Many businesses use the Adobe portable document format (PDF) to distribute reports electronically.

Distributing Reports and Proposals

For physical distribution of important printed reports or proposals, consider spending the extra money for a professional courier or package delivery service. Doing so can help you stand out in a crowd, and it lets you verify receipt. Alternatively, if you’ve prepared the document for a single person or small group in your office or the local area, delivering it in person will give you the chance to personally “introduce” the report and remind readers why they’re receiving it.

For electronic distribution, unless your audience specifically requests a word processor file, provide documents as portable document format (PDF) files. Using Adobe Acrobat or similar products, you can quickly convert reports and proposals to PDF files that are easy to share electronically. PDFs are generally considered safer than word processor files, but they can also be used to transmit computer viruses.23 For information on protecting yourself and your readers when using PDF files, visit www.adobe.com/security.

If your company or client expects you to distribute your reports via a web-based content management system, a shared workspace, or some other online location, double-check that you’ve uploaded the correct file(s) to the correct location. Verify the on-screen display of your reports after you’ve posted them, making sure graphics, charts, links, and other elements are in place and operational.

For more information on completing reports and proposals, visit http://realtimeupdates.com/bce6 and click on Chapter 11.

1 OBJECTIVE List the topics commonly covered in the introduction, body, and close of informational reports, analytical reports, and proposals.

The introduction of a report identifies who authorized the report and highlights its purpose and scope, the sources or methods used to gather information, important definitions, any limitations, and the order in which the various topics are covered. The body provides enough information to support its conclusion and recommendations, which can range from explanations of problems or opportunities to facts and trends to results of studies or investigations. The close summarizes key points, restates conclusions and recommendations if appropriate, and lists action items.

To a large extent, the content of proposals is dictated by the circumstances, particularly by whether the proposal is solicited or unsolicited. Proposals submitted in response to an RFP should always follow its instructions. The introduction commonly includes a background or statement of the problem, an overview of the proposed solution (or, for indirect proposals, a statement that a solution is about to be

presented), the scope of the proposals, and a description of how the proposal is organized. The body usually includes a description of the proposed solution, a work plan that outlines how and when the work will be accomplished, a statement of qualifications of the individual or organization presenting the proposal, and a discussion of costs. The close summarizes the key points, emphasizes the benefits that readers will realize from the proposed solution, summarizes the merits of your approach, restates why you and your firm are a good choice, and asks for a decision from the reader.

2 OBJECTIVE Identify six guidelines for drafting effective website content, and offer guidelines for becoming a valuable wiki contributor.

Follow these six guidelines to draft effective online content:

(1) Build trust by being accurate, current, complete, and authoritative; (2) adapt content to global audiences; (3) write web-friendly content that is compact and efficient; (4) present information in a concise, skimmable format; (5) make effective use of links; and (6) make the website a “living”

4 OBJECTIVE Summarize the four tasks involved in completing business reports and proposals.

The four completion tasks of revising, producing, proofreading, and distributing all need to be accomplished with care, given the size and complexity of many reports. The production stage for a formal report or proposal can involve creating a number of elements not found in most other business documents. Possible prefatory parts (those coming before the main text of the report or proposal) include a cover, a title fly, a title page, a letter of authorization, a letter of transmittal, a table of contents, a list of illustrations, and a synopsis (a brief overview of the report) or an executive summary (a miniature version of the report). Possible supplemental parts (those coming after the main text of the report or proposal) include one or more appendixes, a bibliography, and an index.

Test Your Knowledge

To review chapter content related to each question, refer to the indicated Learning Objective.

1. Why must the introduction of an unsolicited proposal include a statement of the problem or opportunity that the proposal addresses? [LO-1]

Practice Your Skills

Activities

Active links for all websites in this chapter can be found on MyBCommLab; see your User Guide for instructions on accessing the content for this chapter. Each activity is labeled according to the primary skill or skills you will need to use. To review relevant chapter content, you can refer to the indicated Learning Objective. In some instances, supporting information will be found in another chapter, as indicated.

