3 Welcome to Writing at Work! After you have completed the reading for the week, write an email to introduce yourself to your peers. The name of your thread should be what you would include in the subject of the email.  As you compose your email, keep in mind the following: · You are addressing a group you will work with in a professional capacity for at least 15 weeks. Let us know something about you, but don't share anything you wouldn't want repeated. · You should include what you perceive to be your relative strengths with regard to writing at work. What types of tasks would you feel most comfortable taking on? · You should also include what aspects of writing at work make you feel least comfortable. What types of tasks would you not be as suited for? · What do you hope to learn in the next several months? Next, in an attachment, choose one of the following two prompts and write a letter, taking into account the purpose, audience, and appropriate style for the task. 1. Your organization has been contracted to complete a project for an important client, and you were charged with managing the project. It has unfortunately become clear that your team will not meet the deadline. Your supervisor has told you to contact the client in writing to alert them to the situation and wants to be cc'd on the message. Write a letter, which you will send via email, addressing the above. 2. After a year-long working relationship, your organization will no longer be making use of a freelancer's services due to no fault of their own. Write a letter alerting them to this fact. Name: HRT 4760 Assignment 01 Timeliness First, you will choose one particular organization where you will conduct each of your 15 different observational assignments. Stick with this same organization throughout your coursework. (Do not switch around assignment locations at different organizations or locations.) The reason for continuing your observational assignments at the same organization is to give you a deeper understanding of this particular organization across the 15 different assignments. As you read on, you will get a more complete understanding as to how these 15 assignments come together. Tip: Many students choose the organization where they are currently working. This works particularly well. If you are working there, you have much opportunity to gain access to the areas that will give you a more complete understanding of the quality of entire service package (the 15 different elements) that the organization offers to its customers. This is one of a package of 15 different assignments that comprise the Elements of Service, which you will study this term. For this assignment, you will observe elements of service in almost any particular service establishment. A few examples of service establishments would include, but not be limited to these: Hotel, resort, private club, restaurant, airline, cruise line, grocery store, doctor’s office, coffee house, and scores of oth ...

1. 3
Welcome to Writing at Work! After you have completed the
reading for the week, write an email to introduce yourself to
your peers. The name of your thread should be what you would
include in the subject of the email.
As you compose your email, keep in mind the following:
· You are addressing a group you will work with in a
professional capacity for at least 15 weeks. Let us know
something about you, but don't share anything you wouldn't
want repeated.
· You should include what you perceive to be your relative
strengths with regard to writing at work. What types of tasks
would you feel most comfortable taking on?
· You should also include what aspects of writing at work make
you feel least comfortable. What types of tasks would you not
be as suited for?
· What do you hope to learn in the next several months?
Next, in an attachment, choose one of the following two
prompts and write a letter, taking into account the purpose,
audience, and appropriate style for the task.
1. Your organization has been contracted to complete a project
for an important client, and you were charged with managing
the project. It has unfortunately become clear that your team
will not meet the deadline. Your supervisor has told you to
contact the client in writing to alert them to the situation and
wants to be cc'd on the message. Write a letter, which you will
send via email, addressing the above.
2. After a year-long working relationship, your organization
will no longer be making use of a freelancer's services due to no
fault of their own. Write a letter alerting them to this fact.

2. Name:
HRT 4760 Assignment 01
Timeliness
First, you will choose one particular organization where you
will conduct each of your 15 different observational
assignments. Stick with this same organization throughout your
coursework. (Do not switch around assignment locations at
different organizations or locations.) The reason for continuing
your observational assignments at the same organization is to
give you a deeper understanding of this particular organization
across the 15 different assignments. As you read on, you will
get a more complete understanding as to how these 15
assignments come together.
Tip: Many students choose the organization where they are
currently working. This works particularly well. If you are
working there, you have much opportunity to gain access to the
areas that will give you a more complete understanding of the
quality of entire service package (the 15 different elements) that
the organization offers to its customers.
This is one of a package of 15 different assignments that
comprise the Elements of Service, which you will study this
term. For this assignment, you will observe elements of service
in almost any particular service establishment. A few examples
of service establishments would include, but not be limited to
these: Hotel, resort, private club, restaurant, airline, cruise line,
grocery store, doctor’s office, coffee house, and scores of
others. Your answers to this assignment will all focus on the
particular service element that appears in the above template
title (Timeliness), which also corresponds to those listed in your
textbook and Power Point slides.
Here is a list of the 15 Service Elements that I am asking for
you to observe and, by answering a set of questions provided in

