BUSINESS WRITING

MODULE 7

English Communication
What is a memo?

What is it used for?

Can you recall its functions?

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 MEMO
A memo is short for Memorandum. It is
one of the most used means of official
communication in the business world. Its
main purpose is to serve as a reminder
or to give some instructions. Again,
these like circulars are a means of mass
communication, i.e., to communicate
with a large number of people within the
organization.

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 MEMO
Memos are often used to convey
information within an organization, but
they are also used to communicate with
people outside the organization, such as
suppliers, distributors, and, sometimes,
customers.

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 FUNCTIONS
• To provide information

• To issue an instruction

• To convey a policy decision

• To offer suggestions

• To record/report an agreement

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 MEMO
Memos tend to be less formal than letters. Memos
should communicate business information in an
organized, concise format. Even so, their length and
degree of formality depend in part on the purpose of
the memo, the amount of information to convey, and
the intended audience. Thus, a memo reporting
financial information to the chief executive officer
would be more formal and probably longer than a
memo to employees about the company picnic. A
variety of memo styles can be used. One style is
illustrated by this memo, which is informational.

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 MEMO

1. Use the first paragraph to state the purpose of the memo.

2. Use the second paragraph to provide major details of a proposal or
major reasons for a decision or suggestion, or to indicate why you
agree or disagree with a proposal or idea.
3. Use the third paragraph for minor details.
4. In a long memo, you may want to end by again stating your position
on the subject.

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ACTIVITY
The General Manager of
Comfort Home Appliances
Ltd, Kolkata, is worried about
the wastage of stationery in
almost all sections of the
company. Draft a memo to be
signed by him and sent to all
Sectional Heads, asking them
to identify the reasons behind
such wastage. Also advise the
employees under their control
to restrain from such
wastage.
COVER LETTERS
• Purpose

• Format

• Samples

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PURPOSE:
A covering letter serves the purpose of creating the necessary
background to any submission. It also indicates the origin of the
submission by specifying the authorization for a study or project.

Any document in the form of a proposal, a questionnaire, a résumé,

or a report should be accompanied with a covering letter. The
receiver decides if he/she should read the accompanied

document right then or later based on the cover letter. Thus, the
covering letter offers a first impression to the reader and must be
written with care.

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EXAMPLES:
A common example of a covering letter is that accompanying a résumé,
together forming a job application. This type of covering letter should
complement the résumé. Since the employer is inundated with a lot of letters
and résumés, the cover letter should be written in such a way that it impresses
the selection panel.

Covering letters must be planned and executed well, ensuring that they are to -
the-point and free of typographical and grammatical flaws. However, these
days the importance of covering letters is reducing; sometimes a very brief
letter informing the recipient that the document has been submitted suffices.

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Academic and Business Cover Letters
• An academic cover letter accompanies the documents
written for an academic job, such as a proposals,
questionnaire, reports, or job in a university.
• Business cover letters accompany the documents
related to the industry, such as job description, salary
statements, reports, etc. The document submission is
incomplete without the cover letters.
• At the basic level, both the letters serve the same
purpose, but they differ in their content. One cannot
write the same cover letter for academic and business
purposes.
• In an academic cover letter, the focus is on education,
research, publication, and teaching. Write in simple
and grammatically correct English.
• While writing a business cover letter, one needs to take
additional care of the format, structure, font, tone, etc.
Remember the following points:
• Give complete information
• Be precise
• Be polite
Writing the Cover Letter
The following points must be taken into account:

• The purpose of the document

• The highlights

• The benefits drawn

• The expected response

• A courtesy close

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25
COVER LETTER
THROUGH EMAIL:
SAMPLES
ACTIVITY
Assume that you have the requisite
credentials then draft Job Application
(cover) Letter in response to the following
advertisement:

Safe Insurance Company seeks personable,

college-trained person to manage office of
five employees. People skills and good
communication ability a must. Knowledge
of office procedures and Word processing
essential. Send application within 10 days
to Human Resource Office, P.O. Box 719,
Kanpur.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MESSAGES

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A message can be written for different
purposes. It can be congratulatory, for
cancellation of a ticket, for accepting an
invitation, for breaking bad news, or
informatory. We will discuss the four
broad types of messages here: general
message, positive news, bad news, and
negative message.

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General Message

Any message being conveyed has to be formulated very clearly. It is always better to
have a direct approach of communicating the information rather than using buffer
statements or beating around the bush. For example, ‘All the employees of the
institute are invited to gather in the community hall for high tea and an
entertainment programme on the eve of New Year 2011’.

A general message can be anything from birthday celebration, apology message,

congratulatory message, etc.

