Wascana Investments Inc

Part 1 Prewriting (Questions 1 to 11) 30 marks
Refer as needed to material in Chapter 5 of your textbook. Read the instructions for each activity. Answer all questions clearly and concisely. If possible, include examples to highlight your comments.
Activity B – Anticipate an audience’s needs
Read the following scenario and respond to the six questions that follow it.
Scenario 2: Routine Memo
Patricia Irving, head of Wascana Investments Inc., recently invited your firm to send her information about one of your company’s accounting software packages, the Zedex III Solutions software. She asked your sales director, Victor Boudeli, to submit a routine memo to her describing this product’s practical features.
Victor asked you to write a routine memo describing the Zedex III Solutions software’s ability to deal with large volumes of information. He also wanted you to emphasize your company’s strong record of customer satisfaction.
Wascana Investments Inc. is a small brokerage firm that employs 50 financial managers serving more than 7,000 clients. The current accounting system in use at Wascana was developed for the company two years ago by a third party. However, it was poorly designed and is now inadequate for the company’s needs. Wascana requires a new accounting system to track the hundreds of financial transactions the company handles on a daily basis.
Your company, Zedex Development, is a software production firm specializing in providing custom accounting solutions for clients such as banks and investment brokers.
Victor Boudeli has asked you to write this routine memo on his behalf and send a copy of this memo to Jason Tucker, Chief Information Officer at Wascana Investments. Jason is an accountant and has recently completed training as a certified network analyst. Boudeli also requested that you forward copies of your memo to Barbara Miller, Zedex President, as well as to a group of Wascana investors.

Questions/Tasks
9. Identify your secondary readers and describe their specific information needs.
(3 marks)
three sentences, about 30 words.

Activity C – Adapt your message to your audience and its needs
Read the following scenario and respond to the two questions that follow. Refer to suggestions on pages 98 to 104 in your textbook.
Scenario 3: Railway Company Memo
As a communications specialist for a small railway, you review, edit, and revise messages written by fellow employees in various departments. You have observed colleagues making common writing mistakes:
• placing insufficient emphasis on reader benefits by not cultivating the “you” view
• using the passive voice
• using misplaced and dangling participles
• using language bias by promoting gender, race, age, and disability stereotypes
• writing negative and discourteous expressions
• using unfamiliar and imprecise wording
• relying on language that makes your company vulnerable to litigation
Your manager asks you to review the following memo:
Date: Feb. 17, 2010
To: All Operating Personnel
From: Management
Subject: Poor Working Practices
It has recently come to management’s attention that many employees are irresponsibly using shortcut procedures that are, I believe, going to result in damage and expense to the company, and perhaps even personal injury.
A new list of mandatory rules and procedures has been posted outside the main doors in Shop A. All personnel are required to adhere exactly to these rules and procedures. This will guarantee safety of both equipment and personnel.
Failure to acquiesce will be deemed cause for immediate termination!
THE MANAGEMENT

Questions/Tasks
10. What problems should you address in order to make the language of the above memo clearer? Select these from the Checklist for Adapting a Message to Its Audience on page 104 of the textbook. Be specific and support your answers. (3 marks)
three sentences, about 30 words.
11. Rewrite your manager’s memo. Think about how expressing yourself positively, courteously, simply, precisely, vigorously, and in a conversational tone will affect your readers’ responses. Refer to pages 101 to 104 in your textbook. (10 marks)
About 100 words

