‘WSa 2013 Alternative Outline for Responding to a Problem 1. Introduce the problem ‘© Express goodwill Emphasizing the concept of teamwork/commen ground ‘* Make transition to problem, either directly: “Recently, however, our record of success has been compromised by...” with a linking sentence: “Currently, we are facing a situation which once again calls for us to work as a team...” + Identify the problem at the very end of the paragraph 2. Dramatize the impact of the problem © Start with a positive/neutral statement: “In order for [a pos outcome], we need...” ‘+ Dramatize consequences of the problem specifically “When [what we need] does not happen...” * Summarize effects of those consequenc “Our accountants estimate that [the problem] costs...” Conclude with a call for action (but don’t say what that action will be): “It is clear that we need to respond to this situation by taking action.” + -auee the solution ~lution at the beginning of the paragraph solution will work* In that description (or directly after it), tell how the solution will solve the problem: “Currently, X is happening, but when we implement [the solution}, Y will happen.” * Conclude the paragraph with the positive claim that the solution will improve the situation. NB: The description of the solution is like the paragraph claiming benefits in the previous outline. It should be the most detailed section of your message. 4. Analyze the merits of the solution. «Explain why it is superior to other solutions Start with a transition sentence: “Not only will the solution be effective, but it is the only solution available.” Very briefly, list options that have already been tried and have not worked or solutions which are not feasible * Offer a positive exemple of the proposed solution having worked elsewhere This allows the paragraph to end on a positive note + End with an appropriate conclusion: “We ean realize the same benefit here at...” 5. Disclose the cost of the solution + Interms of money, time, the people required to accomplish the solution Justify the expenditure* Conclude with goodwill Pethaps one sentence looking forward, in the short term, to getting the solution off the ground ‘And one sentence looking forward, in the long term, to the future success of the company/organization,Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are the accounts manager at National Insurance, a home and car insurance company. You supervise the work of twenty insurance agents. Each agent is responsible for maintaining expense accounts, which they must submit to the comptroller, Mark Poole, by the 25" of each month. During the last year, these reports have frequently not been turned in on time, and some have been inaccurate, which means the comptroller has to contact agents to clear up specific problems. The first time you heard about this situation, you noted the need for better performance in this regard in the company newsletter, The Safety Net. Last week, though, you got a phone call from the comptroller, who yelled for twenty minutes about agents turning in their reports late and about inaccuracies. Mark complained angrily that all the directions for accurate completion of the reports are in the company’s manual, Protocols for National Insurance Agents. He can’t understand why the expense account reports are not getting completed efficiently. ‘Write a memo to the twenty agents persuading them of the need to complete the reports accurately and promptly. OR: Write a memo persuading Mark (the comptroller) that the seports are being completed as efficiently as possible, and that delays arc an incvitable part of the process. ‘You may assume any needed information, Consider the pros and cons of ‘your request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. ‘Caution: your memo should analyze rather than simply restate the prompt.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem Sheila Starwood is President of WonderPast Publishing, a company that publishes children’s history books. Because WonderPast is a small company, it contracts out the printing of the books it publishes to several printers in-the area. In the last several years, WonderPast’s profits have declined significantly. When you were hired as WonderPast’s new general manager six months ago, Sheila informed you that cutbacks to your staff would be made, and you accepted the job with a realistic idea of the challenges you would face, at least in the short term. ‘When you were hired, there were six designers, four researchers, an office manager, and an assistant manager. Since then, Sheila has eliminated one freelance designer, one of the two researchers, and the assistant manager. Additionally, the central office budget was cut so that Sheila could increase the freelance budget by twenty per cent. Freelance writers are hired for specific projects, and do not receive health benefits or vacation, so they are cheaper to employ than permanent employees. The result, in any case, is that there is no money for overtime pay for workers who put in extra time at the central office. Even more troubling, the morale of your permanent employees has deteriorated significantly. They express their discontent openly and repeatedly. The rate of absenteeism has increased, and editing schedules have not been met. Just last week, WonderPast missed an important deadline which delayed one of the publications expected to serve as the centerpiece of this year’s offerings. You believe this situation can be improved by enhancing communication between the President of the company and employees. ‘Perform one of the following tasks: 1, Write a letter to Sheila about the current situation to enhance her understanding of the challenges faced by the employees; 2. Write a letter to the employees to enhance their understanding of the challenges faced by the company. ‘You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the problem.