| Course | HLTH 8392 The Language of Leadership |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 5 |
| Paper type | Message design |
| Length | About 770 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | PhD in Public Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HLTH 8392 Week 5
Message Design: A Director's Announcement of a Mandatory Weekend Rotation for Outbreak Response, Drafted First and Then Defended Against O'Keefe's Three Message Design Logics, Reaching the Rhetorical Logic Without Disguising the Requirement
Student Name
Walden University
HLTH 8392: The Language of Leadership
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Message Design: A Director's Announcement of a Mandatory Weekend Rotation for Outbreak Response, Drafted First and Then Defended Against O'Keefe's Three Message Design Logics, Reaching the Rhetorical Logic Without Disguising the Requirement
The Announcement
The following message, written for a county health department that exists only in this paper, announces a requirement staff will not welcome.
"Subject: Weekend outbreak rotation begins March 1
Starting March 1, every epidemiologist, public health nurse and disease investigator will take a turn on a weekend outbreak rotation, about one weekend in eight. This is a requirement, not a request.
Here is why. Over the past year, four outbreaks began on a Friday or Saturday. In two of them, we did not start interviewing cases until Monday, and in one, a second wave of illness followed that faster contact might have prevented. Weekend coverage by volunteers has worked when we were lucky and failed when we were not.
Here is what it will look like. You will be on call from Friday at 5 p.m. to Monday at 8 a.m., with a department phone and laptop. Most weekends will bring no calls. If you are called in, you will receive compensatory time at one and a half hours for each hour worked, and the following Monday off if you work more than four hours. You can trade weekends with a colleague through the scheduling system.
Here is what we are still deciding with you. The rotation schedule, how trades work and what counts as an emergency are open. A working group of six staff, chosen by each unit, will meet twice before March 1 to settle these. If you have a reason a weekend rotation would be especially hard for you, such as caregiving or a second job, tell your supervisor by February 10 so we can plan around it.
I know this asks a lot. I will take the first weekend myself."
O'Keefe's Three Logics
O'Keefe (1988) described three message design logics, different beliefs about how communication works that lead people to write different kinds of messages. An expressive logic treats a message as a way to say what one thinks and feels; its messages are literal and reactive. A conventional logic treats communication as a game played by social rules; its messages invoke roles, obligations and the right forms for the situation. A rhetorical logic treats communication as a way of creating situations and selves; its messages redefine the context so that goals that might seem to conflict can be reconciled.
Why the Draft Reaches the Rhetorical Logic
An expressive version would simply state the director's frustration: "Weekend coverage has been unacceptable, and that changes now." A conventional version would invoke authority and policy: "Per department policy, all designated staff are required to participate in the weekend rotation." Both state the requirement. Neither gives staff a way to see it as anything but an imposition.
The draft does three rhetorical things. It redefines the requirement as a response to a shared problem, cases not interviewed until Monday and a second wave that faster contact might have prevented, which staff care about. It separates what is fixed from what is open, so that staff gain real influence over how the rotation works without gaining the option to refuse it. And it reframes the director's own role, from someone imposing a burden to someone sharing it, by taking the first weekend.
Why the Requirement Comes First
The rhetorical logic is sometimes mistaken for softening. The draft states "This is a requirement, not a request" in its first paragraph. A message that buried the requirement under reasons would invite staff to treat it as optional, and those who later learned it was not would feel misled. Fairhurst and Sarr (1996) noted that framing works through credibility as well as content; a leader who disguises a requirement spends credibility she will need later. Stating it plainly, then explaining and opening the details, keeps the frame honest.
Where the Draft Could Still Fail
The compensatory time terms may not satisfy staff with caregiving duties, for whom time off on Monday does not solve a missed weekend. The working group could be seen as token if its decisions are overruled. And the phrase "Most weekends will bring no calls" is a prediction; if the first month brings many calls, the director will need to acknowledge it.
Timing
The draft gives staff about a month before the rotation begins and three weeks to raise hardships. Gioia and Chittipeddi (1991) described sensegiving as shaping how others understand a change before they form their own interpretation; announcing early, with open questions, leaves room for that.
References
Fairhurst, G. T., & Sarr, R. A. (1996). The art of framing: Managing the language of leadership. Jossey-Bass.
