Partnerships and Training

Units 2 & 3 Prof. dr. Srebren Dizdar

"Love means never having to say you're sorry"

When was the last time you have actually written a letter to someone? Or, when was the last time youe were in love? Even, more, have you ever written a love letter to the person you had been in love with?

Do you know how to write Love Letters?

Do you need to learn how to write Love Letters? Not an easy task a list of tips and helpful ideas has been compiled on writing love letters. Love letters are completely personal and the tone and content of the love letter depends on you and the person to whom you are you are writing a love letter. Should the letter be highly romantic or should it contain some humour? What type of love letter do you think your loved one would most like to receive?

Inspiration for Love Letters Beautiful Memories

Get yourself in the mood to send a love letter. Think about all of the things that you really like and love about the other person. Think about the time you have spent together and any special memories that you have of your time together. Make your love letter really personal by reminding your loved one of these occasions. Here's some ideas for starting love letters containing mutual memories:

Do you remember...
One of the best days we spent together was when: I was reminded today of the tie when... Listening to the radio I heard the song... The lyrics reminded me of you... Make a copy of the lyrics of the song and include them in your love letter

Martha and Sigmund Freud

Martha Freud has been revealed as intensely competent, an avid reader who knew the German classics and some world literature, and appealing to Sigmund as a proven source of calm and security beyond the initial romance. Born into an affluent family, which included a respected religious leader and university professors, Martha, despite how she presented herself, was sophisticated. These two were married for more than 50 years. It was Martha who raised the Freuds six children while Sigmund worked as a psychologist as many as 18 hours a day.

The couples fouryear courtship lasted between 1882-1886, when the two exchanged some 1,500 letters and collaborated on a secret diary.

We dont have a single love letter after marriage

After four years of exchanging hundreds of love letters, Martha and Sigmund were married September 14, 1886. Psychologist analyst Martin S. Bergmann said the love letters ceased after the two finally were wed: We have wonderful courting letters before marriage, he said. After marriage we only get laundry letters. Its all practical. We dont have a single love letter after marriage.

Partners in marriage

It seems that Martha and Sigmund practiced not a conventional marriage after their passionate love courtship. They were not an ordinary married couple, but more of soul mates or marital partners, as is customary to label such relationships in the recent decades in the Western world.

Partners in business
It is, however, quite normal to speak about business partners, or partnerships. Business partner is a term used to denote a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a highly contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be a very loose arrangement designed largely to impress customers and competitors with the size of the network the business partners belong to.

Business partnership
The

meaning of the term busines partner is quite different from that implied in partnership, and it is because of the potential for confusion between the two that widespread use of 'business partner' has been discouraged at times in the past.

Business alliance

A business alliance is an agreement between businesses, usually motivated by cost reduction and improved service for the customer. Alliances are often bounded by a single agreement with equitable risk and opportunity share for all parties involved and are typically managed by an integrated project team.

Business correspondence

Most problems among partners arise from a lack of proper communication. Despite the legal framework expressed in agreements, contracts and other binding stipulating documents, some partners may not be happy with the actual execution of their partnerships, which is often best seen in business correspondence. This is particularly true in supplier customer relationship.

Bartleby appears to be a boon to the practice, as he produces a large volume of high-quality work. One day, though, when asked by the narrator to help proofread a copied document, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his stock response: "I would prefer not to."

A real need to write business letters

Everyone in business needs to write letters. Its unavoidable if you want to run your business or just stay in touch with your suppliers and clients. How well or not so well you write reflects on you and your business. Write poorly constructed letters with unprofessional layout and format and you will look like a rank amateur, no matter how good you are at plumbing, cooking or whatever it is you do.

Business Correspondence - the Myth

The myth about business correspondence is that it must be formal, standardized and often terse. The writer seems to transform him/herself from the personal to the institutional. Letters appear to be written from one institution to another rather than from person to person. This does nothing more than create ineffective communication.

Business people at work

Business letter
Business letter refers to a form of communication used when writing to corporations or any institution that has a formal structure. The letter is commonly made for inquiries or correspondence between companies and external parties, clients or customers. Below are the guidelines that can be used if you want to make an interesting, formal and impressive business letter.

Guidelines for a good business letter

Type all letters on good quality business stationery, preferably matching your resume paper Use either block style or modified block style; do not use a memo format Use black ink only Limit your letter to one page, usually three or four paragraphs Write in your own words, using your own style

More tips ...