Part 2 Writing (Questions 12 to 19) 30 marks
Refer as needed to material in Chapters 6 and 7 of your textbook. Read the instructions for each activity. Answer all questions clearly and concisely. If possible, include examples to highlight your comments.
Activity A – Research a topic and generate ideas
Read the following scenario and respond to the two questions that follow. These questions require creative thinking. Refer to the information on pages 112 to 114 of your textbook.
Scenario 4: EnviroFriends
Mary Davis is a manager at EnviroFriends, a nonprofit group that promotes environmental awareness in the community. EnviroFriends is planning to develop a learning kit that the local school board will use to teach Grade 6 students about the benefits of preserving the environment.
In order to publish these kits, Mary must solicit funds from generous community sponsors. She is aware that Viscount Hydro Inc., a large regional energy company, has established a foundation that may fund such a project. Mary plans to send this company a written proposal requesting financial aid.
On a form Mary prints from Viscount’s Web site, she begins to fill in information solicited by the charitable foundation. The information she has already gathered includes
• her company’s name, address, and telephone number
• EnviroFriends’ registration number as a charitable organization and its registered trade name
• a brief history of the organization, its social mandate, the significance of its work, its benefactors and where they live
• names of board members and officers running the company and their occupations or business affiliations
• a description of the specific project for which funding is sought, including an explanation of the benefits it will bring to the community
• a detailed budget outlining how grant funds will be allocated.
Questions/Tasks
12. Supply three specific examples of the kind of information Mary could gather using formal research methods. Refer to pages 112 to 113 in your textbook. Include the specific formal research methods you would use to obtain this information. (3 marks)
three sentences, about 30 words.
13. Supply three specific examples of the kind of information Mary could gather using informal research methods Refer to page 113 in your textbook. Include the specific informal research methods you would use to obtain this information. (3 marks)
three sentences, about 30 words.

Activity B – Organize ideas into a coherent text structure
Read the following scenario, and respond to the two questions that follow. These questions require creative thought as you organize information into categories and subcategories.
Scenario 5: Human Resources Manual
Gino Franconia works in the Human Resources Department of Plasto Industries, a fast-growing manufacturer of plastic and composite-fibre products. As the company grew, managers planned to develop uniform policies to ensure a fair workplace. Until now, however, these policies have not been clearly outlined.
To correct this situation, Gino’s manager has asked him to write a new human resources manual for Plasto Industries’ employees. Susan Reeves, director of human resources, provided Gino with the following unorganized list of topics to include in the manual:
? sick leave
? bereavement leave
? administrative leave
? jury duty leave
? vacation leave
? pension plan
? healthcare insurance
? savings bond purchase program
? accidental death and dismemberment insurance
? verbal abuse policy
? sexual harassment
? drugs and alcohol
? resignation
? dismissal/termination
? exit interviews
? disciplinary policy and procedure
? long-term disability program ? employee recruitment and selection
? conflict of interest policy
? parking restrictions
? reference checks
? performance reviews
? salary reviews
? workplace language
? unexcused absences
? personal telephone calls
? holiday pay
? overtime pay
? smoking in the workplace
? dress and appearance
? maximum work hours per week for salaried staff
? maximum work hours per week for hourly staff
? pay scale
Questions/Tasks
14. Help Gino organize the topics presented in Scenario 5. Create an alphanumeric or decimal outline for the human resources manual to organize this information logically (i.e., major title, major component, subpoints). Review outlining formats on pages 114 to 118 in your textbook, especially Figure 6.3 Two Outlining Formats on page 117.
(8 marks)
About 80 words
15. Explain and support your reasons for organizing the outline as you did. Address each of the following elements of an outline: sequence, title, major components, and subpoints. (4 marks)
About 40 words

Part 3 Revising (Questions 20 to 28) 40 marks
Refer as needed to Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of your textbook. The scenario below will be used for all activities in Part 3. Read the instructions for each activity. Answer all questions clearly and concisely. If possible, include examples to highlight your comments. Maintain a “you” view throughout.
Scenario 7: Boat Buyers Program
Walter Bern works as a public relations officer for a Canadian travel agency. He writes customer response letters. The company he works for, Earth’s Voyages, believes that its corporate communications should set a high professional standard. However, Walter has had little sleep lately and is not focusing clearly on the task he has to handle. In fact, his draft letter is quite disorganized and confuses key issues.
Walter needs to provide Mrs. Beaudoin, his reader, information about how she can accumulate points within the Boat Buyers Program (BBP), which she recently joined. The BBP is a points program that, among other rewards, entitles her to save substantially on the cost of future sea cruises. Points can be accumulated whenever members book any type of travel through Earth Voyages.
Earth’s Voyages: Discount travel that inspires memorable vacations

