Effective Communications for Improving Branch Performance

Writing Effective Communications
General Instructions
Purpose
This examination will evaluate your ability to write an
interoffice memorandum and an e-mail.
Preparation
Review the following sections in this study unit: “Interoffice
memorandums,” “Negative letters,” and “E-mails.” Your e-mail
should follow the format shown in Figure 15, with content
appropriate to the assignment—that is, a negative letter
written to solve a problem.
Background
Phoenix Advertising, with its main headquarters in Charlotte,
North Carolina, serves clients that include banks, insurance
companies, and retail chains.
You’re the vice president of human resources management at
Phoenix. You report directly to Gregory S. Forest, the company
president. Mr. Forest advises you that in the last month, four
clients have complained about the advertising work produced
by the Roanoke, Virginia branch of the agency. He reminds
you that the clients served from the Roanoke branch are vital
to the overall success of Phoenix Advertising.
Mr. Forest also explains the little he has been able to learn
about the situation at the branch: In the last three months,
two of the top management people—an art director and an
account executive—have left the agency. Three of the graphic
designers and four of the copywriters are threatening to quit
because they feel their creative efforts are being rejected
or revised without consultation. They want to be part of a
collaborative team, not to simply produce work that the art
directors and account executives can alter arbitrarily.
In an attempt to increase revenues, the branch is accepting
new clients without evaluating the effects of the new accounts
on the current project workload. As a result, without notice or

compensation for the additional hours, all salaried employees
are required to work long hours several days each week.
Employee morale and productivity are declining day by day.
Process
Part A: Interoffice memorandum
Step 1
Begin by creating facts, figures, and people to flesh out the
above background information and your position in the
company. The following questions are provided to jumpstart
your
prewriting, but you must expand on them to brainstorm
thoroughly. In addition to listing details, also freewrite about
the Phoenix Advertising agency and its executive team.
• How large is the agency? How many branches does it
have? Where are the branches located?
• What’s the company’s mission? How does each branch
relate to that mission?
• What are the company’s primary business goals?
• What do clients need from Phoenix Advertising?
• Who are the people on the executive team (other
vicepresidents of other departments)?
• Who’s in charge of the agency’s accounts in all
the branches?
• Who knows about policies for accepting and assigning
new accounts?
• Who knows about the policies for collaborative work
among account executives, art directors, graphic
designers, and copywriters?
• Are any other branches losing clients?
Now brainstorm and freewrite more specifically about your
own department and the people who work for you.
• What are their names and positions?
• What would an organizational chart of your department look
like?
• What policies have you established for the agency about
overtime for salaried employees? Are branches allowed

to have different policies? Under what conditions?
• What are the compensation and benefits packages for
the positions of art director and account executive at
the branch level? Do they depend on the location of
the branch and local competitors or is there a general
agency package for each position?
Step 2
After your meeting with Mr. Forest, you realize you need
information from other members of the executive team.
Using the ABC method, draft one interoffice memo to be sent
to the entire executive team. Briefly summarize in one
paragraph the situation with the Roanoke Branch. Explain how
the situation affects Phoenix Advertising as a company and
why it demands immediate attention. In a separate paragraph
explain the actions you need different team members to take
(who must provide what information). Tell the team when
(specific date) and how they should get the information to you
(report, e-mail, etc.). Close your memo with an appropriate final
line or two. Make sure you copy the president on the memo.
Part B: E-mail
Step 1
If necessary, brainstorm further about your department,
your staff, and the agency’s policies about overtime.
Step 2
Invent e-mail addresses for yourself and another person in
your department. Use the company name as the “host”
rather than general commercial providers like AOL or
Yahoo. Include all necessary components such as
the @ symbol.
Step 3
Using the ABC method, draft an e-mail of three to four
paragraphs in which you assign the staff person in charge of
payroll to provide you with payroll statements from the
Roanoke branch for the last 12 months. Use your own judgment
about what, if any, information that person needs to
know about the Roanoke situation to complete the task.

