As your work progresses for this class, you will need background information on non-profit organizations, SWOT analyses, and organizational roles. This background material will be reported in brief memos (no longer than one page) that demonstrate your clear understanding of each topic, and they will be formatted using a standard memo format (see below), and with a clear understanding of the audience for whom they are written.

A memo has a highly specific audience. For the four memos assigned below, you must provide a separate cover sheet that briefly describes your audience. Note that the first three memos are addressed to the same audience; by the third memo, you will have created a crisp, clear definition of the audience for whom you write.

Task #1: Identifying the Writer’s Roles
Writers play various roles, and it's important to be conscious of those roles as you write. Which of your roles listed below seem to conflict the most as you write the letter? In a brief paragraph, summarize the difficulties you will face in playing both roles. The paragraph should be clear, complete, grammatical, and mechanically sound.

• teaching/informing
• persuading
• expressing personal feelings/beliefs
• judging
• researching (or reporting research)
• team-building

Task #2: Assessing the Reader
Respond to each of the questions below in one or two sentences. The sentences should be clear, complete, grammatical, and mechanically sound.

• Who are the audiences/readers for this writing? How well do you know them?
• What is your relationship to the audience (subordinate, peer, superior, mixed)?
• How do they probably view you in this writing situation (expert, non-expert, insider/outsider, colleague/usurper, neutral)?
• What level of expertise do your readers have?
• Do readers understand the specialized terminology connected to your memo?
• What is the readers' disposition (acceptance, eagerness, indifference, distaste, resistance)?
• Will readers absorb the information quickly?

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The four assignnments below are each worth 25 points:

1. What is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis? In a one-page memo, provide a succinct definition of this basic business tool. Include a brief footnote that shows sources for your information. Begin your work by consulting:
   • Wikipedia
     
   • Management Sciences for Health.
   DUE: 17 January
   
   
2. Describe the relative size and importance of the non-profit sector in the United States. In a one-page memo, compare/contrast it to the other sectors of the economy. Include a brief footnote that shows sources for your information. Begin your work by consulting:
   • The United States Nonprofit Sector report from The National Council of Nonprofit Associations.
   DUE: 12 February
   
   
3. In a one-age memo, describe the role of a program officer in a foundation or other charitable organization. Include a brief footnote that shows sources for your information.
   DUE 12 March
   
   
4. Business writers need to read in the discipline of business. A useful and respected online source for business information is the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Begin this assignment by clicking on Knowledge at Wharton and subscribing (free) in the box on the page's upper right corner. You will read this newsletter as it regularly arrives to your email, and your final one-page memo will summarize a piece from the newsletter that you found especially interesting.
   DUE: 2 April

Formatting Requirements

Visit Memo Writing at the Purdue Online Writing Laboratory (OWL). The "Professional Memo" available within Microsoft Word is a handy tool. Go to File>Open>Professional Memo.