This assignment addresses the following learning objectives (s): 1.1 Students wi

This assignment addresses the following learning objectives (s):
1.1 Students will be able to identify the steps in the technical writing process.
2.1 Students will understand the consequences of poor communication.
3.1 Students will utilize what they have learned about effective technical communications to analyze a case study of miscommunication.
No one knows exactly how much poor communication costs business, industry and government each year, but estimates suggest billions. Poorly-worded or inefficient emails, careless reading or listening to instructions, documents that go unread due to poor design, hastily presenting inaccurate information, sloppy proofreading — all of these examples result in inevitable costs. The problem is that these costs aren’t usually included on the corporate balance sheet at the end of each year, so often the problem remains unsolved.
Have you ever watched the TV show Scandal? If so, you know the problems that can result from a public relations crisis. One mistake can turn into a PR disaster.
Business communication failures can happen within any organization if it doesn’t use the best practices of internal communication.
The failure could include a product recall, a data breach, or a customer interaction that went viral. All companies are vulnerable if they are not careful. To quote Warren Buffet: “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
For this assignment, you will choose a topic and write a case study examining the communication problem and its effects on the incident.
You will set this up as a formal case study report with a title page, a document with headings, and a works cited page.
You will set up the case study as follows:
Introduction:
The introduction should be general and should mention the importance of effective communication in preventing disasters.
Purpose Statement will be at the end of the introduction:
The purpose of this report is to analyze the communication errors in causing the __________( name of incident you will be discussing).
Rhetorical Situation
The rhetorical situation is the background information: who, what, when, where, why, how? Once you choose your topic, do some basic research. You should be able to find plenty of information online with a Google search. Make sure you choose reliable websites. You can also use the electronic databases.
Communication Problem
Examine the communication problem that contributed to the incident described in the prevision section. Be specific. Find quotes from memos or reports to support your opinions.
Costs of the Communication Problem
What happened as a result of the problem discussed in the previous section? Be specific in terms of loss of life, economic loss, reputation loss, etc. Use research here to support your ideas.
Conclusion
Sum up the main ideas of the case study. What did we learn from his incident? What can be done to make sure this doesn’t happen again?
Requirements:
You must choose ONE of the topics listed below.
The case study should be 400-600 words.
The case study should include at least three citations from two different reliable sources.
All citations and the works cited page must be in proper MLA format.
You must use the template provided in Canvas. Change the cover page.
Choose one of these topics.
Topic #1
The collapse of the Champlain condominiums South Tower has caused engineers and politicians to examine the causes of the incident. Documents relating to the collapse include the correspondence between the engineers and the residents. In October 2018, the engineers released a report of the South Tower that was based on a field survey.
The entire report can be found online but you need to focus on the following quotes taken from the report:
“The building shows major structural damage.”
“Most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion.”
“Many previous repairs are failing. Leaching of calcium carbonate deposits in numerous areas have surely caused CTS to pay to repaint numerous cars.”
“Abundant cracking and spalling of varying degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams, and walls.”
“Several sizeable spalls were noted in both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/entrance drive/planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar.”
Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion.”
The report ended by saying that the company would assist the condos in “understanding the required maintenance that is needed to properly maintain this existing rental property.”
This report was written for a specific audience. Do some research and explain the rhetorical situation. Why was the report written? Who was the report written for? How was the report delivered to the audience?
Obviously, the audience did not act on the recommendations presented in this report. Although there may have been many different reasons (including costs) why the report was ignored, one reason may have been in the language used by the engineers in the report.
Examine these quotes (you may find others if you read the entire report) and explain why the language chosen by the authors may have resulted in the audience’s response to the recommendations.
Topic #2
The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant resulted from a communication failure. As a result, BM Dunn, an engineer at Babcock and Wilcox wrote a memo making recommendations for the operation of the nuclear power plant. The plant performance staff received the memo but did not forward it to the people who needed the information.
Research the accident at Three Mile Island and discuss how the lack of communication between the engineers and those operating the power plant contributed to the meltdown.
Your introduction will briefly discuss the importance of effective communication in any situation. You will end with the purpose statement.
Your next section will explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the Three Mile Island disaster. What was Three Mile Island? What happened at Three Mile Island? Why did this happen (main cause)?
Next, you will research and explore the communication breakdown between the engineers and the plant managers. Why was the memo not sent out to the people in the plant? What was in the memo? Who wrote the memo? Why was it not forwarded to the correct audience?
Finally, you will discuss what happened because of this failure? What damage was done? What were the costs? How did this incident affect the nuclear power industry?
Conclude the essay in a logical manner giving some suggestions for looking ahead to avoid this kind of problem again.
Topic #3
Most people are familiar with the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Much has been written about the miscommunication that occurred between the engineers and the people at NASA. Many memos were written regarding the dangers of the o ring in low temperature lift offs. The night before the explosion, a meeting was held between engineers and NASA officials. The engineers were trying to delay the launch due to these concerns. Their advice was ignored. Why?
If you choose this topic, you will research the Challenger explosion and the communication errors that led to the unfortunate launch in 36 degree weather.
Introduction will give information on the importance of communication in any business or organization. End with the purpose statement.
Rhetorical Situation will give the who, what, when, where, and why of the explosion.
Communication Problems will be addressed next. In this section you will do some research and explain why the memos written to warn NASA were not effective.
Finally, you will sum up the main points and address how this problem could be avoided in the future.