3. each assignment, critically analyze. While the question
templates all ask for you to answer the same questions, each
assignment’s set of questions focuses on a different Service
Element (15 in all):
01 Timeliness
02 Incremental Flow
03 Anticipation
04 Communication
05 Customer Feedback
06 Accommodation
07 Supervision and Organization
08 Body Language
09 Attitude: Tone of Voice
10 Tact
11 Attentiveness
12 Naming Names
13 Guidance
14 Selling Skills
15 Gracious Problem Solving
Here are a few tips for successfully completing the assignment:
· The most frequently asked question by students: "The
templates all look the same. Won't I just be writing a lot of
repetitive answers?" Answer: The answer is, “No.” While there
will be some repetition, each assignment has a separate title.
Your answers to the particular assignment will all focus on the
particular service element that appears in the template title,
which corresponds to your textbook and your Power Point
slides. For example, your first assignment is about Timeliness
(and only about timeliness). Your second assignment is about
Incremental Flow (and only about incremental flow). Your third
assignment is about Anticipation (and only about anticipation),
and so on.
· To prepare for this assignment: Read the text, review the
Chapter Power Point Slides, and view the streaming chapter

4. lecture.
· Enter your name in the block provided above.
· This is an individual and not a group-project-oriented class.
To receive credit, each of you needs to do your own individual
write-up for each assignment, make your own individual
submittal, and learn and experience the 15 elements of service.
· Because many of the questions in this assignment build, use
and refer to the same establishment throughout the assignment.
So, if you are using Starbuck’s for this assignment, use this
Starbuck’s for each of the questions in this assignment. (The
examples in this assignment use different establishments to give
you a variety of perspectives, but you should use the same
establishment.)
· For subsequent assignments, you may change establishments
or you may continue referring to the same establishment
throughout all of these Service Element assignments. Whichever
works better for you is okay. If you plan to use this course to
give yourself practice for applying this package of Service
Elements to one organization (perhaps where you work), then I
strongly suggest that you use the same organization for all of
your Service Element assignments. The consistency of using
one organization will aid you in learning and application.
· When making observations, realize that you can get a far
better and more accurate understanding of your subject
organization by visiting and observing multiple times before
reporting your observations. Visiting and observing at different
times and days helps to provide a clearer picture of how the
establishment performs overall.
· This assignment, like everything that you do for this course,
has a set deadline (both time and date). The deadline is listed in
the syllabus. While you can turn in any assignment early or on
time, you cannot turn in anything late. No credit will be given
for assignments turned in late.
· Make this and all assignment submittals through Blackboard.
Do not submit any assignment by email attachment, as it will
not receive credit.

5. · If you are unsure how to submit an assignment correctly using
Blackboard, refer to and follow the directions provided in the
syllabus.
· Begin your answer immediately after each question. Don’t
worry about skipping lines or other formatting.
· Answer each question completely. Don’t worry about the
length of your answer as long as you answer completely. Use
correct sentence structure (complete sentences) and not word
blurbs (bullets).
Your 11 Questions Begin Here (remember to answer these 11
questions focusing on the particular service element that
appears in the template title):
I. Category. If you were looking up this service establishment
on Google, what words would you use in your search?
(Examples: Restaurant, Grocery Store, Private Club, Hotel, Dry
Cleaners, Doctor’s Office, etc.)
Category. Begin Your Answer Here:
II. Name of service establishment.
Examples: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, Hilton Waterfront,
Sawgrass Country Club, CVS Pharmacy, Trader Joes, The
Fairmont Hotel, Watson Real Estate, Smith & Wollensky
Steakhouse, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Target, Starbuck’s,
Delta Airlines Reservations, Dr. Larry Porter’s Dental Office,
etc. As is evident from the examples, almost any type of service
establishment can be observed using this system.
Name. Begin Your Answer Here:
III. Location.
Examples: Rancho Cucamonga, Chicago, Claremont, West L.A.,
Malibu, Charlotte, etc. I don’t need the street address or phone.

6. Location. Begin Your Answer Here:
IV. Describe the situation in which you observed this element of
service. Examples: While I was at the front desk checking in,
while I was waiting to see the doctor, while I was waiting for
the check to be closed at the restaurant, when I couldn’t find the
aisle for coffee, etc. Notice that some examples take less
description than others. Provide enough description so that a
reader will be able to envision what it was that you were doing
(the contextual situation) when you made the observation.
Situation. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
V. Definition. Assume that no definition exists for this service
element. Based on the category, name, location, situation, your
expectations, and other experiences, how would you define this
element of service in your own words (do not use wording from
any of the examples or slides)? If a definition of this element
does exist at this location (and this will not be the case often),
then write how the establishment could effectively define this
element.
Example definition: The time that it takes the product or service
to get to each customer.
Definition. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):
VI. Benchmark (what?). Benchmarks are also sometimes
referred to as service standards – our aim and ideal way of
performing this service. Referring back to your definition (so
stay within this context), past experience, and reasonable
expectations what is it that this establishment should ideally do
to perform this element correctly? Think for a moment. If you
were in charge of the employee training at this organization,
what is it that your employees should, ideally, always do in
performing this service standard element of service correctly?