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are the chief purchasing agent of audio equipment for Good Guys, a west coast chain of electronics retailers which specializes in mid-priced audio and video equipment. The chain has been making adequate profits in most of its retail sales divisions. In the audio equipment division, though, there has been a steep decline in sales over the last three years, Bob Hughes, the CEO of Good Guys, has made'it clear that he believes that this decline is inevitable as consumers spend an increasing proportion of their discretionary dollars on video rather than audio equipment, He believes that the audio equipment division should be allowed to decline until it reaches the point where it will either be discontinued or drastically reduced in your stores You believe that the decline in sales has been caused by a public misperception of the quality of audio equipment offered by Good Guys. You believe that, because Good Guys has positioned itself as a mid-priced retailer, the public has come to believe that the audio merchandise it offers is of low quality. Further, you feel sure that consumers’ lack of belief in the quality of Good Guys” audio equipment will eventually be generalized to all of Good Guys’ products, even the cones that are currently selling well, You feel that the solution to this problem is to offer a few lines of audio merchandise that are recognized as top-quality.-While these lines of merchandise will be considerably more expensive than what Good Guys now offers, you believe that just offering and advertising these prestigious brand names will restore consumer confidence. The idea, then, is not necessarily to sell the high end merchandise, but rather to use it to attract consumers who might end up buying from the traditional, less expensive Good Guys’ products. Of course, offering high end products deviates from the basic philosophy of Good Guys, which has been very successful: offer products at affordable prices. Write to Bob Hughes and convince him to authorize negotiations with high end manufacturers. OR: Write back to Mr. Hughes and convince him that this would not be a good idea. You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and +teeetly address any concerns the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze nly restate the prompt.‘Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are the owner of New Style Nails, a small shop which colors nails in designs requested by customers. Your shop is located in a strip mall in Redmond, which is also the location of seven other businesses. Every six months, the owners of all the businesses meet to review the profitability of enterprises in the mall and to discuss common concerns. Every business in the mall is independently owned, and each business owner has invested he: life savings to start up a business. Every business has been moderately successful, but net profits have been marginal. These businesses are just barely realizing a profit, and any added expenses or loss of profits would threaten their viability. In the last year, weather and heavy traffic have eroded the parking lot which fronts the strip mall, and which provides shared parking spaces for all of the businesses. The next meeting af the owners is March 22. ‘Write a letter to the other business owners and persuade them ¢o invest in improvements to the parking lot. Contractors you’ve spoken to estimate the ‘otal cost of improvements would be about $140,000, and the construction project would take two weeks. You want the owners to authorize the project at the next meeting. OR: As one of the other business owners, write a letter back persuading the owner of ‘New Style Nails that her proposal would not be a good idea. ‘You may assume any needed information, Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the prompt.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem ‘You are the Chief Operating Officer of “Wheresitat.com,” which is an intemet information service targeting males from 19 to 34. Your business provides information and opinion to this demographic group. Your site is designed to be a sort of electronic ‘Maxim or Stuff magazine. It features photos and other visuals of celebrity women, female models, etc. It also offers somewhat edgy opinion pieces, information about topics ‘of interest to young males, and interviews with rising stars in the music and sports ‘worlds. Funds for establishing Wheresitat.com were originally provided by Dusty Donovan, a relatively young dot.com multimillionaire who invested $1,000,000 in your company. Wheresitat.com generates income from advertisers. In the three years of its existence, it has lost $500,000. Mr. Donovan is now considering cutting his losses and withdrawing the remaining $500,000 of his investment from your company. This, of course, would mean the immediate end of the business, which employs twenty-five writers and technical support people. ‘Write to Mr. Donovan and convince him not to withdraw his money. Persuade him instead to invest an additional $250,000 so that you can broaden your target audience to include females from 19 to 34. You can assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the prompt.