Part 1: Workplace Communication Channels: Advantages of Face-to-Face Communication

Part 1: Workplace Communication Channels: Advantages of Face-to-Face Communication

Instructions

The
University of Scranton

ACC
465/ACC 538 Accounting Communications

Guffey & Loewy Textbook
Assignment 1

Chapters
2-3

Spring
2021

Instructor:
Dr. James Boyle

Part 1: Workplace Communication
Channels: Advantages of Face-to-Face Communication

Chapter 2 indicates that face-to-face communication is best for persuasive, bad news, and personal messages.
Place yourself in each of the two situations below as a future financial professional.
Prepare two or three short paragraphs
for each situation in completing the instructions.

Situation 1:
You are a staff auditor assigned to audit the Account Receivable account. The
audit plan budgeted two weeks of your time to complete the Accounts Receivable
audit procedures (e.g., sending confirmation letters to customers, testing the
A/R reconciliation with the subsidiary, and assessing the adequacy of the
allowance for uncollectible accounts).

After the first week, you realize that it will take more time to complete the audit of the Accounts
Receivable for two reasons. First, the client was not ready with the information as
planned. Second, you made a mistake by sending the first confirmation letters
to the wrong addresses and now you must resend them to the correct addresses.        

Instructions: First, discuss specific advantages of face-to-face conversation with your audit
supervisor rather than a letter or an email message. Second, describe
your plan and goal(s) from your conversation with your audit supervisor.

Situation 2:
You are the Controller of Enterprise Corporation. Bob Teller, a staff
accountant with 3 years of dedicated service with Enterprise, has applied for the
Assistant Controller position. Although you believe Bob is a good accountant, you
do not believe that he has enough knowledge and experience for the role of
Assistant Controller. It would help if you communicated this news to Bob.

Instructions: First, discuss the specific advantages of a face-to-face conversation with Bob Teller rather
than a letter or an email message. Second, describe your plan and
goal(s) from your conversation with Bob Teller.

Part 2: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3
Business Writing Exercises

Chapter 2: Planning Business Messages

The textbook states that business messages are purposeful, economical, and audience
oriented. They are also clear, concise, precise, and focused. We should try to
get to the point and avoid wordy expressions.

Instructions:
Practice writing effective business messages by completing the below exercises.

Chapter 2, Slide 11: Cultivating the “you” view.        
Provide below another example of a sentence using the “I, We” view.        
Revise the first sentence using the “You” view.

Chapter 2, Slide 12: Emphasizing Receiver Focus.        
Provide below another example of a sentence with a sender focus.        
Revise the first sentence to use a receiver focus.

Chapter 2, Slide 13: Being Conversational.       
Provide below another example of a sentence that is not professional (e.g., contains slang language, such as “our profits tanked” or “we got burned”).        
Revise the first sentence to make it more professional (replace the slang with more precise language).
Provide below another example of a sentence that is not conversational (e.g., uses overly formal language, such as “pursuant to my previous request…”)   
Revise the first sentence to make it more conversational (such as “As I requested…”), yet still professional (i.e., with good grammar).

Chapter 2, Slide 16: Improving Tone by Being Courteous and Sensitive.  
Provide below another example of an uncourteous sentence.      
Revise the first sentence to make it courteous.
Provide below another example of a sentence with biased language.    
Revise the first sentence to make it bias-free.

Chapter 2, Slide 17: Developing Clarity
Provide below another example of a
sentence with unnecessarily complicated and/or unfamiliar words    
Revise the first sentence to use plain
language and familiar words.     
Provide below another example of a
sentence with vague language.     
Revise the first sentence to use precise,
vigorous words.

Chapter 3: Organizing and Drafting
Business Messages

Chapter 3, Slide 5: Avoid Fragment.  
Provide below another example of a fragment.      
Revise the above fragment into a complete sentence.

Chapter 3, Slide 6: Avoid Run-on “Sentences”     
Provide below another example of a run-on “sentence.”     
Revise the above run-on “sentence” into a complete sentence.

Chapter 3, Slide 7: Avoid Comma Splices.     
Provide below another example of a comma splice.    
Revise the above comma splice to correct it.

Chapter 3: Use Active Voice for
Directness, Vigor, and Clarity     
Provide another example of a sentence in
the passive voice (less clear).      
Revise the above passive voice sentence so
that it is in the active voice (more clear – identify the doer of the action).

Solutions