Chapter - 10
Memos
A memorandum, more commonly known as a memo, is a short message or record used for internal communication in a business. It is a message or information in writing sent by one person or department to another in the same business organization. Once the primary form of internal written communication, memorandums have declined in use since the introduction of email and other forms of electronic messaging; however, being able to write clear memos certainly can serve you well in writing internal business emails, as they often serve the same purpose. Memos are used within organizations to communicate everything from routine details to complete proposals and reports. They are often used to inform others about a new or changed policy, procedures, organizational details, announce meeting, events etc. Memos are concise. they use brief and focus sentences, and paragraphs.
Purpose of Memos
Memos can be used to quickly communicate with a wide audience something brief but important, such as procedural changes, price increases, policy additions, meeting schedules, reminders for teams, or summaries of agreement terms, for example.
Communications strategist Barbara Diggs-Brown says that an effective memo is "short, concise, highly organized, and never late. It should anticipate and answer all questions that a reader might have. It never provides unnecessary or confusing information."
Be clear, be focused, be brief yet complete. Take a professional tone and write as if the world could read it—that is, don't include any information that's too sensitive for everyone to see, especially in this age of copy and paste or "click and forward."
Memo Format
Head
To (who gets it) and from(who sends it)
Date (When it was sent)
Subject (what it's about)
Body ( it conveys the message)
Body part (It conveys the message. It is the main part)
Introduction
Main points
Close
signature
Tail
CC (copies sent to anyone affected by the memo)
Attachments
Sample Memo About Print Schedule Change
Here is a sample internal memo from a fictional publishing company informing employees about upcoming schedule changes due to a Thanksgiving holiday. Production could also have sent separate memos to separate departments as well, especially if there were more detail that each department needed and that wouldn't pertain to the other departments.
To: All employees
From: E.J. Smith, Production Lead
Date: November 1, 2018
Subject: Thanksgiving Print Schedule Change
Production would like to remind everyone that the Thanksgiving holiday will affect our print deadlines this month. Any hard-copy pages that would normally go out to the printer via UPS on a Thursday or Friday during the week will need to go out by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21.
Ad Sales and Editorial Departments
➤ Make sure that anyone sending you text or images for publication won't be on vacation the week of the 19th. Set deadlines earlier for anything coming from outside.
➤ Please know that internal photography and graphic designers will have more work and less time to do it, so please route your work to the appropriate department earlier than normal.
➤ Please do not send "rush" work later than November 16. Any short-turnaround items needed Thanksgiving week cannot be guaranteed to be completed by the earlier deadlines and must go through the scheduler's desk for approval before being assigned. Be early instead.
Photography and Graphics Departments
➤ All members of the art department will be allowed to put in overtime during November as needed to deal with the crunch of the start of the holiday season and the earlier deadlines.
Thank you in advance, everyone, for your help in getting materials in as early as possible and your consideration for the production department staff.
Sample Memo About a Meeting
The following is a fictional memo to set up a meeting with members of a team who are returning from a trade show.
To: Trade Show Team
From: C.C. Jones, Marketing Supervisor
Date: July 10, 2018
Subject: Trade Show Return Meeting
Upon your return to work Friday, July 20, from the trade show, let's plan a noon lunch meeting in the east wing meeting room to go over how the show went. Let's plan to discuss what worked well and what didn't, such as:
➤ Number of days in attendance
➤ Amount and types of marketing materials provided
➤ Booth displays
➤ How the giveaways were received
➤ The location of the booth and traffic at different times of day
➤ What sparked interest in passersby
I know that when you get back from a trade show you have a million things to follow up on, so we will keep the meeting to 90 minutes or less. Please come prepared with your feedback and constructive criticism on the marketing aspects of the show. Existing-customer feedback and new customer leads will be covered in a separate meeting with product and sales teams. Thank you for your work at the show.
Sample of memo
************************************************
Memorandum
TO: Dinesh Bhatta, Marketing Manager
FROM: Rosy Mishra, VP of sales
DATE: 26th December 2021
SUBJECT: Renewal of advertisement contact between Nepal media and TrekGears
Following a meeting last week between representatives of TrekGroup and Nepal Media, senior management has decided that the above mentioned contract with Nepal Media will be renewed.
I would therefore appreciate your providing me, by December 30, with full details of Nepal Media's advertisement of our products in previous years. This information will enable us to project financial requirements under the agreement for the upcoming fiscal year.
