IT 520 SNHU Computer Science Communication & Audience Needs Discussion

Graduate Discussion Rubric
Overview
Your active participation in the discussions is essential to your overall success this term. Discussion questions will help you make meaningful connections
between the course content and the larger concepts of the course. These discussions give you a chance to express your own thoughts, ask questions, and gain
insight from your peers and instructor.
Directions
For each discussion, you must create one initial post and follow up with at least two response posts.
For your initial post, do the following:
? Write a post of 1 to 2 paragraphs.
? In Module One, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
? In Modules Two through Ten, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
? Consider content from other parts of the course where appropriate. Use proper citation methods for your discipline when referencing scholarly or
popular sources.
For your response posts, do the following:
? Reply to at least two classmates outside of your own initial post thread.
? In Module One, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
? In Modules Two through Ten, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
? Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like ?I agree? or ?You are wrong.? Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.
Rubric
Critical Elements
Comprehension
Timeliness
Engagement
Exemplary
Develops an initial post with an
organized, clear point of view or
idea using rich and significant
detail (100%)
N/A
Provides relevant and
meaningful response posts with
clarifying explanation and detail
(100%)
Proficient
Develops an initial post with a
point of view or idea using
appropriate detail (90%)
Submits initial post on time
(100%)
Provides relevant response
posts with some explanation
and detail (90%)
Needs Improvement
Develops an initial post with a
point of view or idea but with
some gaps in organization and
detail (70%)
Submits initial post one day late
(70%)
Provides somewhat relevant
response posts with some
explanation and detail (70%)
Not Evident
Does not develop an initial post
with an organized point of view
or idea (0%)
Value
20
Submits initial post two or more
days late (0%)
Provides response posts that are
generic with little explanation or
detail (0%)
10
20
Critical Elements
Critical Thinking
Writing (Mechanics)
Exemplary
Draws insightful conclusions
that are thoroughly defended
with evidence and examples
(100%)
Initial post and responses are
easily understood, clear, and
concise using proper citation
methods where applicable with
no errors in citations (100%)
Proficient
Draws informed conclusions
that are justified with evidence
(90%)
Needs Improvement
Draws logical conclusions (70%)
Not Evident
Does not draw logical
conclusions (0%)
Value
30
Initial post and responses are
easily understood using proper
citation methods where
applicable with few errors in
citations (90%)
Initial post and responses are
understandable using proper
citation methods where
applicable with a number of
errors in citations (70%)
Initial post and responses are
not understandable and do not
use proper citation methods
where applicable (0%)
Total
20
100%
IT 520 Module Five Short Paper Guidelines and Rubric
This course includes five short writing activities that will require you to create different types of technical communications. These are designed to actively test
your understanding and to apply your knowledge to potential real-world situations. These writing activities also provide practice in communicating your
reasoning in a professional manner.
Determining Audience Needs (Module Five)
As the new corporate communications manager, you have developed a good idea of the various internal and external audiences for communications across the
enterprise.
You have learned that IG is organized into six main areas, and each area has its own structure:
?
?
?
?
?
?
Research and Development (R&D): New Product Development and Product Enhancement teams
Manufacturing: Detroit, Shanghai, and Purchasing teams
Sales and Marketing: U.S. Sales, U.S. Marketing, European Sales, European Marketing, Partner Management, and Online Sales teams
Technical Support: the exception, as there is only a single team handling this function
Finance/Accounting: Corporate Finance and Corporate Accounting teams
Human Resources: Corporate HR team with ties to HR representatives at each work site
In addition to the internal departments, IG staff interface with a wide range of external entities and individuals, including customers (large accounts, individuals
via web sales), distribution partners, component suppliers, subcontractors (design and occasional manufacturing). IG also contracts with Amazon to handle all its
product logistics?warehousing, packaging and shipping, and returns.
IG will soon launch a new accessory for the OfficeDrone: Speaker+. Speaker+ attaches to the OfficeDrone and allows the person controlling the OfficeDrone to
have a voice conversation with a person near the OfficeDrone. The Corporate Communications team is responsible for developing communications for all
stakeholders to announce the launch of this new product.
