Tampa Group
Memo
To:
Dr. Cynthia Patterson
From:
Candas Aksoy, Nathalia Barbosa, Tatiana Borja, Matthew King, and Derek
Sears
Date:
May 31, 2008
Subject:
Tampa Group’s proposal for Engineering Matrix, Inc. project
The Tampa Group, consisting of Candas Aksoy, a civil engineering major; Nathalia
Barbosa, a chemical engineering major; Tatiana Borja, an industrial engineering
major; Matthew King, an Information Technology major; and Derek Sears, an
electrical engineering major, have agreed on conducting their Workplace
Ethnography Project at Engineering Matrix, Inc. located at 2860 Scherer Drive Suite
640, St. Petersburg, FL 33716.
The team thinks this is a great opportunity and request permission to conduct the
research based on the following:
Background:
Engineering Matrix, Inc. is an experienced and proven engineering firm that has
solidified its spot in the community through their projects. Each member of the
Tampa Group feels he or she would benefit greatly from the opportunity to interview
and shadow five of your employees. Because of our group members’ wide range of
educational focus, Engineering Matrix, Inc. seems to be a perfect fit for our group to
1
perform its study. According to their website, Engineering Matrix's expertises in the
following areas compliment those our group members intend to pursue.1

Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing

Fire Protection

Telecommunications

Security Systems

Construction Phase Administration

Consulting Services
The Tampa Group will be interviewing five of the company's employees as listed
below:

Anita Crosby - Chemical Engineer interviewed by Nathalia Barbosa

Mellissa Harman - Structural Engineer interviewed by Candas Aksoy

Greg Bowen - Mechanical Engineer interviewed by Derek Sears

Scott Renner - Electrical Engineer interviewed by Matthew King

Josh Wides - Electrical Designer interviewed by Tatiana Borja
All Engineering Matrix employees may be contacted at (727) 573-4656 or e-mailed
at email@engmtx.com. Unfortunately, more information about their biographies was
not available.
Scope:
The Tampa Group would like to investigate the type of correspondence used inside
Engineering Matrix Inc. We would like to study how is the company performing daily
tasks while maintaining the necessary communication among all of its employees.
1
Engineering Matrix, Inc. (2008). Engineering Matrix Services. Retrieved May 31, 2008,
from http://www.engmtx.com/services.php
 Page 2
We will be looking for possible problems or communication insufficiencies, and the
effect of those in the company's performance. To complete this project, we will use
several primary and secondary resources such as face-to-face interviews. In
addition, with the company's permission, we will use databases available at the
company and other resources such as the internet. We will search for relevant
forums and meetings to read and potentially attend.
Project Team:
Matthew King graduated from Tallahassee Community College in December 2002
with an Associates Degree in Computer Programming, and is currently attending the
University of South Florida to obtain a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology.
Upon graduation in December 2009, he intends to obtain a Masters Degree in
Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Matthew currently
works as an Applications Programmer/Systems Analyst and Database Administrator
for the City of Tampa's Water department. He as also been in the United States
Navy both active duty and reserve since 1990 working as a Systems Administrator
and Operations Specialist. His career and education has allowed him to gain a
substantial amount of experience in a wide array of IT related fields including
windows, web and database development, systems administration and analysis,
project management and networking. In addition, his experience in the military
allows him to hone his leadership, training and presentation experience.
Contact Info: e-mail: mlking4@mail.usf.edu, Phone: (813) 464-9467
Derek Sears is a full time student and currently attends the University of South
Florida, working towards his Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering. After
graduation, anticipated to be fall of 2011, he intends to start graduate work in the
 Page 3
Electrical Engineering field. Upon completion of school, he hopes to bring his
knowledge, experience and education to use in the marine industry.
Contact Info: e-mail: dsears@mail.usf.edu, Phone: (727) 480-7920
Tatiana Borja currently attends the University of South Florida and is seeking a
Bachelors Degree in Industrial Engineering.
Contact Info: e-mail: tborja@mail.usf.edu
Nathalia Barbosa currently attends the University of South Florida and is seeking a
Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering. She intends to graduate in August of
this year, and because of her major, she will be best suited to interview Anita
Crosby, another chemical engineer. She is currently working as an office assistant,
and her daily tasks include keeping track of every email, invoice and general types of
documents that are related to the company's activities. She can provide the group
excellent organization skills to keep track of every step in this field study.
Contact Info: e-mail: nbarbos2@mail.usf.edu
Candas Aksoy graduated from St. Petersburg College in December 2007 with his
Associate’s Degree in Engineering, and he is currently attending to the University of
South Florida to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. He started his
educational career in the Republic of Turkey, where he was involved with several
constructional projects as an engineer assistant and an intern. In January of 2006,
he moved to the United States to complete his education and since has been a fulltime student. He has a significant amount of experience in building inspection, cost
estimating, field engineering, and CAD drawing. His educational and practical
knowledge will allow him to succeed in this assignment properly.
Contact Info: e-mail: caksoy@mail.usf.edu, Phone: (813)-909-5086
 Page 4
Procedures/Duties:
Matthew King will track the progress of the other group members as well as interview
and shadow the Electrical Engineer Scott Renner.
Derek Sears will be the liaison between Tampa Group and Engineering Matrix, Inc.
He will interview and shadow the Mechanical Engineer and Principle Greg Bowen.
Candas Aksoy will organize group meetings before and after the group interviews
assigned employees. He will interview and shadow the Industrial Engineer Mellissa
Harman.
Tatiana Borja will create and format the group presentation based on information
from the interviews and other resources. She will interview and shadow the
Electrical Designer Josh Wides.
Nathalia Barbosa will track the groups’ e-mails and documents relating to the project.
She will interview and shadow the Chemical Engineer and Principle Anita Crosby.
Group Contract:
The “Tampa Group”
WORKPLACE
ETHNOGRAPHY AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into by and among the members of
the Tampa Group, which include DEREK SEARS, dsears@mail.usf.edu, NATALIA
BARBOSA, nbarbos2@mail.usf.edu, TATIANA BORJA, tborja@mail.usf.edu,
CANDAS AKSOY, caksoy@mail.usf.edu, and MATTHEW KING,
mlking4@mail.usf.edu.
 Page 5
Communications for Engineers collaborative field project requires the following five
requirements:

