CHAPTER 7 – B

COMMUNICATION FOR WORK PURPOSES

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Create clear, coherent, and effective communication materials
2. Present ideas persuasively using appropriate language registers, tone,
facial expressions, and gestures
3. Adopt awareness of audience and context in
presenting/communicating ideas

Dainton & Zelley (2015) in their book entitled Applying Communication

Theory for Professional Life posit that one of the most intriguing paradoxes of
corporate life is how often organizational members stress the importance of
communication, yet how few of these members exhibit effective organizational
communication. They argue that popular culture tends to oversimplify the
communication process, and that, according to them, nowhere is this more
evident than in the organizational (or corporate) setting.
This happens despite the availability of communication mediums like
what have been discussed in the previous chapters - the business letters and
memos. This is the reason why there is now a more conscious efforts in
schools to develop communication skills, especially writing skills, to better
prepare college graduates to the corporate life.

A. MINUTES
In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that nearly all workplace
writing is done for at least one of three purposes: to recreate a record, to
request or provide information, or to persuade. Writing meeting minutes
serves the first purpose, that is, to create a record of what transpired in a
meeting held.
It may be tempting to think a meeting is over when the group members
leave the room or log off the virtual meeting space. But after the meeting ends,
there is still important work to be done. One of the most important follow-up
steps to a meeting is to prepare and distribute the meeting minutes-a written
record of the major discussions held, decisions made, and action items
assigned (Adler, et al., 2012).
A good set of minutes should be complete and concise. This means they
should be thorough enough that someone who was not at the meeting should
be able to know exactly what happened. At the same time, they should be
short and to the point, omitting irrelevant and play-by-play information. In
addition, a good set of minutes include action items or specific tasks assigned
during the course of the meeting. They should include what the specific task
is, who is responsible for completing the task, and the deadline. By keeping a
very specific record of action items in your group meeting minutes, your team

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will become more accountable, and your meeting will become more effective
(Adler, et al., 2012).
Read the sample meeting minutes taken from Adler, et al. (2012).
Examine the minutes based on completeness and conciseness, Also, take note
if action items are Included in the minutes:

MEETING MINUTES
Louisville Design Group
Marketing Advisory Task Force

Meeting date: November 27

Attendees: Frank Brady, Monica Flores, Ted Gross, Kevin Jessup, Pat Rivera,
Carly Woods
Absent: Scott Hendrickson
___________________________________________________________________________

1. Ted called the meeting to order. The meeting minutes from the November
13 meeting were approved.
2. Monica reported on the Client Appreciation Event that was held on
November 15. We had a great turnout, with 28 clients and their guests
attending the invitation-only event. Clients were treated to hors d'oeuvres
and cocktails, given a tour of the offices, and had their caricatures
sketched by LDG's best cartoonist, Dave Ketchum. Monica received more
than a dozen email, after the event thanking her fora terrific time. Based
on the success, Monica suggested that we make this an annual event.
3. Ted provided an update on the budget. The committee was allotted
$25,000 for marketing expenses during the year, and the total
expenditures year-to-date come to $22,500. This leaves a balance of
$2,500 that must be used by the end of the year, as the funds will not
carry forward to next year.
Action Item: Everyone must submit all outstanding marketing expense
reports to Ted immediately. (Due 11/30)
4. Frank presented the committee with two designs for the LDG website
redesign. Design A was a "clean" style with monochromatic colors, sleek
fonts, and geometric graphics. Design 8 was a "splashy" style with a
brightly colored palette, bolder fonts, and photos. Both designs
incorporated the website navigation hierarchy agreed to by the committee.
Ted thanked Frank for his hard work on the project. After the initial
presentation, the committee debated the pros and cons of each design.
They thought that the clean feel of Design A presented a more professional
image. But they thought that the colorful palette of Design B showed LDG's
fun side. There was no clear favorite.
Action Item: Frank will create a mock-up of a third design option that will
merge the sleek look of Design A with the color palette of Design B for
consideration at the next committee meeting. (Due: 12/11)
5. Carly solicited input on the upcoming Client Research Project. The last
research project conducted by LDG was five years ago. But with the advent
of new social media technologies and the opening of two new firm in town,

