MGMT1201: Business Communication
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Assignment 4: Persuasive Messaging
Assignment Overview:
The purpose of this assignment is to write a persuasive message.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
• Create digitally-written professional communications for readability,
coherence, clarity, conciseness, and tone
• Apply research tools to enhance communication
• Analyze the implications of personal and professional digital media in business
communication.
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
Ensure you are aware of the College policies on Academic Honesty and also
Plagiarism. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously at the
College even if the dishonesty or plagiarism is unintentional. Please also know that
taking credit for work you did not contribute to as it is also considered Academic
Dishonesty and will be reported.
Turnitin
When you submit your assignment, it will go through Turnitin. Turnitin is a webbased service that checks the assignment against its database of materials that
contain other learners’ work as well as electronic academic materials.
It is highly recommended that you use the Turnitin tool to make improvements to
your paper before you submit the final version. Be aware of the due date for the
assignment. Submit your first draft long before the deadline and allow yourself time
to make changes. Then, submit your final version by the deadline.
Learners find the Turnitin report useful for editing papers. The report will include
incorrect use of referencing, too many quotes, and paraphrases. If the Turnitin
report, for your first draft, shows a high percentage of matching text, this will give
you an opportunity to review and edit your assignment for proper citations and more
original analysis. Once you make your edits, it is possible to submit your work to
Turnitin again. Turnitin will know not to match the text in your second draft with text
in your first draft, and so on. It is advisable to wait at least 24 hours before you
submit the second draft.
Faculty find Turnitin useful as a tool to teach learners proper citation practices and
highlight the need for more learner originality. Faculty can also use Turnitin as a tool
to detect possible instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
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Directions:
Write a persuasive message using your course information, your textbook, the
background information, the assignment details, and the assignment guidelines.
Background Information:
Getting to Know, Michelle Strum and David Eisnor, Co-Owners of Halifax
Backpackers Hostel
Michelle Strum and David Eisnor have been friends for all of their lives. They have
travelled extensively and lived for many months in various hostels around the world.
With the number of travellers visiting Halifax growing, they felt that there would be a
need for more budget accommodations in the city.
Their first business expense was a personal computer. On the day after they made
this purchase, they registered their business name, Halifax Backpackers Hostel. The
hostel provides budget accommodation for travellers who can share rooms or come
together in common areas, such as the kitchen where they can prepare their own
meals or the café that is run by another local entrepreneur. Guests also have access
to the Internet and laundry facilities.
From the day they opened Halifax Backpackers Hostel in August 2001, Strum and
Eisnor knew it was going to take off. “We were full from that day right into the
middle of October,” says Strum. “It was quite amazing.” Since opening, they bought
the building that houses the hostel, doubled the accommodation it provides and
continue to focus on efforts to help revitalize the neighbourhood.
Getting started required a lot of elbow grease and hard work by the partners, who
quickly learned about doing renovations themselves and the challenges of financing
the business. They received two $15,000 young entrepreneur loans, applied for a
bunch of credit cards and did a lot of bartending to pay for drywall! “We’ve had to be
creative, “explains Eisnor. “For example in the summertime, we share employees
with the café owner to cut down on payroll costs.”
Whether you dream of going into business for yourself, starting a business with a
friend, or someday leading a major corporation, it’s important to know that each
form of business ownership has advantages and disadvantages. (William G. Nickels,
2010)
A sole proprietorship is one person owning and operating a business, without forming
a corporation. In sole proprietorship, the business and the owner are a single entity.
When two or more people legally agree to become co-owners of a business, the
organization is called a partnership. A legal entity with authority to act and have
liability separate from its owners is called a corporation. Each form of business
ownership has advantages and disadvantages. Many companies start out in one form
of ownership and over time change the type of ownership by adding or dropping
partners or becoming a corporation.
