Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 1
CHAPTER 5 SOLUTIONS
Writing Improvement Exercises
Message Openers and Subject Lines (Obj. 1)
16. b
Subject line: Requesting Information About Online Surveys Using MySurvey
Bulleted and Numbered Lists (Obj. 1)
20. In interviewing for a job, you will be more successful if you follow a few basic guidelines:
• Before the interview: Research the target company, prepare success stories, and clean up
any digital dirt.
21. Winning the lottery can bring a colossal chunk of income. But predatory people are waiting
to descend on you. To be able to live comfortably for many years to come, you should take
precautionary steps, such as the following, to keep your sanity and your cash.
• Remain anonymous. Once the word is out, you’ll be hounded by long-lost friends and
relatives, all seeking to share the loot.
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 2
5.1 Radical Rewrite
Informational E-Mail—Lining Up “Lunch and Learn” Talks
To: Camille Chavez <c.chavez@firstfederal.com>
From: Kennedy Freed <k.freed@firstfederal.com>
Subject: Please Send Messages to Confirm “Lunch and Learn” Talks
Cc:
Bcc:
Please send e-mails to the following people to confirm their topics and appearance dates for our
“Lunch and Learn” sessions. We’ve lined up these speakers from 12 to 1 on the dates shown.
Each speaker should talk for about 30 minutes with 10 to 20 minutes left for questions and
answers.
Date Name Topic
If the speaker wants to change his or her topic or needs to reschedule, ask that person to call my
cell at 213.348.4421. Because we need to print the listings by September 1, please give this your
immediate attention. Thanks for helping to make this program so successful.
Kennedy Freed
[Full contact information]
Weaknesses
a. Lacks a subject line that identifies the major idea of the message.
b. Fails to open directly by telling Camille what she is to do.
Writing Plan
Subject line: Summarize the main idea immediately and clearly.
Opening: Expand the subject line by stating the main idea concisely in a full sentence.
Body: Organize related information into paragraphs that explain the main idea. If
possible, list related information in parallel form.
Closing: Request a specific action with an end date and a reason.
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 3
5.2 Radical Rewrite
Informational E-Mail—Web Conferencing Made Simple
Weaknesses
a. Fails to include a meaningful subject line that summarizes the main idea.
b. Should have used “Dear Ms. Cruz” or, if the sender knows the receiver well, “Dear
Christina.” Use full names only when the recipient’s gender is not obvious.
Revision
To: Christina Cruz <ccruz@sagepublications.com>
From: Jeremy Harper <jeremy.harper@pcs.com>
Subject: Sending Tips for Your Web Conferencing Article
Dear Ms. Cruz:
I appreciate this opportunity to contribute to the article that you are preparing about Web
conferencing for Networking Voices.
Web meetings have become quite popular as an alternative to in-person meetings. You asked me
to provide brief advice for Web conferencing. Therefore, here are five concise tips that your
readers will find helpful:
• Plan ahead. Before the conference, notify all participants of the date, time, and duration of
the conference. Provide log-ins, passwords, and necessary printed documents by e-mail.
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 4
5.3 Radical Rewrite
Informational Memo—Lost in the Cloud
Weaknesses
a. Fails to provide a meaningful subject line.
b. Does not begin with a statement explaining why she is writing.
Revision
Date: Current date
To: Mason Razipour, CEO
From: Alexandra Amato, Product Manager
Subject: Report From Cloud Computing Workshop
As you requested, here is a short report of The Promise of Cloud Computing workshop that I
attended on July 8.
Lisa Moritz, the workshop leader, explained that the big workplace problem today is dispersed
employees using various incompatible devices. Software and file storage must be accessible
anywhere, anytime, rather than situated in one place. Cloud computing offers three main
benefits:
If you would like to hear more details or if you want me to make this presentation at the August
management council meeting, please call or write me immediately so that I have time to prepare.
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 5
Activities and Cases
5.4 Instant Messaging Mess at Auto Dealership
Dealer rep: Hello, I’m Mark. Welcome to Fields BMW South Orlando! How can I help
you?
Customer: ??
Dealer rep: I am here to help you online. Do you have any specific questions?
Customer: I want buy car.
Customer: ?
Dealer rep: We offer a full lineup for you, the 3, 5, 6, or 7 series. Or are you interested in an
X3 or X5? A Z4 convertible?
Customer: BMW i ActiveE?
Dealer rep: We would have to order this vehicle for you. However, right now we can offer
you two brand new 550i’s, one for $70,895 and one for $75,020.
