Question

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO TYPE AN ORIGINAL ANSWER.

The Communication-By-Objectives Approach (CBO) is a framework for creating effective messages. This approach directs you to use a whole-into-parts procedure to construct your communications. Conduct some research online to learn more about this approach and how you might apply it to your own writing.

Read the following email to be sent by a sales manager to the members of his sales team, and then answer the questions that follow.

Okay, everybody. I know it has been a tough time lately since the company numbers have not improved. All your sales numbers are lower than last year, plus the executive team has mandated that we increase the sales targets this quarter to make up for the poor numbers you brought in last quarter. It has been hard for everyone, especially the managers, because we are the ones who have to explain why your sales numbers are so low.

I have heard the conversations behind my back about how I am working you too hard, and how unfair it is that your sales targets keep changing. Well, guess what? Too bad! All the whining needs to stop, and you have to get out there and do your jobs. I know all of you have been in sales a long time, so I am sure if you just try a little bit harder, the numbers will improve.

If you need additional help in the field, let me know. I am busy with my own duties, but if you cannot handle it by yourself, I guess I can try to help you.

In a post to the discussion board, answer these questions:

What is your initial impression of the email? Is this an effective message? Explain your response.

How would you feel if you received this email as a sales person on the team?

What would your impression be of the manager after you received this email as currently written?

Using the CBO approach, what are three specific changes you would make to the email message to make it more effective? Consider the tone, audience, and purpose of the email.

Answer 1

Answer: My first impression after reading this mail is that it is an unstructured and reactive response of the manager for an issue he has identified in his team. No I don’t feel that this is an effective message as it is neither organized properly and has a threatening type of a tone instead of a motivating one. As a person in the sales team I will feel that that the manager is angry because of the complaints inside the team he has heard. Such a mail will make me feel anxious towards meeting my targets.   Based on this mail I feel that the manager feels that he is doing a good job but our team is letting him down. He is a manager who is arrogant and considers that if he helps the sales people then he is obliging them by taking time out of his busy schedule.

Using the CBO approach I will make three major changes in it

Firstly I will change the tone of this message and will make it soft. Instead of using terms like “All the wining must stop I will focus on encouraging the sales team to out perform

Secondly I will structure this message where I will first communicate the expectation of the company followed by the current performance of the team and then acknowledge the issues faced by the team and finally I will encourage the team to perform well to meet the company’s expectations

Thirdly I will use more professional words and use motivating quotes in order to encourage the target audiences which are the employees