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem ‘You are a Professor of English at the UW. Last year, you accepted an offer from the Oslo ‘University (Finland), to take part in a colloquium on Shakespeare for which you were slated to give a major address. According to the letter confirming your participation at the colloquium, all expenses were to have been paid. In order to minimize the Oslo ‘University English Department's travel costs, you agreed to purchase your ticket ($1,200 ‘ound trip) in advance, expecting to be reimbursed. Just as you were landing in Oslo, the Chair of the colloquium died, and it was postponed until the following year. You returned to Seattle without having given the address. Yesterday, you received a letter from the OU English Department expressing regret for the postponement and hope that you will participate next year. No reimbursement was included and no mention of any reimbursement was made. A phone call to the department made it clear that they do not intend to reimburse you for the ticket you purchased. Write to the Chair of the English Department and persuade her to reimburse you for the ticket, ‘You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address objections the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the information above.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem ‘You are the manager of the Happy Hair Salon, HHS has been in business for eighteen years, and you have worked there as a hair stylist and have now been manager of the salon for the last eight years. The salon employs thirty people altogether. The owner, Bill Wellman, hired his niece, Joyce, four years ago as one of eight head stylists. Joyce has not worked out in the salon. She is a poor hair cutter, demonstrates a hostile attitude toward customers, doesn’t do her share of the cleanup in the sho, and is lowering the morale of the rest of the salon team. She is affecting customer satisfac salon’s sales. Other head stylists at the salon have confronted her about her behavior and performance, offering creative solutions such as more training. You have talked with Joyce on numerous occasions about her attitude toward her uncle’s business, and she has responded that she really isn’t interested in cutting hair Nothing has improved her performance or attitude. Although Joyce is a little immature, you have found her to be a friendly, positive person outside the salon; she seems to be a person interested in many things, but cutting hair is not one of them. She is twenty-one years old. Bill is devoted to his niece and wants her to have a good start in life. He has stated his unwillingness to “tum her out on the streets.” He feels obligated to help her in some way. ‘As senior head stylist, come up with a solution to this problem and write a letter to Mr. Wellman persuading him to act on your proposal. ‘You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your . \\ request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply repeat the prompt. / c\ CT We ° Alsk seyce WW HoT Meety} + \e \eo4 Oe ~ ik hos becore C « Jaden ‘ EQUaSHESS x arr Koc Dee se Qejpe wer GAN Kocher c}soe on « Cose «ered 1s hos Vos do's NS praketTu 4 / Clrasag.e hes jos te wore Vee SEN daa CLE eateeat QAueanWriting Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are the President and CEO of All World Travel, a rapidly expanding company based in San Antonio Texas which meets the travel needs of the western half of the United States. All World specializes in selling travel packages to a variety of groups that often return as repeat customers. Your company is known for its excellent customer service and ‘its ability to customize travel packages to accommodate the needs of Specific groups. As a result of the success of your business, All World recently opened a new branch office in the North Dallas region. You appointed the most successful salesman at the home office in San Antonio, Dexter Morgan, as General Manager of the new North Dallas office. thas been six months now since the new branch opened, and there have been complaints to the home office from customers who are unhappy with the customer service they have received at the North Dallas office. They have contacted you directly to express their dissatisfaction, and have threatened to take their business elsewhere. You have met with Dexter, who was a superstar salesman when he worked for you in San Antonio, to discuss these complaints. He says he needs more support from the home office. When he asked for more customer service representatives to be assigned from the home office to the North Dallas branch, the General Manager in San Antonio responded by claiming that no additional customer service people are available for assignment to the new branch, and that the North Dallas branch needs to attend to its own customers. Dexter relates that he has also asked for more salespeople at the new branch, but there have been no responses to those requests. You have also met with Susan Espinosa, the General Manager of the home office, to find out what’s going on. She says that when Dexter calls, he is impatient and demanding, and cares only about his office rather than the entire company. As President, do one of the following tasks: 1. Write a letter to Dexter informing him that he needs to improve the performance of the office; 2. Write a letter to Susan, directing her to offer more support to the new branch; 3. Write one letter to both parties demanding that they work out their differences, ‘You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address objections the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the information above.Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem ‘You have been working at Madison Street Advertising for fifteen years as a marketing specialist. Your job is to create advertising campaigns for business clients who do not currently have a focused marketing strategy. You consult with clients and collaborate with them in developing marketing campaigns appropriate to their businesses and markets. Over the last fifteen years, MSA has made handsome profits. Your work has been a significant element of the success MSA has realized. ‘The agency has recently leveraged its success to expand its own market, and has been hiring new employees in all its departments, Last month, Kevin Spencer, President and CEO of MSA, hired Merilee Nguyen as a new marketing specialist. When Merilee mentioned her starting salary to you, you were shocked. Despite the fact that she has just been hired, she makes $78,000 a year; after fifteen years with MSA, you make only $65,000 a year. Your current salary reflects an increase (fom $62,000 a year) which you negotiated with Mr. Spencer just six months ago. Write to Mr. Spencer and persuade him that the salary situation is not equitable. Convince him to maintain you at a salary which reflects your contributions to the company and your experience. Your position is that you should make more than Ms. Nguyen. ‘You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your ‘request and directly address any concerns the reader may have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the prompt. wereWriting Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are a Certified Public Accountant, independent and based in Seattle. A major part of your business is establishing and maintaining licenses for owners of small businesses. Last week you got a call from Susan Spencer, an agent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, with whom you have worked several times previously on other matters. The call concerned one of your clients, Louisa Perez, who owns a small store called The Kitchen Cabinet, which sells unique household items. Recently, the store began offering coffee and homemade pastries for sale as well. These items are all made by Louisa herself, and have proven to draw customers into the store. Louisa has a valid business license, but doesn’t have a Food Vendor's license required by state law. Susan has notified you that Louisa needs to obtain a Food Vendor's license within sixty days. All employees of the store must attend a six hour class in order for the store to be considered for the necessary license. When you first leamed that Louisa was offering food for sale, you mentioned that she ‘would need a license, but she commented that it was just “baking for friends.” Write a letter to Louisa persuading her to obtain the Food Vendor’s license. OR: Write to Susan Spencer, convincing her that a license is not necessary in this case. You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address any concerns the reader might have. ‘Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the prompt.‘Writing Skills Assessment 2013 Response to a Problem You are the President and CEO of All World Travel, a rapidly expanding company based in San Antonio Texas which meets the travel needs of the western half of the United States. All World specializes in selling travel packages to a variety of groups that often return as repeat customers. Your company is known for its excellent customer service and its ability to customize travel packages to accommodate the needs of specific groups. As a result of the success of your business, All World recently opened a new branch office in_ the North Dallas region. You appointed the most successful salesman at the home office in San Antonio, Dexter Morgan, as General Manager of the new North Dallas office. Ithas been six months now since the new branch opened, and there have been complaints to the home office from customers who are unhappy with the customer service they have received at the North Dallas office. They have contacted you directly to express their dissatisfaction, and have threatened to take their business elsewhere. You have met with Dexter, who was a superstar salesman when he worked for you in San Antonio, to discuss these complaints. He says he needs more support from the home office. When he asked for more customer service representatives to be assigned from the home office to the North Dallas branch, the General Manager in San Antonio responded by claiming that no additional customer service people are available for assignment to the new branch, and that the North Dallas branch needs to attend to its own customers. Dexter relates that he has also asked for more selespeople atthe new branch, but there have been no responses to those requests, You have also met with Susan Espinosa, the General Manager of the home office, to find out what's going on. She says that when Dexter calls, he is impatient and demanding, and cares only about his office rather than the entire company. As President, do one of the following tasks: 1. Write a letter to Dexter informing him that he needs to improve the performance of the office; 2. Write a letter to Susan, directing her to offer more support to the new branch; 3. Write one letter to both parties demanding that they work out their differences. You may assume any needed information. Consider the pros and cons of your request and directly address objections the reader might have. Caution: your letter should analyze rather than simply restate the information above. =