Marginal or Poor Writers in an Organization

A company’s marginal or bad writers will lose its money in a variety of ways. According to a National Commission on Writing (NCW) report, employees’ writing proficiency is a fundamental business prerequisite since it impacts all internal and external correspondence. There have been many cases where companies have lost future employees due to bad connections caused by miscommunication. According to the NCW, businesses expend a significant amount of money on remedial writing instruction in order to enhance the efficiency of their employees. For example, BlueChip invested almost 3.1 billion dollars in 2016 on writing training for its workers. Out of this budget, the company used about 2.9 million dollars to retrain current employees while the remaining funds were used in training new recruits.

Employees’ Poor Writing Skills: A Cause for Concern

Another report released by the Partnership for the 21st Century Skills revealed that 26.2% of college graduates have poor writing skills. The report also demonstrated that one-fourth of new university graduates are not only poor writers, but also lacked the necessary communication skills. If this category of students are placed into business functions without preliminary training on effective writing and communication skills, a company may end up experiencing problems such as miscommunication, poor performance, revenue losses, lack of credibility, and lost reputation. In other words, employees’ poor writing skill is an issue worth investigating because it does not only affect the decision making processes but also lowers the overall productivity of a firm.

How Businesses Solve Problems of Employees’ Poor Writing Skills

The first step towards solving problems of employees’ poor writing skills include spotting such challenges and training employees according to the company’s writing rules and regulations. There is no doubt that companies are struggling to employ best performing employees and weeding out individuals who cannot make significant impact on the overall business performance. Research shows that about 50% of companies when involved in recruitment give individuals’ writing skills first priority. Similarly, about 80% of large corporations assess the performance of employees based on their ability to influence business growth.

The Role of Resume and Cover Letter in Assessing Writing Skills

One area where firms can determine if prospecting employees have poor writing or communication skills is resume or cover latter. Employees who have sufficient writing skills should have a concise, precise, and well-written resume or cover letter. Where these traits do not exist, it becomes easy to judge the kind of trouble that awaits the company. Alternatively, firms may decide to organize a writing exercise during the interview to assess candidates’ writing skills before making a placement offer.

Understanding the Causes of Employees’ Poor Writing Skills

Apart from training, employees’ poor writing can be solved if the management understands the cause of the problem. This step, however, does cannot be applied during recruitment of new workers. It is possible for an employee who was previously a good writer to suddenly start performing poorly. Under such circumstances, the management should start by determining the primary cause of the employee’s underperformance. Two fundamental issues should be investigated under such circumstances: (1) whether the change is attributed to a cause within the work environment and (2) if the sudden change in level of performance may have been caused by something that happened back at home. Some employs suffer from superiority complex, and this may manifest in their lines of operation. Moreover, the poor writing process count be situational in the sense that it is cause by a condition beyond the control of the employees such as ineffective communication platform with the organization. Other cause of employees’ poor writing skills that managers should focus on during their analysis include ineffective management, poor educational background, lack of employees’ motivation, and the domino effect. Under the domino law or Murphy’s effect, it is assumed that if employees’ activities are supervised by individuals who are poor writers or communicators, there are higher chances that they may also end up becoming poor writers. The main reason why organizations should consider investigating the causes of poor writing and communication is because the management technique may vary depending on the underlying factors. These problems can be solved through regular positive reinforcements between supervisors and employees. Managers must be as close as possible to the underperforming employees so as to advice and counsel in case the problem is psychologically attributed.

How Businesses Define Poor Writing Skills and Measure Effective Writing Skills

Writing, as an element of communication skill, is the most fundamental transferable skill that workers should have. Businesses require excellent writing skills so as to properly communicate new ideas and concepts. On the contrary, poor writing skills make it difficult for staff members to engage in discussions and make decisions or policies that can be pursued to improve business activities. From the perspective of organizational management, therefore, poor writing skills means the inability of an employees or a manager to communicate to other staff members through written emails or internal memos. Poor writing skills make it hard for the intended audience to read, understand, comprehend, and relay the same information. This means that whatever is being communicated is either incomprehensive or does not make sense at all.

Businesses measure effective writing skills based on the following indicators: (1) ability of employees to make accurate communications, (2) improved performance, (3) increased revenues, (4) good reputation, and (5) high credibility. Well-written internal communications including business memos and emails improve the relationship between employees and their leaders. However, it is possible to tell if there is miscommunication because such instances are the basis of misunderstanding in an organization. Workers who have the capacity to express themselves in whatever communication platform are more likely to get ahead of others. Similarly, effective writing skills contribute to team performance because it improves how employees relate. Competing firms use employees’ writing skills to determine the strength of their competitors. The fact that companies with well-trained employees are high performers means that they can compete and outperform other businesses. In other words, organizations can use their position in the industry to determine whether its employees are committed to their roles or not. Finally, most customers can only trust what a company produces if it is clearly communicated through writing. Although a firm may use a picture to communicate a product or service, clients can only derive meanings from correctly spelled words in the caption. An increase in customers’ trust and loyalty means in improvement in employees’ writing skills.

Report Proposal Part 2: Annotated

Bibliography

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

The author of the book recognizes effective or qualify management as a means through which organizations can increase employees’ participation in decision-making. The authors’ main idea revolves around the perception that well-trained employees have the ability to communicate ideas that a company can adopt to improve the quality of its products, services, processes, and people, and the overall business environment. Ideally, communication can only be improved if employees understand their roles, can write and communicate what they feel is important to increase performance.

