Reference no: EM132220205

Write a persuasive memo in response to this scenario: Keep in mind that much of the language in this scenario is not appropriate for effective business communication, and that part of your job is to re-write it so that it reads more persuasively. Since you will need to change your reader’s mind, use the indirect method to persuade your reader.

Scenario:

You are a sales representative for Mansard’s, a large internet housewares retailer. Your regional office and warehouse are located at 5655 N. Otter Cove Dr. in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, 54091. For the last five years, Mansard’s has matched employees’ charitable contributions to approved non-political local organizations for up to $1,500 annually. Besides enjoying a tax benefit, the company also receives a public relations boost from this practice. Since this matching-funds program was begun, all of the organizations on the list have been approved by Juan Diego Florez, the company’s CEO. Over the past five years, the company has matched the $25,000 its Mukwonago employees have donated to approved organizations.

Your co-workers have contributed money to groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, The Mukwonago Philharmonic Orchestra, a number of local youth sports teams, and The Mukwonago Food Pantry. You have had an interest in promoting environmentally “green” causes for a long time and have occasionally donated money to the national chapter of the Audubon Club, an organization that has promoted conservation for more than 100 years. The Audubon Club, however, is not on the list of approved organizations, nor are any other similar groups.

You would like Mansard’s to match employee contributions to environmental organizations but are worried that the company will reject your request on the grounds that these are political, not charitable, groups. In the past, Mansard’s refused to match a $100 donation to Ducks Unlimited, a hunting/conservation group. You are also concerned that your request will be rejected because of fear that a recession is imminent, and the company will likely be looking to curb spending. Finally, Mansard’s has refused to match contributions in the past to some larger groups that the company does not consider “local.”

Since 2013, Mansard’s has been undertaking a number of steps to cut energy costs and reduce the amount of paper waste in its warehouses and has been printing its catalogs on recycled paper. In its advertising, the company has been letting its customers know about these steps. You believe that you could make a persuasive argument that supporting other environmental endeavors makes sense, given the company’s current business practice of saving energy and natural resources.