Salvador Monella is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Penn-Mart. Penn-Mart had been having a problem with the cost of employee healthcare benefits. They were looking for a way to control the cost and keep everyone satisfied. Salvador Monella had research done and presented a recommendation to the Board of Directors in a memorandum. (S. Monella, personal communication, January 6, 2014) I will be analyzing this memorandum using the 11 steps located in Asking the Right Questions written by M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley (Browne & Keeley, 2015). Each chapter of this book breaks down a step that allows us to think critically.
Issue and Conclusion
The first step in analyzing this memorandum was finding the issue and conclusion. In order to find the issue, I had to determine what kind of issue it was. There are two types if issues described in the Asking the Right Questions, they are descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive issues are ones that can raise questions about the truthfulness of the past, present, or future. I determined that the issue Penn-Mart faces is a descriptive issue. The issue of this memorandum was stated as “What Penn-Mart could do …show more content…
This phrase impacts the author’s reasoning in a positive way. The phrase was stated when discussing the recommendations that Monella is presenting. The words used in this phrase are all associated with large amounts of positivity. It is not clarified as to what classifies a significant positive impact. There is no data that helps the reader determine what would be considered a significant positive impact. The amount that significant portrays for a reader could be different than what is meant by significant from the author. Since there is no clarification for the actual amount readers would assume that it is a large amount. This works to the advantage of the author and can help persuade the reader to believe the
Issue and Conclusion
The first step in analyzing this memorandum was finding the issue and conclusion. In order to find the issue, I had to determine what kind of issue it was. There are two types if issues described in the Asking the Right Questions, they are descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive issues are ones that can raise questions about the truthfulness of the past, present, or future. I determined that the issue Penn-Mart faces is a descriptive issue. The issue of this memorandum was stated as “What Penn-Mart could do …show more content…
This phrase impacts the author’s reasoning in a positive way. The phrase was stated when discussing the recommendations that Monella is presenting. The words used in this phrase are all associated with large amounts of positivity. It is not clarified as to what classifies a significant positive impact. There is no data that helps the reader determine what would be considered a significant positive impact. The amount that significant portrays for a reader could be different than what is meant by significant from the author. Since there is no clarification for the actual amount readers would assume that it is a large amount. This works to the advantage of the author and can help persuade the reader to believe the