Scribd
Upload
225 views3 pages

In Out Basket

1. A telegram from the president of Erb Drug Company states that a recent shipment of prescription containers did not meet specifications and requests immediate cancellation of the remainder of the order until adjustments are made. 2. A phone message from the Offset Printing Company states that page proofs for an upcoming management conference are ready for review as printing must start by tomorrow morning to ensure programs are ready on time. 3. An interplant memo requests a power outage this weekend to replace transformers but acknowledges this may not be possible given priorities and time constraints.

Uploaded by

aswini4u
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
225 views3 pages

In Out Basket

1. A telegram from the president of Erb Drug Company states that a recent shipment of prescription containers did not meet specifications and requests immediate cancellation of the remainder of the order until adjustments are made. 2. A phone message from the Offset Printing Company states that page proofs for an upcoming management conference are ready for review as printing must start by tomorrow morning to ensure programs are ready on time. 3. An interplant memo requests a power outage this weekend to replace transformers but acknowledges this may not be possible given priorities and time constraints.

Uploaded by

aswini4u
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

An In-Basket Exercise

Assignment

Many companies are finding the in-basket method to be quite useful in management training
sessions. Although similar to the case method, the in-basket method places the participants
under more pressure by requiring them to make a series of decisions according to priority and
under the pressure of time. The following is an abbreviated in-basket exercise that will serve to
illustrate what this type of management development method is like. (A regular exercise would
contain from 10 to 15 items.)

For each of the following four messages you are to write an explanatory paragraph answering
the following questions:
o How (what form of communication: phone call, telegram, etc.)
o To whom specifically (you or another specified individual) would you dispose of each
of the four communications
o What would be your specific instructions if you assigned the task to someone else or
exactly what you would do if you handled it yourself.

Remember that you must leave for the airport by 4:00 p.m. and that you will be with the
visiting team and away from your desk during the next two days. Please identify your
priorities by numbering the explanatory paragraphs from 1-4, with 1 being the first item
you would handle and 4 being the last. Each of the four communications/messages
requires a minimum of one to two explanatory paragraphs. Your paragraphs will identify
the communication message and state your plan of action regarding the
communication/message.

In-Basket Exercise

Assume you are Douglas Grey, manager of the Lakeview Plant of the Ace Plastics
Corporation. It is 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15. You have been tied up most of the morning
in an executive committee meeting making final arrangements for the annual plant inspection
that is to be conducted by a visiting group of corporate officers from company headquarters.
Conferences with members of this team will occupy virtually all of your time for the next two
days. The team will be arriving at 5:00 p.m. and you must leave the office by 4:00 p.m. so that
you can be sure of being at the airport in time to meet them. While you were in conference, the
morning mail was placed on your desk along with the interoffice memos and notices of phone
calls which follow. Your secretary has placed them at the top of the files of communications
because they appear to be the most urgent ones. Read them carefully and then answer as
requested in a one paragraph statement.

NOTE: In your answer to Interplant Memo 1, you cannot request another time for the
power outage nor use an emergency generator.
Communications/Messages

Telegram - 2 Tues., Oct. 15


10:45 a.m.

Mr. Douglas Grey


Plant Manager
Ace Plastic Corporation

A number of the prescription containers in your


last shipment did not meet our specifications.
We request immediate cancellation of
remainder of order until you make satisfactory
adjustments.

J.L. Erb, President


Erb Drug Company

Phone Call - 3

Tues., Oct. 15
noon

Offset Printing Company called while you were out.


( ) will call back
(x ) please call

Message: The page proofs for the Lakeview


Management Club Conference a week from
Saturday are ready for checking. Since you are the
Conference Chairperson, they would like to take a
look at the proofs as soon as possible. They wanted
me to be sure and remind you that if the programs
are to be ready on time, the print must start no later
than tomorrow morning.
Telegram

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy