deductive outline (follows).

Student responses will vary but should follow these guidelines:

Employees have requested the construction of a video/computer lounge where employees

Subject: No Employee Video/Computer Lounge

Subject: No Employee Video/Computer Lounge

Josie, in response to your idea, I have submitted a request to management that we

Student responses will vary, but a sample outline appears below:

I. Start the conversation with a neutral or positive opening.

Responses will vary but should follow these guidelines:

V. Neutral opening to start conversation

• Anonymous remailers: A completely anonymous remailer, or chain remailer, sends mail

"Mine is an unchanging love;

Mrs. Morgan heard it—heard the tune; caught no words—wanted to hear

What was the trouble with Mother Morgan?

"I declare, for once this is clean!"

Once she ventured on a gift in the shape of a nicely-bound Bible, containing

"But where are you going?" pleaded the mother.

And then, without another word or a glance at his mother or a pretence at

And Dorothy, half-startled, had answered: "O Louise, I don't mean to be

No plans as to where he should go or what he should do had taken shape;

Therefore, as he turned his back on the familiar barns and long-stretching

John shook his head.

The faintest suspicion of a smile gleamed in John Morgan's eyes as he

So spoke one of the lingerers, a fair-faced woman, with silver-tinted hair, to a

"Certainly I am, mamma."

"Come home! Come home! You are weary at heart;

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