Causal Friday writing
Assignment: E-Mail write Your company is considering allowing hourly employees to dress casually on Fridays this has not been allowed before. The company’s hope was it would give the everyday employee a perk and improve morale. Morale was in need of a boost and this would not cost the company any money. Originally the middle managers wanted to offer the program to everyone, then the company President put in his opinion and the program changed to include a cost, a bunch of rules and some very unclear parameters. 1.) To participate you had to donate $5 a week to dress down 2.) All funds collected will be donated to a charity of the company’s choice 3.) Dress down will be limited to nice jeans, collared shirts and no sneakers 4.) Management is still considering requiring “good standing” to participate You are a middle manager recently promoted from the hourly ranks. Management has asked that you quietly circulate the program to a select few hourly employees to get feedback. Then provide management with the results and your recommendation. Here is what you found: The consensus was dress down Fridays was a great idea and the hourly employees were excited by the possibility. That was until the program details were shared. The hourly employees felt the parameters were unfair on a number of levels. Management could certainly afford the weekly/monthly cost, but hourly employees saw this as a burden. They earned less than managers after all. They supported the idea of the company donating to a charity. They pointed out that the company would not be donating, it would in fact be the employee, but the company would be deciding on who received the donation. This seemed unfair to them. Limiting the attire made sense, but this approach seemed restrictive and not as dress down as the name suggested. Finally, what exactly did management mean by “good standing”. It was unclear. Their attitude this was typical of management they took a good idea and watered it down until it wasn’t worthwhile and the hourly employee always seemed to get the worst of it. Specifics: send an email to John Pratt- President- remember you have been asked for honest feedback and your recommendation on how best to structure this program. As a new manager be mindful of your approach and the audience, be creative. You do not know the president very well. Keep it to less than a page and be sure to have an appropriate subject line. This is business writing so it is single spaced and no indent. Employ the Paramedic method and think about how to organize your content, you need to be persuasive. Grammar mistakes indicate sloppiness and reflect on us as employees. I will take off small points for grammar and spelling. Have an intro and close. Consider what he needs to know and whether the direct or the indirect method is needed. Company presidents are usually busy so don’t go past a page. Good Luck!
Solution Preview
To: John Pratt
Subject: Recommendation: Dressing Down Dress-down Friday.
Hello sir, I would love to inform you of the due completion of my task to gather hourly employees’ thoughts on the idea of dress down Friday. Discretion in the inquiry ensured minimal bias arising from employee interactions.
(299 words)