Include a request for a summary of the agency policies and
the branch policies regarding overtime and compensation/
benefits packages. Explain clearly what you need that person
to do, the date you need the information, and how you want
the person to convey the information to you.
Be sure you follow the format of the sample e-mail, using the
new content you’ve written for the assignment. Use a specific
subject line formatted in title case.
Step 4
Referring to the evaluation criteria for the exam, revise
your work carefully. Check for directness, emphasis,
sentence variety, and coherence, making appropriate word
choices for your audience and the type of correspondence.
Edit grammar, spelling, and punctuation carefully. Read
through your revised memo and e-mail backwards, first
word by word, then sentence by sentence, and then paragraph by
paragraph.
Word by word. In this way you can locate spelling errors. Be
alert—you may see the word here in your essay, a correctly
spelled word. But also check the words on either side. Did
you mean here in terms of location or did you mean the
sense of hearing?
Sentence by sentence. By looking at each group of words
separately from the context, you can more easily locate run-on
sentences or fragments. Compare the length and structure of
each sentence for variety. Also check the connections between
sentences—are they coherent?
Paragraph by paragraph. Locate the controlling idea of
each paragraph and compare them with your primary focus
for the memo and e-mail. Does the paragraph help to
develop that focus in some specific way? Compare it with
the controlling ideas of the paragraphs before and after it.
Do they follow in logical order?
Step 5
When you’re satisfied with your revisions, type your final
memo; begin a new page in the same document for the e-mail.

Use Times New Roman, font size 12. Format your document
for left justification, and leave a ragged right margin.
Evaluation Criteria
Your instructor will use the following criteria to evaluate
your exam:
• Development of memo (25 points)
Did you appropriately summarize and release information, give
details of needs related to the scenario,
as well as apply ABC and coherence?
• Memo format (10 points)
Did you apply the format from the sample in the
study unit with four headings in capital letters, equal
tab, specific subject line, and copy the president?
• Development of-mail (20 points)
Did you appropriately summarize and release the
information, give details of needs related to scenario,
as well as apply ABC and coherence?
• E-mail format (10 points)
Did you use proper business-host addresses, specific
subject line, salutation, and closing?
• Audience, tone, and word choice (10 points)
How well did you choose words to convey a professional tone in
relation to your audience?
• Grammar, sentence structure, and mechanics (20 points)
How well did you edit and proofread your document to
ensure correct application of standard written conventions for
American English?
• General format (5 points)
Did you apply correct font, justification, and header
information?72 Examination
Submitting Your Exam
Include the following information at the top of each page of
your document. The best way to ensure the information is on
each page is to enter everything using the Header option
(usually located on the View or Insert menu).

Name and Student Number Exam number Page X of Y
Your Mailing Address
Your E-mail Address
If you don’t include the above information at the top of each
page of your document, we can’t guarantee that your exam
will be processed for grading. If your exam is processed without
the information, you’ll lose at least 10 points from your
overall exam grade for neglecting to include this information.
Module 1 - Introduction to International Relations and Concepts
Video Lecture - Intro to International Relations - Part I
http://wku.tegrity.com/#/recording/3f5cc7af-121e-48d3-be97-
1b2c3bfd3585?playbackToken=2IPSPBEX4JBGH
Video Lecture - Intro to International Relations - Part II
http://wku.tegrity.com/#/recording/2c2b2130-f109-4ba2-b909-
2270b1bb0e33?playbackToken=3BK7302RXKYWJLecture 1
Powerpoint - Introduction to the course and Chapter 1
https://blackboard.wku.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4076481-dt-
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mportedContent_20150514114214/250_lec_1_intro_BB_1-
2.pdfLecture 1 Notes - Introduction to International Relations
and Key Concepts
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Reflection 1 - Intro to IR and Concepts
For this forum, answer the 2 Mandatory "EVERYONE
DO/DISCUSS" type questions and 2 additional questions.
GENERAL RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR DISCUSSIONS

