Excellent Example: Read This "Bad News" Memo

I suggest you read the "bad news memo" that was crafted Tuesday night by one of your colleagues -- overall, it is an excellent example of the work an MBA should produce in Business Communications. One way to improve skills is to read (listen to or view) the work of others who have mastered the skills.

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of the "bad news" assignment, as explained prior to the assignment, was to present "bad news" to employees without de-motivating them. You were provided with a "backgrounder" and you were to select the pertinent information that had to be explained to the employees of The Management Firm, Inc. (This would demonstrate your ability to analyze a situation and make sense of it for others in a memo format). In addition, you were expected to demonstrate some of the principles that I presented to you in my discussion, i.e. upbeat tone, scholarly approach, prepare for fallout, focus on future, use statistics, etc. You had at least 90 minutes to complete this assignment.

Exceeded My Expectations

I'm particularly pleased that the referenced memo includes not only a professional and caring tone, but also all of the pertinent information. The MBA incorporated some of the ideas that I recommended during my presentation -- this demonstrates his ability to absorb content quickly and to turn knowledge into skills. When students perform at this level, it's clear that they grasped the information, understood it, and immediately used it. This is a good way to exceed a professor's expectations! Of course, if you did not grasp the information, understand it, or know how to use it, those would have been good reasons to ask for clarifications. (I also continue to recommend that you take notes during faculty presentations -- and very few MBAs do).

What Would You Change?

When you read the memo, see if you can detect the student's methodology for presenting the information, and also identify the techniques that he used to "soften the blow" of the bad news that had to be shared with employees. Finally, several editing changes are required -- what are they?