7. The best benchmarks provide objective measures (counts and
times), to help ensure that all staff members better understand
the level of service desired by the establishment. A count might
be how many times something will occur. A time might be how
long a particular service element may take or at what point in
service contact an item should occur.
Example benchmark: The seater greets and makes first contact
with arriving guests within 30 seconds. (Notice that the
Benchmark relates back to the Definition.)
Benchmark. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):
VII. Actual (how?). Overall, and not using any specific
example, during your time there, how was this particular service
element actually performed (in summary form)? What did you
observe? Provide an answer that describes both how the service
element was performed (overall) and whether or not it met your
expectations (based on your definition and benchmark above).
Be sure to tie it contextually to your definition and benchmark.
Example actual: Usually customers were greeted within the 30-
second benchmark. When Frosty’s Ale House was particularly
busy, customers had to wait for a greeting for as long as 2-3
minutes. This occurred primarily because the seater also has
responsibility for bussing and table set up. (Notice that the
Actual relates back to the Benchmark.)
Actual. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
VIII. Strength(s). Despite whether you were left (overall) with a
positive or negative impression of this service establishment,
think about one or two particular incidents during your time
there that were enjoyable relative to the benchmark of this
service element and describe it (them) in detail. Be sure to
include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and
details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret
shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if

8. you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go
back to that person and thank them for their effort.
Example strength: On July 23, at approximately 8:30 PM, I
arrived at the establishment. Macy, the seater, not only greeted
me immediately upon arrival, she also opened the door and
warmly welcomed me into the restaurant with a smile.
Strength. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
IX. Weakness(es). Despite whether you were left (overall) with
a positive or negative impression of this service establishment,
think about one or two particular incidents during your time
there that were underperformed relative to the benchmark of
this service element and describe them in detail. Be sure to
include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and
details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret
shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if
you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go
back to that person and counsel him or her on what was
observed compared to what was expected. When counseled
properly, these service failures can become learning
opportunities for improvement in service and growth
opportunities for the service providers. Even if you are
observing at a Four Seasons Resort, there is always room for
incremental improvement in service. If you write that there
were no weaknesses, then that means that you weren’t observing
closely enough and you will lose points.
Example weakness: On February 22, at approximately 11:45
AM, I arrived and there was no one at the host/check-in station.
I waited for 3 minutes and 45 seconds before Willard came back
to get menus and seat me. There was no welcome – just a “sorry
for the delay, we have to bus and re-set tables now, as well as
seat. I don’t know how they expect us to do all of this.”
Weakness. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

9. X. Armchair. Now that you have experienced the actual
encounter (refer back to your summary in VII), revisit your
benchmark. If you were in charge of the employee training at
this organization, what details would add to your benchmark to
help make service even better and more consistent? Think for a
moment. Even if service in this element met your benchmark
and expectations, what details would you modify in terms of
expected times and or counts that would help ensure an even
higher level of service? Refine and improve the details of your
benchmark in this question. This is good practice for you for the
future. Discuss.
Armchair. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):
XI. Effect. As a result of your experience with this element, are
you pleased, okay, unhappy, or somewhere in between? What is
the likely effect this element of service will have on you
returning to this establishment and or what you will tell others
about your experience? Discuss.
Effect. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):
Now, look back over your answers and ensure that you have
provided thoughtful, insightful, and detailed observations. Run
spell and grammar check, do an additional save, make sure that
you are happy with the document and ready to upload the entire
completed assignment template (including the front-end
instructions and tips), and then upload. Now you can relax a bit.
Learning how to do this type of observation and detailed
analysis will help make you a more perceptive, effective, and
successful leader.
2

