The goal of this exercise is to help you learn some ways you can apply Chapter 9's guidelines for beginning a workplace communication.

The Exercise

The following passage was written by a consultant for MediTech, a supplier of medical equipment to hospitals and doctors. The excerpt represents the beginning of a report to MediTech management regarding how the company should respond to new competition and lower sales in a specific area recently.

In analyzing the opening of this document, perform the following activities:

1. Ask yourself how well the passage follows the guidelines presented in Chapter 9:
1. Does it give readers a reason to pay attention?
2. Is the main point stated clearly?
3. Does it tell readers what to expect?
4. Is the writer presented as a partner, not as an adversary?
5. Is sufficient background information provided?
6. Does the passage summarize the report's findings?
2. Locate specific passages where the document follows the above guidelines. Underline these passages and write the corresponding guideline number next to them.
3. If there are any guidelines that the communication does not follow, mark those areas, with a question mark and the guideline number, where you think information could be inserted in order to fulfill the guidelines.

The Beginning of the Report

Over the past year our company has witnessed a 22% drop in sales of all disposable medical supplies, with more significant decreases in wound dressings and suture materials, to some of our major buyers. Because two new companies, specifically Anamed and Monitor Medical, are beginning to manufacture and aggressively market their own products, MediTech's future as a major supplier of dressings and sutures is in question.

A preliminary study of our decrease in sales suggests that our new competitors are simply marketing their products more aggressively than we have been. Indeed, interviews with hospitals purchasing disposable supplies from our competitors suggests that aggressive sales campaigns, rather than the quality or price of the materials, was what helped them decide to purchase supplies from our competitors rather than from MediTech.

This report presents the results of research as to why our sales have dropped so significantly. Additionally, the report recommends several possible strategies to help boost MediTech's sales. Finally, the report presents a proposal to help MediTech market its quality products more aggressively.