Deck 8: Writing Bad-News Messages

Question 1

How are American business letters different from those written in other countries? Why do you suppose this is so?

Answer 1

Difference between American business letters and other countries :
Depending on where the international business letters are from, American business letters tend to differ in:
• Organization
• Tone
• Format.
This is because of prevailing cultural norms. Business communications, as is all other aspects of life, is affected and shaped by cultural beliefs and practices. For example, French correspondents would consider it rude to begin a letter with a request before it is explained, while American letters would consider it aggravating to have such a lengthy lead into the main idea.

Question 2

In each chapter you will find five discussion questions related to the chapter material. Your instructor may assign these topics for you to discuss in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. Some of the discussion topics may require outside research. You may also be asked to read and respond to postings made by your classmates.
Describe an occasion when you should have written a goodwill message but failed to do so. Why was it difficult to write that message? What would make it easier for you to do so?

Answer 2

There is several times where people forget to write thank you notes in appreciation of acts of kindness or gifts received. The reason for this is twofold :
1. People view thank you notes as acts of the past, and not instep with today's " thank you text" or " thank you email."
2. Many people do not even have each other's mailing address; they simply have an instant messaging I.D. or a social network connection. This makes all the more difficult to write and send thank you notes.
However, there is no excuse for poor manners, and if that kindness is desired again, it's better to take the time to write an appreciative note.

Question 3

What are the most emphatic positions in a message, and what goes there?

Answer 3

When writing messages that request information or action, and there is a strong possibility that the message will be well received, then start with the main idea first. The most emphatic positions in a message are the opening and the closing. Readers tend to see them first.
Therefore, the writer should capitalize on this and put the most significant statement first. There should be no explaining or justification here, just a question or a polite command.

Question 4

Ethical Issue: Assume that you have drafted a letter to a customer in which you apologize for the way the customer's account was fouled up by the Accounting Department. You show the letter to your boss, and she instructs you to remove the apology. It admits responsibility, she says, and the company cannot allow itself to be held liable. You are not an attorney, but you can't see the harm in a simple apology. What should you do? Refer to the section "Tools for Doing the Right Thing" in Chapter 1 to review the five questions you might ask yourself in trying to do the right thing.

Question 5

What should you include in the closing of a request message?

Question 6

In each chapter you will find five discussion questions related to the chapter material. Your instructor may assign these topics for you to discuss in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. Some of the discussion topics may require outside research. You may also be asked to read and respond to postings made by your classmates.
In preparing to write a message, you learned that you should ask yourself (a) whether a written message is necessary, (b) what your goal is in writing, (c) how the reader might react, (d) what the best channel is, and (e) how you can write the message in a way that saves the reader time. Which of these questions do you feel is most important, and why?

Question 7

How should instructions be written? Give a brief original example.

Question 8

Into what three content categories can most business messages be organized? What group will make up the bulk of your messages?

Question 9

What is the imperative mood, and why is it important to use it in writing instructions?

Question 10

Are the writing skills that are required for sending business e-mails and text messages different from those required for writing interoffice memos and business letters? Explain.

Question 11

What is a claim? When should it be straightforward?

Question 12

In each chapter you will find five discussion questions related to the chapter material. Your instructor may assign these topics for you to discuss in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. Some of the discussion topics may require outside research. You may also be asked to read and respond to postings made by your classmates.
Describe a time when you or someone you know wrote a letter that was successful in its purpose, such as gaining a refund, changing a decision, or achieving something that the reader might have opposed. Was another form of communication, such as a phone call, tried first? Why do think the letter was successful?

Question 13

Why should a direct claim be made by letter rather than by e-mail or a telephone call?

Question 14

How can you save the reader's time and make your business message easy to comprehend at a glance?

Question 15

What is an adjustment message?

Question 16

In promoting the value of letter writing, a well-known columnist recently wrote, "To trust confidential information to e-mail is to be a rube." What did he mean? Do you agree?

Question 17

What are a writer's three goals in composing adjustment messages?

Question 18

In each chapter you will find five discussion questions related to the chapter material. Your instructor may assign these topics for you to discuss in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. Some of the discussion topics may require outside research. You may also be asked to read and respond to postings made by your classmates.
When responding favorably to a request that you are not thrilled to grant, why is it important in business to nevertheless sound gracious or even agreeable?

Question 19

What are five characteristics of goodwill messages?

Question 20

What kinds of messages are sent as are interoffice memos?

Question 21

What are four groups of people to whom business communicators might write letters of appreciation?

Question 22

Why is it important to regain the confidence of a customer in an adjustment message? How can it be done?

Question 23

What are three elements of business letters going abroad that might be modified to accommodate readers from other cultures?

Question 24

In each chapter you will find five discussion questions related to the chapter material. Your instructor may assign these topics for you to discuss in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. Some of the discussion topics may require outside research. You may also be asked to read and respond to postings made by your classmates.
Conduct research regarding costly mistakes that resulted from unclear instructions. What is the most costly mistake you discovered?

Question 25

When is it important to send a business letter rather than an e-mail?