The source is credible and can be used in a scholarly research. Credibility in this context is defined by the authority of the source. Pearson is a reputable publisher that mainly focuses on contents of first-hand account. The publisher is in most case reluctant to publish information that are being retold or those that have been lifted from blog posts and other non-credible sources.

The source is useful to this study because it identifies the impacts of effective employees in relation to organizational performance. The source also identifies areas the organizations musts improve in order increase the level of productivity. Finally, the source is useful because, it highlights the need for a company to engage in production and distribution of quality goods and services.

Senge, P. M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Crown Business.

According to this source, learning is an important strategy for an organization that aims at improving business operations. Learning mean exposing both new and existing employees to changes in business systems including the communication structure so that they can adapt to such changes while maintaining positive relationships.

The source is credible because the information cited comes from a reputable author. Moreover, the content of the information is well-searched and supported by evidences. Although the author has cited a previous work, his command of language and distinct evidences make the whole work original.

The source is useful because it provides a step-by-step guide, which organizations can follow in building an effective learning environment. Training is the first approach towards developing a team of employees who can perform according to the need of the company. Similarly, the source advices on the need to have staff members who are motivated to help the organization achieve its key objectives.

Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

According to this source, education is the only way of creating effective workers. Therefore, higher learning institutions should work towards ensuring that their students are competent enough to fit in the job market. The authors argue that through business research, educators can help students develop organizational skills, especially those applicable in areas of communication.

Credibility of the source can be measured with regard to the authors and publisher. Sekaran and Bougie are renowned authors who have written several books and articles on business research. Moreover, John Wiley and Sons is a reputable publisher. The company has published several books, and with its strict publishing conditions, every information in the book must have been empirically searched.

The books is essential because is identifies some of the factors that make students to become poor performers when employed. Similarly, the source identifies the most appropriate teaching method that can be used to improve students’ effectiveness. The authors suggest research-based business learning as one of the techniques that teachers can use to ensure that students performance relate to real world business activities.

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2015). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.

The source considers communication to be an integral part of teamwork. According to the authors, companies can only create a high-performance organization if they have strategies focusing on effective team communication.

For this book, the time of publication can be used to determine whether it is credible. A source that was published in 2015 is current and relevant to this topic. Ideally, it is recommended that a business research should be based on recent information because there are several changes that occur in the field of management.

The source is useful because it identifies the need for an organization to have an effective communication system. Additionally, the authors identify some of the challenges that teams may face. Finally, the source suggests communication as a means of improving decision-making and team participation.

Postmes, T., Tanis, M., & De Wit, B. (2001). Communication and commitment in organizations: A social identity approach. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4(3), 227-246.

The authors of this article argue that the means of communication in an organization affect employees’ response and commitment. In most cases employees prefer formal bureaucratic communication methods than informal methods. This argument makes writing a method of communication that is essential to every organization.

The source is credible because it provides facts and not opinion or propaganda. The authors’ positions on methods of communication remain objective and impartial. The authors’ choice of words demonstrates high level of intelligent. Even though the article portrays negatively organizations that still use informal means of communication, the authors’ language is free of bias.

The article is useful in the sense that it highlights the specific measures that can help organizations improve the performance of individual employees. The article informs about the need to have a team of workers who recognized the contributions of each member. According to the article, it is essential to business a society within an organization that believes of effective communication as a means of achieving organizational needs.

Craig, T. (2008). How to Write with Impact. Personnel Today. 9. Available from Business Source complete Database.

Craig in this article argues that business writing can at times be plain and awful, particularly when there is no better communication principles. According to the source, many workers in the corporate world end up becoming poor writers because the business environment does not provides the necessary conditions that can improve internal communication.

This source is a publication of the BSC, which is a database with a range of business journals. The BSC website online makes public sources that are deemed reliable. Similarly, Craig is a reputable author, and most of its journals are used in various learning institutions as points of reference.

The article is useful because it directly links organizational performance to employee’s writing skills. The article informs about the need to train and empower workers so that they can be free to share ideas through writing or other means of communication. Finally, the article makes it clear that organizations should create conditions that facilitate interaction and team learning.

Korkki, P. (2007).Young Workers: You Need to Improve Your Writing Skills. The New York Times, p. 2. Available from Academic Search Premier Database.

This source indicates the need for organizations to have solutions for bad writing practices and methods of communication. It is wrong for employees to use vague emails or send information that contradict the goals of the company. Companies should review their writing practices or ensure that every employee adhere to communication rules and regulations.

This source is credible because it focuses on the main idea, which improving employees’ writing skills. Secondly, New York Times is a reputable website that only publishes information of high level of credibility because businesses use its journals and new to improve their operations. It is also true that the author, Korkki, is a reputable author with one of her books including “the Big Thing.” The information provided by the author is well-researched.

The source is valuable because it motivates workers to improve their writing skills. As young workers, there is always a need to ensure that whatever is communicated portrays the kind of professionalism required in a business environment. The source inspires people with such objective to continue working on their communication skills and make in even better.

References

Craig, T. (2008). How to Write with Impact. Personnel Today. 9. Available from Business Source complete Database.

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2015). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.

Korkki, P. (2007).Young Workers: You Need to Improve Your Writing Skills. The New York Times, p. 2. Available from Academic Search Premier Database.

Postmes, T., Tanis, M., & De Wit, B. (2001). Communication and commitment in organizations: A social identity approach. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4(3), 227-246.

Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Senge, P. M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Crown Business.