UNIVERSAL ACQUISITIONS

INTEROFFICE COMMUNICATION
Date: 13 September 2018
To: Kanye West, Chief Executive Officer
From: Meredythe Durckel, ___, ___, ___
Subject: Proposal for Soybean Inc. Consulting Report

Summary
Our team’s goal is to collaborate and develop a communication proposal that would allow your
company to communicate efficiently with Global business partners. The communication plan will
guide a management team of your choice, in leading your employees through a cross-cultural
transition. This certification will further increase Universal Acquisitions credibility, productivity,
and profits in the global market. For details of this project, please see the attached Analysis,
Team Charter, and Task Schedule.

Problem & Process

Our team will research Brazilian cultural aspects of written, spoken, and visual business
communication and publish a formal report to be distributed through Universal Acquisitions
management to company personnel. Presently, there is no protocol that assists employees
through this cross-cultural transition. Universal Acquisitions has previously relied on personal
experience to relay information to international companies. This has created a cultural barrier
and is ineffective to our staff. Implementing a guide that is accessible to every employee will
allow growth within the company. New learning resources describing how Brazilian people
communicate and consummate business transactions will help the company become more
successful. Universal Acquisitions has a clear vision to be effective globally.

Our Team
Our professionals are a highly-skilled team of industrial engineers, microbiologists, and public
health professionals dedicated to coaching your management personnel in your company. We
will begin this process with interviews of outside sources who are experienced with cultural
communication practices. Second, we will research global and local communication practices in
the field of soybean production using databases like JSTOR and GoogleScholar. After carefully
reviewing our sources, we will synthesize our research to create a cohesive research report to
distribute to Soybean Inc. managers. We will utilize the ASM citation style for our final report
(see links here and here). Last, we will supplement our report with a presentation for the
company’s lead management team and complementary handouts to be distributed to
employees.
Solution
Universal Acquisitions, an American company, faces significant communication barriers in
equipping managers to train Brazilian employees about manufacturing regulation standards.
English is not their first language, these employees regularly communicate in Portuguese .
Spoken and written interactions in a manufacturing process can involve complex terms that
need culturally appropriate translations. Additionally, cultural differences can potentially
decrease the effectiveness of communications with the managers. To overcome these barriers,
we will complete extensive research about communicating to non-native English speakers in a
business setting. Also, we will educate ourselves about Brazilian culture to better teach our
managers how to communicate cross-culturally. Our team will then present our findings to you,
Dr. West. If approved, this proposal would lead to an expansion of the company and apply our
team’s skill set in global business interactions.
Analysis of Rhetorical Situation

Audience/s
The CEO of Universal Acquisitions, Kanye West, will be the primary audience for this proposal
and the research project. He has been with the company for 15 years and values efficient,
results-driven work. The managers and employees at the new Soybean Inc. manufacturing plant
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are also members of the primary audience for the research report and
presentation. All employees value Brazilian culture and speak Portuguese. Other employees at
Universal Acquisitions who choose to read our materials are members of the secondary
audience. All are based in the United States and come from a variety of cultural and educational
backgrounds.

Author
We will use our extensive research and writing experiences to develop materials that overcome
cross-cultural communication barriers. Each team member is highly knowledgeable in his or her
respective profession with a combined 60 years of experience among all of us. We
acknowledge that our solutions will not solve all communication difficulties, but we are confident
in our ability to pool our resources to address these barriers.

Purpose
Universal Acquisitions CEO Kanye West and his staff will study our research report to assure
that our information is accurate and appropriate for teaching Soybean Inc. managers. The
Soybean Inc. managers will also study our document in order to gain a working understanding
of manufacturing regulations. These managers will then train plant employees and implement
proper practices in the new facility.

Context
Universal Acquisitions has recently been hired as a consultant for the new start-up
manufacturing company, Soybean Inc. The company has just opened a soybean manufacturing
plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has hired managers and employees from the local
population. Universal Acquisitions is committed to bringing new businesses up to speed on
industry regulations with excellence and efficiency.

Genre
We will write a technical report, design a tip sheet, and create a narrated slideshow presentation
with handouts.
Media & Delivery
● Paper copies of the research report will be distributed to the Universal Acquisitions CEO
and the Soybean Inc. manufacturing plant managers and employees.
● The slideshow will be delivered digitally and distributed to Universal Acquisitions and
Soybean Inc. employees via email after the initial presentation. Supplementary
presentation materials (handouts) will be delivered via paper copies to Soybean Inc.
employees.
Team Charter

Broad Team Goals

● Create a professional and thorough technical report
● Produce a high-quality project that meets the highest standards
● Develop and refine technical writing skills
● Collaborate and work efficiently in a team environment
● Engage with team members through constant and clear communication

Measurable Team Goals

● Meet assignment criteria for an “A” through adherence to deadlines in a collaborative
manner that distributes a fair workload to each member
● Research and cite more than ten (10) credible references following ASM format
guidelines and adapt a quality, professional presentation from the research
● Apply the task schedule to meet short-term deadlines and produce long-term results,
including periodic updates to track document progress and member participation
● Emphasize the revision stages of the writing process in order to increase document
readability, through document design techniques such as organization and chunking
● Produce a concise document with fewer than one grammar error or typo per page

Personal Goals

_____
● Learn about communication across cultures in a business/technical setting
● Improve technical writing skills
● Refine digital presentation skills
● Complete the project efficiently and timely - no procrastination!

