Explain the rationale for your decision.Conclude the report
Objectives
Previously you were introduced to a transportation issue that was going to affect E227 GS's shipping schedule between our manufacturing facility and the shipping and distribution facility in Indonesia. Last week, you suggested cultural/audience considerations for the PR team as they plan to reach out to the public in an effort to mitigate whatever negative feelings this change in shipping will cause. This week, after sharing the cultural considerations with your team, you will collaboratively write an analytical report to your division manager, Anne Brown, that will discuss PR options and state a recommended strategy.
This week, your team members will identify several audience considerations your team deems most relevant to developing potential PR strategies (for example, if research shows that most of your intended audience is illiterate, you can rule out a PR campaign that relies heavily on written components such as flyers or announcements placed in local newspapers or social media). This week the team will developthree or four options that the PR department could use in their campaign and recommend one of the options. These options should incorporate the cultural research that members described in their week 3 memos.
You and your team will then write and assemble the informal analytical report your manager is counting on to forward on to the PR team.
Guidelines
The informal analytical report your team will write this week will be organized as a PDR, or Problem, Discussion, Resolution report.
Write this informal analytical report as a memo addressed to Anne Brown, formatting it to include the following sections (identified with headings):
Start with a positive opening and a sentence or two that introduces the general purpose of the report.
- Problem: State the background of the problem succinctly, so that anyone reading this memo will understand the trucking and PR issues.
- Discussion of Options: In several paragraphs, discuss three or four different PR campaign strategies the group considered, including strengths and weaknesses of each strategy.
- Resolution: From the three or four options discussed above, state the one strategy your team recommends for the PR campaign to address the Indonesian residents. Explain the rationale for your decision.
Conclude the report with a brief statement that expresses a positive sentiment or statement.
Start a new page at the end of the informal analytical report to add the group participation memo (the group participation memo template is in Doc Sharing). The group participation memo is a collaborative document that will report on the participation and contribution of individual teammates. This must explain what each group member contributed to the final report. If there were problems, you are expected to be specific and explain how they were or were not resolved. The team will collaboratively assign each individual member participation points (out of 50 points possible). The professor will transfer this score to the participation section of the informal analytical report rubric; therefore, each team member may earn different scores on the group report.
ONE student from each group will submit the informal analytical report and group participation memo (both in the same Word document) to the dropbox on behalf of the entire group.
A successful informal analytical memo will:
- Be between 800-1200 words (excluding the participation memo).
- Be formatted appropriately as an informal report memo with headings identifying each section.
- Accurately represent the problem.
- Discuss three or four different PR campaign strategies, including strengths and weaknesses of each strategy.
- Clearly present a resolution that takes all cultural factors into consideration.
- Demonstrate that the team fully grasps the purpose/goals of the message.
- Include full and complete original text that reflects audience needs in relation to the message.
- Include proper use of formatting and style (e.g., bullets, headings, lists, etc., as appropriate).
- Reflect an awareness and proper use of all ten writing conventions for professional writing (as appropriate), covered in Week 2.
- Demonstrate proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
- Include on the final page a collaboratively produced participation memo that evaluates each group member's performance.
Grading Rubrics
| Category | Points | % | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content | 80 | 44 | Fulfills the purpose of the assignment clearly and completely; quality of information; adequate support and development; ideas work together as a unified whole; written in student’s own words |
| Style and Conventions | 30 | 17 | Written for intended audience; professional tone and style; employs clarity, conciseness, fluency, etc.; free of grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. errors |
| Structure/Organization/Format | 20 | 11 | Effective document design (e.g., headings, bulleted lists, etc.); formatted correctly in an appropriate medium; information presented in a logical arrangement using the appropriate organization |
| Participation | 50 | 28 | These points are determined by the team and reported on the group participation memo. |
| Total | 180 | 100 | A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements. |
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step instructions.
