SCENARIO
You work for a corporation with multiple branches across the United States. You have been called to the East Coast headquarters to work on a training program that will be used nationwide. You will be meeting your team members—who come from various branches—for the first time and would like to communicate with them to introduce yourself before arriving. The following list has important information to know about each of their work cultures.
The team is as follows
• Sarah: At Sarah’s branch at company headquarters, her team values time, efficiency, and direct communication. She typically plans out every minute of her day and expects meetings to have clear agendas with concise information about daily tasks. The culture is low context and values certainty and formality. Sarah has worked in the organization for nearly 20 years.
• Joe: At the company’s Southeast branch, Joe’s team values a relaxed and informal atmosphere. He and his colleagues focus a lot of energy on developing genuine relationships and trust. Joe and his coworkers use a high-context communication style. Joe is the newest hire out of this branch but has been working in the organization for 10 years.
• Blake: At Blake’s branch in the Southwest, his team values collaborating, sharing work, and equally contributing to ideas. The culture tends to focus on equal distribution of workload and people who desire to improve the success of the overall group. They generally communicate in a nonassertive manner. Blake has been working in the organization for 30 years.
• Talia: At Talia’s branch in the Midwest, the culture is friendly and warm. People are very supportive of each other and value kindness and expressions of appreciation. They, at times, have difficulty communicating criticism. They are largely assertive and uncomfortable with silence. Talia was recently promoted, and she has worked for the organization for 5 years.
• Mei: At Mei’s West Coast branch, employees can work in the office building, outside on patios, or on lawn spaces. Their workplace culture is individualistic, and people focus on direct communication. In Mei’s office, workers appreciate diverse and novel ideas. They value discussion and are comfortable with ambiguity. Mei is a recent graduate, and this is their first year at the organization.
REQUIREMENTS
A. Choose two of the characters from the scenario above and write an introductory email introducing yourself to each character (one email per character).
For each email you must:
1. Use a different communication style based on the characters chosen from prompt A.
2. Include an opening (i.e., Dear, Hello, etc.) and closing (i.e., Sincerely, See you soon, etc.).
Note: Suggested length for each email is 1–3 paragraphs.
Note: When introducing yourself, you may use real or fictitious details about your personal and professional life.
B. Based on the characters you chose to introduce yourself to in prompt A, complete the following:
1. Explain why you chose each communication style for each character.
2. Describe how each email from prompt A is different from the other.
Note: Suggested length is 1–2 pages.
C. Acknowledge sources—using in-text citations and references—for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
Note: Sources are NOT required for this task, but if sources are used, they must be acknowledged and cited appropriately.
D. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