Make it easy to read; use spell check and grammar check Make the format and layout attractive; center the letter on the page; allow ample margins; make it appealing to look at and inviting to the reader Watch your sentence structure; proof read the letter several times to be sure you are saying what you want to say

Do not e-mail or fax any business correspondence

Do not send photocopies or generic letters; you can create a model letter which can be used many times with slight revisions. Do not e-mail or fax any business correspondence (resumes, applications, letters, etc) unless you are specifically asked to do so. Even then, follow it up with a hard copy in the mail. Be sure to sign the letter before you mail it.

Think before you write.

Writing a business letter is not simply a matter of expressing your ideas clearly. The way you write a letter and the etiquette you employ may have a significant impact on your success or failure in business. Failure to observe correct business letter etiquette can result in you adopting an inappropriate tone, causing offense or misunderstandings, lack of clarity or purpose and hostility or soured relations. The foundation of good business letter etiquette is Think before you write. You should be considering who the letter is addressed to, how and why? This will then influence style, content and structure.

A good writing style

It is important to develop a good writing style that not only reflects good grammar and sentence structure, but also gives the reader some insight into the personality of the writer. It is just as important, however, to be able to express your self in clear, concise language so the reader knows exactly why you are writing.

Types of business letters

Cover

Letters (Application Letter, Letter of Inquiry), Letters of Acknowledgment, Thank You, Acceptance, Refusal, and Resignation.

Since the need for a faster and reliable communication increased in recent decades, a traditional or snail mail has been effectively replaced by using an electronic or email.

Snail mail or smail

Snail mail or smail (from snail + mail) is named after the snail with its slow speed used to refer to letters carried by conventional postal delivery services. The phrase refers to the lag-time between dispatch of a letter and its receipt, versus the virtually instantaneous dispatch and delivery of its electronic equivalent, e-maill. It is also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail. An earlier term of the same type is surface mail, coined retrospectively after the development of airmail.

What is E-mail?

Electronic mail (or e-mail) is a way of communication. Messages, usually text, are sent from one person to another via computer.

Electronic mail

Definition of an e-mail
It is short for electronic mail, the transmission of messages over communications networks. The messages can be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers, and computer networks have an e-mail system. Some electronic-mail systems are confined to a single computer system or network, but others have gateways to other computer systems, enabling users to send electronic mail anywhere in the world. Companies that are fully computerized make extensive use of e-mail because it is fast, flexible, and reliable.

Daily mailing

a)
b) c)

d)

Let me rephrase the initiial question: How many e-mail messages have you written and sent so far? And the answer is: More than 100 More than 1,000 More than 10,000 I dont know

How many times a day you check your e-mail?

Once, Twice (morning and evening) More than three times Who knows ...

Check your mail regularly

In business environment it is absolutely essential to develop a habit of checking your mail regularly. It means not only to read it, or mark it as read, but also to send a reply or answer within the reasonable amount of time, preferably within 24 hours after receiving and reading it.

Broadcasting

Most e-mail systems include a rudimentary text editor for composing messages, but many allow you to edit your messages using any editor you want. You then send the message to the recipient by specifying the recipient's address. You can also send the same message to several users at once. This is called broadcasting.

Sent messages are stored in electronic mailboxes until the recipient fetches them. To see if you have any mail, you may have to check your electronic mailbox periodically, although many systems alert you when mail is received. After reading your mail, you can store it in a text file, forward it to other users, or delete it. Copies of memos can be printed out on a printer if you want a paper copy. All online services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer e-mail, and most also support gateways so that you can exchange mail with users of other systems. Usually, it takes only a few seconds or minutes for mail to arrive at its destination. This is a particularly effective way to communicate with a group because you can broadcast a message or documnet to everyone in the group at once.

Letter Writing Difficulties: Why switch to e-mail correspondence

We are used top using verbal communication methods rather than written communication! A letter is more formal! Spelling might be a concern What is the correct format to use when writing a letter? A Blank piece of paper! Where do I start?

