GRAND IDEAS Marlett Grand Hotel
Internal memo Submitted by: Maritza Luiz
Department/Title: Housekeeping Supervisor Date: 8/21/03
To:Helena T. Courtside
Proposal: Spanish translation of employee manual
As you know, over half of our employees speak Spanish as their native language, and many of them have not had a formal education in English.
As a result, many of them have difficulty reading our Employee Training Manual, and I spend much of my time explaining things to employees that they should have learned from reading the manual.
I propose that we translate the manual into Spanish. If we had a version of the manual in their native language, these employees would complete training sooner and have a ready reference throughout their employ- ment. In addition, I wouldn’t have to spend as much time telling employ- ees what they should already know.
I am fluent in both English and Spanish and have an excellent command of grammar in both languages. I would be happy to take on this project.
To be successful and efficient, I need a few reference books costing a total of approximately $30, a computer to work on, and approval for overtime hours. I estimate that if I work an extra hour each day, I could have the manual translated in one month’s time.
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Bob Howard, Payroll Manager FROM: Alexis Dern, Line Supervisor DATE: August 4, 2003
RE: Proposal to revise time sheets
Wage-grade employees are currently required to fill out two different time sheets each week: one for regular hours and one for overtime hours. This means that employees have to write their name, Social Secu- rity number, department, supervisor, and week begin/end dates on both sheets and get two supervisor signatures. It is a small but unnecessary waste of time that several employees in my group have complained about.
If the time sheets were combined so that regular and overtime hours can be reported on one form, this would no longer be a problem. Employees could fill out their personal information at the top, their regular hours in the middle, and any overtime hours at the bottom. A combined form would not only save time each week, but it would also save paper. I pro- pose we get one of our graphic designers to meet with you regarding design specifics before creating the new combination time sheet. The meeting should take less than half an hour, and design could be com- pleted in a few hours. The form could be printed in-house to save on the cost up front, but we will begin to save money immediately as half the current amount of paper will be used by employees.
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CLIENT McMillan Downtown East Hotel JOB Scheduled Arrangement Supply CONTACT Kim Purdy
DATE January 4, 2004 OBJECTIVES
1. To provide four arrangements per week to client that fulfill contract obli- gations regarding size and quality, while retaining profit margin.
2. To use new wholesaler (Atlantic Florist Wholesalers) as source of plant materials at lower cost.
3. To train an employee or employees (Jim Wells and/or Steve Kramer) to create arrangements that meet new guidelines.
4. To set up new account and train work staff by 2/1/04. Begin servicing account using new guidelines on same date.
PRICING
Description Materials Labor Final Price Profit
Foyer Arrangement $44.00 1 hour ($23.00) $125.00 $58.00 Front Desk Arrangement $27.00 .75 hours ($17.25) $80.00 $35.75 Mens/Womens Rooms Arr. $29.00 1 hour ($23.00) $95.00 $43.00
Job Totals $100.00 $63.25 $300.00 $136.75
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RULE #48: Details Matter in Reports
It is imperative that all facts and figures in a report be correct, and presented in a clear and thoughtful way.
● GOOF-PROOF IT! ●
Reports describe the outcome of an operation or a study. They are very structured, usually including all relevant statistics and infor- mation and how they were gathered. Reports are used in almost every field, for a variety of purposes. Common business report subjects include:
• employee retention rates
• production
• meetings (minutes)
• corporate improvement suggestions
• trips
• departmental or company-wide changes
• financial issues
● The Importance of Prewriting
Your report will benefit from time spent prewriting and organizing your findings and information. Answer the following questions, and refer to Rule #1 on page 2 to review other prewriting strategies.
1. Has anyone else been involved in your report, such as someone who helped you with your research, or attended the meeting you will report on? List them, noting how they contributed to your report.
2. What is the purpose of your report? Are you offering new information, describing a meeting or business trip, sug- gesting a change based on fact finding? Be specific.
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3. Who is the audience for your report? Does it differ from the ideal audience (those who would benefit from, appreciate, and/or understand it best)?
4. What is the background of your subject? Has anyone else reported on it before?
5. How can you support your report? Are there facts you can gather; tables, figures, or other documents you can include or reference?
6. Describe any consequences of your research or findings.
7. What are your company’s guidelines for reports? Are there sections you must include? Do they differ from those that you think should be included?
8. Are you recommending action or change based on your report? Do you have enough evidence or a strong enough argument to warrant such a recommendation?
● Formatting Guidelines
Many companies use standard report forms, eliminating the need for employees to format their reports. If your organization does not use such forms, read reports written by fellow employees to get an idea of acceptable formats and writing styles.
No matter what specific form they take, reports follow the same basic structure as a business letter: They begin with an introduc- tion, are followed by the body of the report, and end with a con- clusion and recommendations.
Introduction
Your name, the date of your report, and a title or subject descrip- tion should appear at the top of your report (if using a letter, memo, or company report form, follow standard guidelines).
Clearly state the purpose, subject, and summary of the report in one or two topic sentences.
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Body
These paragraphs support the main idea. Be as detailed and spe- cific as possible, focusing strictly on relaying facts. There should be no assessment or evaluation in the body of the report. If your report has a large amount of supporting data, don’t include all of it in the report. Instead, summarize the data and include the full informa- tion or statistics as an attachment or appendix. For example, if you’re reporting on all work-related accidents, you might summa- rize accident data and attach copies of all the accident reports.
Conclusion/Recommendations
Assess or evaluate your subject at the end of your report. What conclusions have you drawn based on your findings or experi- ences? Tell your audience if there is any action to be taken or if there are any recommendations based upon what you have reported. For example, in a progress report, your conclusion might present your goals for the next report period or discuss problems you’ve been having during this report period. An acci- dent report might recommend changes to be made to prevent similar accidents in the future.
● GOOF-PROOF RULE OF THUMB ●
When writing financial reports:
• use numbers rather than excessive text
• use visuals to make your point (charts, graphs, and tables)
• use specific percentages rather than vague statements
• use attachments (additional notes or documents) for further clarification
• use standard terminology, rather than technobabble, buzz- words, or other pretentious language
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● GOOF-PROOF SAMPLES ●