Category: business writing

For this assignment, start doing research for your next major writing assignment: a formal report! You’ll identify a workplace issue you’d like to research, research the issue and possible solutions, and then write a formal report with recommendations for management to consider to address the issue. To get your brain going, here are some general categories of workplace issues and topics you might want to choose: 
Organizational Culture & Communication:
Toxic Workplace Culture: How does it manifest, what are the impacts, and what can be done?
Communication Breakdowns: How does poor communication affect productivity, morale, and decision-making?
Generational Differences: How do different work styles and expectations across generations create challenges?
Remote Work Challenges: What are the unique issues of remote work (isolation, collaboration, etc.) and how can they be addressed?
Employee Well-being:
Burnout and Stress: What are the causes, symptoms, and effective prevention/management strategies?
Work-Life Balance: How can companies support better work-life balance, and what are the benefits?
Mental Health in the Workplace: How can employers create a supportive environment and reduce stigma?
Workplace Harassment and Discrimination: Forms, prevalence, impact, and prevention measures.
Leadership & Management:
Ineffective Leadership Styles: How does poor leadership affect employee engagement and performance?
Micromanagement: What are the negative consequences, and how can managers delegate more effectively?
Favoritism and Unfair Treatment: How does it damage morale, and what are fairer practices?
Performance Reviews: Are they effective, and how can they be improved to better motivate and develop employees?
Productivity & Efficiency:
Time Management Issues: What are the common time wasters, and what strategies improve productivity?
Meeting Effectiveness: Are meetings too frequent/long/unproductive, and how can they be improved?
Technology in the Workplace: Is it hindering or helping productivity, and what are the best practices for implementation?
Employee Training and Development: Is it lacking, and how does it affect skill levels and job satisfaction?
Other:
Ethical Dilemmas in Business: Examples of ethical challenges faced in the workplace and how to navigate them.
Diversity and Inclusion: How can workplaces become more inclusive, and what are the benefits?
Workplace Safety: Examining hazards in specific industries and ways to improve safety measures.
Employee Turnover: What are the common reasons for leaving, and how can companies retain talent?
Important considerations when picking a topic for your formal report:
Relevance: Ensure the topic is relevant to their field of study or career interest.
Data Availability: Choose a topic with sufficient data for analysis and recommendations.
Scope: Narrow the topic to a manageable size for a formal report.
Part 1
Tell me what workplace issue you’re going to be researching and why you chose it. 
Part 2
Research! 
1. Use our library databases (the OneSearch database should be enough) to find and read 5 peer reviewed journal articles to help you learn about your identified workplace issue and possible solutions you might want to advocate for in your report.  Having a hard time finding information?  Ask a librarian!
2.  Consult the resources below for relevant statistical data.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)Links to an external site.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)Links to an external site.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)Links to an external site.
Gallup Workplace InsightsLinks to an external site.
Pew Research CenterLinks to an external site.
3. Write me a memo where you provide the following:
For each of the 5 articles:
Title and author
summarize the article in no more than 200 words
identify what the article is going to be used for in your report
Then include a no more than 200 word summary about what useful data you were able to find and how that data will contribute to your report. 
KEEP IN MIND: You might still need to return to researching as you’re writing your report.  Research is a recursive process. In the moment of drafting the report you might find yourself thinking “it’d be useful if I had X piece of information” or “I want to make X recommendation, but I need support for it.”  That’s fine!  Do more research. That’s how research works in the real world.  It’s not an ended phase that happens before you draft. This assignment is just to get you started. 
All I’m looking for is a rough draft of this assignment to help me write the actual when it comes time. Most importantly, I need help with the research.

This assignment will require you to demonstrate an ability to successfully prepare an accurate and complete resume, cover letter, and thank you letter.  
Make sure to download and attached files.
You will select an active job posting that you would want to apply for and prepare your resume and cover letter (also referred to as an application letter) for the position.  You can find active positions on sites such as:
* www.indeed.com
* www.careerbuilder.com
* www.glassdoor.com
Make sure you share with me the URL of your job posting when uploading your files (20 points). You can copy and paste the URL into the “online text” option when uploading your files or you can save a Word document and attach it with your three written pieces here.
This assignment will require you to demonstrate an ability to successfully prepare an accurate and complete resume, cover letter, and follow-up employment correspondence needed to succeed in the workplace. 
You will select an active job posting that you would want to apply for and prepare your resume and cover letter (also referred to as an application letter) for the position.  The follow-up employment correspondence that you will prepare is a message to send to an employer after a job interview.  For the purposes of the assignment, you will prepare your written message as if you have had a job interview.  This can also be referred to as a “thank you” for the interview but shows the employer that you are interested in the position and wish to be considered further for the position. 
