ba2196 what did it say
Case:
Each morning, Nora Johnson opened her work email inbox, dreading what she might
find. Today was no different; despite that she had checked the same email account an hour
and a half ago from her phone as she took the bus into work, she now had 27 new emails. “Just
great,†she muttered to herself. “How in the heck do they expect me to get any work done if I
have to answer all these emails?â€
Following her usual procedure, Nora scanned the list of sendees, looking for the ones
who would be the most important. Those she flagged; others she deleted, unopened. Then
she set to work answering the flagged messages.
The third one was from her boss. It read, “Nora, please see the email from IT and help
Jack explain it. I see trouble coming.†Email from IT? Not flagged. Quickly she went into her
deleted file– usually where the generic emails wound up—and pulled it up. Jack, the head of IT,
was notorious for being verbose but vague. This message was no different:
Email dated May 1
On May 24, consultants from Sharepoint will be assisting the IT staff with changes to our Sharepoint
infrastructure. We don’t have the exact timing on this as of yet; we’ll forward that to you when it’s
set. During the work period, Sharepoint will be unavailable from both the Sharepoint client software and
through the company portal web site.
The changes that are being made will bring Sharepoint into the single set of credentials
infrastructure. This will affect users of both the Sharepoint client software as well as those who log in via
the my.pfeiffer.edu portal site.
All employees will be affected by this change.
Once the work is complete, access to Sharepoint will restored. At that time, all staff will log into the
Sharepoint client or the company portal using their Active Directory (AD) credentials. Your old
Sharepoint login will no longer work. If you do not know your AD credentials, please contact the Help
Desk at 800-555-1122.
We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you to sign up for the Self-Service Password Reset
service. This service will allow you to reset a forgotten password or unlock your account if it’s
locked. Being registered to use this system will become increasingly important. I’m attaching the how-to
document for your reference. We have completed changes that allow you to set up and access this
system from outside the company network in order to make it more convenient for you to use.
Nora sighed, knowing that what her boss meant was that many employees would have done
just what Nora did: deleted the message unopened. However, her boss also knew from reading the
email that even had they read it, they may not have known what Jack was talking about. “Help Jack
explain it†meant for her to let Jack know that she would be rewriting his email in a clear, concrete
manner and sending it out again. How, she wondered, should she explain this to Jack? If she chose to
email him, rather than speak to him, what exactly should she say? Moreover, how should she revise his
email to make it clear?
copyright 2013 Susan L Luck, PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Writing Assignment:
You must write two emails. The first (Email #1) will be to the author of the email in the case, Jack. You
must explain to him that, at your supervisor’s request, you are rewriting his email and resending the
revised version to the company employees.
The second email (Email #2) you will write is a clear, concise revision of the email included in the case.
For both emails, begin with an effective subject line
example:
Email #1
To: Jack Doe
From: Nora Johnson
Subject: Confusion in Regards to Your Last IT Email
Dear Jack,
I appreciate you writing to inform us about the upcoming changes regarding Sharepoint. Due to
some confusion,
my supervisor requested that I revise your email and resend it to the
company employees.
I believe that we can convey this message in a more clear, concrete
manner to better inform the employees of the upcoming changes.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me!
All the best,
Nora Johnson
Email #2
To: Nora Johnson
From: Jack Doe
Subject: New Changes To Sharepoint Infrastructure
Dear Nora,
All employees are going to be affected by Sharepoint Infrastructure changes made on May 24.
Sharepoint will be unavailable from both the Sharepoint client software and through the
company portal web site during the work period.
This means that those who use Sharepoint
client software as well as login through the my.pfeiffer.edu portal will be affected.
Access to Sharepoint will be restored once the work is complete. During that time,
your old
Sharepoint login will no longer be valid.
â—
All staff will log into the Sharepoint client or the company portal using Active Directory
(AD) credentials
â—
If you do not know your AD credentials, please call the help desk at (800)-555-1122
Lastly, this is a great opportunity to sign up for our Self-Service Password reset service. This will
prevent employees from getting locked out of their accounts by allowing you to reset a forgotten
password.
The how-to document resource is attached for reference.
We appreciate your cooperation during the changes to the Sharepoint Infrastructure! Thank you,
Jack Doe
Jack Doe
Head of IT