Write a memo to your communication team that uses specific details to address the following:
?
?
Analyze IG?s internal and external audiences.
Recommend how the new product announcement for Speaker+ can be tailored to the needs of each of IG?s audiences.
Company Background
International Gadgets (IG) is a multinational company of 1,300+ employees and over $4 billion in revenue. Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, the
company designs, manufactures, sells, and supports a variety of low- and high-tech business productivity tools.
IG has manufacturing facilities in Detroit, Michigan, and Shanghai, China, and sources component parts from suppliers in Vietnam, China, Brazil, and the United
States. While IG maintains sales offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Munich, Paris, Moscow, and Brussels, its products are sold throughout the
United States and all of Europe and in China through a partner firm. IG employs a direct sales force targeting its top 1,000 customers, and it also sells via its
website. Sales offices also include service and support operations, managed separately from the sales teams. The company is considering expanding more
directly into China and exploring the possibility of opening a sales office in Beijing.
IG?s current top-selling product is the OfficeDrone, designed for workplace monitoring. The OfficeDrone is a small, unstaffed aerial vehicle for indoor use that
includes real-time video monitoring and a targetable built-in water pistol and reservoir. The OfficeDrone is marketed to management and security teams to
break up water cooler conversations and other nonproductive behaviors among groups of workers.
IG has introduced several new products and experienced rapid growth during the past year, with many new employees in all departments. The management
team has greatly expanded as well, including several first-time managers, and is experiencing difficulties in functioning as effectively as in the past.
Communications within and between all parts of the organization, external partners, and suppliers and customers are at serious risk of completely breaking
down.
In a recent example, Detroit Manufacturing was unable to meet a product delivery deadline because of parts shortages from supplies. (The component parts
originated in Brazil and had been seriously delayed due to a dockworkers? strike at U.S. West Coast ports.) Manufacturing believed they had informed Sales of
the delay, but Sales indicated they had never received that information and ended up losing the customer to a competitor. In another example, European sales
were impacted when Switzerland unexpectedly devalued its currency, impacting IG?s profitability. Revised profitability forecasts were provided by several of the
European sales offices, but others did not understand the request from the corporate office because of how it was worded, and the delay in response led to
unnecessary costs.
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: This memo must be 2 to 3 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in APA style. Use double spacing,
12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Integrate at least one resource cited in APA format. Review Purdue Owl: Memo for suggestions and
formatting guidelines on memo structure.
Critical Elements
Audience Analysis:
External and Internal
Exemplary (100%)
Meets ?Proficient? criteria, and
ideas are substantiated with
specific and relevant details
Recommendations
Meets ?Proficient? criteria with
substantial detail for the
rationale
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy-to-read
format
Proficient (90%)
Accurately identifies internal
and external stakeholders and
draws conclusions about that
audience?s needs, supported by
specific detail
Provides a discussion
highlighting the
recommendations for how the
new product announcement
can be tailored to the needs of
the audience, with sufficient
detail for rationale
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Needs Improvement (70%)
Accurately identifies internal
and external stakeholders and
draws conclusions about the
audience?s needs, but does not
support with specific detail
Provides a discussion
highlighting the
recommendations for how the
new product announcement
can be tailored to the needs of
the audience, but lacks
sufficient detail for rationale
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas
Not Evident (0%)
Does not identify internal and
external stakeholders
Value
40
Does not provide a discussion
highlighting the
recommendations for how the
new product announcement
can be tailored to the needs of
the audience
40
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas
20
Total
100%
Peer 1:
Audience analysis is very important when engaging with
individuals. You cannot run a successful business if you don?t
know the users of your products. Knowing your customers
help determine their needs. Audience analysis is the process
of identifying the characteristics of a target audience. This can
be achieved by personalizing communications to be
influential, informational, or to structure it for a particular
goal such as making a sale. Communication structure for
customers such as advertising, promotions, events, press
leases and informational content may involve separate
messages designed for different target audiences (J. Spacey,
20 January 2020).
There are many factors when analyzing your audience. For
example, 1. demographic analysis- collecting and examining
factors, such as age, gender identification, location,
education, and income, 2. disposition analysis- An audience’s
feelings about you, your topic, and the occasion for your
speaking, and 3. knowledge analysis- their understanding of
the topic, education level and technical or nontechnical
(Similarweb, 21 November 2022).