Formal and informal letters

There are many different types of letters: Decide what type of letter you need to write and adopt a style to suit Formal Letters - Usually business letters a formal letter format is described in this presentation
Generally you will not know the recipient personally, so the format, style and structure is applied in a formal style

Informal Letters - Much easier to write

Letter Heading
The style and content starts with the letter headings - the address Formal Letters:

Use Headed Paper, where available Company or Business address, email, Fax & telephone details on the top left hand side of the page On the Right hand side of the page include any reference number. The date follows Then the Customers title, name and address

Informal letters:

Your Home address, email & telephone details on the top left hand side of the page

Letter Layout
1. Letter Heading / Company logo 2. Address Details 3. Reference Number: 4. Date 5. Customer Address Details 6. Salutation: Dear xxxx, 7. Re: 8. First Paragraph 9. Second and Subsequent Paragraphs 10. Closing Paragraph 11. Yours sincerely, (Your name and Surname)

Letter Writing Format

All letters have a simple, basic format! They all start with: The Salutation - Dear Mr. Smith, or, Dear Susan

Formal content for someone you don't know and informal for someone you do know!

Letter form

General outline for a cover letter

1.

2.
3. 1. 2. 3.

Senders Address City, State, Zip Date of Letter

Use complete title and address of your Correspondent:

Name and Title Address City, State, Zip

Paragraphs

Three or four Paragraphs

All letters should have a minimum of three paragraphs Opening Paragraph - reason for writing Middle Paragraph - the Body or the Main Text Closing Paragraph - Look forward to hearing from you etc.

Opening & Middle Paragraph(s):

State why you are writing, name the position or type of work for which you are applying and mention how you heard of the opening or organization. Explain why you are interested in working for this employer and specify your reasons for Desiring this type of work. If you have had relevant work experience or related education, be sure to point it out, But do not reiterate your entire resume. Emphasize skills or abilities you have that relate to the job for which you are applying. Be sure to do this in a confident manner and remember that the reader will view your letter of application as an example of your writing skills.

Closing Paragraph:

If you apply for a job, you may refer the reader to your enclosed resume (Which gives a summary of your qualifications) or whatever media you are using to illustrate your training, interests and experience. Have an appropriate closing to pave the way for a continuous contact, or perhaps for a job interview.

Closing the Letter

Formal Style: "Yours sincerely", "Yours faithfully" Informal, friendly style: "Love from..."

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar!

Always use the Spell Checker as soon as you have completed your letter to check for spelling or grammatical errors watch out for words which are spelt similarly but have a different meaning, e.g. there and their

Grammar etiquette

Correct punctuation is important in order to create the correct Professional image:

Always start a paragraph with a CAPITAL letter Always use a capital letter following a full stop When typing always leave 1 space after a comma and after a full stop Yours sincerely - faithfully, sincerely etc. should always be in lower case, the word Yours starts with a capital letter

Review of Letter Writing Tips

Decide the type of letter required whether the letter is to be formal or informal Ensure all relevant and important details are included in the Heading Remember the three (3) Paragraph Format Follow the Layout rules when writing a business letter Always remember to check carefully on Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.

Business manners

Friendly correspondence

You may not always be in a good mood when meeting and talking to your business associates or partners. However, when writing to them, you can appear polite and with good manners, even if it means to add a few details that can make the correspondence a friendly venture.

Add a Smiley

Dont overdo it!!!

Use them in a restrained way

Smileys in E-mail
Smileys
:-) :-D 8-)

Meanings

User is smiling.

User is laughing.
User is smiling and wearing glasses.

: -(
:-O ;-> : -~)

User is sad User made a mistake. User is winking. User has a cold.

: ' -~(

User has a cold and is crying.

=:-o
:-/

User is very surprised.

User does not believe you.

How is E-mail Different from Other Forms of Communication?

"It's

cheap, fast, and convenient. What more could you ask for?
Electronic communication, because of its speed and broadcasting ability, is different from paper-based communication. Because the exchange of messages can be so fast, e-mail is more conversational than traditional letters.

E-mail is not as formal and neat as communications on paper.

In a letter, it is very important to make everything completely clear because your the other person may not have a chance to ask questions, or their native language might the same as your own. With e-mail documents, the other person can ask questions immediately. E-mail thus, like conversational speech, is not as formal and neat as communications on paper.

E-mail Guidelines
Please note and follow the guidelines below concerning the writing of company e-mail messages. Subjects Give the message a subject/title. Email messages without a subject may not be opened because of a fear of viruses and especially note that it is very easy to forget to type this important information.

