Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
TL;DR
Read through the two scenarios in this prompt.
Compose a professional business letter that responds to each.
Submit a Reflective Memo with the Final Draft.
Due Dates
Draft One:
Final Draft:
Portfolio Draft:
Tuesday, September 6
Tuesday, September 13
Due with ePortfolio; Wednesday, August 3 by midnight
Create a letter using the indirect (buffer) approach to reject Roseway Manufacturings bid to supply
faucets to Home Depot.
No Deal: Letter from Home Depot to faucet manufacturer. As assistant to the vice president of sales for
Atlanta-based Home Depot, you attended Home Depots biannual product-line review held at Tropicana
Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Also attending were hundreds of vendor hopefuls, each eager to become
one of the huge retail chains 25,000 North American suppliers. During individual meetings with a panel
of regional and national Home Depot merchandisers, these vendors did their best to win, keep, or expand
their spot in the companys product lineup.
Vendors know that Home Depot holds all the cards; so, if they want to play, they have to follow Home
Depot rules, offering low wholesale prices and swift delivery. Once chosen, theyre constantly reevaluatedand quickly dropped for infractions such as requesting a price increase or planning to sell
directly to consumers via the Internet. They also receive sharp critiques of past performance, which are not
to be taken lightly.
A decade ago, General Electric failed to keep Home Depot stores supplied with lightbulbs, causing
shortages. Co-founder Bernard Marcus immediately stripped GE of its exclusive 80-foot shelf space and
flew off to negotiate with its Netherlands competitor, Phillips. Two years later, after high-level
negotiations, GE lightbulbs were back on Home Depot shelvesbut in a position inferior to Phillipss.
Such cautionary tales arent lost on vendors. However, they know that despite tough negotiating, Home
Depot is always looking for variety to please its customers changing tastes and demands. The sales
potential is so enormous that the compromises and concessions are worthwhile. If selected, vendors get
immediate distribution in more than 1,700 stores (Home Depot, EXPO, and other subsidiary companies)
across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Still, youve seen the stress on vendor reps faces as they explain product enhancements and on-time
delivery ideas in the review sessions. Their only consolation for this grueling process is that, although
merchandisers wont say yes or no on the spot, they do let manufacturers know where they stand within a
day or two. And the company is always willing to reconsider at the next product-line reviewwherever
its held.
Your task: Youre drafting some of the rejection letters, and the next one on your stack is to a faucet
manufacturer, Roseway Manufacturing, 133 Industrial Ave., Gary, IN, 46406. Too expensive, substandard
plastic handles, and a design not likely to appeal to Home Depot customers, say the panels notes. (And
knowing what its customers want has put Home Depot in the top 10 of the Fortune 500 list, with $400 billion in
annual sales.) Find a way to soften the blow in your rejection letter to Roseway. After all, consumer tastes do
change. Direct your letter to Pamela Wilson, operations manager.
Project
Component
Approach:
Does the writer use a
direct/indirect/AIDA approach
and does this choice seem
appropriate for the audience and
purpose?
Does the writer convey a clear
understanding of the audience in
the letter?
Does the reader get a clear sense
of the purpose?
O rganization:
Is the information organized in an
effective manner for its purpose?
For the bad news letter does the
writer provide a buffer, present
the bad news, and then provide a
positive closing?
For the persuasive letter does
the writer highlight common
ground, provide relevant details,
and indicate a course of action?
Me chanics and Tone:
Is the document free of
mechanical errors or problems?
Are unnecessary words
eliminated and is parallel
structure used?
Is the tone of the letter
appropriate for its purpose and
audience?
Format:
Does the document make use of
the proper format for a
professional business letter?
Is a basic letterhead included in
the document?
Me mo:
Does your memo discuss your
purpose(s) for each letter?
Does your memo specify the
audience you targeted and
describe some characteristics of
that audience?
Does your memo describe the
choices you made for each letter
that lead to them being more
effective?
Needs Work
OK
Good