Analyze the rhetorical situation and choose the appropriate language, tone, format, and content to suit your purpose and audience.

Over the last two years, L4L has worked on growing their customer base beyond educational institutions (K-12 schools, colleges and universities) to business and government settings that need to deliver online training and professional development. Recently, Jayne Whitefield announced a major success in that area: the Ontario government named Living4Learning as the official online professional education provider for all government agencies in the province, replacing the previous vendor, Desire2Learn. L4L proudly held a major project launch celebration at their HQ in Waterloo where learning creatives mingled with representatives from the provincial government who had helped to broker the deal. Ontario premier Doug Ford made a speech at the event praising L4L's commitment to accessibility, functionality, and creative course design. Noting that the government's previous education platform provider, Desire2Learn, was also headquartered in Waterloo, Ford even made a joke about how hard the companies must have to work to keep each other from poaching their best employees. Reporters covering the event laughed politely and kept their cameras clicking.

A few days after the event, L4L's director of Marketing, Andrea Huff, got a call from a friend at a local television station. One of the reporters had noticed an L4L learning creative in several photos with Jayne Whitefield and Premier Ford. The reporter recognized this person as Bill Dalton, a close friend of the premier's who regularly visits the Ford cottage in the Muskokas. Dalton had been fired from Desire2Learn 18 months ago and tried to sue the company for wrongful dismissal but lost in court. The reporter learned that L4L subsequently hired Dalton as team lead for the proposal to become the government's new education provider. The reporter is preparing an investigative piece about likely insider collusion between Bill Dalton and the Ford government aimed at taking the contract from Desire2Learn and awarding it to Living4Learning instead. Whether the reporter uncovers hard evidence or not, the optics are not good. Once the story airs three days from now, it is almost certain that the transition project will be delayed while a parliamentary committee investigates the Request for Proposal process, and the contract might be cancelled all together if the inquiry determines that there has in fact been collusion between L4L and the government.

Instructions for this Crisis Communication:

In the text box below, draft a communication that your manager can send to the learning creatives who have been assigned to the team supporting this contract and navigating the government's transition from Desire2Learn to Living4Learning's platform to inform them about the upcoming news report.

Writing a Successful Crisis Communication

• Read the scenarios very carefully and pay attention to the rhetorical context. Especially note the specific audience identified in the "Instructions for this Crisis Communication" section after the scenario description and think about what strategies and information are suitable for the audience, given your purpose.

Grading

The following are the criteria that will used to grade your assignment, along with the weights assigned to each criterion:

Submission Memo (10%)

Memo clearly explains the decision process for choosing communication strategy, content, medium, and format. Memo is well organized, clearly written, and presented to the manager in appropriate memo format.

Rhetorical Effectiveness (50%)

Correctly identifies all audiences, and chooses the appropriate approach (direct/indirect) based on the context (e.g. expectation, significance, emotional investment, relationships, etc.). Buffer, if necessary, is effective. Bad news is communicated appropriately for the chosen approach. Writer effectively establishes professional ethos and credibility. Writing demonstrates empathy and you-centred attitude. Tone is tactful, diplomatic, and non-accusatory. Chooses words with positive connotations as much as possible.

Overall, communication effectively conveys bad news while maintaining a positive image for the company and good will relationship with the audience.

Content (35%)

Provides sufficient information to help the identified audience(s) understand and accept the bad news. Content is ethically sound: doesn't omit relevant information; doesn't include misleading or confidential information. Avoids assessing blame. Includes relevant positive information. Any action items are appropriately placed. Includes a respectful, positive close.

Writing Mechanics (10%)

Sentences clear and easy to understand. Grammar and punctuation expertly handled. Writing is concise, free from wordiness and inappropriate colloquialisms, jargon, or unprofessional language. Skillfully manipulates active and passive voice. Paragraphs are effectively structured and developed. Uses bias-free language.

Medium & Format (5%)

Uses an appropriate communication medium and correctly provides all the elements the chosen medium requires. As much as possible, uses clear and effective formatting for the content.