Active-Voice Verbs Business writing is more forceful if it uses active-voice verbs. Revise the following sentences so that verbs are in the active voice. Put the emphasis on the doer of the action. Add subjects if necessary. Example Firewall software was installed on his computer. Revision Craig installed firewall software on his computer.

 1. A company credit card was used by the manager to purchase office supplies.

2. To protect students, laws were passed in many states that prohibited the use of social security numbers as identification. 33. Checks are processed more quickly by banks because of new regulations. 3. Millions of packages are scanned by FedEx every night as packages stream through its Memphis hub.

 

 

experiential exercise: The Glitch that lost krista

Chase was quite pleased. He was instrumental in redesigning the organization and implementing the communication program. He arranged for small-group meetings so that employees could understand the need for reorganization. The process took him nearly a month of continuous meetings, but the response was favorable. The employees cooperated and helped make the transition very smooth. After six weeks, the first productivity report showed a fifteen percent decrease in expenses, and morale seemed stable. The agency had plans to administer a work-climate study after twelve months. Chase was immersed in the glowing productivity report when his assistant, Suzanne, walked in his office.

"Here they are, fresh off the presses, our first run since the reorganization," Suzanne chirped.

Chase looked up from his desk puzzled, "What?"

"The performance review reminders," Suzanne responded. "You know, every month we get a printout for those employees due for their annual performance review. They have little computer-generated postcards that we send out to the managers."

"Oh, right, right. Go ahead and send them out," Chase said, still preoccupied with his productivity report.

Several days later he got a call from Gordon Fishman, the information officer.

"Say, Chase," Gordon began, "I just got the computer reminder to give Krista Reed, one of my former clerks, her performance review. Since we reorganized, Krista doesn't work for me any more."

Krista was fairly far down in the organization, so her name would not show up on the major charts. Chase remembered hiring her about three years ago for a simple, routine clerk job. She was rather plain, not very bright, but quite pleasant. When her performance reviews had crossed his desk, there was nothing unusual. They were mostly peppered with satisfactories. She had received only one promotion in three years and tended to blend right into the agency.

"Well, what happened to her?" Chase asked.

"I'm not really sure, but I think she's reporting to Bill Acton in Administration. Try him" Gordon responded.

Chase looked up Bill's extension. "Say, Bill, this is Chase Vidmar. We have a performance appraisal due on Krista Reed, and I understand she reports to you now."

"Krista Reed: Nope, not me. I think she was shipped over to Tracy Karras after the reorganization. Give Tracy a call," Bill suggested.

Chase tapped out Tracy's four-digit extension. "Ms. Karras's office, Jane speaking."

"Hi, Jane, this is Chase Vidmar. Is Tracy available?"

"Sorry, Mr. Vidmar, but Tracy is out of the office at a meeting with one of our vendors."

"Oh,” he paused, "well, maybe you can help me. Does Krista Reed report to your section?"

"That name doesn't sound familiar, but I'll check. Can you hold?"

"Sure."

Chase waited while he scanned his own personnel computer runs. There was Krista Reed's name all right. She still retained Gordon Fishman's budget code, but the section reassignment code was blank. That's why the performance appraisal reminder defaulted to Gordon. "Where the hell could she be?" he thought.

Jane returned to the line. "Sorry, Mr. Vidmar, but we don't have her here."

"Thanks, Jane." Chase rang off and sat at his desk bewildered. The agency had over two thousand people and he wasn't about to send out a missing-rewards memo on Krista. She was getting her paycheck. That must be a clue.

"Rats," he thought, after he checked with payroll. "My luck, she has her pay direct-deposited, with the confirmation mailed to her home. "Her home," he thought, "maybe she's at home. I'll try there." For an entire week Chase periodically called Krista's number – no answer or busy. He was getting very frustrated.

Chase usually worked through his lunch, grabbing some junk food from the vending machine. Today he felt especially hungry for some reason, so he ventured into the employee cafeteria. He filled his tray from the deli bar and passed through the register.

Seated a few tables from the register was Krista Reed! Chase couldn't believe his eyes. His surprise almost caused him to set his Coke off balance. He regained control and casually sauntered over to Krista, who was seated with some other women. There was an available seat across from her.

"Mind if I join you?" Chase asked politely.

"Sure, no problem," Krista smiled.

"So, Krista, it's been a long time since we've talked. How have you been?"

"Pretty good."

"So where are you working now that we've reorganized?" he asked.