1. Message Strategies: Informational Reports; collaboration: Team Projects [LO-1], Chapter 2 You and a classmate are helping Linda Moreno prepare her report on Electrovision’s travel and entertainment costs (see Figure 11.13). This time, however, the report is to be informational rather than analytical, so it will not include recommendations. Review the existing report and determine what changes would be needed to make it an informational report. Be as specific as possible. For example, if your team decides the report needs a new title, what title would you use? Draft a transmittal memo for Moreno to use in conveying this informational report to Dennis McWilliams, Electrovision’s vice president of operations.

316 Unit 4: Longer Business Messages

2.Media Skills: Wiki Collaboration [LO - 2], Chapter 5 To access this wiki exercise, go to http:// real-timeupdates.com/bce6, click on Student Assignments, and select Chapter 11, page 316, Activity 2. Follow the instructions for evaluating this short article and revising it to make it more reader oriented. Refer to the guidelines in Chapter 5 (page 105) for reminders about editing and revising the work of other writers.

3.Media Skills: Wiki Collaboration [LO-2], Chapter 5

To access this wiki exercise, go to http://real-timeupdates

.com/bce6, click on Student Assignments, and select Chapter 11, page 316, Activity 3. Follow the instructions for evaluating this wiki article and revising to make it more reader oriented. Refer to the guidelines in Chapter 5 (page 105) for reminders about editing and revising the work of other writers.

4.Visual Communication: Choosing the Best Visual [LO-3] You’re preparing the annual report for FretCo Guitar Corporation. For each of the following types of information, select the appropriate chart or visual to illustrate the text. Explain your choices.

a.Data on annual sales for the past 20 years

b.Comparison of FretCo sales, product by product (electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, acoustic guitars), for this year and last year

c.Explanation of how a FretCo acoustic guitar is manufactured

d.Explanation of how the FretCo Guitar Corporation markets its guitars

e.Data on sales of FretCo products in each of 12 countries

f.Comparison of sales figures for Fretco and three competing guitar makers over the past 10 years

5. Visual Communication: Creating Visuals [LO-3] You work for C & S Holdings, a company that operates coin-activated, self-service car washes. Research shows that the farther customers live from a car wash, the less likely they are to visit. You know that 50 percent of customers at each of your car washes live within a 4-mile radius of the location, 65 percent live within 6 miles, 80 percent live within 8 miles, and 90 percent live within 10 miles. C & S’s owner wants to open two new car washes in your city and has asked you to prepare a report recommending locations. Using a map of your city from an online or printed source, choose two possible locations for car washes and create a visual that depicts the customer base surrounding each location (make up whatever population data you need).

6. Visual Communication: Creating Visuals [LO-3] As directed by your instructor, team up with other students, making sure that at least one of you has a digital camera or camera phone capable of downloading images to your word processing software. Find a busy location on campus or in the surrounding neighborhood, someplace with lots of signs, storefronts, pedestrians, and traffic. Scout out two different photo opportunities, one that maximizes the visual impression of crowding and

clutter, and one that minimizes this impression. For the first, assume that you are someone who advocates reducing the crowding and clutter, so you want to show how bad it is.

For the second, assume that you are a real estate agent or someone else who is motivated to show people that even though the location offers lots of shopping, entertainment, and other attractions, it’s actually a rather calm and quiet neighborhood. Insert the two images in a word processing document and write a caption for each that emphasizes the two opposite messages just described. Finally, write a brief paragraph, discussing the ethical implications of what you’ve just done. Have you distorted reality or just presented it in ways that work to your advantage? Have you prevented audiences from gaining the information they would need to make informed decisions?

7.Message Strategies: Informational Reports [LO-1] Review a long business article in a journal or newspaper. Highlight examples of how the article uses headings, transitions, previews, and reviews to help the readers find their way.

8.Message Strategies: Analytical Reports; Communication Ethics: Resolving Ethical Dilemmas [LO-1], Chapter 1 Your boss has asked you to prepare a feasibility report to determine whether the company should advertise its custom-crafted cabinetry in the weekly neighborhood newspaper. Based on your primary research, you think it should. As you draft the introduction to your report, however, you discover that the survey administered to the neighborhood newspaper subscribers was flawed. Several of the questions were poorly written and misleading. You used the survey results, among other findings, to justify your recommendation. The report is due in three days. What actions might you want to take, if

any, before you complete your report?