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 it is important that LDG get the most up-to-date info available. Carly asked
for Input into what topics to cover and how to administer the survey.
The committee brainstormed several areas and agreed to ask about clients'
primary design needs, familiarity with social media platforms (Twitter,
Facebook), annual budgets for advertising and web design, and relative
importance of cost/ turnaround time/artistic quality/ copywriting
quality/firm reputation in selecting a firm for a job. There was some
discussion on how to administer the surveys. The committee unanimously
agreed to use an online survey system. However, Kevin said that it would be
valuable information to have clients identified on the surveys, while Monica
argued that we might get better quality information If the surveys were
anonymous. The majority vote was for anonymous data collection.
Action Item: Pat and Carly will use committee input to generate a preliminary
survey, which will be reviewed and critiqued at the next committee meeting.
(Due: 12/11)

B. INCIDENT REPORT
In the workplace, both executives and rank-and-file employees may be
required to submit various kinds of reports like a progress report and
accomplishment report.
One kind of report that may be asked of you to submit is the incident
report which Adler, et al. (2012) discussed as follows:
An incident report creates a written record of a troublesome occurrence.
The report is written either by the person involved in the incident or by the
person in charge of the area where it took place. Such a report may be needed
to satisfy government regulations, to guard against legal liability, or to draw
attention to unsafe or otherwise unsatisfactory conditions in need of
correction. Accordingly. an incident report must provide a thorough
description of the occurrence and, if possible, an explanation of the cause(s)
in addition, it often includes a section of recommendations for corrective
measures.
When describing the incident, always provide complete details:
1. Names and job titles of all persons involved, including onlookers.
2. Step-by-step narrative description of the incident
3. Exact location of the incident
4. Date and exact time of each major development
5. Clear identification of any equipment or machinery involved.
6. Detailed descriptions of any medical intervention required, including
names of ambulance services and personnel, nurses, physicians,
hospitals, or clinics.
7. Reliable statements (quotation or paraphrase) from persons
involved.
8. Outcome of the incident
To avoid liability when discussing possible causes, use qualifiers such
as perhaps, maybe, possibly, and it appears. Do not report the comments of
witnesses and those involved as if those observations were verified facts; often,
they are grossly inaccurate. Attribute all such comments to their sources and

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION: CHAPTER 7 – B 3

identify them as speculation only. Furthermore, exclude any comments
unrelated to the immediate incident. Although you're ethically required to be
as complete and accurate as possible, don't create an unnecessarily
suspicious climate by relying on second-hand accounts or reporting verbatim
the remarks of persons who are obviously angry or distraught, as in this
example:
Ronald Perkins suffered a severed index finger when his left hand
became caught in a drill press after he tripped on some wood that another
employee had carelessly left on the floor near the machine. According to
Perkins, this was "pretty typical of how things are always done around
here."
A more objective phrasing might look something like this:
Ronald Perkins suffered a severed index finger when his left hand
became caught in a drill press. Perkins said he had tripped on wood that
was lying on the floor near the machine.
Similarly, the recommendations section of an incident report shouldn't
seek to assign blame or highlight incompetence but to encourage the adoption
of measures that will decrease the likelihood of repeated problems. For
example, consider the incident report below, prepared in memo format.

SOUTHEAST INSURANCE COMPANY

MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 19, 2013
TO: JONATHAN PURDY
Physical Plant Supervisor
FROM: BONNIE CARDILLO
Nurse
SUBJECT: Incident Report
___________________________________________________________________________
John Fitzsimmons, a claims adjuster, slipped and fell in the front lobby of the
building, striking his head and momentarily losing consciousness.

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT

At approximately 2:55 p.m. on Friday, October 16, Fitzsimmons was returning

from his break when he slipped and fell in the front lobby, striking his head
on the stone floor and momentarily losing consciousness. According to
Beverly Barrett, the receptionist, the floor had just been mopped and was still
wet. She paged Mike Moore, the security officer, who in turn paged me. When
I arrived at approximately 3:00 p.m., Fitzsimmons had revived. I immediately
checked his vital signs, which were normal. He refused further medical
attention and returned to work. I advised him to contact me if he experienced
any subsequent discomfort, but to my knowledge there has been none.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Two ideas come to mind:

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• Perhaps we should remind all employees to contact me first (rather than
Security) in situations involving personal injury. The sooner I'm contacted,
the sooner I can respond. Obviously, time can be an important factor if the
problem is serious.
• To prevent other occurrences of this nature, perhaps the maintenance staff
should be provided with large, brightly colored warning signs alerting
employees and the public alike to the presence of wet floors. I see these
signs in use at the mall, the hospital, and elsewhere, and they don't appear
expensive. I have also noted that many are bilingual, bearing both the
English warning "Caution: Wet Floor" and the Spanish "Cuidado: Piso
Mojado." No doubt they can be ordered from any of the catalogs regularly
received by your office.

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