Roxana Wheaton, President of Chalmers Controls, has asked you to research overseas markets for the language translation software program the company produces. She wants you to choose a viable country for distributing the product, explain why it is a viable country, and research and present the best ways to communicate with business professionals in the country you selected. Finally, she wants you to draft a letter to a prospective distributor in that country for her review.
Wheaton has asked you to present your research in an organized, focused memo to her. She has asked that you clearly outline the research you conducted, the sources you reviewed, the information you gathered, and the criteria needed to correspond effectively with the overseas market — what business writing etiquette is specific to the country you chose? How are those business writing expectations addressed in your draft letter?
Memo:
The memo to Wheaton should be 350–500 words. The memo should include at least two viable references no older than three years using APA format and citation style. For help with APA go to the Academic Tools area of the course and access the Academic Writer resources. Put your references on their own page following your memo to Wheaton.
Checklist Part 1:
- Identify the country you selected for distribution of the software and why it is a viable market.
- Outline the research you conducted to identify the viable country and to learn how to communicate in writing to the potential distributor.
- Include the sources reviewed for your research in your memo to Wheaton, both using in-text citations and on a references page following the memo (sources must be no older than three years).
- Include information you gathered using a combination of summary, paraphrase, and limited direct quote from your sources.
- Explain the criteria and cultural considerations used to draft the letter.
Prepare a
draft letter of introduction to send to a fictitious distributor within the
country you researched introducing yourself, your company, your product, your
interest in working with them, and why they should be interested in
distributing your product. You will make up the name of the distributor, the
company, the mailing address, and the contact person. Make certain your letter
meets the cultural expectations of the country you selected based on your
research. Research letter writing format expectations in your country of choice
– business practices vary, so do your research!
Checklist
Part 2:
In your
draft letter to the prospective distributor:
- Introduce yourself, your
company, and your product to meet the cultural expectations of the country
distributor (see useful resources provided below).
- Explain your interest in
working with that distributor.
- Explain why the distributor
will be interested in distributing your product.
- Demonstrate the cultural
expectations relevant to the country you chose.
Your
letter package submission (memo, references, and draft letter) will demonstrate
your ability to research, summarize that research, document the research
(remember your APA citations and referencing from the discussion), and prepare
additional documents based on information gathered and cultural literacy.
Submit
the letter package as a single Microsoft® Word® file, just as you would attach the
file to your company president in business. Your letter package will include
the memo to Wheaton, your list of references cited in the memo, and the
requested draft of the letter. Remember to check your punctuation, spelling,
and grammar before submission to the Dropbox.
Student
Note:
Any
proposal found to contain more than 15% direct quote will be subject to scrutiny
for violation of the University’s Policy of Academic Integrity and point
deduction could be substantially higher depending upon the prevalence of direct
quote. Any submission that is plagiarized or otherwise violates academic
integrity will earn a grade of “0†and the incident will be reported to the
Provost’s Office.
Any
submission containing grammatical errors that are so serious as to interfere
with delivery of the message earns a grade of 0. Serious grammatical errors
include sentence errors — fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices. Further,
errors in coherence, punctuation, organization, and logic have the potential to
earn a grade of 0. Such errors present a serious obstacle in conveying your
ideas and submissions containing such errors cannot earn a passing grade. At
the professor’s discretion, revisions may be permitted.
Any
submission that fails to address the topic given or the assignment goal will
earn a grade of 0 and/or a request for revision by the instructor.