Preparation for Lesson II
Monday, 5th of September 2011
Prep Hours: 2
Study Material:
Period 1 – Writing Skills Manual
Book: Business Communication Essentials (page 52 -55, 61-65)

In order to prepare for the class, I went through the information necessary instructed to me in the manual to fully understand the method in which the assignment should be made. I began with reading about how formal vs. informal can prove to be useful when writing. Formal is preferably when writing to a client (or customer) mainly because you are addressing someone with whom you have no affiliation in a respectful manner. Secondly, it shows professionalism. When writing Informal you can persuade someone using common jargon to do what you are asking of him/her. This is the preferable style of writing messages when addressing a friend, family member or (very) known acquaintance. (Some) E-mails are written in this manner.

Week II – Lesson II: Proposal E-mail
Wednesday, 7st of September 2011
Teacher: Tom Parry
Subject: ICM

Write a one page email, asking for an investment of 150.00 Euros to Mr. Smith, an investor who you want to invest money in your flagging computer company called “Orange”. In this letter, you should tell him about your company, what your aspirations are and why he should invest! Bring the letter to the class. Then, review your partners work and use the criticism to improve your e-mail.

Week II – Lesson II Assignment: Original e-mail
Dear Mr. Smith,

I am Mel Lake, CEO and Founder of Orange. I believe you may have heard of it . It is a well and established company since 1992 that does work mainly in the telecom and digital industry. We have produced many brands and proud to say that since 2002, we have been on the top place throughout all of Europe as the leading sales and customer service in computer hardware and software.

Our companies in Bhutan have been working on a new computer model called the T-Borg B1. It has the ability to understand and use the human language. This is due to the fact that it’s linked to a cybernetic mother server in the Netherlands called Andromeda. Analysis shows that right hands free technology is still in its infancy but companies are trying to find the means to make something like it that targets people with people needs. It’s the technology of the future that is here now and I would love to interest you.

Mr. Smith, I was simply wondering if you would consider investing in my company. I believe you may have seen firsthand how the work that we do has been having great results globally and after hearing from your partner Mrs. Smith that you were interested in joining a company that does good will work this might be just the one you were looking for. Although we are usually a company who don’t negotiate, we are open to some negotiation on this. It is your money and we don’t want you to be unhappy with what’s it’s used for.

Excuse me for sending this email to you so abruptly. Since this was the only way I was able to contact you. Even though our company is well known, the competition in the digital and telecom market has been fierce and that has brought some hardships to us. Not to mention the raising cost needed for the development of new techniques used to make new hardware and software. Sadly, though our company has been at the top for the last ten years it has become quite difficult to keep up the production of our items. Those raising cost have had detrimental effects on our company and are currently deliberating over whether to file for bankruptcy. That’s where you could assist us.

I would really like to work with you, as I really do admire your work, and it would be great to have someone like yourself who is open to innovation and creation and who already uses our technologies in his company.

If you are interested, please feel free to contact me via…..
Thank you in advance for taking some time to read this and I do appreciate it.

Yours respectfully,

________________________________________
Signature: Mel Lake, CEO and Chairman of Orange

Week II – Lesson II Assignment: Original e-mail
Feedback: Camisha Zinke

I will admit that at first I was very pleased with my work. I have been known to be quite arrogant about issues or work that is personal but I for this time I let my own personal emotions and ego fade away so that I could first listen to the feedback that is given to me, then process it and lastly, see if I what has been provided could be used to further improve my own skills. My feedback was given to me by a fellow classmate named Camisha. Her observational skills were quite impressive. She immediately saw the flaws that were in my letter. It was almost as if she was able to perceive faults in my text that were not visible with the naked eye. She began with looking at the content and then concluded with the grammar. Her feedback was really helpful. She highlighted how to designate my e-mail or letters more at my desired audience or reader. I was very appreciative of her feedback and thank her for it. I then implemented the feedback and began using it immediately to better my work.

Week II – Lesson II Assignment: Corrected e-mail

Dear Mr. Smith,

I am Mel Lake, CEO and Founder of Orange. It is a well and established company since 1992 that does work mainly in the telecom and digital industry. We have produced many brands and proud to say that since 2002, we have been on the top place throughout all of Europe as the leading sales and customer service in computer hardware and software.

Mr. Smith, I was simply wondering if you would consider investing in my company. I believe you may have seen firsthand how the work that we do has been having great results in the global market. Additionally, we have heard from Mrs. Smith that you were interested in joining a company that does good will work this might be just the one you were looking for.

Our companies in Bhutan have been working on a new computer model called the T-Borg B1. It has the ability to understand and use the human language. This is due to the fact that it’s linked to a cybernetic mother server in the Netherlands called Andromeda. Analysis shows that right hands free technology is still in its infancy but companies are trying to find the means to make something like it that targets people with people needs. It’s the technology of the future and it is here now and I would love to interest you in this business venture.

Even though our company is well known, the competition in the digital and telecom market has been fierce and that has brought some hardships to us. Not to mention the raising cost needed for the development of new techniques used to make new hardware and software. Sadly, though our company has been at the top for the last ten years it has become quite difficult to continue with the production of our items. The raising manufacturing and production cost have had detrimental effects on our company and we are currently deliberating over whether to file for bankruptcy. If you could assist us, you wouldn’t just be aiding us but many others other there that could do very with this technology.

I would be most delighted to work with you, as I do admire your work, and it would be great to have someone like yourself who is open to innovation and creation and who already uses our technology in his company.

If you are interested, please feel free to contact me via…..
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my request. I do appreciate it and I await your response.

Yours respectfully,

________________________________________
Signature: Mel Lake, CEO and Chairman of Orange

Preparation for Lesson 1
Tuesday, 30th of August 2011
Prep Hours: 2
Source: Period 1 – Writing Skills Manual

I have been informed by the lecturer that that the purpose of the class is simply put; to help all participants of the class improve their written English grammar. I was contented with answer provided to me by my lecturer but I knew immediately that this course could help me greatly so I hurried home after our conversation in order to eagerly read the provided material for the course. To prepare for this lesson, I read the course “Period 1 – Writing Skills” manual in order to gain a more reasonable understanding of the course content. I’ve noticed that there is a week by week guide that emphasis what work has to be done prior to being in the class. I will need to work systematically and with a elaborated study plan in order to be able to finalize all assignments in their given order and given time. If done correctly I should be able to complete all assignments with very little difficulty.

Week 1 – Lesson 1: Introduction to ICM
Wednesday, 1st of September 2011
Teacher: Tom Parry
Subject: ICM

Introduction to the course, what you are going to learn and what we expect of you.
Working in pairs/threes for peer assessment and feedback. Planning business messages.

Week 1 (In class) Assignment
Write an indirect letter to a Mister T. Smith, who although there were many attempts by you in the past to get in contact with him, you were still unsuccessful. You want to inform that this will be your final attempt at establishing a meeting with him.

(Picture of Written Letter)

I’m Mel Lake. I’m 21 years old and a student in the sweet city of Amsterdam.

I’m a innovative,quirky, charming guy that’s rich. Alright that’s a blatant lie. I’m just an average Joe with a fun view of life. This is my frequency which you can tune into anytime to see what on my mind.

Now enough about me and let’s get in with this blog!

Just another happy blogger,

Mel A. Lake