9. Completing: Producing Formal Reports [LO-4] You are president of the Friends of the Library, a not-for-profit group that raises funds and provides volunteers to support your local library. Every February, you send a report of the previous year’s activities and accomplishments to the County Arts Council, which provides an annual grant of $1,000 toward your group’s summer reading festival. Now it’s February 6, and you’ve completed your formal report. Here are the highlights:

■Back-to-school book sale raised $2,000.

■Holiday craft fair raised $1,100.

■Promotion and prizes for summer reading festival cost $1,450.

■Materials for children’s program featuring local author cost $125.

■New reference databases for library’s career center cost $850.

■Bookmarks promoting library’s website cost $200.

Write a letter of transmittal to Erica Maki, the council’s director. Because she is expecting this report, you can use the direct approach. Be sure to express gratitude for the council’s ongoing financial support.

Expand Your Skills

Critique the Professionals

Download the latest issue of the International Trade Update from http://trade.gov (look under “Publications”). What techniques does the report use to help readers find their way through the document or direct readers to other sources of information? What techniques are used to highlight key points in the document? Are these techniques effective? Using whatever medium your instructor requests, write a brief summary of your analysis.

Sharpen Your Career Skills Online

Bovée and Thill’s Business Communication Web Search, at http://websearch.businesscommunicationnetwork.com, is a unique research tool designed specifically for business communication research. Use the Web Search function to find a website, video, PDF document, podcast, or presentation that offers advice on creating visuals for business reports. Write a brief email message to your instructor or a post for your class blog, describing the item that you found and summarizing the career skills information you learned from it.

CASES

SHORT REPORTS

1. Message Strategies: Informational Reports [LO-1] [LO-4] You’ve been in your new job as human resources director for only a week, and already you have a major personnel crisis on your hands. Some employees in the marketing department got their hands on a confidential salary report and learned that, on average, marketing employees earn less than engineering employees. In addition, several top performers in the engineering group make significantly more than anybody in marketing. The report was instantly passed around the company by email, and now everyone is discussing the situation. You’ll deal with the data security issue later; for now, you need to address the dissatisfaction in the marketing group.

Case Table 11.1 lists the salary and employment data you were able to pull from the employee database. You also had the opportunity to interview the engineering and marketing directors to get their opinions on the pay situation; their answers are listed in Case Table 11.2.

CASE TABLE 11.1 SELECTED EMPLOYMENT DATA FOR ENGINEERS AND MARKETING STAFF

CASE TABLE 11.2 SUMMARY STATEMENTS FROM DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR INTERVIEWS

318 Unit 4: Longer Business Messages

Your task The CEO has asked for a short report, summarizing whatever data and information you have on engineering and marketing salaries. Feel free to offer your own interpretation of the situation as well (make up any information you need), but keep in mind that because you are a new manager with almost no experience in the company, your opinion might not have a lot of influence.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER / TEAM SKILLS

2. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports [LO-1] [LO-5]

Anyone looking at the fragmented 21st-century landscape of media and entertainment options might be surprised to learn that poetry was once a dominant medium for not only creative literary expression but also philosophical, political, and even scientific discourse. Alas, such is no longer the case.

Your task With a team of fellow students, your challenge is to identify opportunities to increase sales of poetry—any kind of poetry, in any medium. The following suggestions may help you get started:

■Research recent bestsellers in the poetry field and try to identify why they have been popular.

■Interview literature professors, professional poets, librarians, publishers, and bookstore personnel.

■Consider art forms and venues in which verse plays an essential role, including popular music and poetry slams.

■Conduct surveys and interviews to find out why consumers don’t buy more poetry.

■Review professional journals that cover the field of poetry, including Publishers Weekly and Poets & Writers, from both business and creative standpoints.

Summarize your findings in a brief formal report; assume that your target readers are executives in the publishing industry.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

3. Message Strategies: Informational Reports [LO-1] [LO- 4] Health care costs are a pressing concern at every level in the economy, from individual households up through companies of all sizes on up to state and federal governments. Many companies that want to continue offering or to start offering some level of health insurance to their employees are struggling with a cost spiral that seems out of control.

