Business Communication

I'm taking my last and final class. It is in Business Communication. Right now we are writing "Bad News" letters. The point of writing them is to first offer a buffer to cushion the blow, then give some reasons for the bad news, then the bad news , then some kind of alternative and positive good will ending.

Okay. We had an example where the management of our company wanted to cancel dress-down Fridays because production was down, people were goofing off, customers were complaining and absentism was up.

Now I can not find a buffer. I racked my brain to find one and it just wasn't happening. After we were given 15 minutes to work on this, the teacher asked for someone to read his/her example. One kid wrote a nice memo and the teacher loved his buffer....where management was praising the workers for making the company just a good company and to me this is such bullshit. If I were to read this memo from my mamagement, and it was filled with self serving rambling about what a great company we were and happy they were to have us, only to turn around and blast me because some people on staff were goofing off, I'd feel cheated. I'd be saying, "Oh, cut the bullshit, will ya."

I don't agree with business writing....that you have to treat your audience like they're morans or with kid gloves. I've said this before, those of us in an office environment who treat the bosses like the sun rises for them only are doing themselves a disservice. They are enabling bad behavior. To me that's just wrong.

But life goes on.