MAKE SURE
1) You have read and understand ALL the QUESTIONS and the
ANSWERS to the questions posed on the
Reading Reflections because YOU WILL GET THEM on the
exam
2) READ the directions for EACH REFLECTION; you will be
asked to answer certain questions and or be given choices.
3) In your answers, REFERENCE THE TEXT page numbers of
our class sources
(Lec Notes, Goldstein, Waltz, BBC). DO NOT GIVE YOUR
OPINION unless requested... show you have read all the class
notes and texts and CITE THEM; Always cite your sources; for
example, (Goldestein 26) or (Lecture foreign policy Slide 3)
4) Always seek to use definitions, concepts and theories from
OUR course material; you do not get credit for merely giving
your opinion; in fact your opinion is taken into consideration
ONLY when requested
5) If you are using information from the text or powerpoints,
put these in YOUR OWN WORDS (but still cite your source);
Do not merely type out text verbatim AND NEVER copy and
paste; you should PARAPHRASE the texts…. Otherwise you are
plagiarizing and only moving text around and not really
learning
** Both QUANTITY and QUALITY are taken into
consideration when evaluating your work on these reflections.
For this Reflection answer the 2 Mandatory "EVERYONE
DO/DISCUSS" type questions (#13 and #14) and 2 additional
questions. You must write the question number AND the entire
question/prompt before you answer the question/prompt.
1. How can IR as a field of study be divided?
2. How do history and political science differ?
3. What is a simple definition of theory?
4. Describe an example of a theory from this chapter [NOT

conservative, liberal or revolutionary]. [multiple answers]
5. Describe one of the three main theoretical
perspectives/approaches in IR. [3 possible answers]
6. What is the individual level of analysis? What does it focus
on? Provide an example.
7. What is the domestic level of analysis? What does it focus
8. What is the interstate level of analysis? What does it focus
9. What is the global or systemic level of analysis? What does it
focus on? Provide an example.
10. What is a collective or public good? What distinguishes a
public good from a private one?
11. What are collective action problems? Provide an example of
a “current” collective action problem in the international arena.
12. What is the significance of geography in the study of IR?
Explain.
13. EVERYONE DO – find a BBC story that focuses on an
international issue RELEVANT TO IR and uses ONE of the
levels of analysis we have studied. Explain what level is being
used in the article. What other level might help explain the
situation better?
14. EVERYONE DO – go to the BBC and find one example for
EACH and every one (include all non-state actor types) of the
different “ actors” in the international system that we discussed
in lecture. Make sure you identify the type of actor and provide
a URL link to the story AND a short description of the actor and
why you believe that the article is a good illustration for that
type of actor.
Module 2 - Power Politics (Realism)
Video Lecture - Realism - Part I
http://wku.tegrity.com/#/recording/08599b4f-795d-4aed-984e-
5fa43b81498e?playbackToken=10I63HHH9O2RZ

Video Lecture - Realism - Part II
http://wku.tegrity.com/#/recording/7a17429a-a86c-4c48-ba71-
d152c8841f90?playbackToken=MQTMI0VY6D30Lecture 2
Notes - Power Politics
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wer%20Politics%20.pdf
Lecture 2 Powerpoint - Realism
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Do the EVERYONE DO question (# 18) and TWO additional
questions for a TOTAL of 3 questions. You must write the
question number AND the entire question/prompt before you
answer the question/prompt.
1. What led to the emergence of the two main theories in IR
(liberalism and realism)?
2. What are the main assumptions of realism?
3. Identify two of the thinkers that have contributed to realism
and describe their contribution. [multiple answers].
4. What is the most common definition of power? What are its
flaws?
5. Define power in terms of influence.
6. Define power in terms of capability.
7. How can one estimate power? What are the difficulties in
estimating power?
8. What are some tangible and intangible sources of power?
9. What source of power does Goldstein argue is the single most
important one? Why does he say this? Using evidence from the
real world reject his position.
10. Define anarchy? What aspects of the international system
support the view that the system is anarchic?