Your task Identify five ways that companies are reducing the cost of providing health care insurance for their employees (other than eliminating this benefit entirely). Compile your findings in a brief report that includes at least one real-life example for each of the five ways.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

4. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports [LO-1] [LO-4]

After several false starts, tablet computers have finally caught on among business users. In addition to Apple’s popular iPad, seemingly every computer company on the planet is looking to get a share of this market. Will they be a passing fad? A cool toy or a serious business tool?

Your task Prepare a short analytical report that compares the advantages and disadvantages of tablet computers for traveling salespeople.

LONG REPORTS

5. Message Strategies: Informational Reports [LO-1] [LO-4]

Your company is the largest private employer in your metropolitan area, and the 43,500 employees in your workforce have a tremendous impact on local traffic. A group of city and county transportation officials recently approached your CEO with a request to explore ways to reduce this impact. The CEO has assigned you the task of analyzing the workforce’s transportation habits and attitudes as a first step toward identifying potential solutions. He’s willing to consider anything from subsidized bus passes to company-owned shuttle buses to telecommuting, but the decision requires a thorough understanding of employee transportation needs. Case Tables 11.3 through 11.7 summarize data you collected in an employee survey.

Your task Present the results of your survey in an informational report, using the data provided in the tables.

CASE TABLE 11.3 EMPLOYEE CARPOOL HABITS

CASE TABLE 11.5 EFFECT OF POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Note: This question was asked of respondents who use public transportation randomly or never, a subgroup that represents 17,915 employees, or 41 percent of the workforce.

CASE TABLE 11.6 DISTANCE TRAVELED TO/ FROM WORK

CASE TABLE 11.7 IS TELECOMMUTING AN OPTION?

TEAM SKILLS / PORTFOLIO BUILDER

6. Message Strategies: Informational Reports [LO-1] [LO-5] As a researcher in your state’s consumer protection agency, you’re frequently called on to investigate consumer topics and write reports for the agency’s website. Thousands of consumers have arranged the purchase of cars online, and millions more do at least some of their research online before heading to a dealership. Some want to save time and money, some want to be armed with as much information as possible before talking to a dealer, and others want to completely avoid the often-uncom- fortable experience of negotiating prices with car salespeople. In response, a variety of online services have emerged to meet these consumer needs. Some let you compare information on various car models, some connect you to local dealers to complete the transaction, and some complete nearly all the transaction details for you, including negotiating the price. Some search the inventory of thousands of dealers, whereas others search only a single dealership or a network of affiliated dealers. In other words, a slew of new tools are available for car buyers, but it’s not always easy to figure out where to go and what to expect. That’s where your report will help.

By visiting a variety of car-related websites and reading magazine and newspaper articles on the car-buying process, you’ve compiled a variety of notes related to the subject:

■Process overview. The process is relatively straightforward and fairly similar to other online shopping experiences, with two key differences. In general, a consumer identifies the make and model of car he or she wants, and then the online car-buying service searches the inventories of car dealers nationwide and presents the available choices. The consumer chooses a particular car from that list, and then the service handles the communication and purchase details with the dealer. When the paperwork is finished, the consumer visits the dealership and picks up the car. The two

biggest differences with online auto buying are that (1) you can’t actually complete the purchase over the Internet (in most cases, you must visit a local dealer to pick up the car and sign the papers, although in some cities, a dealer or a local car-buying service will deliver it to your home) and (2) in most states, it’s illegal to purchase a new car from anyone other than a franchise dealer (that is, you can’t buy directly from the manufacturer, the way you can buy a Dell computer directly from Dell, for instance).

■Information you can find online (not all information is available at all sites). You can find information on makes, models, colors, options, option packages (often, specific options are available only as part of a package; you need to know these constraints before you select your options), photos, specifications (everything from engine size to interior space), mileage estimates, performance data, safety information, predicted resale value, reviews, comparable models, insurance costs, consumer ratings, repair and reliability histories, available buyer incentives and rebates, true ownership costs (including costs for fuel, maintenance, repair, and so on), warranty, loan and lease payments, and maintenance requirements.