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Positive News

Positive news is mainly written to reassure or convey constructive information. It portrays

the positive aspect of an issue and helps in playing down the negative elements. Such
communication helps develop a good relationship between the sender and the recipient.
The following guidelines will help organize the elements of positive news:
• Summarize the main points of the news
• Provide details, clarification, and background
• Present negative elements, if any, as positively as possible, between the positive elements
• Highlight the benefits
• Be courteous and use goodwill ending

A positive message can be a transmittal, confirmation, summary, or clarification. Like for a

general message, while drafting a positive message, it will serve well to be aware of the
purpose, the recipient, the contents to be included, the benefit to the readers, and the
response anticipated.

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Bad News
Though inevitable, we all try to avoid breaking bad news. Since it must be done, a few things one can do
to lighten the effect are as follows. Begin a negative message with a buffer statement. Then state the
bad news along with proof and always conclude on an upbeat and positive note, may be including a
possible solution to the situation.

A neutral opening, followed with by a brief reminder of the positive aspects of the relationship in the past
might constitute an encouraging beginning. Then address the bad experiences and the problems faced,
the possible reasons, if appropriate, and end by expressing desire to continue the good relationship.

Use neutral terms as far as possible when conveying a message. Avoid severe words such as terrible,
bad, regret, unfortunate, and cannot. Always allow the recipient an opportunity to express their views so
that the communication does not end abruptly.

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Negative Message

It is never too difficult to deliver positive or neutral messages, but a negative message needs to be considered
well and worded carefully. Although it is a difficult task, the sooner it is delivered, the better. One may have to
adopt a direct or an indirect approach depending on the situation.

For example, if a researcher has applied for funds for a project to an agency and the agency is not granting the
fund, the agency is expected to inform the candidate about the same at the earliest and in clear words. Often,
conveying a negative message to a known person needs to be handled much more delicately and carefully than
conveying the same to a stranger.

The following points might help drafting a negative message:

• Approach the issue directly rather than covering up.
• Be gentle in delivery. Use of passive voice may sometimes work better. Be tactful and do
not dwell too long on the negative information.
• Provide adequate reasons without sounding apologetic.
• Conclude on a positive note.
• Be sincere in approach.
• Allow the recipients an opportunity to express their views. Do not end the communication abruptly.

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CLAIM LETTERS
POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. View complaints positively.

2. Do not react angrily.
3. Write with politeness and respect.
4. Avoid negative expressions or harsh words.
5. Nor the claiming person or the respondent should use accusing tone or
expression
6. Do not use phrases such as “your request is granted” or “we are granting
your request”.

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Guidelines for a ‘Yes’ reply to a routine claim, request or order:

1. The beginning should state the reason for writing the letter and the main
idea.
2. The middle paragraph should give details of the good news, reaffirm the
guarantee if any, describe the product offered, and explain why the
replacement would satisfy the receiver.
3. The end should draw the reader’s attention to the conditions, if any,
attached to the positive response.
4. The letter should close on a positive note of thanks for the original order
and hopes for continuing good relations with the buyer.

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Guidelines for a ‘No’ reply to a routine claim, request or order:

1. Begin with a paragraph that describes the general situation as context in

which the reader’s request was considered. It should be indicated in a
friendly or neutral tone the reason that led to the negative information or
refusal.
2. Give facts and provide reasons and factors for refusal. Example: the
manufacturer’s instructions have not been followed.
3. The refusal should be mentioned at the end of the same paragraph that
mentions the reason for it. Doing it in a separate paragraph highlights it,
so this should be avoided.
4. At the end seek to maintain good business relations with the reader
suggesting

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 Rewrite these opening sentences of claim and
ACTIVITY: adjustment letters:

(a) We are sorry that we cannot accept the return

of the TV that you bought on August 5.

(b) You are certainly being unfair to us when you

insinuate that we tried to put something over
on you when you bought a defective lamp.

(c) We cannot understand how your records could

have been broken as you claim in your letter of
March 10.

(d) We are surprised to learn that you are already

having trouble with your Cine movie projector.

(e) In answer to your letter expressing

dissatisfaction with your dictating machine, I
wish to state that we stand behind anything
we sell.
ACTIVITY: Revise these statements granting or refusing
adjustments:

(a) Although we are not at fault, we are willing to accept

return of the lampshade.

(b) It is simply impossible for us to grant your

request. Everyone gets the same fair treatment
at Gordon’s.

(c) Since the delay in delivery was not our fault, we cannot
accept the responsibility for your loss.

(d) We shall be willing to exchange the machine in order to

retain you as a valued customer.

(e) We will make this concession to you, even

though it is much more than should be expected under the
circumstances.
 REFERENCES:
Book: The Art and Science of Business Communication: Skills,
Concepts, Cases and Applications by P.D. Chaturvedi and Mukesh
Chaturvedi, Pearson Publication.

Book: Business Communication Today by Bovee Courtland, John V.

Thill and Abha Chatterjee, Pearson Publication.

20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 55