| Course | MT140 Introduction to Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Team communication brief |
| Length | About 770 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT140 Unit 8
Wrong Backdrop, Wrong Package: A Unit 8 Team Communication Brief for Picture-Day Crews
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT140: Introduction to Management
Unit 8 Team Communication Brief
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Larkspur School Portraits, its crews, schools and every figure are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
To: All Photographers and Scheduling Staff
From: Field Operations Supervisor
The Problem
About one school a week this fall, a photographer arrived with the wrong backdrop or the wrong package flyer because the school had changed its order and the change never reached the photographer. Each case ended with a free retake day or a discount, and three principals complained to the owner.
Each case costs more than the discount. A wrong backdrop at a high school means seniors photographed against blue when the yearbook staff asked for gray, and the yearbook deadline does not move. A wrong package flyer means families order something the school did not approve, and the lab has to reprint or refund every order. Principals remember these mornings when their contracts come up for renewal.
How Changes Travel Now
When a school changes its order, the school's secretary emails or calls the account manager. The account manager tells the scheduling desk, sometimes by email and sometimes in passing. The scheduling desk updates the order system but does not always update the job sheet photographers print the night before. Sometimes a scheduler texts the photographer, and sometimes the photographer sees the change only after arriving.
Why It Breaks
In communication terms, the message passes through a serial chain with no confirmation at any step. Shannon and Weaver (1949) described communication as a sender, a channel, a receiver and noise that distorts the message along the way, and every extra link adds noise. Here, changes pass through three or four people, by three different channels, and nobody confirms that the photographer received them.
The channel is also too lean for the message. Daft and Lengel (1986) matched channels to messages: an unclear or emotional message needs a channel that carries tone and allows questions, while a plain fact travels well in writing. A backdrop change is routine, so a written channel is fine, but only if it is one fixed channel that everyone checks.
Finally, the field and scheduling teams behave like two separate groups. Tuckman (1965) described teams moving through forming, storming, norming and performing. Each team has its own norms, but the two have never formed norms together, because they rarely meet.
The result is that each group blames the other. Photographers say scheduling never tells them anything. Schedulers say photographers never read the job sheet. Both are partly right, and neither group can fix the problem alone, because the change passes through both of them.
The fix therefore has to be shared, with one step owned by each group, rather than a new rule handed from one team to the other.
The Change
Starting next Monday, every school will have one job card in the order system, and it is the only source for backdrop, package and timing. Account managers will enter every change on the job card themselves, the same day they hear it. No change by email or text counts until it is on the card.
The night before each picture day, the scheduler on duty will call the photographer for two minutes to read the card's three key items aloud: backdrop, package and start time. The photographer will repeat them back. If anything on the card changed in the last forty-eight hours, the scheduler will say so first.
Once a month, the field and scheduling teams will meet for fifteen minutes to review any case where the card was wrong.
A change counts when it is on the job card, not when someone has mentioned it.
What Each Person Does
Account managers enter changes on the job card the same day. Schedulers make the night-before call and note it on the card. Photographers repeat back the three items and call the scheduler at once if the school's setup does not match the card.
How We Will Know
We will count the number of picture days with a backdrop or package error. The target is no more than one a month by November. If errors continue, we will review the cards involved at the monthly meeting and find where the change was lost.
Schedulers will log each night-before call on the job card, so we can also see whether any error happened after a confirmed call, which would point to a problem on site rather than in the handoff.
References
Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554-571. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press.
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-399. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0022100
Reading the MT 140 Unit 8 instructions
The eighth unit usually asks you to analyze a communication problem within or between teams and write a brief that fixes it. A brief is a short, practical document aimed at the crew members expected to change their routine, so it should read differently from an essay. Most prompts want three parts: what went wrong and what it cost, why it happened in terms of communication or team concepts, and what will change, with who does what. The analysis can draw on models of the communication process, channel richness or team development, depending on your readings. Keep the language plain and the sections short, since staff will read it between tasks. A short measure of whether the change works is expected in many sections. Citations still matter for the assignment, either in text or on a separate references page in APA 7. Length is usually two or three pages.
How the MT 140 Unit 8 example is put together
The brief opens with a memo heading addressed to all photographers and scheduling staff, then states the problem in a sentence the field team will recognize. It adds the cost: seniors shot against blue when the yearbook wanted gray, and families ordering packages the school dropped. The next section follows a change through four people with no confirmation at any step. The analysis then applies three ideas in order, the noise that builds up along a chain, the reasoning that a routine fact needs a written record, and Tuckman's point that two groups who seldom meet never settle shared habits. A short paragraph notes that each side blames the other and both are partly right. The change section makes the job card the only source and adds a read-back call. A role list and a monthly fifteen-minute review close the brief.
Where the points sit in the MT140 Unit 8 rubric
Points on this brief usually depend on whether the analysis explains the breakdown and whether the fix follows from it. Naming a communication model earns credit only when it identifies where this message was lost, as the serial chain argument does here. The brief should match its audience, so plain headings, short paragraphs and direct instructions score better than academic prose. Each group needs a specific action, and a fix shared between teams usually reads as fairer than a rule one team imposes on another. Graders often look for a measure, such as backdrop and package errors per month, and for a way to learn from failures after the change. Sources should be cited in a way that suits the format, with Shannon and Weaver, Daft and Lengel, and Tuckman listed on the APA 7 reference page.
Common MT140 Unit 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most frequent issue with communication briefs is writing them as essays, with long paragraphs and theory up front, when the reader is a busy team. Another is blaming one group without showing where the message actually broke. Some briefs announce a new tool or rule but never say who uses it or when. Others skip the cost of the problem, which leaves readers wondering why they should change anything. Be wary of fixes that add more email, since an extra message in the same weak channel rarely helps. If you caused part of the breakdown yourself, placing your own step in the chain plainly makes the brief more credible. Our team can help you map how the message traveled, choose the concepts that explain the break and draft a brief your coworkers would actually follow, with citations handled correctly.
Get an MT140 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
If a message keeps getting lost on your team, say what it is, who sends it and who should receive it, then add the Unit 8 instructions with their rubric. Written for that team's real audience, the brief traces the breakdown and proposes a routine, returning within 24-48h. The first custom sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT140 Unit 8 questions, answered
Who should the brief be addressed to?
The prompt may name a reader; if it does not, address the team whose behavior has to change. Addressing the people who will act on it forces plain language and short blocks, which most rubrics for this genre reward. If your section wants the brief sent upward to a manager instead, the analysis stays the same but the proposal needs a cost line.
Does the brief need citations if it goes to staff?
For the assignment, usually yes. A real team brief would not carry references, but your instructor still needs to see the course concepts sourced. A short reference note beneath the brief, or a separate references page, handles that without cluttering the text staff would read. Check whether your section prefers APA in-text citations as well.
Can the breakdown be one I caused?
Yes, and owning it can make the brief more credible. Describe the message path factually and place yourself in it like anyone else. The point is where the path failed, not who was at fault, and a writer who treats their own link as fairly as the others shows the kind of judgment Unit 8 prompts reward.
Where can I find a free MT140 Unit 8 sample paper?
This page carries a complete MT140 Unit 8 team communication brief for a portrait company's field and scheduling staff. It maps the message chain, applies three real sources and replaces informal handoffs with a job card and a read-back call.
Why does the sample add a phone call if the job card is in writing?
The card fixes the record, and the call confirms the photographer has read it. Repeating the backdrop, package and start time aloud the night before catches a late change while there is still time to load the right equipment.