Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

To my ear the differences are mostly in tone, not content.

The tone of "Please let her bring me the layouts," is that the person
being spoken to has some level of control over who will deliver the
layouts, whether the layouts will be delivered at all, or what person
they will be delivered to. The speaker is requesting a particular
outcome: that -she- bring  them, that they be brought (as opposed to
sent, perhaps, or picked up,) or that they be brought -to [me]-
(perhaps as opposed to -to Joe- or -to the receptionist-.)  It's a
request for compliance from a position of supplication.

A context where I would expect to hear this usage is one where who
delivers the layouts is important; "I need to go over the presentation
with Sheila. Please have her bring me the layouts."

"Please make her bring me the layouts," on the other hand, is a
request for enforcement from a position of entitlement. The tone is
that if the person addressed does not compel her to "bring me the
layouts" they will not be brought.  Again, the compulsion could be to
-bring- them at all, or to bring them -to [me]-.

A common usage: "I need that account that Vickie's been working on,
and she's not returning my calls. Please make her bring me the
layouts."

"Please have her bring me the layouts," is neutral in tone for the
most part, although it does still cary the implication that [her] is
someone who is subordinate to the person addressed.

This is the one that would be most commonly used when the statement is
made to a person who is subordinate to both the speaker and [her], as
would happen in a partnership with one partner asking a secretary to
pass the request on to a junior partner or associate. "Sarah, would
you please call Mrs. Williams about the Lawry account and have her
bring me the layouts?"  

= allow

= force

= assign

Adrian