FINAL EXAM – BUSINESS 3050 – FALL 2030

The final exam consists of two (2) radical rewrites and two (2) letters or memos that you will need to “write from scratch” either from a) a case study or b) a set of raw bullet points.  

Please be sure to follow all instructions.   Keep ALL letters and memos to about 300 words or less.   You may exceed this limit, but only if you are adding value not just words. 

Be sure to turn in your fourth draft and not your first.

Do not include anything in your submission EXCEPT your responses, identifying them only by number.  This will make it easier for me to assess for any elevated Turnitin results.  I will be grading you on the following criteria:

• Overall reader/audience-oriented effectiveness of your letter or memo.
• Overall organization of your letter or memo, including both overall flow as well as individual paragraphs and sentences.
• Effective use of grammar, syntax, punctuation, diction, and spelling.
• Incorporation of techniques from the course that are relevant to the type of letter or memo you are writing. 
• Effective interpretation and use of all key facts and ideas from the original text without making up anything significant that changes the intent of the letter or memo.  You may, however, make up minor facts that are consistent with the case, such as names, minor details, and so on.
• Overall writing style, facility, and effectiveness.
• Visual lay-out of your letter or memo,  including relatively short paragraphs, aligned-left margins, use of white space, and – where appropriate – effective and attractive use of bullets and/or topic headers. 

SECTION ONE –   20 points –

Can you turn around this disastrous letter?  At first glance, this hotel seems to be saying NO to the prospective client; but your task is to write an engaging, positive, respectful counteroffer to your client.   Be sure to cut out anything that is not essential to writing an effective letter.

Every fact you need to make such a counteroffer is included in the faulty letter.  Do NOT make up any material facts or circumstances.    Please use LETTER formatting, and remember to use any or all of the following techniques as may be appropriate:

• Buffers
• Indirect Approach
• Correct Visual Formatting

• Positive Voice
• Implied Refusal
• Emphasis on some sort of counter-offer

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

            March 20^th, 2022

                Ms. Sonya Capretta

                2459 Sierra Avenue

                Fresno, CA 93710

Dear Ms. Capretta:

           We regret to inform you that the wedding date you request in your letter of March 15^th that the Napa Valley Inn is unavailable. Unfortunately, we are fully booked for all of the Saturdays in June, as you probably already suspected.

           June is our busiest month, and smart brides make their reservations many months—even years—in advance. That’s because the Napa Valley Inn is the ideal romantic getaway for weddings. With unparalleled cuisine and service, along with panoramic Napa Valley and vineyard views, our inn offers a unique, intimate ambiance in a breathtaking location for your special event.  We apologize if we have caused you any inconvenience. However, if you could change your wedding date to the middle of the week, we would try to accommodate your party. We do have a few midweek spots open in June, but even those dates are rapidly filling up. With forty-five Mediterranean-style rooms and suites, each with its own sunny private terrace, the Napa Valley Inn is the perfect location for you and your partner to begin your married lives. Afternoon ceremonies typically begin at 11 o’clock, while golden sunsets at the Napa Valley Inn offer a romantic prelude of the evening to come. Evening ceremonies usually begin at 6 p.m. I’m available if you want to arrange something.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

SECTION TWO – 20 points:   Hackers!   

The following wordy and poorly expressed e-mail from a CEO discusses a growing problem for organizations: how to avoid the loss of valuable company data to cyber thieves.  

Your Task. Study the e-mail and rewrite it in the form of an instruction message.  Use bullets or numbers as may be appropriate, and in the appropriate order.  Be sure to:

• Fix the subject header
• Cut out excess verbiage and write a clear, concise, and effective letter
• Maintain parallelism both in your sentence structure and alignment, as well in your bullet or numbered points
• Remove all unprofessional diction and/or excessively repeated words.  In particular, please reduce or eliminate excessive use of the word “hacker” which is real word, but which treads on the reader when used too often.  Try using a different term and/or reduce direct naming of this kind of culprit.
• Remove reference to “fear”.  How can we restate this in a more professional, action-oriented way?
• Make sure that the memo is correctly formatted visually and has an attention getting yet appropriate subject line

———————————————-

(Date)

To:          Staff

From:     G. B. Goldman <gbgoldman@firstfederalsavings.com>

Subject:  Hackers!                      

