PROJECT 1 – EMAIL, MEMO, AND LETTER – Due 09/4
(Note: Submit Word documents that show the time that has been put into creating each document. Word documents also allow me to easily provide feedback. Please do not submit PDF documents.)
Project Goals
To do research regarding a product or service that will make a company run more efficiently. To write a compelling email, memo, and complaint letter.
SCENARIO
You serve on a committee commissioned by the CEO of your business, Rachel Jones, to research a product or service that will make your company run more efficiently. Cost is a concern, but quality is also important.
Do some research and find three places, online vendors, that sell the product or service. Write an email to one of these places to obtain additional information. (You do not have to send the email. Write the email on a Word document.)
Next, write a memo to your boss that compares key aspects of the product or service (including cost), as offered by each online source, and make a recommendation. Possible products and services to investigate include the following:
- New or more advanced equipment to replace obsolete or inefficient computers, appliances, vehicles, and the like, or upgrades for equipment/technology
- New software and/or training sessions to show employees how to use it
- Other products or services
(Kolin, 2023, p. 438)
After receiving your memo, the CEO agrees with your recommendation and the company purchases the product or service. Unfortunately, there is a problem. Write a letter to the vendor from whom you purchased the product or service, asking them to correct the problem.
PROCESS:
First, before completing any of these documents, format your blank Word document. Failure to do this will result in formatting problems. DO NOT USE A TEMPLATE. (This always creates a multitude of formatting problems.)
Make sure you have 1-inch margins (which is standard) and 11-12 point font in a style appropriate for business correspondence: “Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, and Times New Roman are all considered accessible fonts and are preferred for most workplace documents and visuals” (Kolin, 2023, p. 381.)
Place your cursor at the top of the blank Word page. See the Paragraph section (third from the left on the ribbon). There is a tiny box to the right of it. Click on that box and a Paragraph popup will appear.
Select these options: For Line Spacing, choose Single. / See below that: “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style.” Check the box to the left of that line. Then select OK.
Email and Memo (Cite References) (Criteria and PowerPoint on Assignment is attached)
Step 1 Review the scenario and choose a product or service that you will research for your company. Using the Web, review information provided by at least three online vendors about the product or service. Write down the names of the three vendors that you researched and the information you obtained about their products.
(You will include this information in your memo to your boss to show the research that you did. Examine 3 or 4 common aspects of the product or service such as cost, warranty, features, possible discounts, etc. You will clearly show how they compare in your memo to your boss. A bulleted list or a table is helpful.)
Step 2 Write an email to one of the places you have researched, asking for specific information that is not provided about the product or service. (Again, you do not have to send the email. Just type this on a Word document.)
See the Writing an Inquiry Email PowerPoint on Canvas.) Make sure to add full contact information at the bottom (a signature block). See the example for this on page 105 (Figure 4.4). & labeled contact information on email examples, pages 100 and 101 (Figures 4.1 & 4.2).
Step 3 Decide which vendor and product or service you will recommend and write a memo to your boss that shows the research you have done and includes a recommendation.
(Be sure to examine 3 or 4 common aspects of the product or service such as cost, warranty, features, possible discounts, etc. Show clearly show how they compare in your memo to your boss. A bulleted list or a table is helpful.)
Review the section in our book on formatting and organizing a memo, pages 187-192 (Sections 6.7c – 6.7h). See examples for a formal memo format on pages 190-191 (Figures 6.17 & 6.18). (Note that a memo is an internal communication and will not contain a street address or telephone number in the header. It can include the company name and logo. An email address can also be added, but it is not required. Do, at least, add a company name in the letterhead.)
Note: The memo should be a full page in length, single-spaced.
Business (Complaint) Letter (Criteria and PowerPoint on Assignment is attached)
Write a letter to the business you purchased the product or service from regarding a problem you are having with the purchase. (Create a letterhead for your company. See Writing Complaint Letters – pages 173-176 (Section 6.6e). Figure 6.8, page 175, provides an example of a complaint letter from a business.) Also, see the PowerPoint on Assignments for Completion – Week 3.
