Spring 2021

BUS 251 Business Communication

Section 2 & 3
Midterm 2
Total Marks: 3*5= 15

1. Summarize the Case(address 3 parts: summary, umbrella issue, other subsidiary issue)

In July 2005 I returned back to Norway after having spent some good seven years abroad as a
result of studying in London and afterwards working in an international company in Rome. I had
only had brief working spells in Norway thus my points of references with regards to working
culture and studying came mostly from contexts different from what I could expect in Norway.

Nevertheless, I was convinced that my professional profile would be interesting to a wide range
of employers. Since wanting to study abroad, I had taken the approach that with an academic and
professional profile different from other applicants I would be more interesting.

Thus, when returning home from Italy, I was fairly confident I had developed a professional
profile that would attract interest from many employers. And I was right. Most vacancies I
applied for resulted in interviews. However, I found it progressively difficult to break through
and actually be offered a job.

I soon discovered that most companies found my profile interesting and they were curious to
know more about me. However, I also realized that many hesitated to take me on board because I
had too much international experience compared to Norwegian working experience. What I
thought was my strongest side became my weakest link.

Furthermore, I took the conscious approach that if one is invited to a job interview, dressing
appropriately is fundamental. For me, „appropriately‟ meant a suit and a tie, very much in line
with what I was used to in esthetically aware Italy. However, this proved to be perhaps the
biggest „shock‟ for me. I underestimated the importance of what clothes can communicate.

Dress codes in Norway are generally extremely different from Italy. This also goes for working
culture. In Norway, it is far more common to wear jeans or casual trousers and a shirt 1 whereas
„business casual‟ is often a mere minimum in Italian companies. So, when invited for
interviews, I was „overdressed‟ compared to the other candidates, unconsciously sending out
signals that were to my disadvantage. I was out of touch with the informal Norwegian work
reality. Despite sharing the same national background, my cultural reference points with regards
to work culture were not the same.

My approach to the interviews had implications beyond projecting myself as someone who had
simply taken on an Italian way of dressing up. Not only did I come across as too formal, I also
came across as someone who perhaps had spent too many years abroad and thus would have
troubles adapting to a Norwegian work setting.

Ironically, this was commented by a state-owned company affiliated with the Norwegian office
for Foreign Affairs.

After being very close to landing a job in this company, I felt the need to ask for advice on what I
did wrong and thus how to improve my approaches to future job interviews. The most striking
piece of advice they gave me was about how I dressed. Although they had nothing to comment
on my professional skills, they sensed that I would not fit into their more informal working
group. My formal way of dressing for the interview was an indication on how they thought I
would dress in a day-to-day situation.

They explained to me how Norwegians in general are far more informal than perhaps what is the
case in central and southern Europe and how this also affects the working culture. Their advice
was consequently to adapt to a more informal approach to work. “Drop the tie”, their message
was.

2. EMAIL: REQUEST REFUSAL

You will be writing an email to the following customer on behalf of Casemesh.

Customer Name: Clifford Douglas

Situation: Mr. Clifford ordered a customized leather case for his laptop. He placed his order
online on the company’s website. Under the specification, he requested the leather case to be
monogrammed with his name initials ‘CD’. However, he has not mentioned the font style.

Upon receiving his order through FedEx around 8 days after ordering, he felt quite disappointed.
He was not convinced with the monogram font style which was ‘Lucida Sans’. Despite the
disappointment he though he will do away with it and open the brand and price tag.

Nevertheless, after keeping the case in his drawer for 2 weeks, he decided to write to the
company for a replacement as his order acknowledgement email mentioned, ‘You will be
provided with a replacement within 7 working days if you are dissatisfied with the product’.

He wrote an email to Casemesh on April 15, 2021 requesting for a replacement.

TASK: Write a response email to Mr. Clifford refusing his request on grounds that ‘You will be
provided with a replacement within 7 working days if you are dissatisfied with the product’ had
additional clauses written in a small font at the bottom of the acknowledgement email which
specified the brand and price tag must be attached to avail the service. Use your creativity while
refusing the request, offer an alternative solution and remember to take the extra mile for
goodwill. Start your email with SUBJECT.
3. Assume you are in your last term of Business school and graduation is just around the corner.
Your greatest interest is in finding work that you like and fits your specialization and that
will enable you to support yourself now and to perhaps support a family as you get
promotions. No job of your choice is revealed in the want ads of newspapers and trade
magazines. No career center has provided anything to your liking. So you decide to do what
any good salesperson does: survey the product (yourself) and the market (companies that
could use a person who can do what you are prepared to do) and then advertise (send each of
these companies a resume with a cover message). This procedure sometimes creates a job
where none existed before, and sometimes it establishes a basis for negotiations for the “big
jobs” two, three or five years after graduation. And very frequently, it puts you on the list for
the good job that is not filled through advertising or from the company staff.

Write a resume and a cover letter (imagining your preferred position) of yourself
persuading for a non-existing job which might create a job opportunity for you.