This document discusses techniques for delivering bad news messages positively. It lists four techniques: 1) keep the body of the message clear, 2) state the topic in the subject line, 3) keep the content short, and 4) be specific. It also provides an example for each technique, such as keeping the closing message appropriate and focusing on long-term strategies. The document emphasizes using a positive tone to minimize communication barriers and prevent unwanted challenges when conveying bad news. It argues that a positive tone is always the best choice for handling the delivery of bad messages.

1. Discussion post (250-300 words) also include at least one
reference and in text citation
· Several techniques can be used to close a bad-news message
positively. List four of these techniques and give an original
example of each.
2 replies (150 words each)
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Delivering a bad-news in a positive manner includes different
skills. Negative news will be delivering the news which the
audience might not need to receive, read, or hear. By delivering
the negative news one would feel it quite difficult. Whether one
needs to inform someone which they are being providing or laid
off with the constructive criticism upon the performance of the
job is helpful in selecting the message delivery that could
influence upon the response. Some of the people would be
preferring the bad news in order to concise and direct. Some of
them might be preferring the direct approach which determines
either an indirect or direct approach that is warranted along
with the delivery of the news which one needs to anticipate it
unwelcome, possibly, and unwanted dismissed (Jansen, &
Janssen, 2013).
The examination of different scenarios here could be
communicated either externally or internally but it would
identify that the lines could be blurred as the flow of
communication that is made along with the business or
organization. The external and internal communications have
been overlapping often with the degree of consent. The rumour
here is anticipated with the layoffs which might surface on the
social media and one might be called upon to address the main
concern lying within the organization. In the same manner a
product which has completely failed internally with the quality

2. control would be testing the essential improvements and
changes before it gets into the market but the data leaves the
organization hurt in terms of reputation, financial security, and
the prospects of future contracts (Bordyuk, 2007).
The communication here is present with the ability to
guide, clarify, and manage the understanding that is essential in
addressing the issues while maintaining the integrity and trust
with the public, stakeholders, and the employees. The goals
here could include the desire to concise and clear the extra
clarification. The response here might not provide the
opportunity needed for the confirmation, feedback, or the
discussion which understands the concern (French, & Holden,
2012).
References
Bordyuk, L. (2007, February). Delivering a Negative/Bad News
Message: an Insight Into the Problem. In 2007 9th International
Conference-The Experience of Designing and Applications of
CAD Systems in Microelectronics (pp. 582-582). IEEE.
French, S. L., & Holden, T. Q. (2012). Positive organizational
behavior: A buffer for bad news. Business Communication
Quarterly, 75(2), 208-220.
Jansen, F., & Janssen, D. (2013). Effects of directness in bad-
news e-mails and voice mails. The Journal of Business
Communication (1973), 50(4), 362-382.
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It is always difficult and challenging to close bad news
messages positively, using a positive tone is the best choice in
such a situation so that receiver may not be angry and try to
understand the content. A positive tone is conveyed through the
words and phrases and significant to focus on delivering clear
content towards better outcomes. Few speakers use neutral
language but it really does not make sense because of the
absence of positive and negative language. A positive tone is
always the best choice and helps to prevent unwanted
challenges followed by conveying a bad message to the

3. receiver. Several other techniques used to close bad message
positively is as follows: (Sun & Somik, 2020)
1. Keep the body of the message clear
2. State the topic in the subject line
3. Content of the message should be short
4. Be specific while conveying the message
Close on a positive tone helps to minimize communication
barriers and develop strategies to prevent unplanned impacts of
conveying the bad message. It is significant to work on
developing a positive environment and lower the challenges
which mainly affect business communication. Example: Keep
closing message appropriate is most important and focus on the
long-term strategies to deliver the content of the message. To
fix the problem, it is important to work on genuine content and
take the initiative for further use. Companies are using
appropriate strategies to work on delivering positive messages
when the content of the message is bad. Using a positive tone is
always helpful to convey bad news and focus on handling
uncertain impacts which affect the communication (Guffey &
Loewy, 2018).
References
Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2018). Business Communication
Process & Product (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Sun, K, L, & Somik, G. (2020). Communication networks of an
integrated project delivery team for construction: relationships
between formal and informal communication networks.
Connections, 40(1). https://doi.org/10.21307/connections-
2019.016.
Observation x y
1 -22 22
2 -33 49
3 2 8