■Advantages of shopping online. Advantages of shopping online include shopping from the comfort and convenience of home, none of the dreaded negotiating at the dealership (in many cases), the ability to search far and wide for a specific car (even nationwide, on many sites), rapid access to considerable amounts of data and information, and reviews from both professional automotive journalists and other consumers. In general, online auto shopping reduces a key advantage that auto dealers used to have, which was control of most of the information in the purchase transaction. Now consumers can find out how reliable each model is, how quickly it will depreciate, how often it is likely to need repairs, what other drivers think of it, how much the dealer paid the manufacturer for it, and so on.

■Changing nature of the business. The relationship between dealers and third-party websites (such as CarsDirect. com and Vehix.com) continues to evolve. At first, the relationship was more antagonistic, as some third-party sites and dealers frequently competed for the same customers, and each side made bold proclamations about driving the other out of business. However, the relationship is more collaborative in many cases now, with dealers realizing that some third-party sites already have wide brand awareness and nationwide audiences. As the percentage of new car sales that originate via the Internet continues to increase, dealers are more receptive to working with third-party sites.

■Comparing information from multiple sources. Consumers shouldn’t rely solely on information from a single website. Each site has its own way of organizing information, and many sites have their own ways of evaluating car models and connecting buyers with sellers.

■Understanding what each site is doing. Some sites search thousands of dealers, regardless of ownership connections.

320 Unit 4: Longer Business Messages

Others, such as AutoNation, search only affiliated dealers. A search for a specific model might yield only a half dozen cars on one site but dozens of cars on another site. Find out who owns the site and what their business objectives are, if you can; this will help you assess the information you receive.

■Leading websites. Consumers can check out a wide variety of websites, some of which are full-service operations, offering everything from research to negotiation; others provide more specific and limited services. For instance, CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com) provides a full range of services, whereas Carfax (www.carfax.com) specializes in uncovering the repair histories of individual used cars. Case Table 11.8 lists some of the leading car-related websites.

Your task With a team assigned by your instructor, write an informational report based on your research notes. The purpose of the report is to introduce consumers to the basic concepts of integrating the Internet into their car-buying activities and to educate them about important issues.24

CASE TABLE 11.8 LEADING AUTOMOTIVE WEBSITES

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

7. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports [LO-1] [LO-5]

As a college student and an active consumer, you may have

considered one or more of the following questions at some point in the past few years:

a.What criteria distinguish the top-rated MBA programs in the country? How well do these criteria correspond to the needs and expectations of business? Are the criteria fair for students, employers, and business schools?

b.Which of three companies you might like to work for has the strongest corporate ethics policies?

c.What will the music industry look like in the future? What’s next after online stores such as Apple’s iTunes and digital players such as the iPod?

d.Which industries and job categories are forecast to experience the greatest growth—and therefore the greatest demand for workers—in the next 10 years?

e.What has been the impact of Starbucks’s aggressive growth on small, independent coffee shops? On midsized chains or franchises? In the United States or in another country?

f.How large is the “industry” of major college sports? How much do the major football or basketball programs con- tribute—directly or indirectly—to other parts of a typical university?

g.How much have minor league sports—baseball, hockey, arena football—grown in smalland medium-market cities? What is the local economic impact when these municipalities build stadiums and arenas?

Your task Answer one of the preceding questions using secondary research sources for information. Be sure to document your sources, using the format your instructor indicates. Give conclusions and offer recommendations where appropriate.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

8. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports An observer surveying the current consumer electronics landscape and seeing Apple products everywhere might be surprised to learn that during part of the company’s history, it was regarded by some as a fairly minor player in the computer industry—and at times a few pundits even wondered whether the company would survive.

Your task In a twoto three-page report, identify the reasons Apple has been successful and explain how other companies can apply Apple’s strategies and tactics to improve their business results.

