I found this assignment on correspondence to be more difficult than I was expecting. I didn’t realize how much thought and time had to be put into this type of communication. I have learned it is imperative to focus on the audience and situation to which you are writing as well as the purpose and tone you are trying to convey.

As I wrote the claim letter I focused on several things. First, I made sure to establish good will with the manager as that is very important. I wanted him to know that I appreciated the company’s services and their reputation for customer service, while at the same time expressing my displeasure with my purchase. I also wanted to be sure and maintain a professional tone while describing the product I purchased. I also made sure the action I wanted the manager to take was clear and easy to understand. I did this by being direct and to the point because I wanted to let them know my expectations concerning the product I bought and how I expected my problem to be solved.

I also wrote the bad news memo using the same criteria that I used in the claim letter. Along with establishing and maintaining good will and using a professional tone, I made sure to deliver the good news to the employees first and then follow with the bad news. I wanted to be sure to clearly describe the plan for reducing the number of personal copies made but also be indirect as to not blame anyone in particular for the problem. I also used easy to understand language so there would be no misunderstandings on the part of the employees. An email format would also be a good genre for this type of announcement. Many companies have an announcement folder where company-wide emails are posted for employees to read. This would be sort of like an email bulletin board.

For the solicitation email I included an attention grabber at the beginning praising the Mr. Jones for his outstanding community service. This positive beginning would give them a feeling of good will at the beginning of the solicitation. I told him about our organization and how we serve individuals and families in our community, including statistics to be more specific. By giving him our Mission Statement I provided him with the values that our organization has in our city and area. In the last paragraph, I gave Mr. Jones specific details on how he and his company can partner with our foundation. I extended him more good will at the end of the email by inviting him and Jones, Inc. to an event planned just for them.

While completing this correspondence assignment I have accomplished many of the course goals. I have learned how to communicate effectively with specific audiences. I have also put together convincing and usable documents and been able to solve problems and improve situations within these documents. These examples of business correspondence represent the types of correspondence I will encounter weekly if not daily in a business setting.

PuettClaimLetter.doc

PuettBadNewsMemo.doc

PuettSolicitationEmail.doc