Thank you for your co-operation.
************************************************
Memo is a written means of internal communication. It is generally exchanged between the superiors and subordinates for carrying information related to organizational internal activities.
The followings are the points that highlight the importance or objective of Memo
1.Issuing Orders and Instructions: Through memo superiors issue orders, instructions, advices etc. to their subordinates. Therefore, it is regarded as the means of carrying orders of superiors to the subordinates.
2.Informing Any Change in Policy: Organizations use memo to inform any change in policy to its various internal parties.
3.Providing and Seeking Suggestions and Recommendations: Through memo superiors provide advice and suggestions to their subordinates. Again, by writing memo superiors can seek suggestions and recommendations on any matter from their subordinates.
4.Requesting For Help: Organizational people should cooperate each other in performing their activities. For obtaining such cooperation and help, they can write memo to each other.
5.Requesting For Information: Managers need information for preparing plans and taking decisions. For obtaining such information they generally write memos to the concerned internal parties seeking required information.
6.Informing Decisions: Generally, decisions are taken by the top executives. Later on, these are circulated in the whole organizations. Memo is used to carry the decisions to the concerned internal parties.
7.Using as Reference in Future: Since memo is a written document, it can be preserved and used as reference in internal parties.
Letters
Letters are written, typed, or printed brief messages sent in an envelope by post or messenger usually to recipients outside an organization. The writing of business letters has a long history. Their main advantage is that they provide a permanent record of what is said. On other hand, letters are expensive, they have to compose with care, and feedback may be slow or non- existent.
Nowadays, it is seen that the field of business cannot progress without letters. a letter is the cheapest and the most common device of contact between parties, whereby personal meet of parties can be substituted. A letter will represent the writer. It speaks to the addressee on behalf of the writer. The writer and the recipient cannot see face to face. Face expressions cannot be known to each other. So, to create the best relation, letters should be written in a clear and understanding way. Good letters can have goodwill too.
Format of letter
Head
Logo/Contact: The official logo or contact information of the organization.
Our address: Write our full address, with our correct postal code ad PO Box number.
Reference: Write reference
Date: Put the date on which the letter was written in the format Month Day Year i.e 5 December 2021.
Receiver's name and address: Write the address of the person we are writing to along with the name of the recipient, their title and company name.
Subject line: It is optional. This makes it easier for the recipient to find out what the letter is about.
Salutation: Generally salutation starts with " Dear Sir/Madam". This is the greeting and the start of the actual letter.
Body
Opening paragraph: This is usually starts with an attention statement, an introduction to the topic, a reference to the purpose of the document, etc.
Main body of the letter: This is the main part where we include the message.
Closing paragraph: This is where we reiterate the ideas in the earlier part of the letter before concluding it in an appropriate manner, according to the purpose and tone of our letter. Thank the reader for the attention and invite him or her to contact us if they have questions or need any help.
Tail
Complimentary close: This formally conclude the letter. Write yours faithfully, or sincerely etc.
Signature: Our signature will go in this part.
Name: Write the name of sender.
Enclosure if any
This business letter format illustrates the specific parts of a business letter:
Date
July 20, 20xx
Sender's Address
GP & Associates
2053 SW Channing Avenue, Suite 400
Denver, CO 80016
Inside Address
Ms Tia Turfingeon
ACTION ITEMS
3400 Onesite Parkway
Denver, CO 80016
Saluation
Dear Ms. Turfingeon,
Body Text: I understand from our mutual acquaintance, Chad Johnson, that you are looking to retain an accountant to assist you in the sale of your business. I would welcome the opportunity to show you how GP & Associates was able to help Chad successfully sell his business earlier this year.
As you'll see on our website, my associates and I have extensive experience in financial accounting, internal audits, and tax compliance. For the past several years, we have specialized in business evaluation and transition services for sellers. We enjoy working closely with clients throughout the sale process to ensure a smooth transition. As our clients can attest, our various pre-sale price improvement strategies can significantly optimize a business's sale price.
Should you be thinking of purchasing another business, please note that we also offer business acquisition services. For your convenience, I have enclosed additional information describing GP & Associates full range of services.
Call to action: To set up an appointment to discuss your specific needs, please contact me at 303-449-0037. I know how busy you are, so I will give you a call on Tuesday to follow up if I haven’t heard from you.
