Positive Message

Choose one scenario from the list below and write an appropriate message. Depending on your audience, your message might be in the form of a letter, or it might be a memo – you decide. It is expected that you will make up the details in each case.

1. Most people have heard of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards for television, music, movies, and theater performances, but fewer know what the Webby award is all about. Sponsored by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the Webbys shine a spotlight on the best in website design, interactive media, and online film and video.

Your Task: Visit www.webbyawards.com, click on Winners, and choose one of the companies listed a winner in the Web or Advertising & Media categories. Now imagine you are the chief online strategist for this company and you’ve just been informed your company won a Webby. Winning this award is a nice validation of the work your team has put in during the last year, and you want to share their success with the entire company. Write an appropriate message to all company employees describing what the Webby awards are, explaining why they are a significant measure of accomplishment in the online industry, and congratulating the employees in your department who contributed to the successful web effort.

2. Most of the workers in your office are salaried, so they do not receive overtime pay when they work after 5 pm. However, the Executive Committee last week decided to institute a policy of compensatory time off. Under this policy, if someone works two or more hours more than the basic 40-hour workweek, he or she can take off the same number of hours on another day while still being paid the full rate.

The employee’s supervisor must approve the time chosen for compensatory time off; an employee cannot take time off if he or she is needed for an important project. This policy is effective starting the first full week of the next month. It is not retroactive; that is, people will not receive compensatory time off for additional hours they may have already worked.

Your task: Write a message to all employees announcing the policy.

Audience: These problems all have specific audiences. Write with those persons (and roles) in mind. (The audience given should make it clear whether you write a letter or a memo.) Your audience’s name will appear in the memo header or letter salutation/address. Make up whatever details are necessary.

Grading criteria: All grading criteria/aspects of communication matter – except channel choice. Serious problems with language use can have a greater impact on your grade. Self-presentation and task/context are not as important as the others.