Gioia, D. A., & Chittipeddi, K. (1991). Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation. Strategic Management Journal, 12(6), 433-448. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250120604
O'Keefe, B. J. (1988). The logic of message design: Individual differences in reasoning about communication. Communication Monographs, 55(1), 80-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637758809376159
The Walden HLTH 8392 Week 5 instructions
Students draft a leadership message on a difficult subject and then defend its design. The draft should be complete enough to send. The defense should use a framework from the readings, such as message design logics, to explain the choices made and the alternatives rejected. Faculty expect honesty about requirements and constraints; a message that disguises an obligation as an invitation will be marked down. The paper should acknowledge where the message might still fail. The draft plus a defense of about three to four pages is typical. Comparing the draft with plausible expressive and conventional versions makes the defense concrete.
How this HLTH 8392 Week 5 example is built
The paper opens with the full announcement: the requirement, the reason drawn from four weekend outbreaks, the on-call and compensatory time terms, the working group and the hardship deadline, and the director's offer to take the first weekend. A section explains O'Keefe's expressive, conventional and rhetorical logics. A section shows what expressive and conventional versions would say and how the draft goes further by redefining the requirement, separating fixed from open questions and reframing the director's role. A section defends stating the requirement first, citing Fairhurst and Sarr on credibility. A section names three ways the draft could fail. A short section on timing cites Gioia and Chittipeddi on sensegiving before staff form their own interpretation.
Reading the HLTH 8392 Week 5 rubric
Message design papers are graded on both the draft and the defense. A draft that would confuse or mislead its audience undermines any defense. The rubric rewards a message that states requirements plainly, explains reasons in terms the audience cares about and gives real influence where influence is possible. The defense should use the framework accurately, comparing the draft with plausible alternatives. Faculty value candor about the draft's weaknesses. Attention to timing and to the leader's own role shows depth. A clean draft and a clear defense together earn the strongest marks. Explaining the timing of the announcement, and how much notice staff receive, adds a dimension many drafts overlook.
HLTH 8392 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
Message design assignments often produce drafts that bury the requirement under reasons or soften it into a request. Staff notice, and trust suffers. Others write a defense that praises the draft without comparing it to alternatives. To write a stronger paper, put the requirement in the first paragraph. Give the reason in the audience's terms. Separate what is decided from what is open, and make the open part real. Show what other logics would have produced. Name where your message could still fail. Compare your draft with how an expressive or a conventional writer would have handled the same requirement, and say what each version would cost in trust. We can draft a hard announcement and its defense for a situation you are facing.
Get a HLTH 8392 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Share the Week 5 prompt and rubric, plus the situation the announcement must address and everyone it must reach; you get the message drafted and its wording defended, back in 24 to 48 hours with the first one free. A word ceiling on the announcement, or a named design model, shapes both parts of the draft.
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HLTH 8392 Week 5 questions, answered
Does the announcement count toward the page limit?
Check your prompt; sections differ. Many count the rationale only and treat the message as an exhibit, while others count everything. The sample keeps the announcement well under a page so it fits either way. If space is tight, move rejected drafts to an appendix, which preserves the evidence of choice without crowding your argument.
Why mention the requirement in the first sentence?
Because staff will look for it first, and delaying it reads as evasion once they find it. The sample defends that choice with O'Keefe's rhetorical logic: the aim is to redefine the situation honestly, not to manage perceptions. Your own message may place it differently, provided your rationale explains why the placement serves the audience.
What are message design logics?
Barbara O'Keefe proposed that people hold different implicit theories of what communication is for. Expressive logic treats a message as a vehicle for feelings, conventional logic as a move governed by social rules, and rhetorical logic as a way to create a shared definition of the situation. Your rationale can use them to classify drafts and justify revisions.
Where can I find a free HLTH 8392 Week 5 sample paper?
The full Week 5 message design paper is on this page, with a complete announcement of a mandatory weekend outbreak rotation and a defense using O'Keefe's message design logics, citing three references.
How does the draft reach the rhetorical logic?
By redefining the requirement as a response to a shared problem, cases not interviewed until Monday, by giving staff real say over how the rotation works, and by reframing the director as sharing the burden.