10. Name:
HRT 4760 Assignment 02
Incremental Flow
Remember to conduct all of your observational assignments at
the same organization.
This is one of a package of 15 different assignments that
comprise the Elements of Service, which you will study this
term. For this assignment, you will observe elements of service
in almost any particular service establishment. A few examples
of service establishments would include, but not be limited to
these: Hotel, resort, private club, restaurant, airline, cruise line,
grocery store, doctor’s office, coffee house, and scores of
others. Your answers to this assignment will all focus on the
particular service element that appears in the above template
title (Incremental Flow), which also corresponds to those listed
in your textbook and Power Point slides.
Here is a list of the 15 Service Elements that I am asking for
you to observe and, by answering a set of questions provided in
each assignment, critically analyze. While the question
templates all ask for you to answer the same questions, each
assignment’s set of questions focuses on a different Service
Element (15 in all):
01 Timeliness
02 Incremental Flow
03 Anticipation
04 Communication
05 Customer Feedback
06 Accommodation
07 Supervision and Organization
08 Body Language

11. 09 Attitude: Tone of Voice
10 Tact
11 Attentiveness
12 Naming Names
13 Guidance
14 Selling Skills
15 Gracious Problem Solving
Here are a few tips for successfully completing the assignment:
· The most frequently asked question by students: "The
templates all look the same. Won't I just be writing a lot of
repetitive answers?" Answer: The answer is, “No.” While there
will be some repetition, each assignment has a separate title.
Your answers to the particular assignment will all focus on the
particular service element that appears in the template title,
which corresponds to your textbook and your Power Point
slides. For example, your first assignment is about Timeliness
(and only about timeliness). Your second assignment is about
Incremental Flow (and only about incremental flow). Your third
assignment is about Anticipation (and only about anticipation).
· To prepare for this assignment: Read the text, review the
Chapter Power Point Slides, and view the streaming chapter
lecture.
· Enter your name in the block provided above.
· This is an individual and not a group-project-oriented class.
To receive credit, each of you needs to do your own individual
write-up for each assignment, make your own individual
submittal, and learn and experience the 15 elements of service.
· Because many of the questions in this assignment build, use
and refer to the same establishment throughout the assignment.
So, if you are using Starbuck’s for this assignment, use this
Starbuck’s for each of the questions in this assignment. (The
examples in this assignment use different establishments to give
you a variety of perspectives, but you should use the same
establishment.)
· For subsequent assignments, you may change establishments

12. or you may continue referring to the same establishment
throughout all of these Service Element assignments. Whichever
works better for you is okay. If you plan to use this course to
give yourself practice for applying this package of Service
Elements to one organization (perhaps where you work), then I
strongly suggest that you use the same organization for all of
your Service Element assignments. The consistency of using
one organization will aid you in learning and application.
· When making observations, realize that you can get a far
better and more accurate understanding of your subject
organization by visiting and observing multiple times before
reporting your observations. Visiting and observing at different
times and days helps to provide a clearer picture of how the
establishment performs overall.
· This assignment, like everything that you do for this course,
has a set deadline (both time and date). The deadline is listed in
the syllabus. While you can turn in any assignment early or on
time, you cannot turn in anything late. No credit will be given
for assignments turned in late.
· Make this and all assignment submittals through Blackboard.
Do not submit any assignment by email attachment, as it will
not receive credit.
· If you are unsure how to submit an assignment correctly using
Blackboard, refer to and follow the directions provided in the
syllabus.
· Begin your answer immediately after each question. Don’t
worry about skipping lines or other formatting.
· Answer each question completely. Don’t worry about the
length of your answer as long as you answer completely. Use
correct sentence structure (complete sentences) and not word
blurbs (bullets).
Your 11 Questions Begin Here (remember to answer these 11
questions focusing on the particular service element that
appears in the template title):

13. I. Category. If you were looking up this service establishment
on Google, what words would you use in your search?
(Examples: Restaurant, Grocery Store, Private Club, Hotel, Dry
Cleaners, Doctor’s Office, etc.)
Category. Begin Your Answer Here:
II. Name of service establishment.
Examples: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, Hilton Waterfront,
Sawgrass Country Club, CVS Pharmacy, Trader Joes, The
Fairmont Hotel, Watson Real Estate, Smith & Wollensky
Steakhouse, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Target, Starbuck’s,
Delta Airlines Reservations, Dr. Larry Porter’s Dental Office,
etc. As is evident from the examples, almost any type of service
establishment can be observed using this system.
Name. Begin Your Answer Here:
III. Location.
Examples: Rancho Cucamonga, Chicago, Claremont, West L.A.,
Malibu, Charlotte, etc. I don’t need the street address or phone.
Location. Begin Your Answer Here:
IV. Describe the situation in which you observed this element of
service. Examples: While I was at the front desk checking in,
while I was waiting to see the doctor, while I was waiting for
the check to be closed at the restaurant, when I couldn’t find the
aisle for coffee, etc. Notice that some examples take less
description than others. Provide enough description so that a
reader will be able to envision what it was that you were doing
(the contextual situation) when you made the observation.
Situation. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

