Chapter 1. Writing a Directive

1.1 Section Title

As the newest member of the support staff for Carol Grossman, operations manager at Union Research Labs in Union, New Jersey, you have been assigned to coordinate the new waste-reduction initiative within the company. After many years of minimal recycling efforts—providing blue bins for paper and aluminum waste in offices and public spaces—the company is instituting a more robust policy that will require employees to participate more actively.

“People have gotten used to the idea of putting their paper and aluminum cans into the blue waste bins, but we need them to do more,” Carol says to you. “Our new program is much more comprehensive, and we are expecting to see impressive benefits as a result.”

“What types of benefits?” you ask.

“The CEO wants us to save money, so I looked into ways we could reduce waste companywide. I found that we can take some important steps that would both save money and benefit the environment. I’m hoping we can convince all our employees to participate, whether their priorities are environmental or economic. And that’s where you come in.”

“Sure, what do you want?”

“I want you to prepare a directive for all department heads that explains our policy and the need to follow it. We have been authorized to make this waste-reduction policy a standard that all managers need to follow, but we don’t want people to think of it that way. We’d rather that they get on board because they see the need for it and the benefits of it. I’ve drafted an outline of the policy, and some members of my team are coming up with more details, which will become part of the company handbook.” Carol hands you a copy of the draft policy outline (Document 17.1).

“Wow,” you say. “Those are some ambitious goals . . . and some serious savings!”

“Yes. And I want you to persuade people that the goals are both worthwhile and attainable. You can provide some examples from this.” Carol hands you a report containing several case studies of successful waste-reduction efforts by other New Jersey companies (Document 17.2). “You can also look around online and use other reliable sources to help make the case—just make sure to cite your sources.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“Yes. I’m working on creating a series of email templates that department heads can customize and then send out to their teams to help promote the program. The idea is that employees will be more likely to respond to messages if they come from their direct supervisor rather than someone in corporate whom they’ve never met. I came up with a list of ideas for these templates—can you take one and draft it? Take whichever one you are most interested in; we’ll work through the rest of them over the coming weeks” (Document 17.3).

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the case background and documents, complete the assignment below. Your instructor will tell you how he or she would like you to submit your work.