Request Memo Assignment

Case: Driving Less and Breathing Easier

The air in your city has been getting progressively worse over the years. Your company,

Mercer Enterprises, recently received an announcement from the Air Quality

Management District (AQMD). To reduce air pollution, the AQMD is requiring all big

employers to offer incentives that encourage employees to participate in the AQMDs

Trip Reduction Plan. In order for your company to avoid large fines, it must get a

significant number of employees to share rides, ride the bus, or ride a bicycle to work.

After studying what other large companies were doing, Mercer developed a number of

incentives to entice employees to leave their cars at home. One incentive offers

employees who maintain a 75 percent rate of participation in the ride-share program for a

period of six months one full workday off with pay. Other incentives include preferential

parking near building entrances. These special parking places are for car pools only, and

a parking pass is required. Another incentive involves bus passes. Employees who use

public transportation will receive a subsidy of $25 per month. Employees will also get a

free round-trip transit pass for the first month. Another incentive is the provision of a

subsidy for van pools. The company will help obtain a van and will provide a $50 per

month subsidy for the van pool. The van-pool driver will have unlimited personal use of

the vehicle off company time. A final subsidy involves bicycles. Employees who bicycle

to work will receive $25 per month as a subsidy, and Mercer Enterprises will provide

bicycle racks, locks, and chains.

(Adapted from Mary Ellen Guffeys

Business Communication: Process and Product

)

Instructions

As Employee Transportation Coordinator for your company, write a memo to all

employees requesting that they consider using one of the transportation options and

describing the incentives offered by Mercer Enterprises to comply with the Air Quality

Management Districts Trip Reduction Plan. Improve the readability of your message by

using graphic highlighting for the incentives.

Employees receiving this memo will need to contact you in order to sign up for the

incentives mentioned here. You will need to specify a date by which they should contact

you, and provide your e-mail address (your

name@mercer.com). Also employees might

want more information about the program, and you should inform them how to do so.

(For instance, they can contact you prior to the deadline at your e-mail address.)

1

Suggestions for Content/Organization

Frontload the main message (the request for employees to utilize another

transportation option) (introduction)

Explain the need for the request (give brief background information about the Air

Quality Management Districts Trip Reduction Plan) (body)

Describe the incentives (car pools, van pools, buses, bicycles) with

graphic highlighting (body)

Provide an action date plus reason for the date in regard to employees signing up

for the incentives and obtaining more information, if needed (closing)

Encourage employees cooperation and thank them for doing so (closing)