Technical Writing Example - Proposal

To:              Ashford University Administration

From:         Carley Lamb

Date:          11/01/2010

Subject:      Proposal to make Interpersonal Communications a mandatory class for 

                    all Ashford University students

Dear Ashford University administration:

Thank you for considering ways to improve Ashford University and requesting ideas from students who are currently enrolled and have firsthand experience. Upon review of possible changes that would benefit Ashford, I found an idea that would also benefit students.

Introduction

When a spot opens in today’s job market, tens to hundreds of people are applying for a singular position. This leaves employers scanning a large quantity of resumes and applications for certain qualifications that set some people out from the rest. If one is lucky enough to get an interview, good communication skills can make the difference of being hired or passed over.

I recently interviewed Joanne Carncross, an Employment Recruiter for one of Snohomish Counties leading employment firms; she stressed the point that employers are increasingly looking for candidates with good communication skills. Joanne states “Entry level positions are easy to fill and people with college educations are looked over because they are overqualified. Managerial positions and positions that require interaction with others are given to people who know how to communicate effectively”. Joanne interviews applicants daily as part of her job; she looks for good nonverbal skills as well as people who know how to change communication tones when speaking with different audiences (J. Carncross, personal communication, October 28, 2010).

Marty Blalock, a professor for Wisconsin Business School, says in her article Why Good Communication is Good Business, says “People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired, and if already working, are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion”, and that “in business, communication is everything” (2005). She mentions that businesses are made up of people and to get jobs done they must communicate with others, making communication skills critical to get core tasks accomplished.

Problem

Of all the classes that are taught in grade school and high school, communication is the most used but the least focused on, which in turn creates men and women who are not properly equipped for today’s competitive job market. This leaves students who are obtaining a higher education lacking important skills that will make them employable.

While online Universities such as Ashford offer courses in communication, students are not able to participate in face-to-face communication that is part of traditional brick and mortar Universities. This may leave the students lacking interpersonal communication skills necessary to have an edge over other candidates in the job market.

Proposed Plan

It is proposed that Ashford make it mandatory for all students to complete Interpersonal Communication – COM 200, in order to give all students a better understanding of communicating in the workplace. By making COM 200 a mandatory class, graduates of Ashford will have an edge over other online University graduates and many brick and mortar graduates as well.

Course Outline:

• Students would be heavily involved in group discussions with class members
• Instead of weekly assignments, students would complete exercises at the end of chapters and share finding online
• Real time discussion forums with the instructor present would allow students to ask questions and get immediate feedback
• Instructor feedback should be directly related to course material
• All information, readings, exercises, etc. would be directly out of the course textbook so the student always has a reference point

Limitations

Due to the fact that Ashford has a mandatory first class set in place already, PSY 202, it might be difficult to make another class mandatory. In light of this, I would suggest revising the PSY 202 textbook that is made specifically for Ashford to include a chapter on Interpersonal Communication. I would also recommend that more classes be offered where students can log on and chat in real time with their professors to get instant feedback. Any amount of interpersonal communication that the students are subject to will be helpful in their future.

Thank you again for considering this proposal, any suggestions to modify this plan would be greatly appreciated.

References

Blalock, M., (2005). Why Communication is Good Business. Retrieved from: http://www.bus.wisc.edu/update/winter05/business_communication.asp 10/30/2010

J. Carncross, personal communication, October 28, 2010.