PROPOSALS

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

9. Message Strategies: Proposals [LO-1] [LO-5] Presentations can make—or break—both careers and businesses. A good presentation can bring in millions of dollars in new sales or fresh investment capital. A bad presentation might cause any number of troubles, from turning away potential customers to upsetting fellow employees to derailing key projects. To help business professionals plan, create, and deliver more effective

presentations, you offer a three-day workshop that covers the essentials of good presentations:

■Understanding your audience’s needs and expectations

■Formulating your presentation objectives

■Choosing an organizational approach

■Writing openings that catch your audience’s attention

■Creating effective graphics and slides

■Practicing and delivering your presentation

■Leaving a positive impression on your audience

■Avoiding common mistakes with electronic slides

■Making presentations online using webcasting tools

■Handling questions and arguments from the audience

■Overcoming the top 10 worries of public speaking (including How can I overcome stage fright? and I’m not the performing type; can I still give an effective presentation?)

Workshop benefits: Students will learn how to prepare better presentations in less time and deliver them more effectively.

Who should attend: Top executives, project managers, employment recruiters, sales professionals, and anyone else who gives important presentations to internal or external audiences.

Your qualifications: 18 years of business experience, including 14 years in sales and 12 years of public speaking. Experience speaking to audiences as large as 5,000 people. More than a dozen speech-related articles published in professional journals. Have conducted successful workshops for nearly 100 companies.

Workshop details: Three-day workshop (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) that combines lectures, practice presentations, and both individual and group feedback. Minimum number of students: 6. Maximum number of students per workshop: 12.

Pricing: The cost is $3,500, plus $100 per student; 10 percent discount for additional workshops.

Other information: Each attendee will have the opportunity to give three practice presentations that will last from 3 to 5 minutes. Everyone is encouraged to bring PowerPoint files containing slides from actual business presentations. Each attendee will also receive a workbook and a digital video recording of his or her final class presentation on DVD. You’ll also be available for phone or email coaching for six months after the workshop.

Your task Identify a company in your local area that might be a good candidate for your services. Learn more about the company by visiting its website so you can personalize your proposal. Using the information listed above, prepare a sales proposal that explains the benefits of your training and what students can expect during the workshop.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER

10. Message Strategies: Proposals [LO-1] [LO-5] For years, a controversy has been brewing over the amount of junk food

and soft drinks being sold through vending machines in local schools. Schools benefit from revenue-sharing arrangements, but many parents and health experts are concerned about the negative effects of these snacks and beverages. You and your brother have almost a decade of experience running espresso and juice stands in malls and on street corners, and you’d love to find some way to expand your business into schools. After a quick brainstorming session, the two of you craft a plan that makes good business sense while meeting the financial concerns of school administrators and the nutritional concerns of parents and dietitians. Here are the notes from your brainstorming session:

■Set up portable juice bars on school campuses, offering healthy fruit and vegetable drinks along with simple, healthy snacks

■Offer schools 30 percent of profits in exchange for free space and long-term contracts

■Provide job-training opportunities for students (during athletic events, etc.)

■Provide detailed dietary analysis of all products sold

■Establish a nutritional advisory board composed of parents, students, and at least one certified health professional

■Assure schools and parents that all products are safe (e.g., no stimulant drinks, no dietary supplements)

■Support local farmers and specialty food preparers by buying locally and giving these vendors the opportunity to test-market new products at your stands

Your task Based on the ideas listed, draft a formal proposal to the local school board, outlining your plan to offer healthier alternatives to soft drinks and prepackaged snack foods. Invent any details you need to complete your proposal.

PORTFOLIO BUILDER / TEAM SKILLS

11. Message Strategies: Proposals [LO-1] [LO-5] It seems like everybody in your firm is frustrated. On the one hand, top executives complain about the number of lower-level employees who want promotions but just don’t seem to “get it” when it comes to dealing with customers and the public, recognizing when to speak out and when to be quiet, knowing how to push new ideas through the appropriate channels, and performing other essential but difficult-to-teach tasks. On the other hand, ambitious employees who’d like to learn more feel that they have nowhere to turn for career advice from people who’ve been there. In between, a variety of managers and midlevel executives are overwhelmed by the growing number of mentoring requests they’re getting, sometimes from employees they don’t even know.

You’ve been assigned the challenge of proposing a formal mentoring program—and a considerable challenge it is:

■The number of employees who want mentoring relationships far exceeds the number of managers and executives willing and able to be mentors; how will you select people for the program?