Best Regards,
Signature Block
Greg Parker
Enclosures
Sample of circular letter
Sangam Stationery Store
Butwal – 3, Jysis Chowk
29th December 2021
Mr. Laxman Gyawali
Siddharathanagar – 9, Bhairahawa
Dear sir,
We are excited to annonce the opening of the newest Sangam Stationery Store in Traffic Chowk in Butwal. As you know, the Sangam Stationery Store has long been the industry standard for quality creative paper products of all kinds, and we couldn't have picked a better location for our next branch.
We are thrilled to welcome you to the Grand Opening of the store on January 8th, 2022. The opening celebration will extend form 9 am to 9 pm – a full 12 hours of fun. We would love to show you at the store has to offer and hope to see you there on the 8th.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Signature
Mohan Sharma
General Manager, Sangam Stationery
Enclosure: Brochure-1
Reports
Reports are official or formal statements, often made after an investigation and usually made to the immediate line manager, or to a working group or community. They can be descriptive or analytical with recommendations. They are written by specialists to specialist audiences. They include detailed information on a topic, or issues. Typically, reports include findings from research. These findings are useful for senior managers to make any decisions. We write reports for audience. The audience may be either internal or external to the organization, or, on rare occasions, both.
While preparing report analyzing the audience in important.
Analyzing the audience
The structure and content of any report must meet the needs of up to four distinct categories of audience.
Primary audience
General manager, a committee or the board of directors etc are the primary audience. As a report aims to achieve action, these are people who have the authority to act on the recommendations. Key parts of the report, such as the synopsis, discussion, conclusions and recommendations, should be targeted specially at this primary audience.
Secondary audience
Few decision- makers act entirely to their own. They seek advice from departments and specialists. This group of advisers are the secondary audience, and they often have limited or special interests.
Tertiary audience
Types of report
Reports can cover a variety of communications, ranging from a brief , oral report of an incident to the large, complex reports of government commissions on some aspect of public life. There are different ways of categorizing these different reports. The three main categories which cover most of this variation are:-
a) form reports;
b) short reports (sometimes called letter or memo reports);
c) long formal reports and proposals.
Form reports
Form reports are regular and standardized. They typically include documents such as production reports, sales reports, accident reports and progress reports. There are definite advantages in having standardized forms for these:-
a) The same information is in the same place each time.
b) Users can check that all the required information is submitted.
Forms and forms reports can be set up on the organization's computer system – by extracting information from a database or having on-screen entry forms. Information can be entered directly and the computer will collate ad process it before presenting it in the desired format. The computer can also be programmed to act in certain circumstances – for example, by automatically printing orders for material required.
Designing forms and questionnaires requires high levels of skill. It is all too easy to create ambiguous or misleading questions and collect data which is effectively useless.
Short Reports
Short reports are the reports which are prepared internally by the organizations. They are internal reports. They are usually less than five pages. They do not require all the formalities of long reports. They often have simple subsections. They are :-
a) introduction;
b) investigation;
c) conclusion.
Memo report, letter report, emails etc are the examples of short reports.
Long, Formal Reports
Long reports deal with a complex investigation or issue, and are often addressed to a number of different audiences. To cater for different audiences and to provide a logical structure, reports are subdivided into sections with distinct functions. The structure of report is:-
Structure of report
Front matter
Title: Write the title/topic of the report clearly.
Author: Name and title of the person who has prepare the report.
Report commissioned:- Name of the person who has commissioned the report.
Acknowledgements: Briefly thank people who offered help in the preparation of the report.
Table of content: Here we include a list of the main section or heading with their page number.
Main body of the report
Introduction: This is the background that may describe the project came into being. Here we explain the aims and objectives to clarify the framework or context of the report. Explain why the report was requested and also describe the scope of the subject matter of the report.
Methods or procedures: In this section we clearly mention the method used for our investigation, identifying the design of our research and why this method was chosen. I also explain how data was gathered.
Results/findings: This section objectively reports the findings or results, such as descriptions, statistical data, charts and graphs. Managers base their decisions on these facts and figures.
Discussion: This is the main part of the report that interprets the results and explains their relevance to our business situation. It should offer justifiable comments on the importance of the finding.
Conclusion: This section wraps up the report by summarizing key points but not introduce any new material.
