Executive Communications

This exercise will allow you to begin to consider channel and persuasion and continues our discussion of writing. In the professional world today, email is the primary means of communication. Emails can be open to interpretation, so it is important to write in a way that not only gets the point across effectively, but also has the right tone. Remember that emails can reach a large number of people in a matter of seconds and have become a primary type of evidence in civil and criminal investigations. Emails also have the potential to be very embarrassing if made public.
For this assignment:
You are the Director of Store Operations for BizCafe.
You have successfully rolled out to some fifty major cities across the USA and Canada. Store count is approaching five hundred locations.
The leadership team has decided, and you agree, that the time has come to take BizCafe into the New York City market. The stakes are high; the competition fierce; and failure is not an option.
For this mission, you have decided to recruit your NYC store opening team from the best and brightest store managers and assistant store managers across the chain. Those selected will need to relocate to the NYC area for an indefinite period. It is expected that most will be offered permanent store management positions in the new NYC stores once they are up and running.
You start to wonder how you can convince your best managers to part with their lives in their current homes and move to the New York City area.
Members of your store management team represent diverse interests and age groups. Some are young and single; others have children ranging in age from preschool to high school. Some have partners with significant jobs. Many are homeowners. Some love the outdoors. Others are city dwellers.
BizCafe is not quite prepared to formally announce the planned NYC rollout because all the details have yet to be finalized, but you also know that rumors are flying both internally and in the trade press. The one detail that you do know for sure is that the NYC store opening team will need to be on the ground by June 2023.
You decide that you need to begin the recruitment process now. You plan to call a chain wide Zoom meeting to formally launch “Operation Big Apple,” but for now you want to set the wheels in motion with an email to each store manager and assistant store manager, encouraging them to apply for the rigorous selection process that could lead to a position on the team.
You turn on your iPad and compose a concise but substantive message of 500 words
[+ / – 10%] to your North American store management team. Remember, you are writing as if you yourself are the Director of Store Operations.