Assignment: GEB 3213: Negative Business Message
Assignment Scenario: You are the administrative assistant to the owner of a successful start-up company. Make up the name and address of your company, the name of the owner, and the name and address of the mayor to whom you are writing.
Because of the decline in community involvement during the last 2 years of the pandemic, your company’s owner is excited about engaging in a philanthropic project. The company wantsto connect with the community by giving back to it in some way, but the owner hasn’t decided exactly what to do. Meanwhile, word has gotten out about what the owner is planning, so the city’s mayor has contacted the owner; the mayor sees an opportunity to improve the negative opinions of the public toward the mayor’s office during the COVID crisis.
The mayor is suggesting the city partner with your company toset up a local competition among various charities in the city to receive your company’s volunteer contributions or financial support. The mayor is offering to contribute the city’s resources to assist you in setting up the competition, match your support, and help decide on the winner. The city and your company would co-host a well-publicized event to announce the winner.
Your company’s owner is tempted by access to the city’s extensive resources and by the publicity the company would receive. However, the owner sees potentially major downsides in putting your company’s project within the public, political arena and wants to make an independent, private decision on what would be best for the community and your company.
Therefore, the owner asks you to write a letter to turn down the mayor’s offer in such a way that the company maintains the goodwill of the mayor and the city. As a start-up company, you need the city’s support in the future.
Content: Review the assigned negative-message readings in Week 2 module for ideas on how to structure the letter. You must decide how much to say and how to say it; you do not have to disclose your complete reasoning process as long aswhat you say does not distort the truth. It is a fine balance. In fact, you do not want to tell the mayor everything you’re thinking.
Read the scenario carefully and use purpose, audience analysis, and your critical thinking skills to determine whatshould be included. Provide explanation/reasons for not accepting the city’s offer of a partnership; be clear, be respectful, be ethical, and be fair. Additionally, think carefully about how you say it—phrasing and organization—to maintain goodwill.
Organization: The letter should follow the indirectorganizational structure.
(1) Bond
(2)
Notice how this organizational structurecorresponds to the indirect, 4Bs structure presented in Ch. 10 Section 5.
Bridge
(3) Bad news
(4) Build
Length: No more than 1 complete, single-spaced page, in Calibri or Times New Roman, Font Size 12, with 3-4 paragraphs.
Format: Since this message is somewhat formal, to an external audience, and without time constraints, you are sending a letter. Use a letterhead, follow the complete letter format with proper address and signature block, and consider ways to make format user friendly. Make up the mayor’s name and address. Use company name with letterhead/logo/address and your name for signing the letter as Executive Assistant to the Owner.
See format example on the Assignment page.
Mechanics: Remember to carefully review and revise your document for appropriate word choices and correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Important Note: Read these instructions carefully; following them will be essential for doing well on this assignment.
Use the Rubric in the Assignment to double check that you have followed the assignment for the best possible grade.
Save & submit:
• Save letter as a Word file
• Submit to BOTH Turn-it-in for similarity index and to Assignment Dropbox for grading.
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