14. V. Definition. Assume that no definition exists for this service
element. Based on the category, name, location, situation, your
expectations, and other experiences, how would you define this
element of service in your own words (do not use wording from
any of the examples or slides)? If a definition of this element
does exist at this location (and this will not be the case often),
then write how the establishment could effectively define this
element.
Example definition: The time that it takes the product or service
to get to each customer.
Definition. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):
VI. Benchmark (what?). Benchmarks are also sometimes
referred to as service standards – our aim and ideal way of
performing this service. Referring back to your definition (so
stay within this context), past experience, and reasonable
expectations what is it that this establishment should ideally do
to perform this element correctly? Think for a moment. If you
were in charge of the employee training at this organization,
what is it that your employees should, ideally, always do in
performing this service standard element of service correctly?
The best benchmarks provide objective measures (counts and
times), to help ensure that all staff members better understand
the level of service desired by the establishment. A count might
be how many times something will occur. A time might be how
long a particular service element may take or at what point in
service contact an item should occur.
Example benchmark: The seater greets and makes first contact
with arriving guests within 30 seconds. (Notice that the
Benchmark relates back to the Definition.)
Benchmark. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):
VII. Actual (how?). Overall, and not using any specific
example, during your time there, how was this particular service

15. element actually performed (in summary form)? What did you
observe? Provide an answer that describes both how the service
element was performed (overall) and whether or not it met your
expectations (based on your definition and benchmark above).
Be sure to tie it contextually to your definition and benchmark.
Example actual: Usually customers were greeted within the 30-
second benchmark. When Frosty’s Ale House was particularly
busy, customers had to wait for a greeting for as long as 2-3
minutes. This occurred primarily because the seater also has
responsibility for bussing and table set up. (Notice that the
Actual relates back to the Benchmark.)
Actual. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
VIII. Strength(s). Despite whether you were left (overall) with a
positive or negative impression of this service establishment,
think about one or two particular incidents during your time
there that were enjoyable relative to the benchmark of this
service element and describe it (them) in detail. Be sure to
include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and
details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret
shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if
you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go
back to that person and thank them for their effort.
Example strength: On July 23, at approximately 8:30 PM, I
arrived at the establishment. Macy, the seater, not only greeted
me immediately upon arrival, she also opened the door and
warmly welcomed me into the restaurant with a smile.
Strength. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
IX. Weakness(es). Despite whether you were left (overall) with
a positive or negative impression of this service establishment,
think about one or two particular incidents during your time
there that were underperformed relative to the benchmark of
this service element and describe them in detail. Be sure to

16. include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and
details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret
shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if
you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go
back to that person and counsel him or her on what was
observed compared to what was expected. When counseled
properly, these service failures can become learning
opportunities for improvement in service and growth
opportunities for the service providers. Even if you are
observing at a Four Seasons Resort, there is always room for
incremental improvement in service. If you write that there
were no weaknesses, then that means that you weren’t observing
closely enough and you will lose points.
Example weakness: On February 22, at approximately 11:45
AM, I arrived and there was no one at the host/check-in station.
I waited for 3 minutes and 45 seconds before Willard came back
to get menus and seat me. There was no welcome – just a “sorry
for the delay, we have to bus and re-set tables now, as well as
seat. I don’t know how they expect us to do all of this.”
Weakness. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):
X. Armchair. Now that you have experienced the actual
encounter (refer back to your summary in VII), revisit your
benchmark. If you were in charge of the employee training at
this organization, what details would add to your benchmark to
help make service even better and more consistent? Think for a
moment. Even if service in this element met your benchmark
and expectations, what details would you modify in terms of
expected times and or counts that would help ensure an even
higher level of service? Refine and improve the details of your
benchmark in this question. This is good practice for you for the
future. Discuss.
Armchair. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):

17. XI. Effect. As a result of your experience with this element, are
you pleased, okay, unhappy, or somewhere in between? What is
the likely effect this element of service will have on you
returning to this establishment and or what you will tell others
about your experience? Discuss.
Effect. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):
Now, look back over your answers and ensure that you have
provided thoughtful, insightful, and detailed observations. Run
spell and grammar check, do an additional save, make sure that
you are happy with the document and ready to upload the entire
completed assignment template (including the front-end
instructions and tips), and then upload. Now you can relax a bit.
Learning how to do this type of observation and detailed
analysis will help make you a more perceptive, effective, and
successful leader.
6