Business Communication

Memorandum

TO: John Smith

FROM: Ed Hardy

DATE: January 29, 2013

SUBJECT: DePuy Hip Recall Notice Analysis

On August 24th, 2010 DePuy Orthopedics Inc. issued a voluntary recall notice of their ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing systems. Since the original notice there have been many follow-ups to the notice in the form of new reports, websites, and follow up statements by DePuy. Between these sources they have created a co-constructed message. I have chosen to analyze these messages for their style and overall effectiveness.

DePuy uses a business letter format as its medium for sending its message. This is the most logical choice as a recall requires a high level of formality. A business letter allows the message to be distributed to a wide array of people and creates a reference for the future. Another facet of a business letter is it puts a name to the statement rather than a blanket address from a company. In this case, the owner of the document is Dr. Pamela L. Plouhar. A different medium was used by the Lieff Cabraser law firm in covering the recall and subsequent suits. They used a website using a blog type format since it would allow them to pull together the wide amount of information including videos, FAQs, and much more. I believe this works best as there are always new developments and makes more sense to update a blog than issue new memos or letters every time.

Openings and organization are critical elements to a business letter. DePuy uses a problem statement methodology that gives us perspective on what has lead up to the problem. However, the recall its self is not mentioned until the 4th segment. I believe this is done to lead up to the recall issuance and soften the blow. Conversely, the New York Times article covering the recall mentions it immediately, and then uses that opening to expand on the topic. This is done since the target audience of the article is already aware of the recall through the heading. A cause...