Is That an Order?

Name: Is That an Order? (English version)
SKU: W34200

Vineeta Dwivedi, Tulsi Jayakumar

Product #:W34200

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:Communications

Setting:India, 2022

Details:Case (PDF) • 4 pages • 2023-12-20

Subjects:

Emotional intelligence Managing yourself Organizational culture Organizational behavior

Geography:

Asia India

Your Price:

$9.71

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

Free Educator Copy
Free Teaching Notes
Build your coursepack
Discounted academic price

In August 2022, a student pursuing his master of business administration degree in Mumbai at one of India’s top business schools found himself in a despondent situation as he prepared his curriculum vitae (CV) to apply for an internship position at Golden Tobacco Company. He had written an email to his former project supervisor (a senior fellow of the MIT Media Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay), requesting him to approve the project the student had worked on under his supervision as relevant experience for the internship position. In response, the student received an email from his supervisor with one terse line: “Is this an order?” With a deadline that very evening to submit the CV, the student was in a tizzy. Where had he gone wrong in his email to prompt the terse reply from his former supervisor? How could he fix the situation? And how could he prevent such a situation when writing emails in the future?

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level programs in a business communications or corporate communications course. It can be used in a module on written communication. The case is also particularly beneficial for students whose first language is not English or where cross-cultural understanding is needed in communication. This case illustrates the importance of email as a powerful formal communication tool, having the power to destroy or enhance workplace relationships. The case also illustrates the common biases people are susceptible to when writing emails. Through analysis of the case, students will appreciate that writing emotionally intelligent emails is a carefully considered managerial skill. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

Understand the essential elements of email writing.
Point out mistakes in a given email and correct them.
Understand the relevance of emotional intelligence (EI) in written communication.