Business Communication 9th Edition by Amy Newman

Exercise 14

Write an email refusing an employee's request.24 You manage the conventions department for a hotel, where you supervise an employee named Robert. Robert is responsible for meeting with companies that hold events at the hotel. This morning, you received the following email from Robert:

You won't be able to approve this request for the following reasons:
You have no budget for this capital expense. It's possible to budget for this next year, but you're not sure an iPad just for client presentations would be worth the expense. You really don't see the point because you recently spent a lot on printing beautiful materials, which Robert takes to clients with him.
Robert started work at your company only one month ago. Although you encourage ideas, you do not like Robert's presumptuous tone.
Also, you'd like to encourage Robert to put more time and thought into his ideas. Although not a huge expense, an iPad for your department would need to be justified-and Robert would benefit from supporting his suggestions more convincingly.
His preliminary marketing plan was due two days ago, but he hasn't submitted it yet. You'd like him to focus on his current responsibilities as a priority.
On the other hand, you hired Robert because of his strong work background and excellent skills, and you hope he will have a long career with your company.
Also, the hiring process was lengthy and expensive, and you have no desire to go through it again. You don't want to discourage him.
Write an email to Robert that rejects his request. Next, exchange emails with another student. At this point, your instructor may give you more information about Robert's perspective. If you were Robert, how would you react to the email Provide feedback to the original writer.