Business Communication Solution - Essay Example

I. Business Communication Solution Chosen Scenario: Your local bank made a mistake on your printed checks. Additionally, the bank charged you for the checks, even though the order was supposed to be complimentary for customers opening a new account. How would you draft a letter that allows your irritation to work for, rather than against, you The problem calls for the use of a letter. It would be most appropriate to address the letter to the Manager since it is his duty to make sure that all the bank's operations are properly undertaken and all qualms are resolved as quickly as possible. In a customer-oriented firm such as banks, addressing customer concerns is the firm's prerogative. Unless they want to lose accounts due to their sloppy service, they will address concerns and the trend now is to accomplish this as soon as possible. However, it would be foolish to write a letter expressing outright irritation and disgust as the bank employees are also human and therefore has feelings. One might also injure the firm's pride to the point that they may not even reimburse the charge and tell you to close your account to them. If one wants to make known his irritation regarding the situation but avoiding any further mishaps or misunderstanding, it would be wise to construct the letter detailing the situation. After this, a statement of dismay is made known. I think the following would serve its purpose: "When I opened an account, I chose this bank because of its reputation of delivering high quality services and the perks it offers. I'm beginning to think that I have made a mistake by choosing your firm. What I have experienced is not what I have expected of your highly regarded firm. Please act on this matter as I still confident that the bank can deliver its services. I would still like to believe that what happened was a mistake that could be answered immediately." After this has been incorporated into the letter, contact numbers should be included to enable the manager or any bank representative to convey its reply and correspond with the client. There are certain frustrating situations in business relationships. The problem, however, is how to convey the message without hurting the feelings to where the message is directed to all the while showing how much stress his conduct has been causing you. Why should be feelings be taken into account This is because we want to preserve business relationships- at least while the business transaction is underway. One might induce a person to abandon his obligations. Although one can sue the person, litigation is very unproductive for individuals except for the lawyers. To avoid this, one must practice some form of composure. There are ways to smoothen a problem all the while avoiding conflict such as what we have shown here. II. Discrimination In my veins runs deep the blood of a proud nation. I find myself a product of German ancestors. Although I have not personally experienced any form of discrimination, I found out that many German immigrants to the United States in the past have experienced many forms of discriminatory practices. European mass immigration to the United States began in earnest only after the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, at a time when unimpeded transatlantic commercial shipping resumed. Soon a first major wave of 20,000 emigrants from southwestern Germany took place, occasioned by major crop failures in the years 1816-17. The figures fell during the 1820s, but increased significantly in the 1830s. Since 1832, the areas of German emigrant origin shifted gradually to the West, later to the Northwest, and in the latter third of the century to the Northeast. Small farmers from the Southwest were followed by craftsmen and those engaged in the cottage industries, by day laborers and eventually by farm hands from Germany's Northeast. As time went by, immigrants from all regions of the German Empire arrived in the United States where, allegedly, German dialect barriers between Bavarians and East Prussians were occasionally overcome with the help of English. Ever since then, the inflow of German immigrants has fluctuated but the current trend shows that they are increasing.( MNSU Online 2006) The German Discrimation Experience: One factor that spurred German immigration to the United States was chronic crop failures. Many farmers were driven to poverty and most of them tried their luck in the continent across the sea. To finance their passage, many of the penniless Germans became "indentured servants" or "redemptioners" "redemptioners." The typical indentured service contract made out with the captain of a ship provided that the fare had to be paid together with an additional 12% premium no later than fourteen days after arrival. If a passenger was not able to wipe out the debt -- perhaps with help from a relative or a friend in America -- then the captain was at liberty to "sell" the passenger into a form of servitude, often together with his wife and children, for three to four years. Really profiting from this kind of contract work were the employers who in the year 1800 paid "bail" amounts of about $70 for a healthy adult in return for three years of hard work. Under normal circumstances the owner could realize a profit of between $500 and $900 from his purchase. A "serve," as these workers were known in German-American conversation, worked for about six cents per day while a "free" day laborer, who likewise enjoyed complimentary meals and lodging, earned between 50 cents and one dollar per day. A casual observer of 1823 points out the possibility for abuse: The situation is unbelievably difficult for those people who did not pre-pay their own freight. They almost always fall into the hands of unscrupulous men. Usually only such a farmer would buy a serve [that's how the people are called who have to work to pay back their passage] who could not get any hired hands, for the simple reason that he did not treat them right. He exploits his serve miserably in order to earn back the passage costs in the shortest possible time. Once it has been earned back and the fellow leaves, nothing is lost. Often a serve is beaten like a slave (Johannes Schweizer, 1823) Also comparable to slavery was the regulation that the indentured servant could be assigned to another master; family members often became separated from each other, even forcing children to be separated from their parents. It was not uncommon to read advertisements in the newspapers with descriptions of serves who had escaped, usually offering a reward for their recapture. Overall, however, Germans had a more pleasing experience as compared to the black slaves. The World Wars which pitched the United States of America and Germany saw many forms of discriminatory practices. For German Americans, the 20th century was a time of growth and consolidation; their numbers increased, their finances became more stable, and Americans of German heritage rose to positions of great power and distinction. For German American culture, however, the new century was a time of severe setbacks--and a devastating blow from which it has never fully recovered. The coming of World War I brought with it a backlash against German culture in the United States. When the U.S. declared war on Germany in 1917, anti-German sentiment rose across the nation, and German American institutions came under attack. Some discrimination was hateful, but cosmetic: The names of schools, foods, streets, and towns, were often changed, and music written by Wagner and Mendelssohn was removed from concert programs and even weddings. Physical attacks, though rare, were more violent: German American businesses and homes were vandalized, and German Americans accused of being "pro-German" were tarred and feathered, and, in at least once instance, lynched. The most pervasive damage was done, however, to German language and education. German-language newspapers were either run out of business or chose to quietly close their doors. German-language books were burned, and Americans who spoke German were threatened with violence or boycotts. German-language classes, until then a common part of the public-school curriculum, were discontinued and, in many areas, outlawed entirely. None of these institutions ever fully recovered, and the centuries-old tradition of German language and literature in the United States was pushed to the margins of national life, and in many places effectively ended. President Woodrow Wilson spoke disapprovingly of "hyphenated Americans" whose loyalty he claimed was divided. One government official warned that "Every citizen must declare himself American--or traitor." Many German Americans struggled with their feelings, realizing that sympathy for their homeland appeared to conflict with loyalty to the U.S. Some German Americans reacted by overtly defending their loyalty to the United States. Others changed the names of their businesses, and sometimes even their own names, in an attempt to conceal German ties and to disappear into mainstream America. Anti-German feelings arose again during World War II, but they were not as powerful as they had been during the first World War. (ThinkQuest, 2006) Sources: Johannes Schweizer, Reise nach Nordamerika. Leipzig: 1823,115 MNSU Online (2006). German Immigration. Retrieved February 21, 2007 from www.mnsu.edu ThinkQuest Online (2006). The Germans. Retrived February 21, 2007 from http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/German.html Read More