In some ways, short correspondence (letters and emails) is the most important on-the-job writing you will do. The correspondence portfolio is your opportunity to demonstrate effective business writing through examples of everyday business communication.For this project you will demonstrate your ability to apply a variety of writing strategies to specific situations by writing three messages (two internal messages and one message to an external contact) in response to the situations provided below. You will also include a cover memo with these documents that outlines the challenges you faced and strategies you used in completing the messages.Because these documents are so brief and address such specific situations, student examples are not provided. However, BCE Chapters 7, 8 and 9 will provide useful models for format and tone.Specific Scenarios for Your CorrespondenceScenario 1: Vacation Day PolicyYou are the President of Newpex Consulting Firm, and you are concerned about the high level of turnover in company employees. After reviewing data from employee exit interviews and HR, you have determined that employees who leave the firm after only a few years often report high levels of stress, burnout, or “needing an extended break” as a reason for leaving.As one part of an effort to address the problem of employees overworking, you’ve decided to revise the company’s current vacation policy. (Your decision is partly based on a 2013 study jointly conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the U.S. Travel Association which showed that a strong majority of human resource professionals thought vacation time impacted creativity (70%), employee engagement (68%), staying with the organization longer (60%), and taking fewer sick days (58%).)Currently Newpex’s policy allows employees to take paid time off (PTO) based on number of years of employment: 5 vacation days for employees with fewer than 3 years of employment; 10 vacation days for employees with between 3 and 5 years of employment; 15 days for employees with between 5 and 10 years of employment, and 20 days for employees with more than 10 years of employment. The current policy also allows employees to rollover vacation days at the end of the year. Data from HR indicated that the average employee had 23 days of accumulated (unused) PTO. Further, when employees left the firm, they received a payout for unused vacation days, at a rate of $350/day. You’ve concluded that the current policy doesn’t incentivize employees to use their vacation time.You’ve thus decided to announce a new vacation policy. Going into effect on January 1, 2024, employees with fewer than 10 years of employment will receive 15 days of vacation per year, and employees with more than 10 years will receive 20 days per year. The amount of rollover and payout will also change: employees can rollover a maximum of 5 days per year, and cannot accumulate more than 25 vacation days total. Employees will no longer earn cash payouts from unused PTO after January 1, 2024. On January 1, 2024, the firm will give employees cash payouts for all PTO vacation days they had accumulated prior to that date.Write an email to the company that informs them of the new policy and that helps bolster a positive attitude toward this change.Each of your three pieces of correspondence should be formatted as emails.Your final draft of this project will be evaluated according to the following criteria:Content and Adaptation to Rhetorical Situation | The correspondence:Demonstrates an understanding of the rhetorical situation (context, purpose, and audience) for multiple scenarios of everyday business communicationAdapts strategies for correspondence effectively, in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the audience’s need to understand and/or act.Effectively uses buffers, explanations, instructions, logical or emotional appeals, and/or requests for actions when appropriate to the situationUses language that communicates goodwill or demonstrates an effort to maintain business relationships when appropriateOrganization | The correspondence:Uses direct or indirect organizational approaches appropriately in response to the given scenariosElaborates statements with reasons, details, or evidence when appropriateIs organized clearly and logically to facilitate the reader’s need to understand, identify important information, and/or act in response to the correspondenceClarity and Style | The correspondence:Is written in a clear and concise style that is easy to readUses a tone that is appropriate for the purpose and audienceContains no spelling, capitalization, grammar, or punctuation errors that undermine the document’s professionalismDesign and Format | The correspondence:Demonstrates appropriate conventional format for emailsCover Memo | The memo: Explains their goals for the audience of each scenarioElaborates on specific writing and rhetorical strategies used to achieve particular goals for the audienceEach of your three pieces of correspondence should be formatted as emails.Your final draft of this project will be evaluated according to the following criteria:Content and Adaptation to Rhetorical Situation | The correspondence:Demonstrates an understanding of the rhetorical situation (context, purpose, and audience) for multiple scenarios of everyday business communicationAdapts strategies for correspondence effectively, in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the audience’s need to understand and/or act.Effectively uses buffers, explanations, instructions, logical or emotional appeals, and/or requests for actions when appropriate to the situationUses language that communicates goodwill or demonstrates an effort to maintain business relationships when appropriateOrganization | The correspondence:Uses direct or indirect organizational approaches appropriately in response to the given scenariosElaborates statements with reasons, details, or evidence when appropriateIs organized clearly and logically to facilitate the reader’s need to understand, identify important information, and/or act in response to the correspondenceClarity and Style | The correspondence:Is written in a clear and concise style that is easy to readUses a tone that is appropriate for the purpose and audienceContains no spelling, capitalization, grammar, or punctuation errors that undermine the document’s professionalismDesign and Format | The correspondence:Demonstrates appropriate conventional format for emailsCover Memo | The memo: Explains their goals for the audience of each scenarioElaborates on specific writing and rhetorical strategies used to achieve particular goals for the audience
