CHAP 1 ACTIVITY

TOPIC: THE COST OF POOR

 The following “case studies” show how poor communications can have real world costs and consequences.

- The “Comma Quirk” in the Rogers Contract that cost $2 million

- A small error in spelling a company name cost £8.8 million.

- etc.
 Activities
In small groups, examine each “case” and determine the following:

1.Define the rhetorical situation: Who is communicating to whom about what, how, and why? What was the goal of
the communication in each case?

2.Identify the communication error (poor task or audience analysis? Use of inappropriate language or style? Poor
organization or formatting of information? Other?)

3.Explain what costs/losses were incurred by this problem.

4.Identify possible solutions or strategies that would have prevented the problem, and what benefits would be
derived from implementing solutions or preventing the problem.

Source: Exercises adapted from T.M Georges’ Analytical Writing for Science and Technology.
 CASE 1: The promising chemist who
buried his results
Bruce, a research chemist for a major petro-chemical company, wrote a dense report about some
new compounds he had synthesized in the laboratory from oil-refining by-products. The bulk of the
report consisted of tables listing their chemical and physical properties, diagrams of their molecular
structure, chemical formulas and data from toxicity tests. Buried at the end of the report was a
casual speculation that one of the compounds might be a particularly safe and effective insecticide.
Seven years later, the same oil company launched a major research program to find more effective
but environmentally safe insecticides. After six months of research, someone uncovered Bruce’s
report and his toxicity tests. A few hours of further testing confirmed that one of Bruce’s compounds
was the safe, economical insecticide they had been looking for.
Bruce had since left the company, because he felt that the importance of his research was not being
appreciated.
 CASE 2: The rejected current regulator
proposal
The Acme Electric Company worked day and night to develop a new current regulator designed to cut the
electric power consumption in aluminum plants by 35%. They knew that, although the competition was fierce,
their regulator could be produced more affordably, was more reliable, and worked more efficiently than the
competitors’ products.
The owner, eager to capture the market, personally but somewhat hastily put together a 120-page proposal to
the three major aluminum manufacturers, recommending that the new Acme regulators be installed at all
company plants.
She devoted the first 87 pages of the proposal to the mathematical theory and engineering design behind his
new regulator, and the next 32 to descriptions of the new assembly line she planned to set up to produce
regulators quickly. Buried in an appendix were the test results that compared her regulator’s performance with
present models, and a poorly drawn graph showed the potential cost savings over 3 years.
The proposals did not receive any response. Acme Electric didn’t get the contracts, despite having the best
product. Six months later, the company filed for bankruptcy.
 CASE 3: The instruction manual the
scared customers away
As one of the first to enter the field of office automation, Sagatec Software, Inc. had built a reputation for
designing high-quality and user-friendly database and accounting programs for business and industry. When
they decided to enter the word-processing market, their engineers designed an effective, versatile, and powerful
program that Sagatec felt sure would outperform any competitor.
To be sure that their new word-processing program was accurately documented, Sagatec asked the senior
program designer to supervise writing the instruction manual. The result was a thorough, accurate and precise
description of every detail of the program’s operation.
When Sagatec began marketing its new word processor, cries for help flooded in from office workers who were
so confused by the massive manual that they couldn’t even find out how to get started. Then several business
journals reviewed the program and judged it “too complicated” and “difficult to learn.” After an impressive
start, sales of the new word processing program plummeted.
Sagatec eventually put out a new, clearly written training guide that led new users step by step through
introductory exercises and told them how to find commands quickly. But the rewrite cost Sagatec $350,000, a
year’s lead in the market, and its reputation for producing easy-to-use business software.
 CASE 4: One garbled memo – 26 baffled
phone calls
Joanne supervised 36 professionals in 6 city libraries. To cut the costs of unnecessary
overtime, she issued this one-sentence memo to her staff:
When workloads increase to a level requiring hours in excess of an employee’s regular duty
assignment, and when such work is estimated to require a full shift of eight (8) hours or more
on two (2) or more consecutive days, even though unscheduled days intervene, an employee’s
tour of duty shall be altered so as to include the hours when such work must be done, unless
an adverse impact would result from such employee’s absence from his previously scheduled
assignment.
After the 36 copies were sent out, Joanne’s office received 26 phone calls asking what the
memo meant. What the 10 people who didn’t call about the memo thought is uncertain. It took
a week to clarify the new policy.
 CASE 5: The co-op student who mixed
up genres
Chris was simultaneously enrolled in a university writing course and working as a co-op student at the Widget
Manufacturing plant. As part of his co-op work experience, Chris shadowed his supervisor/mentor on a safety inspection of
the plant, and was asked to write up the results of the inspection in a compliance memo. In the same week, Chris’s writing
instructor assigned the class to write a narrative essay based on some personal experience. Chris, trying to be efficient,
thought that the plant visit experience could provide the basis for his essay assignment as well.
He wrote the essay first, because he was used to writing essays and was pretty good at it. He had never even seen a
compliance memo, much less written one, so was not as confident about that task. He began the essay like this:
On June 1, 2018, I conducted a safety audit of the Widget Manufacturing plant in New City. The purpose of the audit was
to ensure that all processes and activities in the plant adhere to safety and handling rules and policies outlined in the
Workplace Safety Handbook and relevant government regulations. I was escorted on a 3-hour tour of the facility by…
Chris finished the essay and submitted it to his writing instructor. He then revised the essay slightly, keeping the
introduction the same, and submitted it to his co-op supervisor. He “aced” the essay, getting an A grade, but his supervisor
told him that the report was unacceptable and would have to be rewritten – especially the beginning, which should have
clearly indicated whether or not the plant was in compliance with safety regulations. Chris was aghast! He had never heard
of putting the “conclusion” at the beginning. He missed the company softball game that Saturday so he could rewrite the
report to the satisfaction of his supervisor.