3. Write a Formal Reply Email RESPONSE TO AN EMAIL: Response to Email Inquiry. S
ID: 411720 • Letter: 3
Question
3. Write a Formal Reply Email
RESPONSE TO AN EMAIL: Response to Email Inquiry. See Unit 1, Module 3, p. 57
You have just been named Vice President at your institution. Today, you receive the following email from Sheila Lathan, who edits the employee newsletter.
Subject: Photos in the Employee Newsletter
Please tell me what to do about photos in the monthly employee newsletter. I'm concerned that almost no single issue represents the diversity of employees we have here.
As you know, our layout allows two visuals each month. One of those is always the employee of the month (EM). In the last year, most of those have been male, and all but two have been white. What makes it worse is that people want photos that make them look good. You may remember Ron Olmos was the EM two months ago. In the photo he wanted me to use, no one could tell that he was in a wheelchair. Often, the EM is the only photo; the other visual is often a graph of sales or something relating to quality.
Even if the second visual is another photo, it may not look balanced in terms of gender and race. After all, 62% of our employees are men, and 78% are white. Should the pictures try to represent those percentages? The leadership both in management and the union are even more heavily male and white. Should we run pictures of people doing important things and risk continuing the imbalance?
I guess I could use more visuals, but then, we wouldn't have as much room for stories, and people like to see their names in print. Plus, giving people information about company activities and sales is important to maintaining employee morale and goodwill for those outside. We cannot have more EMs each month, and we cannot make the newsletter longer. What should we do?
Reply to Lathan's email. Using Module 3, pp. 51-54, make a recommendation that she can implement or a policy that she can follow from now on. Reference p. 221 for formatting an email reply.
This is Module 3
Subject: Photos in the Employee Newsletter Please tell me what to do about photos in the monthly employee newsletter. I’m concerned that almost no single issue represents the diversity of employees we have here. As you know, our layout allows two visuals each month. One of those is always the employee of the month (EM). In the last year, most of those have been male and all but two have been white. What makes it worse is that people want photos that make them look good. You may remember that Ron Olmos was the EM two months ago; in the photo he wanted me to use, you can’t tell that he’s in a wheelchair. Often the EM is the only photo; the other visual is often a graph of sales or something relating to quality. Even if the second visual is another photo, it may not look balanced in terms of gender and race. After all, 62% of our employees are men, and 78% are white. Should the pictures try to represent those percentages? The leadership positions (both in management and in the union) are even more heavily male and white. Should we run pictures of people doing important things, and risk continuing the imbalance? I guess I could use more visuals, but then there wouldn’t be room for as many stories—and people really like to see their names in print. Plus, giving people information about company activities and sales is important to maintaining goodwill. A bigger newsletter would be one way to have more visuals and keep the content, but with the cost-cutting measures we’re under, that doesn’t look likely. What should I do?
Locker, Kitty. Business Communication: Building Critical Skills (Page 57). McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kindle Edition.
Explanation / Answer
To: Sheila Lathan <emaili id>
From: ABC <email id>
Subject: Re: Photos in the Employee Newsletter
I completely resonate with your concerns Ms. Lathan. As an organization we need to work upon improving the diversity in our institute and only then the same can be reflected in our newsletters.
As for the current problem at hand, I believe that using the employee photos that are an honest representation of our employee diversity is the ethical path to follow. I understand that the image will not look balanced but we will have to risk continuing the imbalance and work towards actually improving our diversity rather than just presenting it.
Meanwhile, I would suggest you to include certain articles in your newsletters that can promote diversity or motivate people to work towards improving it. I would also take up this matter with the managerial board and we will take steps to improving it.
ABC
Vice President
Related Questions
drjack9650@gmail.com
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.