Deck 5: Bad-News Correspondence

Question 1

You have received an urgent email from a team member requesting a report on the progress of a project. You were away on holidays for two weeks and require additional time to collect and analyze the data gathered. Write an email in response and include the following:
• confirm receiving the request
• explain the reason for the delay in submitting the report
• suggest a timeline when you can get back to the team member with the required information
• end the message appropriately

Answer 1

Not Answer

Question 2

In the direct approach, what extra step should you take if the message is bad news rather than good news?

Answer 2

offer the reader a helpful alternative

Question 3

When delivering bad news indirectly, how should you close your communication?

Answer 3

with a goodwill statement

Question 4

Write letter to address the following situation. Decide whether to use the indirect or direct approach and whether you will be formal or informal.
You are the owner and director of a successful daycare centre located in the affluent Shaughnessy Heights neighbourhood in Vancouver, BC. Little Ducklings Daycare started with just four children and now enrolls 52 children. The reputation of your centre in the community is so good that there is a waiting list of 64 children. In fact, parents are beginning to register their children with Little Ducklings when they are expecting! As the daycare director and owner, you are faced with a dilemma that you have not encountered in your ten years of operation. You must expel a child, and it is your responsibility to write a letter to the child's parents explaining the reasons for the expulsion and your position.
You must tell Dr. and Mrs. Wong that their 4-year-old son, Benjamin, is being expelled from Little Ducklings. Benji entered the daycare centre three months ago and things just haven't been the same since. The child is not able to get along with other children. In his three months at Little Ducklings, he has bitten five children (causing one child to require stitches and a tetanus shot); kicked a teaching assistant; and scratched, hit, and pulled hair on a regular basis. Seven other parents have threatened to pull their children out of the centre if Benji does not leave. You have had several conferences with the parents, but have observed no change in Benji's behaviour. Dr. and Mrs. Wong seemed reasonable and concerned about the future of their son. Write a letter to the Wongs, remembering that Benji is their only child; choose your words carefully.

Question 5

How can you graciously decline an invitation?

Question 6

Give three reasons for avoiding email as a medium for delivering bad-news messages.

Question 7

What are the most frequent reasons for refusing a request for credit?

Question 8

Outline the sequence of steps in the indirect approach.

Question 9

In the indirect approach, what is a "buffer"?

Question 10

What should a company take into consideration when turning down a job applicant?

Question 11

Name three reasons for using the direct approach in giving bad news.

Question 12

The more ______ you are when declining an invitation, the more you will appear to have taken the invitation seriously.

Question 13

In turning down a job applicant, when should an employer take the time to write a personal letter rather than a form letter?

Question 14

List the sequence of steps in turning down a request for credit.

Question 15

You were going to have a meeting with your department manager later today. Unfortunately, your plans have changed as your child has been sent home because he is ill. You will not be able to meet today. Write an email and include the following:
• inform your manager that you can't meet today; give reasons
• suggest a new time to meet
• apologize for any inconvenience
• end the message appropriately

Question 16

Give five of the dos and don'ts of refusing a claim.

Question 17

Outline the steps in delivering bad news using the direct approach.