11. Define sovereignty? In what ways are states still sovereign?
In what ways has sovereignty been weakened?
12. What is a security dilemma?
13. What is balance of power? How has it been used as a central
concept in realist thinking?
14. What are great powers and what are middle powers?
15. What are power distributions? List the different power
distributions.
16. Historically when has there been a hegemony as far as
power distribution goes?
17. What are alliances? What purposes do they serve and
provide TWO examples.
18. EVERYONE DO [choose A or B]
A. Go to the BBC and find an international event that is about a
current conflict and identify the power capabilities used by each
side of the conflict. Explain the effectiveness of these
capabilities. You may do this on your own or with another
student (each focusing on one side/actor involved). Provide the
URL.
OR
B. How would you describe the current power distribution? Why
do you describe it as such? Discuss this with another classmate,
preferably, one that disagrees with you. Also state under what
circumstances you believe the power distribution might change
and how. Provide some evidence by way of a URL or article
link that supports your view.
Module 3 - Alternatives to Power Politics (Realism)
Lecture 3 Notes - Liberal and Social Alternatives to Realism
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ND%20Social%20Alt%20to%20Realism%281%29.pdf
Both chapters combined here-- Liberal alternatives to Realism
AND Social theories such as feminism and constructivism
Cuban missile crisis media segments and a URL for learning
about how foreign policy making unfolds.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/
iMPORTANT; MUST WATCH Film segments of "At the
Brink" at the URL below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=
kPfRSna7_PM [there are 4 parts]Feminism Reading: Khattak
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%20The%20U.S.%20Bombing%20of%20Afghanistan.pdfFemini
sm Reading: Faludi - Guardian Myths
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0Gurardian%20Myths.pdf
Do the EVERYONE DO question and THREE additional
questions for a total of FOUR questions in this section. Then
READ one of the following articles (see below): Khattak, Faludi
or Sontag and address the questions as instructed. (Thus you
will have 4 + 1 = 5 entries MINIMUM for this section total).
You must write the question number AND the entire
1. What realist assumptions are criticized by various alternative
theories covered in this section?
2. How does liberalism weaken realism’s assumptions? Each
entry should focus on one assumption. First outline the realist
assumption, then explain how liberalism modifies it… [multiple
answers]
3. Using Kant as your reference from our reading in the text,
provide ONE reason/argument why cooperation is the trend and

conflict less recurring in the world. [each student who does this
should only do one, Kant has three; multiple answers]
4. How does neoliberalism differ from liberalism in IR?
5. Define reciprocity and EXPLAIN how it promotes
cooperation.
6. How can reciprocity result in more conflict? Explain.
7. Define international regimes. How do they facilitate
cooperation?
8. What are dilemmas of common interest? Provide an example.
9. What are dilemmas of common aversion? Provide an
example.
10. Compare and contrast mutual vs. relative gains.
11. What is democratic peace theory? What evidence is there for
this theory and what counterarguments can be made? [Two
students]
12. Describe each feminist theory. [Three students]
13. What is postmodernism? How does it weaken realist
assumptions?
14. What is constructivism? How does it weaken realist
assumptions?
15. What is Lenin’s theory of IR and how does it attack realist
theory?
16. EVERYONE DO [A or B]
A. Go to the BBC and find an article that discusses, references
or illustrates an instance of “reciprocity” OR an “international
regime. Explain why you believe it illustrates either concept
and provide the URL.
B. Go to the BBC and find an article that discusses, references
or illustrates any one of the KEY concepts specific to this
section, such as, feminist theory, democratic peace theory, HST,
international organizations, and or any other relevant term.
Module 4 - Conflict and Military Strategy
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%20Conflict%20Nuke%20Strategy.pdfLecture 4 Powerpoint -
International Conflict and Military Strategy Combined
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Do the 2 EVERYONE DO questions and 3 additional questions.
You must write the question number AND the entire
1) Using the recent war in Iraq or Afghanistan, make statement
about the cause of war at the individual level of analysis.
about the cause of war at the domestic level of analysis.
about the cause of war at the interstate level of analysis.
4) Using the recent war in Iraq or Afghanistan, make a
statement about the cause of war at the global level of analysis.
5) Reflect upon the multiple levels of analysis and exlain which
level of analysis you find most useful in explaining either the
war in Iraq or Afghanistan and why, and which you find least
useful in explaining the war and why.
6) What are WMDs and what are their main function?
7) What is the difference between fission and fusion? When
there is discussion of nuclear weapons, which kind are they
usually talking about?

8) What does first-strike mean? Second-strike? MAD?
9) What is the NPT? What are its goals and what countries have
NOT signed it?
10) Which countries are declared nuclear powers? Which are
not?
11) In general, describe the difference between tangible and
intangible interests in the context of conflict.
12) Of the different types of war that are discussed in this
section, which do you think is most common today? Why?
Explain and give at least TWO examples from the BBC to
justify your response.
13) EVERYONE DO -- Seven types of conflict under the two
categories of conflict over tangible and intangible interests are
listed in our text. Discuss ONE fully and find an example of it
among the articles in the BBC. How does that example illustrate
the concept?
14) What are some definitions of terrorism? Why is it hard to
define?
15) What is asymmetrical warfare?
16) What is state sponsored terrorism? What is problematic
about the book's definition?
17) EVERYONE DISCUSS Nuclear proliferation - If more
states had nuclear weapons would the world be more or less
peaceful? Why and or why not? Use evidence from the text and
or other sources and also react to your colleagues.
Module 5 - International Organizations (EU/UN) and Law

