M4A1: Short Paper: Negative Announcements on Routine Matters
During this course you will prepare and submit a number of short papers on a series of topics. These papers are an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of concepts drawn from the module and the course.
The short paper activity for this module entails the revision of a specific business communication message. For this assignment:
1. Read the following scenario.
2. Write a letter to Jason Allred, owner of Midwest Sparkleen, informing him that PolicyPlan will not renew its annual cleaning contract with Midwest Sparkleen when the current contract expires at the end of this month. Cite the examples identified in the scenario, and keep the tone of your letter professional.
The letter should be addressed to:
Jason Allread Midwest Sparkleen 4000 South Howell Avenue Milwaukee, WI, 53207
Scenario
Your company, PolicyPlan Insurance Services, is a 120-employee insurance claims processor based in Milwaukee. PolicyPlan has engaged Midwest Sparkleen for interior and exterior cleaning for the past five years. Midwest Sparkleen did exemplary work for the first four years, but after a change of ownership last year, the level of service has plummeted. Offices are no longer cleaned thoroughly, you’ve had to call the company at least six times to remind them to take care of spills and other messes that they’re supposed to address routinely, and they’ve left toxic cleaning chemicals in a public hallway on several occasions. You have spoken with the owner about your concerns twice in the past three months, but his assurances that service would improve have not resulted in any noticeable improvements. When the evening cleaning crew forgot to lock the lobby door last Thursday—leaving your entire facility vulnerable to theft from midnight until 8 am Friday morning—you decided it was time for a change.
3. After you’ve written the letter to Jason Allread, you will then write a persuasive response letter from the position of Jason Allread to PolicyPlan.
You must follow the following format and guidelines for all short paper assignments:
1. Title Page: Include your name. the paper title, course title, instructor's name, and date.
2. Introduction: Discuss the purpose of the message in succinct, declarative sentences.
3. Content: The focus of the content for this assignment is the creation of both letters. You should clearly apply what you’ve learned from the content this week to your letter writing.
4. Conclusion: This should be a summative paragraph which includes what you learned from writing both messages
5. References: A minimum of one reference must be used to support your discussion. Document all sources according to APA style.
Your paper should be submitted as a Word document (.doc, docx or .rtf) file and adhere to the following guidelines:
· Be 3-4 pages in length (not including the title and the reference pages).
· Be double-spaced, in Arial or Times New Roman font, with a font size between 10 and 12 point.
· The margins should not exceed 1" on all sides.
· Follow APA guidelines for formatting [PDF file size 131 KB], including the title and the reference page.