"I'm glad you asked," she responded sincerely. "When everyone got their printout of where to be reassigned, the section for me was blank. My boss was tied up in meetings that day, so I didn't get to discuss it with him. Even though the move wasn't scheduled for two weeks, I wasn't able to get to him because I left that Friday for my two-week vacation. So, when I returned, everyone was in his or her new offices, and my boss, as you know, was shipped over to Building G across the complex. My section was split three ways, so I didn't even know which group to follow and haven't known what to do. I've felt really lost and kind of upset that the agency has forgotten about me. So I just came to work and visited with friends in the various break rooms, and then I'd sit through all three lunch sessions. That part has been a lot of fun, but to tell the truth, I've been getting kinda bored."

"That's terrible, Krista," Chase feigned sympathetically.

"And not only that," she added, "with all these lunches I've eaten over the past several weeks, I've gained nearly eight pounds!"

Chase was astounded. He knew Krista wasn't a rocket scientist, but how could she spend over a month occupying her day having one long lunch, just hoping someone might notice? Incredibly, no one did notice, and Krista appeared deadly serious and wholly sincere. Rather than embarrass himself and the whole agency for the major snafu, Chase politely suggested to Krista that she return with him to his office. He reviewed the organizational design study and determined where Krista should logically be located. Chase contacted the section manager and notified him that he was sending Krista on up. Then he put a change action through to the computer to ensure that the elusive Krista would once again have a home.

Questions:

1. What type of organizational structure is this most likely to have occurred in?

2. What organizational response should have taken place to prevent this situation?

3. Do you believe this could happen in a restructuring company?

Gone are the days when management expected workers to check their brains at the door and do only as they were told. Today, you’ll be expected to use your brains in thinking critically. You’ll be solving problems and making decisions. Much of this book is devoted to helping you solve problems and communicate those decisions to management, fellow workers, clients, the government, and the public. Faced with a problem or an issue, most of us do a lot of worrying before separating the issues or making a decision. You can change all that worrying to directed thinking by channeling it into the following procedure: • Identify and clarify the problem. Your first task is to recognize that a problem exists. Some problems are big and unmistakable, such as failure of an air-freight delivery service to get packages to customers on time. Other problems may be continuing annoyances, such as regularly running out of toner for an office copy machine. The first step in reaching a solution is pinpointing the problem area. • Gather information. Learn more about the problem situation. Look for possible causes and solutions. This step may mean checking files, calling suppliers, or brainstorming with fellow workers. For example, the air-freight delivery service would investigate the tracking systems of the commercial airlines carrying its packages to determine what is going wrong. • Evaluate the evidence. Where did the information come from? Does it represent various points of view? What biases could be expected from each source? How accurate is the information gathered? Is it fact or opinion? For example, it is a fact that packages are missing; it is an opinion that they are merely lost and will turn up eventually. • Consider alternatives and implications. Draw conclusions from the gathered evidence and pose solutions. Then weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. What are the costs, benefits, and consequences? What are the obstacles, and how can they be handled? Most important, what solution best serves your goals and those of your organization? Here’s where your creativity is especially important. • Choose and implement the best alternative. Select an alternative and put it into action. Then, follow through on your decision by monitoring the results of implementing your plan. The freight company decided to give its unhappy customers free delivery service to make up for the lost packages and downtime. Be sure to continue monitoring and adjusting the solution to ensure its effectiveness over time. Career Application. Let’s return to the McDonald’s problem (discussed on page 33) in which some franchise owners are unhappy with the multiple lines for service. Customers don’t seem to know where to stand to be the next served. Tempers flare when aggressive customers cut in line, and other customers spend so much time protecting their places in line that they fail to study the menu. Then they don’t know what to order when they approach the counter. As a franchise owner, you would like to find a solution to this problem. Any changes in procedures, however, must be approved by all the McDonald’s owners in a district. That means you’ll have to get a majority to agree. You know that McDonald’s management feels that the multiline system accommodates higher volumes of customers more quickly than a single-line system. Moreover, the problem of perception is important. What happens when customers open the door to a restaurant and see a long single line? Do they stick around to learn how fast the line is moving?

 Your Task

 • Individually or with a team, use the critical thinking steps outlined here. Begin by clarifying the problem.

• Where could you gather information to help you solve this problem? Would it be wise to see what your competitors are doing? How do banks handle customer lines? Airlines? Sports arenas?

 • Evaluate your findings and consider alternatives. What are the pros and cons of each alternative?

• Within your team choose the best alternative. Present your recommendation to your class and give your reasons for choosing

Create a sample agenda for a business meeting to discuss the quarterly sales report and results from the latest marketing campaign.