Your final project will consist of three written pieces of communication plus your job posting URL:
1. Cover letter (160 points) – must use the provided template (if you do not use the template, the maximum you can get here is 100 points)
2. Resume (160 points) – must use the provided template (if you do not use the template, the maximum you can get here is 100 points)
3. Thank you message (160 points)
4. Share with me the URL of your job posting (20 points)
Make sure to follow the following TIPS and INSTRUCTIONS:
Heading:
We no longer encourage the disclosure of your full address because it is one more piece of information that can be stolen. You should have your name, city and state, email and phone number only.
Education:
List your degree correctly: For example, Associate Degree in Business Management. Then add bullet points – using action verbs – providing more information (e.g. GPA, relevant courses taken, etc)
Delete high school and add WCC to your education. After we start college, there is no need to state our high school experience. If you are a guest student at WCC, please provide the university/college you are originally attending (for example, Eastern Michigan University).
Add your graduation date to your education experience. If you haven’t graduated yet, add your expected graduation date. Differently from the work experience, we list only the graduation date (or expected graduation date). We do not recommend disclosing when you started your studies.
Summary/Objective:
Remove your summary/objective. They are no longer a necessary part of the resume. We suggest you keep that information written in your cover letter.
Verb tense:
Add bullet points for each relevant work and/or volunteer experience you have done so far. Make sure you use the right tense of the verb in your bullet points. If it is a job/education you did in the past and you are no longer doing it, use past tense for your action verbs. If it is a job/education that you are still doing, use the present tense for your action verbs. Download the Action Verb List.pdf  verbs to help you with that.
Bullet points:
Instead of writing everything in only one paragraph, split them and add multiple bullet points for each relevant work and/or volunteer experience / education experience you have done so far.
Skills:
List your hard skills instead of just soft skills. For example, you can talk about computer skills, languages, etc. Leave the soft skills to be discussed in your cover letter or in an interview.
Add the level of proficiency to your computer skills: basic, intermediate or advance.
Overall layout:
Work on your layout in order to fit your information in either 1 full page or 2 full pages. Half pages are not recommended. The template provided only counts to 1 full page. If you have a lot of experience and need a second page, make sure to follow the format.
We don’t recommend underline the headings because people can think they are hyperlinks. Instead, capitalize and bold them.
Hobbies:
List only hobbies that are relevant to the position you want to apply
Bullet points – employment:
Don’t break down the bullet points in 2 different pages. Work on your layout in order to have all bullet points nearby the job you are describing.
References:
Do not write “references upon request”, rather have them ready in a separate sheet of paper when your employer requests them.
Also, there is no need to write your references in your resume, rather have them ready in a separate sheet of paper when your employer requests them. You do not need to submit a reference list for this assignment.
Chronology:
Make sure to list your education and work experience in chronological order – most recent first. Then you go backward from there.
Picture:
We do not recommend the disclosure of a picture in any resume. Employers need to judge applicants by their background, experience, and knowledge only.
Format:
Use the provided template.
Personal Pronouns:
Do not use personal pronouns in your resume. It means no “I”, “mine”, “mine”, “our”, “us”, etc. Leave that to your cover letter. Use bullet points using action verbs only.
________________________________________________________________________________________
The attached file (resume sample) is an example of what a student might use to apply for a position.  You must use this as your template. It’s important to note that the education section for a soon-to-be graduate (or a recent one) will always be at the top of the resume upon graduation from the university.  It will only move down below the experience heading when the candidate has been working for at least a year in a professional position.
You will also find here an Action Verb list that will help you formulate your own experiences. Remember, all bullet points in your resume will start with an action verb.
Finally, you will find useful tips on how to come up with a winning resume.
As for your cover letter, the attached file (cover letter example) is an example of a cover letter used to introduce a resume to a prospective employer.  This can be sent electronically via email depending on the directions from the prospective employer.  You can also use this to upload to an online applicant portal when applying for a position online.
The guidelines (guidelines for writing a cover letter) that are included show you how to write specifically by paragraph and include the correct information that an employer will want to see. You must use the file (cover letter example) as your template while following the guidelines for writing a cover letter.
As for your final written piece – the Thank you Letter – there is no template you need to follow (no files attached here) but you must use the concepts we learned throughout the semester. Consult the book to make sure you have a great written piece.
*THE TEMPLATES WILL BE ATTACHED*
*MY RESUME WILL BE ATTACHED FOR INFORMATION*