Module 4.1: Direct Approach

In memos, letters, or emails, you have to organize your writing so that it efficiently communicates your message. Usually, the direct approach is most effective.

The Direct Approach

In the direct approach, you present your main idea first (See pages 59-60 for a review).

Main Idea First: To save time and prioritize, business readers usually want to to know your main point immediately, so explain your purpose for writing in the first few lines to let them know why they should keep reading.

The textbook divides common message types into requests and replies:

• Requests for information or reader action should begin with the main idea that the writer is communicating to the reader — a brief statement of the request.
• Replies answer requests for information or action. Always include a clear and specific subject line, and open by reminding the reader of their original request to you. Openings might include: “As you requested…”, or “In response to your request…”. If the requester wrote several people or some time ago, they may not immediately remember why they wrote to you.

Now, please review the examples:

• Direct Replies in Figure 7.5 in the text
• Direct Request, Figure 7.1 and 7.2 in the text

Details Follow: The middle paragraphs provide specific details, facts, and figures, and develop the idea further. Ensure you provide all the details the reader needs to understand your message and to make an appropriate decision. Prioritize details and present the most important ones first.

Use graphic highlighting, such as lists, headings, etc., to emphasize important information. Make your document easy to scan, but don’t just note ideas in point-form. Most paragraphs should offer thoughts in complete, coherent sentences, and lists should have a proper lead-in.

Finally, Action: This last paragraph describes the next step to be taken by the reader. If you want a specific action taken, state exactly what that action is, when it needs to be done and why. People are more likely to comply if given a deadline and logical reasons for the deadline and/or action, especially if those reasons are benefits to them (yes, the “you approach” again!).

If you don’t require your reader to take specific action, you can finish with an invitation for feedback or questions. These conventional endings aren’t required, but provide closure and convenient contact information for questions or clarification.

Personalize your ending with specific details. Don’t use a generic closing expression. Avoid cliched, over-used, or old-fashioned phrases like “feel free”, or “at your earliest convenience”.

• “Please contact me at yourname@email.com or (123)456-7890 if you have any questions about the implementation of Project X.”
• “Please contact me before our next project meeting on Friday if you have any proposed changes to this budget or need further details.”
• “I would appreciate your feedback before our next project meeting on September 5. I will call you next week to arrange a meeting.”

Paper assignment directions: Write a five page paper on Abortion. The paper does not need to involve special library or internet searches beyond the attached annotated bibliography. Expand on the attached annotated bibliography. Be sure and address the following items in the paper: 1. What is the issue? 2. How does it relate to the class? (American Government) 3. Who are the interest groups related to the issue? 4. What does your research tell you about the issue? 5. What is your opinion on the issue and has it changed? In this last section # 5, my opinion hasn’t changed. I’m a conservative and I’m pro-life. In summary, I believe every human being from its conception has the right to live. I think exception would be in the cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger. See attachments for details.

Walk into an IKEA store anywhere in the world, and you would recognize it instantly. The warehouse-type stores all sell the same broad range of affordable home furnishings, kitchens, and accessories. Most of the products are instantly recognizable as IKEA merchandise, with their clean yet tasteful lines and functional design. The outside of the store will be wrapped in the blue and yellow colors of the Swedish flag. The store itself will be laid out as a maze that requires customers to walk through every department before they reach the checkout stations. Immediately before the checkout, there is an in-store warehouse where customers can pick up the items they purchased. The furniture is all flat, packed for ease of transportation, and requires assembly by the customer. If you look at the customers in the store, you will see that many of them are in their 20s and 30s. IKEA sells to the same basic customers all across the world: young, upwardly mobile people who are looking for tasteful yet inexpensive “disposable” furniture. A global network of about 978 suppliers based in 50 countries manufactures most of the 12,000 products that IKEA sells. IKEA itself focuses on the design of products and works closely with suppliers to bring down

manufacturing costs. Developing a new product line can be a painstaking process that takes years. IKEA’s designers will develop a prototype

design—a small couch, for example—look at the price that rivals charge for a similar piece, and then work with suppliers to figure out a way to cut prices by 40 percent without compromising on quality. IKEA also manufactures about 10 percent of what it sells in-house and uses the knowledge gained to help its suppliers improve their productivity, thereby lowering costs across the entire supply chain. It’s a formula that has worked remarkably well. From its roots in Scandinavia, in 2015 IKEA had grown to become the largest furniture retailer in the world with 328 stores in 28 countries and revenues of $36 billion (32 billion euro). IKEA had 771 million store visits and 1.9 billion online visits (IKEA.com). With its Swedish heritage, IKEA is particularly strong in Europe, where it has more than 200 stores, but it also has around 50 stores in North America. Its strongest growth recently has been in China, where it had 17 stores, and Russia, where it had 14 stores. Look a little closer, however, and you will see subtle differences between the IKEA offerings in North America, Europe, and China. In North

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America, sizes are different to reflect the American demand for bigger beds, furnishings, and kitchenware. This adaptation to local tastes and preferences was the result of a painful learning experience for IKEA. When the company first entered the United States in the late 1980s, it thought that consumers would flock to their stores the same way that they had in Europe. At first they did, but they didn’t buy as much, and sales fell short of expectations. IKEA discovered that its European-style sofas were not big enough, wardrobe drawers were not deep enough, glasses were too small, and kitchens didn’t fit U.S. appliances. So the company set about redesigning its offerings to better match American tastes and was rewarded with accelerating sales growth. Lesson learned, when IKEA entered China in the 2000s, it made adaptations to the local market. The store layout reflects the layout of many Chinese apartments, where most people live, and because many Chinese apartments have balconies, IKEA’s Chinese stores include a balcony section. IKEA has also had to shift its locations in China, where car ownership lags behind that in Europe and North America. In the West, IKEA stores are located in suburban areas and have lots of parking space. In China, stores

are located near public transportation, and IKEA offers a delivery service so that Chinese customers can get their purchases home. Sources: J. Leland, “How the Disposable Sofa Conquered America,” The New York Times Magazine, October 5, 2005, p. 45; “The Secret of IKEA’s Success,” The Economist, February 24, 2011; B. Torekull, Leading by Design: The IKEA Story (New York: HarperCollins, 1998); P. M. Miller, “IKEA with Chinese Characteristics,” Chinese Business Review, July–August 2004, pp. 36–69.

CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Why do you think IKEA uses a floorplan that “forces” the customers to move along a certain path in the store? 2. Is it appropriate for IKEA to customize their furniture to each geographic location, for example, differences between U.S. and European furniture? Some companies do not make these changes, but IKEA does; why?

You are working as a software developer
for a small company developing learning materials which you put into a learning
management system for use in online learning environments. Your clients are
colleges which provide services to students in schools all around the world.
One of your clients works with children with disabilities. You are working on
material which is to be used by children in hospital and rehabilitation who
have suffered trauma through an accident. These children live all around
Australia, in country areas and in city facilities. The sorts of injury they
have suffered include loss of sight, partially and fully blinded, limited body
movement including loss of the use of their hands.

What are some of the issues you will have to think about as you design and
implement your software to support your client and their students?