Scanner Slip-Up Case:Initial Discussion

Brief Overview of the Case

You are the Communications Manager for Online Training Services, Inc. (OTS) and must repair a mistake made by your IT Department. Thomson, a computer products manufacturing company, has partnered with OTS to run a one-month Web-based training program aimed at retail sales associates (RSAs) working in retail stores across the country, offering a free scanner to the first 500 individuals to score 100% on the training program’s final quiz. However, due to a software glitch, OTS sends the e-mail winning notification to 1,000 people instead of the first 500. Although the problem can be traced to IT, it is ultimately concerned with the precarious balancing act in which a company must decide how to correct its own error. This case also involves ethical decisions on your part, as the “voice” of the company, to smooth errors over through active communication with the clients.

Case Objectives

To critically analyze a challenging business writing situation.

To use the principles of effective business writing to write convincing documents.

To learn the benefits of peer discussion and team work. To write business documents using the four pillars of

business writing: purpose, audience, context, and identity. To establish credibility, trust, and goodwill through

business writing.

Goals for this case

Skills Learn the conventions of formal business letters Learn how to plan your business writing documents Learn some strategies for peer reviewing the work of

others

Core competencies Analyzing writing situations Communicating within and between organizations Writing ethically

Required Documents

Internal Memo

External Letter

Project Assessment Memo

Internal Memo

Written to Bob O’Brian, OTS Director of Marketing

Explains decision you made to “fix” the problem, including a discussion of all available options

Must use OTS Memo Template

External Letter

Written to Marylou Yanni, Thomson’s Marketing Director OR written to the 500 Retail Sales Associates

Must “fix” the problem AND maintain good relations with the recipient

Must use OTS letterhead

Project Assessment Memo

Written to 407A Instructor Explain choices that you made in creating the

documents for the case, describing your understanding of the context of the case, the documents that you created, and your production process

Must use Scanner Slip-Up PAM Template