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<Do your job to the best of your ability. That's what you are paid
<for. What you AREN'T paid for is to approve/disapprove what
<management wants.
<Why don't you wait until you come up with a reason why it is bad and
<then speak with YOUR management, not just assume it is.
Actually, I have spoke with management about it. They agreed with me, but
the president insists on her approval/proofing. She is a very detailed
person so that is the only positive aspect I can come up with, and, of
course, fresh eyes.
The reason I think it is bad is because it slows down the process of
review. By the time the software is done, the manuals are still in the
hands of the exec. asst. She is very bogged down.
We are in the process of creating a style guide for the company. The first
manual she proofed of mine, she suggested that I change the left
justification to full justification except the text next to graphics. My
boss of our division asked me why I preferred left justification, and is
business correspondence standards separate from technical writing. I
recently submitted a report justifiying (!) my background, my degree, the
opinion of the technical writers in this company as a group, and I also
included references from other sources to prove that I wasn't just picking
style and justification because I think it is pretty.
Yes, you are right - she does represent the vice president. As to what
issues that could come up in the manual that I don't know about, I am not
sure. From what I understand, the vice president and president are more
involved in sales than the technical subject matter of the software?
Tina Dean
=^.^=
*
John Posada
<jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent by: cc:
bounce-techwr-l-81152 -at- lists -dot- r Subject: Re: Secretary Proofing Manuals?
aycomm.com
10/24/2001 04:20 PM
Please respond to John Posada
> In fact, we have to start including her in our style meetings as
> well. Am I just being egotistical?
Yes, you are
> The executive assistant doesn't have any control over the software
> so why
> should she have any control over the manuals? They are products
> just as well.
The executive assistant is the eyes of the executive. She might be
instructed to watch out for issues that you have no interest in and
maybe no uthorization to be aware of.
The executive she represents might be too busy to have his/her hands
in everything, but still want to know about them. Sometimes there are
issues bigger than the document and bigger than you (or I) are
allowed to be in on.
Do your job to the best of your ability. That's what you are paid
for. What you AREN'T paid for is to approve/disapprove what
management wants.
Why don't you wait until you come up with a reason why it is bad and
then speak with YOUR management, not just assume it is.
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