5.5 E-Mail Simulation: Writeaway Hotels
The Writeaway simulation encourages students to practice managing and writing e-mail
messages. Designed as an in-class activity, the simulation works best for 12 to 25 students, each
playing a role within the fictitious company, Writeaway Hotels. Within 30 minutes in a computer
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 6
5.6 Informational E-Mail: What Exactly Is Business Attire?
To: Elizabeth Sommer <esommer@diago.com>
From: Your Name <your e-mail address>
Subject: Your Request for Response to President Rebol’s Inquiry Regarding
Casual Dress
Cc: [Other team members’ names and e-mail addresses]
Bcc:
At your direction, our team of interns consulted literature and discussed the casual-dress
policy questions posed by President Rebol. Here are our responses to the first five questions
in his e-mail request.
Acceptable Wear for Women on Casual-Dress Days. After reading a number of articles
and discussing the matter among ourselves, we concluded that acceptable wear for women
Acceptable Wear for Men on Casual-Dress Days. For men, business casual means khakis,
chinos, or gabardine trousers and a collared shirt, either polo-style or button-down. Ties are
Restrictions on Body Art and Piercing. We believe that body art and piercing should not be
visible. Tattoos covered by clothing are not a problem. In regard to body piercing, we believe
Supervisors Reacting to Inappropriate Clothing. If an employee comes to work in
offensive, tasteless, revealing, or sloppy clothing, we believe that a supervisor has the right to
Definitions of Casual Attire. Although it is difficult to define “casual attire,” we believe that
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Dress Code. Proponents of business casual dress say
that it may improve communication by erasing differences between those who can afford an
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 7
and therefore represent a saving for employees. As a result, a casual-dress policy is an
inexpensive “perk” for companies to offer.
5.7 How Professional Are Your Instant Messaging Skills?
This activity can also be accomplished with the help of Blackboard’s chat function, but Yahoo, Skype and
the other IM tools are often more versatile and sophisticated or have a more pleasant interface. It’s
important that all students download the same client because not all of the software is designed to work
together. Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger are compatible, however. Once students install the
software on their computers, distribute their tasks. Various options are possible. For example, two or three
students could role-play while the rest of the class is logged in and watching, IM dialogue could be
projected to a screen, or students could take turns responding to hypothetical business situations.
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 8
5.8 Checking Out a Podcast
E-mail responses to this assignment would enable students to respond to the assignment more
fully and in greater detail. However, practicing professional texting or tweeting by making the
messages very concise yet informative is also a valuable skill. Summarizing is often not
students’ strong suit, and this activity may provide playful practice.
If you are understandably reluctant to give away your cell phone number, create a Google Voice
account, which will provide you with a phone number you can give out and access online or forward
to your home phone or cell phone without disclosing your phone number. If you don’t like
forwarding, Google Voice can also be set up to send you text or e-mail messages alerting you to a
voice mail message left on the Google Voice website.
Examples of tweets or brief text messages:
(Summary of Money Girl, who is discussing the advantages of turning one’s hobby into a
business; using your favorite browser, search for Money Girl: How to Turn a Hobby Into a
Business for more information.)
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 9
5.9 Creating a Simple Business Podcast
Answers will vary. Consider helping students select business topics and prepare brief scripts.
Some of these steps could be done in class in small groups or as a peer editing exercise. Students
5.10 Blogging: Learning From the Best
Answers will vary. As an alternative to a blog entry, students could be asked to analyze in a
5.11 Composing a Personal Blog Entry
This assignment is purposely limited to a recent survey or study to ensure academic honesty and
discourage copying from the Web. The added benefit is that the students will become acquainted
5.12 Reviewing Corporate Blogs
This assignment allows for a variety of activities. Students could be asked to evaluate a blog
verbally or in writing—in memo form, by e-mail, or as a blog entry. Additionally, Facebook,
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 10
5.13 Monitoring Twitter Chatter and Facebook Posts
Ask students to obtain a Twitter account if they don’t already have one. They may not because
the latest user statistics by Business Insider indicate that only one in ten teenagers and young
adults uses Twitter daily, presumably because they are not interested in news, a Twitter staple;
5.14 The Dark Side: Hooked on Social Media?
Answers will vary, but most students will probably agree that they would consider it a hardship
to relinquish their cell phones even for a day. In the Maryland study, students felt that giving up
Solutions – Chapter 5 ⚫ 11
5.15 Creating Fair Digital Media Policies
Many employers resign themselves to the fact that employees will spend a certain amount of
time during the workday online shopping and visiting social media sites. Some have accepted
that workers goof off approximately one hour a day. Although they understandably dislike this
Arguments for allowing personal use of social media on the job:
Depending on the job, workers take their work home and on the road. Asking them to stay away
from the Internet at the office while also requiring them to work long hours away from the office
seems unreasonable. Even at the office, monitoring traffic to websites, chatting, texting,
Facebook visits, and e-mail has gotten harder with the rise of mobile devices. When workers rely
Arguments against allowing personal use of social media on the job:
Recreational activities, as well as unintentional yet careless miscues, can gobble up precious
network resources and waste valuable work time. Even more important is concern over lawsuits