This is to inform you that, like other banks, we are afraid of hackers. We fear that employees will expose valuable information to hackers without realizing what they are doing. Because of our fear, we have consulted cybersecurity experts, and they gave us much good advice with new procedures to be followed. Here are the procedures suggested by experts:

1. We don’t want you to leave out-of-office messages. These voice mail or e-mails might explain when you will be away. Such messages are a red flag to hackers telling them that your computer is vacant and not being monitored.

• Because smartphones can be lost or stolen, don’t snap photos of company documents. Phones may be lost or stolen, and our data might be compromised.

• Although small memory devices (thumb drives) are handy and easy to use, you may be inclined to store company files or information on these drives. Don’t do it. They can easily be lost, thus exposing our company information.

• Using work e-mail addresses for social media is another problem area. When you post details about your job, hackers can figure out an organization’s best target.

• Phishing links are the worst problem. Any request for password information or any requests to click links should be viewed with suspicion. Never click them. Even messages that seem to be from high-level officials or the human resources department within our own company can be sophisticated, realistic fakes. Examples include a request to click a link to receive a package or to download a form from within the company.

We want to let you all know that within the next two months, we plan to begin implementing a program that will educate and train employees with regard to what to avoid. The program will include fake phishing messages. The program will be explained and you will learn more from your managers in training workshops that are scheduled to begin September 1.

G. B. Goldman, CEO

SECTION THREE – 30 POINTS:  Write a Clear and Organized Instruction Memo:  

Your task is to organize the following points into a  well-organized, and visually attractive MEMO intended for job seekers with limited working experience on how to write an effective resume.  The memo should be addressed to all Cal State LA students seeking internships or professional employment.

Invent your own memo header that includes an attention getting, yet appropriate subject header.

Please try to use the information in each bullet point into a coherent instruction letter.  To refresh your memory, please review Module Nine, in particular the page and all its resources on Resume Writing, Cover Letters, and Your Career Search.  In addition, reflect on your submitted cover letter and/or resume and the feedback that I gave you on that assignment.

You may still use bullet points in your rework,  as long as you are not simply pasting up the bullet points listed here.  That won’t work.  I want a complete, original, and well written memo!

Here is the raw information you should use:

• Chronological vs. Functional Resumes:  which one should you use when and why?
• Effective use of the Summary of Qualifications. 
• Bullet points to describe your experiences.  
• Strong action verbs without using personal pronouns (e.g. “I”).
• Use of volunteer experiences and internships, especially if they demonstrate particular technical or leadership skills
• Professional email address, ideally including your name, if possible.
• Customized professional objective focused not only on your skills and abilities but also on the needs of the employer
• General tips on adding a Cover letter  – address it to the hiring manage if possible, indicating your interest/application and a brief highlight of why you are a good fit for the company.   

SECTION FOUR –   30 POINTS:  Write a Persuasive MEMO

You are the manager of a busy fast-food restaurant.   During your lunch time shift you have three cashier stations, and the customers naturally line up to order from one of these three stations.   The problem with three separate lines, though, is that customers always worry about which line is faster.   Sometimes they even argue with each other over who was next or else they are so concerned with the movement of the lines that they do not even look at the menu before they are greeted by the cashier,  thereby slowing the lines even more. 

Recently, you decided to form a single “serpentine” line formed by connected stanchions,  the kind you might see at a busy amusement park.    (Look up the word “serpentine” if you have any doubts but think about a line that “snakes” back and forth to make a more efficient use of space.)   With these stanchions,  you now have only ONE line, although you have the same number of cashiers.  

A sufficient number of durable and attractive black stanchions costs about $700, but this is your only cost.  Nothing about your staffing model has changed and minimal if any training is required.    

Since implementing this approach, the number of complaints has gone down significantly from about 15-20 per day to only 2-3 per day, and you are now able to serve the same number of customers during the lunch hours in only 80% of the time it used to take you to do so.       

Write a properly formatted business memo to your corporate office recommending adoption of the single serpentine line for all stores of similar volume as yours.   You can address the letter to Arthur Vandelay, Regional Operations Director and Chief Architect. 

Request a meeting to discuss corporate funding for all stores to purchase stanchions as well as a request that the corporate office encourage other franchisees to adopt this practice. 

You believe this investment will more than pay for itself within 30 days of its adoption. 

How will you write a credible, persuasive, memo?  Be sure to effectively use all or most of the six techniques for writing persuasive or influential business memos which we discussed at length in Module Eight.  Be confident, but be careful about putting your reader on the defensive.

Here is an example of what such stanchions might look like, which you have undoubtedly seen before.