Recommendation: For some reports, the authors are asked to provide recommendations, or possible solutions to problems identified in the report. In this section we write the suggestions or possible solution to the report.
Back Matter
References: These are the full list of books, articles and internet sources we cite to write the report. The standard style of citation used in communication disciplines is APA style.
Appendix: If we use supplementary materials in the process of research or writing the report, such as questionnaires, interview transcripts, list of interviewees, survey form maps and photos, we will need appendix.
Glossary: Alphabetical list of key terms and abbreviations, and their definitions are mention in this section.
CVs AND APPLICATIONS
The full form of CV is curriculum vitae. It is a summary listing of one's employment,
education, and skills or accomplishments. It is usually in one page. This is the key part of our portfolio. It is used in applying for a new position, usually in a professional sector. It is the document that persuades the reader that we are the person that the organization is looking for. It can suggest areas which we want to discuss in the interview. It highlights our strength and demonstrates particular skills and qualities for the organization is looking. It communicates to a potential employer our professional skills and experiences.
Our CV should be able to grab the attention of employers and recruiters. It should be able to sell our strongest skills and accomplishments. It should be able to convey our current capabilities and future potentials. It should relate our qualifications to the worked offered. We can expand our CV by giving relevant information.
Chunking the CV
The elements of CV are:
Heading
Clearly write our first name, middle name and surname.
Next line we should include our mailing address.
Then write contact number and email address.
Career objective
In one or two lines, list the type of job or position we are looking for.
Education or qualifications
Clearly write the exact name of the academic degrees, with complete dates, majors, scores or divisions.
Work experience
In case we have held jobs, list them all. Include position title, type, responsibilities and duties we undertook, organization and location, and dates.
Awards, honors and activities
Write awards, fellowships or other recognitions received.
Include memberships of professional associations or bodies such as students clubs, sports groups etc.
Hobbies and interests
Write hobbies and interests, such as reading, dancing, playing games etc.
References
List 2 or 3 referees who know us and our skills well and are available to comment if the prospective employer contacts them.
Include their name, current job title, current organization, contact details.
Example of CV
Raj Gurung
Kathmandu, Nepal
[email protected]
Contact No. – 984700000
_____________________________________________________________________
Career objective
Master in Computer science from Kathmandu University (2020-current)
Bachelor in computer science from Apex college, Kathmandu (2016-2019)
+2 in Science from Horizon college, Butwal (2014-2016)
Work experience
Designed and developed a website for Kalika Higher Secondary School as part of the Community Education Project of Kathmandu University. Installed and delivered the software on site.
Volunteered for the 2015 annual Apex IT Meet.
Awards, honors, activities
Awarded the Cambridge Excellence Award for securing the top marks in Computer Science in Nepal.
Attended a week long web development training organized by Kathmandu University Computer Club.
Hobbies
Interested in playing football.
Interested in the use of mathematics in computer.
Referees
Shyam Bhattarai, instructor of Computer Science at KU.
Ram Lal Sharma, Prncipal at Apex College.
The letter of application
It is the letter that we apply for the job. Job applications often demand two documents, the CV and a letter of application. The letter of application is also a persuasive document. It is the first medium of contact with or potential employer. Before writing a letter, find out as much as we can about the employer and the job. Knowledge about the employer and the job can help us write the letter so that it suits the situation, as we could particular experiences we have had which are relevant to the specific job. Put something of our personality onto the letter. While writing we need to think carefully about the structure of the letter. The basic structure of letter is:
Heading:- We write the name of the person or company and address who can hire us correctly.
First paragraph:- In this paragraph we explain which post we are applying for and how we know about it.
Second paragraph:- In this paragraph we explain our interest for the post.
Third paragraph:- In this paragraph we explain all the necessary skills and qualities needed for job.
Fourth paragraph:- In this paragraph we conform our availability for interview and re-emphasizing our enthusiasm.
Example of job letter
Raj Gurung
Butwal – 10, Rupandehi
Mobile Phone: 9847000000
Email: [email protected]
Date: 29th December 2021
To
The Director,
Surya Electronics Private Limited,
Siddharathanagar – 5, Rupandehi
Subject: Application for the post of Senior Software Developer
Dear sir,
I am writing in response to your advertisement in The Himalayan Times for the post of a senior software developer with experience in Java and C programming. I have experience in these areas, and I believe that I am a good fit for the position.
