Course Learning Outcome: Students can communicate persuasively in written form an effective strategy for managing a company’s operations business problem

 Look at first paragraph. If your first paragraph described the status quo plan and company outlook, look at the second paragraph. ◦ What was the message you communicated that should be developed throughout the rest of the memo?  How well are the yellow highlights distributed throughout the memo? ◦ Where did you make your strong points? ◦ Are the highlighted strong points supporting the message stated in paragraph 1 or 2?  What did Mr. Harley want to know? Does your message address his request?

 Know your audience! ◦ Are you providing “nice to know” but not “need to know” information in your memo?  Do not report how you developed your idea  Do not use references to you and your general opinions (e.g. I decided, I believe) ◦ Make points that represent authority  If you like your memo because there are no backorders, that does not sell why the company should increase cost. You need to highlight that it eliminates or reduces backorders compared to the current plan. The authority comes from knowing what Folcom’s current situation is and how it needs to be improved.

 Understanding the demand behaviors such as the seasonal patterns or trend for next year  Understanding the labor pool and skills that will be needed for in-house production  Understanding customer (store) expectations and what they will tolerate before becoming dissatisfied with the product and company  Understanding what is needed from suppliers so that a good set can be identified