Case Abstract
Truss Right is a fictional company that has recently hired a new employee (the student) as Plant Coordinator. The seasonal nature of construction trades means Truss Right lays off employees annually. Students working through this case are asked to write a bad news letter to an employee informing him that his overtime hours are going to be cut back.
Keywords: Bad News, Letter, Empathy, Ethics, and Professionalism.
Teaching Goals
The goal of this case is to teach students how to write a bad news letter for a specific audience within a specific context that will show students how to maintain professionalism while showing empathy.
Learning Objective
Students will learn to:
- Write a bad news letter
- Make ethical writing decisions
- Show empathy to audience
- Maintain professionalism
Possible Deliverables
- Bad news letter
- Bad news email
- Audio recording
- Video recording
Outcomes
This case places students in a situation that will help them understand how ethics and empathy can play an important role in professional communication. They should be able to write an effective letter to a specific individual in a specific context that maintains a professional tone while considering the impact the bad news letter will have on the reader.