Scenario

The scenario was adapted from Guffey, Rhodes and Rogin, Business Communication: Process and Product, South-Western College Pub (2011).

Bad News to Employees: No Go for Tuition Reimbursement

Ashley Arnett, a hardworking bank teller, has sent a request asking that the company create a program to reimburse the tuition and book expenses for employees taking college courses.

Although some companies have such a program, your organization - Fox Federal Credit Union - has not felt that it could indulge in such an expensive employee perk. Moreover, the CEO is not convinced that companies see any direct benefit from such a program.

Employees improve their educational credentials and skills, but what is to keep them from moving that education and skill set to another employer?

Your company has over 200 employees. If even a fraction of them started classes, the company could see a huge bill for the cost of tuition and books. Because the organization is facing stiff competition and its profits are sinking, the expense of such a program is out of the question.

In addition, it would involve administration - applications, monitoring, and record keeping. It is just too much of a hassle. When employees were hard to hire and retain, companies had to offer employment perks. But with a soft economy, such inducements are unnecessary.

Your Task:As director of human resources, send an individual response to Ashley Arnett. The answer is a definite no, but you want to soften the blow and retain the loyalty of the conscientious employee.

Instructions: Use what you have learned in this class about business writing (audience awareness, concision, precision, directness, simplicity, etc.) and craft a bad news email .

Make sure that this email follows the content and structure guidelines in the "Email Writing" Powerpoint that we went over in class.