The below table will help you understand who makes up your
target audience. This will allow you to carefully plan your
message and adapt what you say to the level of
understanding and background of the audience member.
Organizational goal can be met successfully if the
presentations are structure to engage the audience (lumen,
n.d.).
Audience Analysis Table
Demographic
Analysis
Disposition
Analysis
Age
influences cultural expectations, language preferences
and help you structures marketing or advertising material
Gender
This helps you understand when correlating preferences
and behavioral patterns with gender distribution.
location
Allow you to make decision as to what you are
presenting, choose audience side, and venue
Exception
This allows you to customize the material in different
categories to meet different audience needs
Feelings
If you understand how they feel about your topic or about
you, adjustment can be made to meet their need
Interest &
goals
What aspect of the product they will like and what will
they achieve after your presentation? Outcome helps
meet sales goal.
level
Better prepare you to present the material at different
level, this helps satisfy different needs and give
validation to your presentation
technical
Presenting to technical audience helps you structure your
material for their understanding
Knowledge
Analysis
nontechnical This is crucial in the at most point they are clients,
customers, or employees, so creating excitement for your
presentation helps achieve your goal
Table: 1.1.0
In business, avoiding the audience analysis can also make you
completely forget the business goal. Conducting audience
analysis on your target audience enables you to use your
resources successfully and link you up with your prospective
customers.
References:
1. J. Spacey. (20 January 2020). 3 Examples of Audience
Analysis. Retrieved from
https://simplicable.com/en/audience-analysis
2. Similarweb. (21, November 2021). Demographic
Audience Analysis: The Key to Expanding Your Market.
Retrieved from:
https://www.similarweb.com/corp/blog/research/audien
ce-and-brand-building/demographics-audienceanalysis/#:~:text=With%20demographic%20audience%2
0analysis%2C%20you,location%2C%20education%2C%2
0and%20income.
3. Washington.edu. (n.d.). Audience Analysis. Retrieved
from: http://faculty.washington.edu/
4. Lumen. (n.d.). The importance of Analysis. Retrieved
from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundlesscommunications/chapter/the-importance-of-audienceanalysis/
Peer 2 :
I would normally choose the ‘Customers’ audience. I will not
be choosing them this time. I am trying to learn more about
other audiences that I have not worked with before. That
being said, my audience is going to be the
‘Finance/Accounting’ audience. This is a group that had
normally been well above my pay grade.
This audience is going to be heterogeneous. There is a broad
mixture of both men and women in this audience. The one tie
that this audience shares in Finance/Accounting backgrounds.
There is a definite split in the age range of this audience. The
older members tend to be higher in the ranks than the
younger members. There is not much for members in the
mid-level age range. There is a good mixture of ethnic
backgrounds in this audience.
I would expect that the readers are going to be able to take
away some technical information partnered with a solid
financial run down and explanation. I expect this audience to
have at least a mid-level knowledge of the technical
specifications but be more interested in the financial side of
the analysis. The biggest concern is that the audience can be
‘over-teched’. This is the phenomena in which the audience is
given too much technical information. This in turn creates an
information overload. this is where you can lose many of your
audience in the passage. I can envision that the motivation
behind this audience is how well will this product do as far as
profits and costs to manufacture.
This audience should already have a basic knowledge of the
product. The fact that the word ‘should’ is used, we cannot
assume that they already know anything about the product.
The audience can benefit from laying a base foundation for
the product. This way, the audience will be on the same
informational level. For this audience the financial questions
would be more prevalent, but expect many technical
questions as well.

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