Chapter 17, Additional Case 1: Justifying a Directive

Chapter 17, Additional Case 1: Justifying a Directive

This case is best for groups.

Background

In Chapter 17, the discussion of directives includes these sentences: "Even though you have the authority to require your readers to follow the policy, you want to explain why the policy is desirable or at least necessary" and "Presenting the reasons for the new policy shows respect for the readers and therefore makes the directive more persuasive." In this case, you will study the ways a group of writers explained the reasons for a directive.

You and the other members of your group are interns for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. One of the challenges your agency faces is that it often needs to issue directives—requests or regulations that it wishes or requires organizations to follow to prevent or prepare for various emergencies. An audit of the effectiveness of these directives has revealed that FEMA directives are routinely ignored. Your supervisor, DeAnna Robertson, has called the interns together for a brainstorming session to see if you have any ideas on how to improve the communication of directives and thereby increase compliance.

You have an idea. Last year you interned for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. During that time, you participated in creating some of the materials related to what is called the needlestick law—OSHA's regulations for handling contaminated needles and other medical devices. "What we learned," you say, "is that the key is to provide different sorts of information explaining the directive to different kinds of readers—from health-care workers to administrators to attorneys." Ms. Robertson asks you to write a memo explaining the communication strategy you used in creating these materials.

Your Assignment

To complete this case, perform the following tasks:

  1. Study Chapter 17 on informational reports, concentrating on the discussion of directives.
  2. Study the OSHA Standards on Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention. On this page you will find links to the different documents that make up OSHA's standards on needle sticks. Review several of these documents. For each one, focus on the audience and the techniques the writers use for explaining and justifying the directive.
  3. Submit to your supervisor a 1,000-word memo presenting your findings. In the memo, describe and evaluate the techniques used to justify the new directive on needle sticks and suggest how these techniques might be used to make FEMA's directives more effective.