Proposal Memo

Interview

Observation Report

Analysis Essay

Research Presentation
Each member of the “Tampa Group” is required to complete a 3-hour visit with the
company to include:

Informational Interviews

Shadow Company Contacts

Collect Workplace Documents
The following points will govern the group’s actions:
 Page 6

Group decisions are made by consensus, satisfaction will be accomplished by the
efforts put forth by every individual in the group.

Below are the primary roles for each group member with assistance from other
members as needed/required:

Group Leader: Matthew King

Workplace Liaison: Derek Sears

Facilitator: Candas Aksoy

Record Keeper: Nathalia Barbosa

Word Processor: Tatiana Borja

Each individual group member is responsible for his/her role in completing the
collaborative field project. Members are required to attend mutually agreed
scheduled group meetings. Group papers require equal input and effort from all
members. If a member fails to meet group expectations, penalties will incur.

Conflicts or disagreements among group members will be made known to all
group members. The conflict will be discussed openly, calmly, and professionally
among the presence of the entire group until a solution has been reached that
satisfies all parties.

Penalties accrued are as followed:

To ensure full participation and equal contribution, the four other members
based on a five-point scale will evaluate each member. The average of four
evaluations will be taken into account in order to determine the final points for
an individual.

5= Excellent, 4=Good, 3= Fair, 2= Poor, 1= No show up.

A 5 average means the individual will get the full credit assigned by the
instructor. 4 means the individual will get 90% of the grade assigned by the
instructor. 3 means the individual will get 75% percent of the grade assigned
by the instructor. 2 means the individual will get 60% of the grade assigned
by the instructor and 1 means the individual will get 45% percent of the grade
assigned by the instructor.

If a member drops the course anytime, the rest of the members will take
responsibility in finishing that member's tasks and ensure its completion.
Members of "Tampa Group" recognize the group agreement will be in effect as of May 24,
2008.
Date
May 30, 2008
June 7, 2008
June 12, 2008
June 28, 2008
July 5, 2008
Schedule of Events
Event
Meeting 1 - Create Proposal Memo and Group Contract
Meeting 2 - Progress check
Meeting 3 - Go over goals for interview and shadowing
Interview and shadow employees at Engineering Matrix, Inc.
Meeting 4 - Create presentation, analysis essay and observation report.
Conclusion:
The Tampa Group hopes that you will accept our proposal to create the document that
we have described. We will be happy to provide any additional material that would help
you in making your decision; thank you for your time.
 Page 7