AquaMasters is a small hydrogeological company specializing in the analysis of ground water quality and availability

AquaMasters is a small hydrogeological company specializing in the analysis of ground water quality

and availability. It is solely owned by Raj Singh who has an MSc in hydrogeology and has been

working in the field for 20 years. While he would like to be doing the "hands-on" work, he finds that

most of his time is taken up with writing reports and proposals for projects. Raj has four field

employees who work exclusively for him, but he frequently puts together teams of other

hydrogeologists to work on specific projects.

Current Situation

Recently, Raj responded to a request for proposals from the provincial government. The project was

an assessment of the water resources of a very large area, but Raj knew he could bring in a number

of experienced people and complete the project. Also, having this team of experienced and

professional people meant that Raj would be able to discuss the assessment with others who were as

qualified as he was and that the assessment would, therefore, be of superior quality. He carefully

wrote the proposal and sent it away with high expectations that his offer would be accepted.

The Problem

Raj waited to hear from the government agency in charge of the proposals. After several months, he

received the reply shown in Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

Ministry of the Environment

Suite 101, Tower Block C

Toronto, ON M1K 2X3

Mr. Raj Singh

AquaMasters

55 King St., Unit 2

London, ON N5Q 8F9

Dear Mr. Singh,

I regret to inform you that we have not accepted your proposal for the assessment of the Hilton

Region Water Resources Project. The committee felt that your resources were too limited to make an

effective assessment of this large area.

Case Study 9:

I Regret to Inform You

If you have any questions, please contact me at the above address.

Yours truly,

C. Service

Senior Assessment Officer

Raj was stunned; he had paid particular attention to the "Staffing" section of the proposal and

thought that his experienced team was very impressive.

Exhibit B shows a different kind of letter.

Exhibit B

Ministry of the Environment

Suite 101, Tower Block C

Toronto, ON M1K 2X3

Mr. Raj Singh

AquaMasters

55 King St. Unit 2

London, ON N5Q 8F9

Dear Mr. Singh,

Please understand that the Department of the Environment cannot approve every proposal that we

receive. We have been very diligent in vetting the proposals for the Hilton Region Water Resources

project. It was a very long process, given that we had many excellent proposals.

Unfortunately, your proposal was not one of them. Your "Staffing" section left us all wondering

how, exactly, you intended to co-ordinate such a disparate group of hydrogeologists. We were also

not sure why you thought that these experienced professionals would leave their own businesses for

yours. Surely you could not expect these people to devote themselves to this project if something

else came their way.

The Ministry of the Environment thanks you for your time and effort and hopes that you will

continue to submit proposals when they are requested. I sincerely hope that this review of your

proposal will help you prepare future proposals more in line with the Ministry's requirements. I

know that they are stringent requirements, but we have to be very careful when awarding contracts

not to appear to be wasting taxpayers' money. I hope you understand our position.

Yours truly,

C. Service,

Senior Assessment Officer

Activities and Discussion

1. Delivering bad news requires particular attention to the secondary purpose of the document.

How well does each of these letters perform that secondary purpose?

2. Exhibit B attempts to buffer the bad news by discussing the selection process. Is this buffer

effective? Why or why not?

3. Is an apology called for? Why or why not? What impact will the refusal have on the author's

future communication with the agency?

4. Rewrite the letter to make it more effective. Discuss, in a few bullet-points, why you chose to

make the changes you did.