Meredythe Durckel
● Practice teamwork skills such as flexibility, persistence, and efficiency
● Maintain open communication with team members to increase participation
● Manage time accordingly, plan additional time for revisions
● Polish technical report layout with attention to details to increase document readability

______
● Always ensure that the highest standards of quality are met
● Working with a team to ensure that the desired problem has been met
● Finding new and clever ways of fixing the problem
 ● I am open to learning new and improved skills from my teammates

______
● Effectively execute international communication methods
● Cultivate proper technical and business writing techniques
● Portray new cultures ethically and professionally
● Implement flexible collaborative strategies

Individual Commitment
_____ is willing to assume responsibility for an equal or greater share of the work. She is
committed to receiving an “A” on the final project, and is willing to take extra time to edit/revise
project components to meet all rubric requirements.

Meredythe Durckel is willing to supply additional efforts to achieve an “A”, but has limitations in
time commitment for this final project. This can be accommodated through initiatives in the early
stages of the writing process such as planning and drafting.

_____ is dedicated to the course assignments and excited to collaborate with a team. I will
manage my time as efficiently as possible and will inform other members of any delays before
they present themselves. I am committed to my assigned work and will be flexible to assist my
team.

_____ is ready to begin a project with an amazing group of talented individuals. He will listen to
the group and participate in each task; he will make sure that each group member brings a
unique trait to each task. Additionally, he will inform others of any conflict that may arise with the
group schedule.

Communication Methods
This project is composed of short deadlines spanning September 11 to September 25. With this
in mind, we will rely heavily on communication and project management technologies:

● Trello: Project management application used to track task deadlines, activities and send
notifications
● Google Sheets: Excel-based organization of task schedule,to be updated by all group
members, accessible through Google Drive
● Group text message
Instantaneous chat messaging to provide important updates for team members
● Gmail: Initial communication exchanges set up through email, also needed for access to
web conferencing software
● Skype: Real-time web conferencing software, provide chat room for group meeting
Video and Audio presentation technologies to be determined at a later date
Collaborative Writing Technologies
Google Drive: Primary word processor allowing for virtual collaboration and group editing, a
member may upload sections to be revised or proof read by other team members while the
GDrive tracks versions and changes made

Other Concerns
Co-developer and co-author responsibilities are to negotiate all aspects of work and keep
detailed records about planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of tasks. Most
communication among team members will occur via instantaneous messaging (internet or text),
due to time restrictions for this project. We acknowledge that each team member will need to
take initiative in keeping other members informed about the status of assigned work.

Conflict Resolution
Impasses will be resolved through compromise. All group members are expected to treat other
members’ ideas with respect, and follow the UA Student Code of Conduct. Unresolvable
conflicts over graded aspects of the project will be mediated by the course instructor. The
project manager will be the primary point of contact with the instructor.

Missed Deadlines
Missed deadlines for graded items will not be tolerated, given the compacted timeline of this
project. If a team member is unable to complete his/her tasks by the deadline, he/she is
responsible for notifying the remaining team members within 24 hours of the task deadline. One
missed deadline for a non-graded task schedule item will result in a warning. A second missed
deadline will result in the project manager informing the instructor of the situation.

Unacceptable Work
Each member will contribute quality drafts and is responsible for proofreading his or her own
work before uploading the drafts for peer review by a scheduled task deadline. These drafts will
undergo secondary revision by the other team members. Ultimately, corrections are the
responsibility of the individual author before the graded submission deadline. Unacceptable
work will not be tolerated. If a team member is not able to edit the work before the graded
deadline submission, he or she must notify the remaining team members within 24 hours of the
task deadline. If the individual fails to notify other group members, the project manager will
notify the instructor of the situation.
Task Schedule

Major Tasks & Milestones

DD7: 9/13 Project Proposal, Team Charter & Task Schedule
DD10: 9/22 Formal Research Report
DD11: 9/25 Presentation, Collaboration Reflection, Individual Reflection

Role Assignments
● _____ is the Director of Public Health Research for Universal Acquisitions. She is in
charge of obtaining project resources pertaining to public health issues and cultural
practices in Brazil. She is also the manager of the Trello project management
application.
● Meredythe Durckel is the Director of the Microbiology Applications department at
Universal Acquisitions. She is in charge of additional resources regarding business
communications. She is the secretary for team meetings and the primary editor for all
project materials.
● ______ is the Director of the Physiology Division of the Public Health Research
department at Universal Acquisitions. She will contribute to research regarding all
aspects of business communication. She is in charge of developing team goals and
objectives and guiding the team in these areas.
● _____ is the Director of the Industrial Engineering department at Universal Acquisitions.
He will research regulation standards to include in the report. He is in charge of
facilitating team collaboration and incorporating new ideas into project materials.

Division of Labor
Our team will collaborate on all components of the project. Document-sharing technology allows
each team member to contribute to the content, style, and layout of each piece. Individual tasks
will be completed separately and shared with team members for use in future group tasks.
Schedule
Our Task Schedule provides an updated, detailed time-table for the duration then completion of
this project.