(William G. Nickels, 2010)
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Comparison of Forms of Business Ownership
| Sole Proprietorship | General Partnership | Limited Partnership | Public Corporation | Private Corporation | |
| Documents Needed to Start Business | None, may need permit or license | Partnership agreement (oral or written) | Written agreement; must file certificate of limited partnership | Articles of incorporation, bylaws | Articles of in corporation, bylaws; must meet criteria |
| Ease of Termination | Easy to terminate; just pay debts and quit | May be hard to terminate, depending on the partnership agreement | Same as general partnership | Hard and expensive to terminate | Not difficult; pay off debts, sell off assets, withdraw cash and pay taxes |
| Length of Life | Terminates on the death of the owner, sale, or retirement | Terminates on the death or withdrawal of partner | Same as general partnership | Perpetual life | Perpetual life |
| Transfer of Ownership | Business can be sold to a qualified buyer | Must have agreement of other partner(s) | Same as general partnership | Easy to change owners; just sell stock | Easy—just sell stock |
| Financial Resources | Limited to owner’s capital and loans | Limited to partners’ capital and loans | Same as general partnership | More money to start and operate; sell stock and bonds; loans | Owners’ capital and loans, no public stock allowed |
| Risk of Losses | Unlimited liability | Unlimited liability | Limited liability | Limited liability | Unlimited liability |
| Sole Proprietorship | General Partnership | Limited Partnership | Public Corporation | Private Corporation | |
| Taxes | Taxed as personal income | Taxed as personal income | Same as general partnership | Corporate, double taxation | Same as public corporation |
| Management Responsibility | Owner manages all areas pf business | Partners share management | Can’t participate in management | Separate management from ownership | Owners usually manage all areas |
| Employee Benefits | Usually fewer benefits and lower wages | Often few benefits and lower wages; promising employee could become a partner | Same as general partnership | Usually better benefits and wages, advancement opportunities | Same as public corporation |
(William G. Nickels, 2010)
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Assignment Details:
1. Write a persuasive and convincing letter to Ms. Barbara Cossa, Manager, Bank
of Montreal explaining that you are opening a business and have chosen
either a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation.
2. Choose one of the following business:
a. Video game rental store
b. Wedding planning service
c. Pet store
d. On line bookstore
e. Software development firm
f. Vitamin and homeopathic remedy store
3. Choose from one the following forms of business ownership:
a. sole proprietorship
b. partnership
c. corporation
4. Use the ‘Business Letter Template’.
5. Use the AIDA model to write the persuasive letter.
6. Support your recommendations with secondary research*. And make sure
your message is concise, clear, and error-free.
1. Adhere to Canadian professional standards for writing letterhead and the
inside address. (Refer to text book for further information).
2. Include in the letterhead a fictional street address, telephone number, email
address and website address.
*Secondary research (desk research) involves gathering existing data that has
already been produced. For example, a textbook, article, podcasts, webpage, videos,
and electronic articles.
The assignment must meet the following guidelines:
1. Must be typed using Microsoft Word. (If you do not have Microsoft Word, see
the folder entitled, Learner Resources and Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ)>Access Office 365)
2. Be 200 – 250 words in length (1 typed page not including you title page or
reference page).
a. Be typed in 12 point Times New Roman Font.
b. Use 2.0 (double) line spacing.
3. Must have a title page with the name of the assignment, your name, your ID
number, your instructor’s name, and the date you are submitting the
assignment.
4. Your written assignment must include the following 3 paragraphs:
• an introduction
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• a body
• and a conclusion
5. Use the AIDA model to write the persuasive letter.
6. Follow the correct format for writing letters. Using the attached ‘Business
Letter Template’ as a guide.
7. Proofread for correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and English
language usage.
8. You must cite ALL of your sources using APA formatting (please refer to Bow
Valley College’s Learning Resource Services Page on citations:
http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style/citation for further
information).
9. All submissions must be run through Turnitin, which is anti-plagiarism
software used by Bow Valley College (once the instructor enables the
Turnitin function, all assignments which are submitted through the
dropbox will automatically be run through the Turnitin program).
10.Please review the Academic Honesty Module with respect to academic honesty
and plagiarism. This information is located on Brightspace/D2L within the
Program pages. (Location: https://d2l.bowvalleycollege.ca/d2l/home > Select
your Program of Study under the heading My Programs > Select the
Academic Honesty Module under the Content Browser)
11.You will receive a mark of zero if your work is copied or plagiarized and
further disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the academic
honesty policy.
12.Your paper will be marked in accordance with the Rubric attached to this
assignment.
13.Submit your assignment in Word document format (docx) to the
Brightspace/D2L dropbox provided.