Managerial Writing

1
Managerial Writing

• Section 2 Weakening your position by
  communicating the wrong attitude

2
The purpose of your report is to convince top
management to

• Open a dialog about the topic with YOU as a
  participant
• Not necessarily the only other participant, and
  not even as the loudest participant
• To make clear-headed, informed decisions
• To see you and your team as solutions to problems

3
Attitude mistakes that permeate your writing

• False humility and arrogance two sides of the
  same coin - weakness
• Recognition that reality is far more complex than
  your research and knowledge
• Acknowledgement that hard work and persistence
  are still needed to realize success (both your
  own and others)

4
Style mistakes that weaken your position

• Presenting alternatives in place of
  recommendations or conclusions
• Using weak words
• Regurgitating trivia
• Cheerleading and hype

5
Presenting alternatives rather than speaking
with a single, cohesive, well-supported voice

• another positioning strategy for our
  automobiles produced for the Chinese market would
  be to get an early start on

6
Making your proposal in weak words

• Should
• Could
• Maybe
• Can
• Might

• Words like these signal weakness and lack of
  confidence in your analysis and conclusions (to
  both the CEO and other readers). If youre
  preparing such a report to be passed up the line
  to the CEO, its next to useless. Your boss has
  to extensively rewrite it as well as check your
  analysis. To an instructor it means youve
  started too late and cannot digest what youve
  discovered in your research.

7
Presenting the CEO with trivia

• Business cards are generally printed in English,
  as that is the accepted language in the Indian
  business world.
• (Chinese w)orkers involved in assembly
  operations are typically paid monthly with wages
  earned of 60 to 85 monthly. This project did
  not propose mfg in China

8
Cheerleading or hype

• Chile is an effective and safe place to start a
  business. Chile has a transparent and predictable
  government the government is actively working to
  increase its GDP by improving trade relations
  with other countries.
• With relatively high educational attainment and
  progress in high-tech industries, much of the
  expansion will be internally generated
  consumption will increase its share of the
  economy in line with rising incomes (Ryan, 2003)
  giving the product success immediately after
  introduction into the market.

9
Cheerleading or hype

• The individual income of households in France
  and the percentage they spend on health related
  products is bound to make us money.

10
Cheerleading or hype

• We have found a place that is ready and willing
  to accept our superior product in their country.
  The following is our teams concluding facts and
  opinions of our computer products success, as
  well as a possibility of endless prosperity in
  the country of Chile.

11
A special form of cheerleading occurs when
students feel compelled to write a conclusion.
Too often compulsive conclusion writing ends up
producing a product dominated by excessive
statements that destroy credibility.
12
(example of a conclusion)

• We feel after reviewing and researching the
  demographics of the population, land, economy,
  government, and work force we know we will have a
  very profitable environment to succeed in for
  our business. The product for the retail stores
  and manufacturing companies will provide an open
  market ready for expansion. We fell sic that we
  have the resources, the capital and smarts to
  capture this market and give large returns on
  investment. This is a market that we will retain
  for a long time if we can get in, do it right and
  do it quickly. That way at the end of two years
  we will all be living the high life and driving
  Beamers.