■The people most in demand for mentoring also tend to be some of the busiest people in the organization.

■After several years of belt tightening and staff reductions, the entire company feels overworked; few people can imagine adding another recurring task to their seemingly endless to-do lists.

■What’s in it for the mentors? Why would they be motivated to help lower-level employees?

■How will you measure the success or failure of the mentoring effort?

Your task With a team assigned by your instructor, identify potential solutions to the issues (make up any information you need) and draft a proposal to the executive committee for a formal, companywide mentoring program that would match selected employees with successful managers and executives.

Improve Your Grammar, Mechanics,

and Usage

You can download the text of this assignment from http:// real-timeupdates.com/bce6; click on Student Assignments and then click on Chapter 11. Improve Your Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage.

Level 1: Self-Assessment—Quotation Marks,

Parentheses, Ellipses, Underscores, and Italics

Review Sections 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, and 3.2 in the Handbook of Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage and then complete the following 15 items.

In items 1–15, insert quotations marks, parentheses, and ellipses as needed, and add italics wherever necessary.

1.Be sure to read How to Sell by Listening in this month’s issue of Fortune.

2.Her response see the attached memo is disturbing.

3.Contact is an overused word.

4.We will operate with a skeleton staff during the holiday break December 21 through January 2.

5.The SBP’s next conference, the bulletin noted, will be held in Minneapolis.

6.Sara O’Rourke a reporter from The Wall Street Journal will be here on Thursday.

7.I don’t care why you didn’t fill my order; I want to know when you’ll fill it.

8.The term up in the air means undecided.

9.Her assistant the one who just had the baby won’t be back for four weeks.

10.Ask not what your country can do for you is the beginning of a famous quotation from John F. Kennedy.

11.Whom do you think Time magazine will select as its Person of the Year?

12.Do you remember who said And away we go?

Level 2: Workplace Applications

The following items may contain errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, abbreviation, number style, word division, and vocabulary. Rewrite each sentence, correcting all errors. If a sentence has no errors, write “Correct” for that number.

1.For the lst time, thank’s to largely deals with the big chains like Stop & Shop, Sheila’s Snak Treetz are showing a profit.

2.The premise for broadband, sometimes called simply ‘high speed Internet’, is that consumers need a more fast pipeline for getting digital information in our homes.

3.After moving into they’re own factory, the Anderson’s found theirselves in the market for an oven with airflow controls.

4.Cash-strapped entrepreneurs have learned penny-pinch- ing, cost-cutting, credit-stretching techniques.

5.Designs in the Rough send out some 7 million catalogs a year yet until recently the company did’nt need a warehouse and they hadn’t hardly any carrying costs.

6.Blockbuster estimates that 70 percent of the US population live within a 10 minute drive of a Blockbuster store.

7.Nestle Waters North America are the exclusive importer of globally-recognized brands such as: Perrier and Vittel from France and, S. Pelligrino from Italy,

8.The U.S. hispanic community; the largest Minority Group in the country; commands a impressive total purchasing power estimated at more than $500 billion dollars.

9.We conducted a six-month pilot in Chicago, to insure the affectiveness of the program.

10.A series of 7-Eleven television spots help make the term brain freeze part of every day American language.

11.The ad agencies accounts include the following con- sumer-brands; Walmart, Southwest airlines, FedEx, Land Rover, and Krispy Kreme.

12.PETsMART allows pets and their humans to together stroll the aisles of its stores; the number one Specialty Retailer of pet supplies.

13.Signature Fruit Co. has confirmed its closing it’s Gridley, CA peach plant this Fall.

14.To unite the company’s 91 franchisees around a common corporate identity WingsToGo have setup a corporate intranet.

15.It would be well for you to contract with an Internet service provider—a ISP - to both run and to maintain your website.

Level 3: Document Critique

The following document may contain errors in grammar,

14.The resignation letter begins Since I’ll never regain your respect and goes on to explain why that’s true.

15.You must help her distinguish between i.e. which means that is and e.g. which means for example.

photocopy this page and correct all errors using standard proofreading marks (see Appendix C) or download the document and make the corrections in your word processing software.