As my enclosed CV shows , I am a dedicated and hard-working individual with hands-on experience with several programming languages and system analysis.
During my work in the past, I have developed strong organizational and time management capabilities. I believe I will be able to deliver the skills needed by your company. Besides programming, I have excellent skills in computer applications. With my knowledge of LaTex, I am also adept at technical typesetting. Though prolog, I have a good grasp on artificial intelligence programming. I am an excellent communicator in English, which I believe will prove beneficial while handling client. I will be available at any time for interview you need.
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Yours sincerely,
Raj Gurung
Enc: CV
Email
Email or electronic mail offers another form of business communication. It is a method of exchanging messages instantly form one system to another with the help of the internet. The message is sent through the internet in various format. It is an important method of business communication that is fast, cheap, accessible and easily replicated. It is easy and immediate and allow people to exchange diverse forms of messages and documents. Using email can greatly benefit businesses as it provides efficient and effective ways to transmit all kinds of electronic data.
Advantages of using email
Email can increase efficiency, productivity and your business readiness. Using email in business is:
cheap - sending an email costs the same regardless of distance and the number of people you send it to
fast - an email should reach its recipient in minutes, or at the most within a few hours
convenient - your message will be stored until the recipient is ready to read it, and you can easily send the same message to a large number of people
permanent - you can keep a record of messages and replies, including details of when a message was received
One of the main advantages of email is that you can quickly and easily send electronic files such as text documents, photos and data sheets to several contacts simultaneously by attaching the file to an email. Check with your internet service provider if there is a limit to the size of email attachment you can send. Some businesses may also limit the type and size of attachments that they are willing to receive.
You can gain further advantages and increase your efficiency by setting up your email software to:
➤ automatically create entries in your address book for every message you send or receive
➤ respond to incoming emails automatically, eg to confirm receipt of an order, or to let people know that you are on leave or out of the office
Disadvantages of using email
Despite the host of benefits, there are certain weaknesses of email that you should be aware of, such as:
Spam - unsolicited email can overwhelm your email system unless you install a firewall and anti-spam software. Other internet and email security issues may arise, especially if you're using the cloud or remote access.
Viruses - easily spread through email attachments. See how to detect spam, malware and viruses
Sending emails by mistake - at a click of a button, an email can go to the wrong person accidentally, potentially leaking confidential data and sensitive business information. You should take care to minimise the likelihood of business data breach and theft
Data storage - electronic storing space can become a problem, particularly where emails with large attachments are widely distributed.
Less formal nature of email can lead to careless or even libelous remarks being made which can damage your business. To minimize these risks, you should create and implement an email and internet acceptable use policy for your business.
Structure and layout of Email
At first glance, emails look like electronic memos-with a space for the sender, the receiver and the title. The date and time of sending is automatically supplied. The layout is very restricted on most email systems.
They use a single font.
We can highlight phrases only by using bold or a different color.
We can use space to suggest subheadings or emphasis.
Whenever possible, do not send long, complex messages via email. If we have to send long messages, send them as attachments. Use formatting to help access and read the message easily, not to merely decorate the page. Be careful when using unusual fonts or colors for background because they can make the message difficult to read.
Fax
A fax, sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned-in printed material (text or images), usually to a telephone number associated with a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine, which treats the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap. In this digital form, the information is transmitted as electrical signals through the telephone system. The receiving fax machine reconverts the coded image and prints a paper copy of the document.
In the 1990s, fax was described as the 'preferred form for electronic transmission among business and the most widely distributed modern messaging system'. It is still very important and useful despite the dramatic growth of email and internet traffic. For example, recent statistics show that the market for fax machines is growing in the UK, with manufactures commenting that staff often prefer hard copy to electronic documents.
Fax is fast and simple to use. The most obvious advantage of fax is that we can send any hard copy to anyone who has a fax machine anywhere in the world. Faxes are increasingly accepted as commercially valid documents for transactions such as orders. And we do not have to worry about the compatibility of file formats, which we need to check when sending computer files as attachment. Development in colours and faxes and multi-purpose machines, which include copy and print functions, has maintained fax's popularity. One important disadvantage is that the quality of print output on many fax machines is not very good, so we may lose detail on diagrams, etc.
Messages specially written for fax seem to share many of the characteristics of email. They are short. They mainly supply or request information. They are written in a more conversational style that traditional business letters.
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