NEGATIVE NEWS LETTER ASSIGNMENT Negative News 1. After reading Chapter 17 and viewing the video How to Communicate Bad News to Employees (link in the assignment), to ensure you know how to organize and write a letter to communicate bad news to your employees. Note: All written assignments are checked for plagiarism. The examples in the textbook are for you to use as a guide only. Copying the text out of the examples in the textbook or any other examples provided as a guide will get you a zero for this assignment. Paraphrasing a few sentences from an example is acceptable, but the letter needs to be mostly your own words. 2. Follow the instructions in Your Task and the special instructions below to write a bad news letter in a Word document. Your letter must include all items in the scenario below, and have all the essential parts of a business letter (header, inside address, greeting, body, closing, and signature typed name). 3. Maximum letter length is one single-spaced page with a minimum of 11-point font.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY Apply what you have learned about business writing to your formal writing assignments. My expectations for all your writing assignments in this course are for them to be professional and polished before submitting them, which means proofread carefully, and spell and grammar checked.

Scenario:

As the owner of a small chain of successful fine dining restaurants called Exquisite Dining, over the ten years you have been in business, you have enjoyed your customers, employees, and the profits your company generates. Recently it has come to your attention that one of your servers, Russell Stover, has come to work under the influence of marijuana. Although marijuana is legal in your state, it is still considered a drug by the federal government. For protection of your customers and other employees, you must terminate Russell. You have misgivings because he is an excellent employee, but you must do what is best for your business. Your Task Following all assignment instructions write a bad news letter that maintains your good relations with Mr. Stover. Address it to Mr. Russell Stover, 2911 Nora Drive, Klamath Falls, OR 97601.

There are seven goals to keep in mind when delivering negative news, in person or in written form:

1. Be clear and concise in order not to require additional clarification.

2. Help the receiver understand and accept the news.

3. Maintain trust and respect for the business or organization and for the receiver.

4. Avoid legal liability or erroneous admission of guilt or culpability.

5. Maintain the relationship, even if a formal association is being terminated.

6. Reduce the anxiety associated with the negative news to increase comprehension.

7. Achieve the designated business outcome.

outline the four main parts of a negative news message:

1. Buffer or cushion

2. Explanation

3. Negative news

4. Redirect

Parts of the Negative News Message	Example
Buffer or Cushion	Thank you for your order. We appreciate your interest in our product.
Explanation	We are writing to let you know that this product has been unexpectedly popular, with over 10,000 requests on the day you placed your order.
Negative News	This unexpected increase in demand has resulted in a temporary out-of-stock/backorder situation. We will fulfill your order, received at 11:59 p.m. on 09/09/2009, in the order it was received.
Redirect	We anticipate that your product will ship next Monday. While you wait, we encourage you to consider using the enclosed $5 off coupon toward the purchase of any product in our catalog. We appreciate your business and want you to know that our highest priority is your satisfaction.

Negative Message Checklist

1. Clear goal in mind

2. Clear instructions from supervisor (legal counsel)

3. Clear understanding of message

4. Clear understanding of audience/reader

5. Clear understanding of procedure and protocol

6. Clear, neutral opening

7. Clear explanation without admission of guilt or culpability

8. Clear statement of impact or negative news

9. Clear redirect with no reminders of negative news

10. Clear results with acceptance or action on negative news

Focus on key types of information during an emergency:

1. What is happening?

2. Is anyone in danger?

3. How big is the problem?

4. Who reported the problem?

5. Where is the problem?

6. Has a response started?

7. What resources are on-scene?

8. Who is responding so far?

9. Is everyones location known?

The plan should include four elements:

1. Crisis communication team members with contact information

2. Designated spokesperson

3. Meeting place/location

4. Media plan with procedures

A crisis communication team includes people who can

1. decide what actions to take,

2. carry out those actions,

3. offer expertise or education in the relevant areas.