Discussion 1

• Acme has been planning to acquire Best Products, and Acme employees are worried about how the acquisition will affect them. The HR manager has been visiting message boards on job search sites like Vault.com and sees a dramatic rise in the number of messages posted by people claiming to be Acme employees--messages that, in some cases, spread rumors about layoffs.

• The following five messages represent possible responses that the HR manager could post to message boards. For each, consider

  • How well does each meet the needs of the reader?
  • Is the message clear, complete, and correct?
  • Does it save the reader’s time?
  • Does it build good will?