May 26, 2009

Mrs. Jeanne Beaudoin
7 rue Ste.Thérèse
Ville de Québec, PQ
G2K 9K7
Hi Mrs. Beaudoin!
Thank you for joining the Boat Buyers Program (BBP) prior to taking your Christmas Caribbean cruise. This cruise will take you and your friends from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas on the Maiden of the Sea, the newest cruise ship featured by Earth’s Voyages Cruises. We are planning to give you, our valued customer, a special Christmas bonus under this program. Your departure date is January 19th, from Miami. The ship leaves dock at 5 p.m. Allow yourself two hours to register and embark, prior to this departure time. You will receive an extra 100 BBP points just for completing this cruise.
But first, you must activate your BBP credit card in order to participate in this program and benefit from our point system. You can call 1-800-Go-Go -BBP to sign up. The BBP card is the only card you can use to make payments on board the liner. For every dollar you spend on the ship, you will get 10 points that you can use toward your next cruise with Earth’s Voyages Cruises.

If you accumulate 10,000 points, you can cruise the Mediterranean; with 5,000 points, you can cruise the Caribbean from any port in the United States; for 2,000 points, you can enjoy a special cruise on the St. Lawrence River leaving from Montreal or along the Queen Charlotte Islands departing from Vancouver. Please consult the Boat Buyers Program (BBP) brochure to locate a cruise schedule that suits your needs.
You get an extra 50 points if you help sign up a friend or colleague in the
BBP program as well.

You can use your BBP points to obtain discounts on all major airlines from your home to a cruise port of departure indicated on our brochure. Please consult the BBP brochure to locate further information about flight reductions.
Enclosed, please find a brochure explaining the details of the BBP program along with information about BBP card rewards. Look for super sales in our Summer 2009 Vacation Travel Destinations to Alaska section.

At Earth’s Voyages Cruises, we will see to it that your needs are well looked after and that you are treated with special courtesy whenever and wherever you wish to travel. We hope that you will take advantage of the BBP and its fantastic cost savings.

Please call me if you have any questions and I will be glad to call you back.

Sincerely,
Walter Bern
Public Relations Representative

Activity B – Organize a text
Assess the effectiveness of the letter’s content and organization.
26. Help Walter reorganize his letter by creating an alphanumeric outline
(i.e., major title, major component, subpoints). (3 marks)
About 40 words

Activity C – Revise a text
27. Proofread paragraph 1 of Walter’s letter. Refer to the Checklist for Revising Messages on page 143 of the textbook. Identify four items that need revising. Describe the writing problems these examples demonstrate. Clearly label your sentences as Examples and Problems. (4 marks)
About 60 words.
28. Rewrite Walter’s letter to improve its effectiveness. Cultivate the “you” view and focus on the receiver’s needs. Write an effective version of Walter’s text (Refer to pages 99 and 100 in your textbook.)
Present an effective version of Walter’s text using your own words. Incorporate the analysis you previously completed in questions 20–27 as you follow the 3-x-3 process. Format this text as a professional letter by cultivating a “receiver focus.” (20 marks)
About 400 words.
Just rewrite the main parts which are:
Hi Mrs. Beaudoin!
Thank you for joining the Boat Buyers Program (BBP) prior to taking your Christmas Caribbean cruise. This cruise will take you and your friends from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas on the Maiden of the Sea, the newest cruise ship featured by Earth’s Voyages Cruises. We are planning to give you, our valued customer, a special Christmas bonus under this program. Your departure date is January 19th, from Miami. The ship leaves dock at 5 p.m. Allow yourself two hours to register and embark, prior to this departure time. You will receive an extra 100 BBP points just for completing this cruise.
But first, you must activate your BBP credit card in order to participate in this program and benefit from our point system. You can call 1-800-Go-Go -BBP to sign up. The BBP card is the only card you can use to make payments on board the liner. For every dollar you spend on the ship, you will get 10 points that you can use toward your next cruise with Earth’s Voyages Cruises.

Please call me if you have any questions and I will be glad to call you back.

Sincerely,

Part 1 total less than 160 words.
Part 2 total words: less than 180 words.
Part 3 words: less than 500 words
So, about 825 words final.
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