Office AdministrationChapter 8

Writing Business Documents

OverviewWriting what you have to communicate is

encoding the message in words that you want the receiver to interpret and clearly understand.

Message may be delivered to the receiver in a variety of written channels: memo, letter, formal report, email, etc.

Message interpretation requires the receiver to decode the message.

Feedback = means for assessing whether this has been accomplished

A. Business LettersBusiness letter is external communication

used most often for corresponding with others outside the organizationPositive letters – says “yes” and presents good

news; main purpose is to transmit info that pleases the receiver Orders for good or services Letter granting refund or adjustment Response to inquiry for information Goodwill message = expresses sympathy, thanks or

congrats!

A. Business Letters (cont’d) Direct approach or deductive approach – used in

writing positive letters; main idea presented immediately Opening paragraph – general statement Body paragraph – necessary details here Closing paragraph – general positive statement

Routine or Neutral Letters Exchange day-to-day information

Request for information Response to information request

Direct/deductive approach also applied here

A. Business Letters (cont’d) Negative letters

Use the indirect approach – inductive approach Unfavorable letter

Types are: Refusal to send infoRefusal to give assistanceProblem with order for goods and/or servicesRefusal to grant particular action

Writing approach:Buffer paragraph – sets the stage in the beginningRationale for refusalBad newsClosing paragraph

A. Business Letters (cont’d) Combination letters – says “yes” to the reader for

part of what is requested with a “no” response clearly stated Types are:

Partial order being filledPartial response to information request

Persuasive Letters – presents positive information to the reader, but the nature of the info is more complex Types are:

Special requests for assistance (fundraising efforts)Special requests for information (research related)Marketing goods, services or ideas

A. Business Letters (cont’d) Writing approach used is:

Attention Interest Desire Action A – I – D – A approach!

Opening paragraph must get the reader’s attention!Body paragraphs emphasize reasons why the reader

should respond positively!Closing paragraph should explain to the reader what

action should be taken

A. Business Letters (cont’d) Merged Letters

Word processing mail-merge feature Variable information Mail merge fields Main document is the form letter Database contains the variables to be inserted into

the form letter

B. Memoranda and Short ReportsMemoranda = common medium for

correspondence within the organizationFavorable – request for info or assistance;

response to sameUnfavorable – performance evaluation; uses the

indirect approachPersuasive (use A I D A approach)

Informal or Short Reports = used to transmit meaningful information to others within the organization (informal and short – no more than 4 - 7 pages)

B. Memoranda and Short Reports Types are:

Proposal = plan that includes info such as what it is, why it is important, how it will be used, and how much will it cost

Feasibility Study = analysis of business systems and procedures

Progress report = outlines steps already completed in a project

c. Electronic Mail (email)Advantages:

Focused, short, and to the pointTransmitted immediatelyCost of communicating decreases

Fundamental of writing e-mail messages:Concentrate on the four “Cs”

Conciseness – short, simple sentences Correctness – facts MUST be accurate; spelling &

grammar! Completeness – check carefully before hitting

“SEND” Courtesy – use the “you” approach; don’t be CURT!

D. Business ReportsPrimary purpose = transmit meaningful data

to one or more persons who need the info for decision-making purposesBusiness report may be oral or writtenTypes of reports = classified according to type

of text or data material, time interval, information flow, context, function and message style

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Textual material (primarily text)

Narrative reports Statistical reports = primarily numerical data

Time interval Scheduled reports – weekly, monthly or quarterly Special reports – generated “on demand”

Information flow Vertical report – prepared for higher level w/in

organization Horizontal report – communication at same level

w/in org External report – disseminated outside the

organization

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Context

Nontechnical reports – convey info to people who do not have backgrounds in a given subject area

Technical reports – designed to convey info to professionals within the field who will understand it

Function = informational or analytical Informational report – facts presented in organized,

structured manner Analytical report – presents primary data and provides

analysis and interpretation Message style

Chronological – sequence of events Logical – patterns of reasoning Psychological – according to receiver’s needs

D. Business Reports (cont’d)Planning, Designing, and Conducting Research

Research involves study of a problem, a trend or an issue Problem – result is a preferred solution Trend – examines a topic over a specific period Issue – has no resolution as yet Result – the report is the RESULT of the research! Definition of problem, trend or issue Collecting data – accumulation of data or facts from

primary and secondary sources to analyze the problem thoroughly Secondary research – an investigation to gather

info that others have written and prepared (company publications, general reference books, gov’t documents, databases, etc.)

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Primary sources = gathering the original

information to use as current data in a report, you are conducting primary research Three types: experimental, observational and survey

research Survey can be administered in written form

(questionnaire) or oral form (interview) Data collection procedures must be planned and

carefully monitored: Questionnaire = written form that includes all

questions to be answered, space allowed for answers OMR = optical mark recognition response forms May be administered through USPS, web sites or

email

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Personal interview – another technique used to

obtain responses to open-ended questions Individual responses need to be recorded in

writing or taped Telephone interview – should be designed so little

time is needed to administer; still not as effective as the personal interview!

Question format = closed, open or scaled Closed – provides the respondent with a choice of

answers Open – requires the respondent to provide an

answer Scaled – rating scales allow the respondent to rank

a list of items

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Analyzing data – data is nothing until this phase is

accomplished; this step gives meaning to the data Data coding – a number is assigned to each

response classification Data tabulation – responses will need to be counted Statistical analysis – percentages, measures of

central tendency and measures of dispersion Percentages – ratios Measures of central tendency – measure the

center valueMeanMedianmode

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Measures of dispersion

Range Standard deviation

Data evaluation and interpretation Result of data evaluation and interpretation is the

development of findings (facts) and conclusions Findings – summarized following the presentation of

the data Conclusions – generalizations about the population

or sample that are drawn as a result of the data analysis

Recommendations

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Organizing the report

Inductive – specific to general (most prominent form used for formal reports)

Deductive – begins with presentation of general info, followed by more specific information

Writing the report Final step in the research process

Preliminary parts Letter or memo of transmittal Title page Authorization form Table of contents Table of figures Abstract Executive summary

D. Business Reports (cont’d) Body of the Report

Introduction Data analysis and findings Conclusions and recommendations

Supplementary parts Bibliography – alphabetical list of all information

sources used Works cited (references list) Glossary – alphabetical list of terms Appendix or appendices – supplementary research

material (questionnaires, etc.) Index – names and subjects