MICHAEL RONDINA BSED ENGLISH 2-A
In the present email context, the manager follows the principle of economy by:
A. Stating the purpose directly (requesting an update on the project).
B. Being clear and to the point regarding the urgency of the project (waiting until the last
minute without going into unnecessary detail).
C. Sticking to the point and avoiding needless expansion or irrelevant details.
This is a case of a correct working rule of economy. The given message is straightforward and
direct, hence no unnecessary time is wasted on the manager and the member of the team. The
manager does not get into the details of the background or the context of the situation which
might otherwise soil the message with excessive elaboration and wear the receiver out with
unnecessary information.
The Use of Excessive Liberty in the Economy Rule:
If it was the manager who wrote something like:
‘Dear John, I am well fare and in good conditions, I hope you are also well and all is well. I was
just concerned as to how
the marketing project you all had worked so hard on is progressing. As you know we are all
depending on this and I
hope you are doing fine with this task.
If any part of this project has posed any
challenges causing delays or otherwise, please do not hesitate to let me know. You’ve probably
been busy, but now that the deadline is nearly upon us, I’d feel more comfortable knowing that
all is going according to plan. Thanks again for your looking into this.
Regards, Sarah’
This time the text contains certain elements and phrases which are redundant.
And because of too much supplementary information, the basic question which is requesting an
update is lost. It loses the economy principle because it is possible to get the same message in
fewer words.
2. Creative Application:
Original Dialogue:
Context: A manager providing feedback to an employee on a report.
Manager: "Hi, Tom. I read your report and it is almost perfect. The only section that needs
improvement is the crippled…”
am sticking to the rule of economy in my communication and keeping messages brief. There is
no long introduction or complimenting for nothing. The feedback is provided on purpose and in
relation to the most significant aspects: the analysis of the data reported on the clear language
usage in the concluding section, and how soon that should be done. The essence of the
message is what should be improved, and there are no decorations that would make one
unable to read between the lines. This makes sure that the subordinate gets the essence of the
correction very fast and clearly without much room for misunderstanding.
3. Reflection Essay:
Economy is one of the aspects of effective communication because it facilitates the delivery of
messages in a short and complete manner. The rule of economy refers to the principle of
communicating the message in the most direct way so that superfluous words or ideas do not
occur. This is important in social life as well as work life. There is also an advantage of this sort
of communication because it saves time and effort input by both the sender and receiver.
In my case, I’ve observed that people first get the point and their understanding of the message
is considerably increased if the message is kept simple and straight to the point. For example,
when working in a group, it is most understood that giving short and simple directions to the
team members will prevent them from misunderstanding each other hence completing the task
as required. However, when I have taken time and written long emails or drawn out
explanations, the point more often than not has been lost in transit and appropriate response or
action takes a while or does not happen at all.
Especially in the context of the above mentioned, economy of words is paramount. However in
an organization, the leader and the team members should observe the tension between
efficiency and clarity. On the other hand, when an email is short and straight to the point, it
encourages quicker decision-making, enhanced teamwork, and minimizes potential errors. For
instance, I remember this situation that occurred when I had to email a report that was behind
the schedule to my superior.
All I had to do was send an email, and all essential elements were condensed into a few
sentences. I managed to get what was needed done within no time so that the supervisor could
act on the information. It demonstrated a high level of professionalism and more importantly,
helped in finishing the project on time without unnecessary exchanges.
To sum up, the value of short and simple messages cannot be overstated. It motivates us to
communicate more efficiently effectively ensuring proper reception and response to further
anybody’s goals making the act of communicating worthwhile and meaningful in any given
situation.