You publish your Warm-Up 4s as comments to this blog post.
The In-Tray Exam is based on the idea that you work for a temporary agency (like Manpower) and have been sent in to cover the work of one of the people employed by one of the companies on this course. An in-tray is the plastic or metal tray on your desk into which all the paperwork you have to deal with is placed. When you've dealt with it, it's transferred to your 'out-tray' to be sent off or filed.
The exam itself will be posted on the course web site on Friday, 22nd November (when I activate the link on the 'exam' page of the Module 4 section of the site). It's a .pdf document which you can either download or read directly from the screen. When you read it, you'll notice that there are four writing tasks to complete, but you're given three complete sets of tasks to choose between, one for each of the companies in the course materials.
You don't have to stick to the same company for all four tasks - you can switch from one company to another, or you can stay with the same company all the way through.
You submit your In-Tray Exam to David Richardson as a Word document by e-mail. (If you're using Microsoft Works, rather than Word or an equivalent, remember to save the document as an .rtf - Rich Text Format - document, or David won't be able to open it). Open Office documents (.odt format) will also work.
When the exam's been received, David will print it on paper, mark it manually, write a mark and commentary for each task, and, finally, add your In-Tray Exam marks to the marks you've received for your Warm-Ups and Send-Ins. When the total exceeds 60 marks, you've passed, and when the total exceeds 80 marks, you've got a 'VG'. Your marks are reported on LADOK, the Swedish national university computer, more or less the same day the exam's marked.
When everything's finished, David puts your exam, the commentary and a statement of your total marks into an envelope and posts it to whatever address we have for you (if you've recently moved, or haven't given us your address, please let us know your current address as soon as possible). He'll also send you a mail straightaway with your final result.
At the end of the final mail is a link to the on-line course evaluation. This is totally anonymous - and, besides, you've already got your mark, so you can say what you like! Feedback from you is very valuable to us (even if you don't get any direct benefit from it!) and all of us on the course team greatly appreciate hearing what you've thought of the course.
Good luck with the exam! The due date is 15th December … but, as usual, we'll be understanding if you're a little late.
As Iam writing this I'm not quite sure if you asked for tips regarding how to tell someone to shut up or how to apologize.
ReplyDeleteSo here is some tips regarding both.
If you care for someone to be quiet firstly I would recommend either to stare at their forehead at a spesific point and they will think they have something stuck there or something is wrong.
2nd- You can politly turn your hand up, even a finger like you gesture that you are about to give a chance to talk and hopefully they will take the hint.
3rd- As we know some people need to be the center of attention and you can by never laughing at their jokes or looking busy be showing that you just don't care.
4th- It depends on the situation but be ready to still be polite and never be rude or attack the person as it might be reflected bad against yourself.
A word like "Hold that thought" and walk away could work or simply by telling the person that "I'm sorry but I'm trying to concentrate, can you please be a bit quiet"
For apologizing a simple sorry always works.
Remember not to point fingers at anyone.
Don't blame things or people. Take actions of your mistake and be sure that It will not repeat.
As the mistake usually already happened you addressing the mistake and it's to your attention that you will be able to fix it or make up for it.
Usually a sincere apologize have a "I'm Sorry" inside.
Don't make to big promises if you not sure you will be able to address them.
Good luck everyone on the In-Tray exam.
:)
Fatima annsofie E. Haltta
Interesting advice! I'd advise 'complainers' to be factual and dispassionate - the problem for the person reading the complaint (if it's in writing) is to work out exactly what the complainer's problem is … and often what they actually want you to do about it.
DeleteAs for apologising … your advice about I'm sorry is spot on - get this in very early in the letter and then your suggestions for solutions won't sound as if you're trying to wriggle out of responsibility.
Niklas Howell
ReplyDeleteMy best tips to to write a letter of complaint are to always stay calm when you write it, but that you in a good way point out what you are disappointed at and always use a professional language, so that the people who receives it will take you seriously. Furthermore you should also have a good argumentation about what happend and end with what you would like the other part to do for you e.g. a reimbursement.
For apologising I would recommend to say that you are sorry and then try to show how you will try to correct the mistakes that you have done and not try to blame the problems on others, so it looks like you care about them and want the best for them.
My best language tip is to always try to find formal words for words that you think are informal or that you think you can find a word that better explains the things you want to say. The best way to do this is to find synonyms for the words and then check what the real meaning are for them and see if you can use them in the same way as the first words you wrote.
I wrote a good letter of complaint to a phone company once, becaus we had agreed on one thing but they had changed it after. In my letter I had a good argumentation what we had agreed on first and then what they had change after. I ended the letter by explaining what I wanted them to do. In the end they change my contract so it was like we had agreed in the first place.
Emelie Wetterling
ReplyDeleteComplaining:
I think the most important thing is to be factual and clear. It is essential to convey exactly what you wish to complain about so there are no misunderstandings. But you should not make threats because that can create a hostile relationship between you and the recipient of the complaint: it is then very easy for the other person to become defensive.
I believe that a polite but firm language is most efficient. You must convey that you are serious but there is no need to use foul language.
Apologizing:
As has been stated in previous modules, it is important to actually say that you are sorry! This should be done as early as possible. There is nothing worse than someone trying to pin responsibility on another when it is clearly their own fault! An apology shows that you are willing to take responsibility for your (or your company’s) actions. In this case I also believe that it is important to be factual and give concrete examples on how to solve the problem, but I do not think that a more humble tone could hurt. You want to show the other person that you are truly sorry and care enough to make things right again.
David Persson
ReplyDeleteTips for complaining:
I think it’s important to not be too emotional, but simply present the facts in an objective and professional way. If the facts speak in your favour, your counterpart will have a difficult time arguing against those facts, unless of course he or she could find other facts speaking against your case. Also, you should clearly state you expectations or suggestion for solution / compensation, so that your counterpart has a concrete offer to evaluate. Either he or she accepts your proposal, or he or she will come back to you with a revised proposal. Either way, the situation is more likely to be sorted out more quickly compared to a scenario with emotional arguing back and forth.
Therese Evertson
ReplyDeleteTips for complaining
I think the best way to complain is to keep calm, neutral and true to the facts.
Stating what happened, how you perceived it, how it made you feel and what you think should happen now, usually works. The last part is really important. If you tell your counterpart exactly what you expect them to do to compensate you, they will probably get back to you sooner to solve the issue.
Namecalling, arguing and other angry outbursts are seldom good strategies, it will just get your counterpart to get angry and reluctant so solve the matter in a smoth way.
Malin M
ReplyDeleteApologizing:
I think it is important to begin and end with your apology. The first apology will make clear what the letter is about and the last will reinforce your genuine regret.
End the letter with a promise of restitution. Don not make any stupid excuses, why it happened. Using "I" statements will help prevent the recipient from feeling defensive. To keep the apology letter short and to the point, in that way you won't waste the recipient's time.
Complaining:
Begin the letter with Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms followed by their surname. If there is no name, address with Dear Sir or Madam. Quickly get to the point of your letter and include your exact complaints and state your expectations or suggestions for solution/compensation. Include as many pertinent facts as possible. Ex. time, location or any relevant serial/model numbers. Present it in an objective and professional way.
I think that it is well invested time to write a letter or e-mail even it takes a little bit longer than a phone call. It is harder for the recipient to ignore a written letter than a phone call.
ReplyDeleteI think you should always be polite and never make threats when complaining. Threats sometimes get you what you want but the relationship with the person/company will never be as good as before. I always try to explain how I interpreted the situation, for example how disappointed I was. This usually helps.
Susan Linke