4. 4 29 -16
5 -13 10
6 21 -28
7 -13 27
8 -23 35
9 14 -5
10 3 -3
11 -37 48
12 34 -29
13 9 -18
14 -33 31
15 20 -16
16 -3 14
17 -15 18
18 12 17
19 -20 -11
20 -7 -22
MGT 226
All work must be shown to qualify for partial credit. Also check
to make sure all your work is legible and clear before
submitting it. Answer 4 out of 5 questions. You should use
Excel to answer most of the questions.
1. Consumer Reports posts reviews and ratings of a variety of
products on its website. The following is a sample of 20 speaker
systems and their ratings. The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5,
with 5 being best.
Speaker Rating Speaker
Rating
Infinity Kappa. 6.1 4.00 ACI Sapphire III
4.67
Allison One 4.12 Bose 501 Series
2.14
Cambridge Ensemble II 3.82 DCM KY-212

5. 4.09
Dynaudio Contour 1.3 4.00 Eosone RSF 1000
4.17
Hsu Rsch. HRSW 12V 4.56 Joseph Audio
RM7 si 4.88
Legacy Audio Focus 4.32 Martin Logan Aerius
4.26
Mission 73Ii 4.33 Omni Audio SA 12.3
2.32
PSB 400i 4.50 Polk Audio RT 12
4.50
Snell Acoustics D IV 4.64 Sunfire True
Subwoofer 4.17
Thiel CS 1.5 4.20 Yamaha NS- A636
2.17
a. Compute the mean and the median.
b. Compute the first and third quartiles.
c. Compute the standard deviation.
d. What are the z-scores associated with Allison One and Omni
Audio?
e. Do the data contain any outliers? Explain.
2. A survey on British Social Attitudes asked respondents if
they had ever boycotted goods for ethical reasons (Statesman,
January 28, 2008). The survey found that 23% of the
respondents have boycotted goods for ethical reasons.
a) In a sample of six British citizens, what is the probability
that two have ever boycotted goods for ethical reasons?
b) In a sample of six British citizens, what is the probability
that at least two respondents have boycotted goods for ethical
reasons?
c) In a sample of ten British citizens, what is the probability
that between 3 and 6 have boycotted goods for ethical reasons?
d) In a sample of ten British citizens, what is the expected
number of people that have boycotted goods for ethical reasons?
Also find the standard deviation.
3. The Webster National Bank is reviewing its service

6. charges and interest-paying policies on checking accounts. The
average daily balance on personal checking accounts is $550,
with a standard deviation of $150. In addition, the average daily
balances are normally distributed.
a) What percentage of personal checking account customers
carry average daily balances in excess of $800?
b) What percentage carry average daily balances below $200?
c) What percentage carry average daily balances between
$300 and $700?
d) The bank is considering paying interest to customers
carrying average daily balances in excess of a certain amount. If
the bank does not want to pay interest to more than 5% of the
customers, what is the minimum average daily balance it should
be willing to pay interest on?
4. The following 20 observations are for two quantitative
variables, x and y (Data file is Scatter and presented on
Classes).
a) Create a scatter chart for these 20 observations,
b) Fit a linear trend line to the 20 observations. What can you
say about the relationship between the two quantitative
variables?
c) Find the correlation coefficient and the covariance. Discuss
their relevance to the relationship between x and y.
5. A Daytona Beach nightclub has the following data on the age
and marital status of 140 customers.
Marital Status
Age
Single
Married
Under 30
77
14
30 or Over

7. 28
21
a. Develop a joint probability table using the data.
b. Use the marginal probabilities to comment on the age of
customers attending the club.
c. Use the marginal probabilities to comment on the marital
status of customers attending the club.
d. What is the probability of finding a customer who is single
and under the age of 30?
e. If a customer is under 30, what is the probability that he or
she is single?
f. Is marital status independent of age? Explain, using
probabilities.
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