Lecture 5 Notes - International Organizations and Law
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mportedContent_20150514114214/IOs%20and%20Intl%20Law
%20notes.pdfLecture 5 Powerpoint - International
Organizations and Law
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Do the EVERYONE DO question and TWO additional questions
for a TOTAL of THREE questions. You must write the question
number AND the entire question/prompt before you answer the
question/prompt.
1) Discuss the difference in realist/neorealist theory vs.
liberal/neoliberaltheory regarding the prospect of cooperation
among states? How do these two differ in their explanation of
cooperation or lack thereof?
2) What are international regimes? What functions do they
perform? And how might they lead to cooperation among states?
3) What are international organizations? What functions do they
perform? And how might they lead cooperation among states?
4) How do international regimes and organizations differ?
Provide examples of international organizations and
international regimes? What do are the issue areas that each
focus on?
5) International law has developed over time. What is just war
doctrine? When is a war just?
6) What are the sources of international law? Provide an
example of an international law from each source type.
7) Compare and contrast domestic and international law in
terms of sources and enforcement. How do they differ?
8) What is the World Court or International Court of Justice?
What types of disputes does it hear? Who are the litigants in

these cases?
9) What is the International Criminal Court? What types of
disputes does it hear? Who are the litigants in these cases?
10) What is the main function of the United Nations? How did
this function originate?
11) What role does the General Assembly play? What are its
powers? Look at the recent GA session. What were the main
issues on the agenda?
12) What is the Security Council and what functions does it
have? What are its permanent members?
13) Explain the function of United Nations peacekeeping forces,
distinguish between peacekeeping and peacemaking, and
describe two recent missions.
14) Identify several IGOs other than the UN or UN-related
agencies that you think are important. Why did you choose
these IGOs?
15) What are some current debates regarding the structure of the
Security Council and the veto?
16) EVERYONE DO - GO to ONE of the respective websites of
the following IGOs and EXPLORE its contents
United Nations http://www.un.org/en/
European Union http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
International Court of Justice [World Court] http://www.icj-
cij.org/homepage/index.php?lang=en
International Criminal Court http://www.icc-
cpi.int/Menus/ICC?lan=en-GB
OAS (Organization of American
States) http://www.oas.org/main/english/
AU (African Union) http://www.africa-
union.org/root/au/index/index.htm
OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) http://www.oic-
oci.org/home.asp
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) http://asean.org/
WTO (World Trade Organization) http://www.wto.org/

FIND a SIGNIFICANT ISSUE that confronts the institution you
chose to explore and DESCRIBE the issue and EXPLAIN the
difficulties the institution faces in addressing that issue USING
LANGUAGE from our course and especially this section of the
course. (do not focus on a mundane administrative issue). What
is one of their success stories where they have been able to
promote cooperation for example or accomplish their
objectives?
READ one of the following articles (see below): Khattak, Faludi
or Sontag and address the questions as instructed.
After reading KHATTAK's, SONTAG's, or FALUDI's feminist
critique under “ > COURSE MODULES > LECTURE 3
POWERPOINT - ALTERNATIVE TO REALISM AND
FEMINIST READINGS under Alternatives to Realism” address
TWO of the following questions in a solid paragraph
demonstrating you have read the article and understand realism
and its liberal and feminist critiques. For each question explain
the “Why?” or “how?” and reference the article. Include the
question in your thread heading.
You must IDENTIFY the author for which you are responding
as well as write the question number AND the entire
1) What elements of the author’s argument differ from a realist
perspective?
2) What utility is there in knowing about this perspective? What
value is there in reading the piece?
3) What are some of the author’s main assumptions? Who is her
audience?
4) What unit of analysis is the author using and to what end?

5) What is the author’s main thesis? What supporting evidence
does she provide?
6) Are the author’s arguments persuasive? Why or why not?
7) Is the author a difference /standpoint feminist, liberal
feminist or post-modern feminist? Why?
8) How does the author emphasize the importance of gender?
9) How does the author expose the “masculine” nature of
realism? Explain.
10) From what perspective: conservative, liberal or radical, is
the author coming from? Explain.

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