English 402 Real World Application

Because of our segment on tone in professional writing I have become very aware of the tone in messages at work. The tone was always there and before this class I usually had an emotional reaction to it. I wish I could say that because I now recognize the tone I can separate my feelings, but unfortunately that is not the case. What I have found is that my response has changed.

One of the issues I see frequently in e-mail chains is an escalation of negative tone. The first message may be a little abrupt with each response a little more severe, until upper management is being copied on what has become a written tongue lashing or tattle-tell session. This happens frequently between departments or shifts due to varying priorities on certain tasks.

One specific example that comes up routinely is for a quality monitor that requires cooperation from multiple departments. In the most basic terms one department delivers the material and another department completes the test. A schedule has been set in place to minimize impact to production. If the material is not available on schedule the e-mails start flying. Before long we have management from both departments copied on an e-mail chain indicating that NO ONE knows how to do their job. Although this can be amusing as a by-stander it is not at all productive. Because of this class I was able to see that it all began with the tone of the first message. I was able to neutralize the situation through a diplomatic e-mail explaining to both departments the necessity of the test and the benefits of staying on schedule. As a result I am now the person BOTH departments contact if any material goes missing. I just haven't managed to figure out how exactly that benefits me. I need to find a way to use these powers to reduce my workload instead of increasing it.