Subject contents
Keep the subject short and clear but avoid such headings as: Good News, Hello, Message from Mary. These headings are common in messages containing viruses. Short but specific headings are needed, Example: Order No. 2348X Delayed Shipment Laboratory Equipment Order

Greetings

Start the message with a greeting so as to help create a friendly but business-like tone. The choice of using the other name versus the surname will depend on who you are writing to. If you have communicated with the receiver previously and he/she is at a similar level to you, then the use of the other name would be appropriate. If the receiver is more senior to you, or if you are in doubt, it would be safer (particularly in the first communication) to use the persons surname/family name together with a title, e.g. Dear Mr. Smithson, Dear Ms Stringer.

It is also becoming quite common to write the greeting without a comma, e.g. Dear Miss Lawson e.g. Dear KK

Purpose
Start with a clear indication of what the message is about in the first paragraph. Give full details in the following paragraph(s). Make sure that the final paragraph indicates what should happen next. A) I will send a messenger to your office on Tuesday morning to collect the faulty goods. B) Please let me have your order by the beginning of the month.

Action
Any action that you want the reader to do should be clearly described, using politeness phrases. Subordinates should use expressions such as 'Could you...' or ' I would be grateful if...'. Superior staff should also use polite phrases, for example,

'Please...'.

Attachments
Make

sure you refer, in the main message, to any attachments you are adding and of course make extra sure that you remember to include the attachment(s). As attachments can transmit viruses, try not to use them, unless you are sending complicated documents.

Copy-and-paste text-only contents

Copy-and-paste

text-only contents into the body of the email. If you use an attachment, make sure the file name describes the content, and is not too general; e.g. 'message.doc' is bad, but 'QA Report 2011.doc' is good.

Endings
End the message in a polite way. Common endings are: Yours sincerely, Best regards, Best wishes, Regards, If you did not put a comma after the greeting at the beginning of the message, then do not put a comma after the ending either, e.g. Best wishes e.g. Regards

Names
Include

your name at the end of the message. It is most annoying to receive an email which does not include the name of the sender. The problem is that often the email address of the sender does not indicate exactly who it is from, e.g. 0385915d@polyu.edu.hk

E-Mail Heading
From: S.Choi@customserv.Civiland Civic.com To: D_Suen@personnel.Civiland Civic.com Date: Thursday, 24 March 2011 Re: Banning smoking

David I'd like you to look into the health and safety issues relating to smoking in the company's office, specifically: 1. What are the current regulations regarding smoking in the workplace?

2. What are other companies like ours doing re. smoking?

3. a. Can we introduce a ban on smoking in this company? b. If we can, what procedure do we need to follow?

Could you please get back to me before next week's Senior Management meeting on Thursday, 31 March 2011. Cheers Sally

Questions
Do

you think Sally is senior, junior or approximately equal to David?

Sally

is senior to David.

Words that show that Sally is senior to David include:

'David'. A junior or equal would use 'Dear David' or 'Hi David' instead, because longer expressions are more polite. 'I'd like you to...' This is not a request, it is a polite order. A junior or equal would have to use a more polite request, such as 'I would be grateful if...' ('if' shows tentativity, which is polite) or 'Would you mind _ing...' 'Could you please get back to me' is another polite order. It is polite as the deadline is only 7 days away. Sally will be attending the Senior Management meeting, so she is probably a senior manager.

Which parts of the text that indicate this?

Although

it is not necessary for names to be included in an e-mail (since they are written at the top), Sally has done this. Why?

Sally has included names in the e-mail because:

Names in e-mail addresses can be hard to understand. the formality of names in e-mail addresses is fixed, but if you use names in the e-mail message you can select the formality that you think is correct for this situation leaving out the names would make the message too impersonal, which would not be good for Sally and David's inter-personal relationship there may be more than one 'S.Suen' in a big company. Using more descriptive names in the email avoids confusion.

Why has Sally used numbered points in this e-mail?

Sally has used numbered points in the e-mail to: make the organisation of the email clearer give David an organisational structure for his report

What are the examples of informal language in the email?

The informal language includes: "look into" - this is informal because it is a phrasal verb "Cheers" - an informal version of 'Thank you.' This e-mail and the instructions are quite formal, so at the end Sally wants to be less formal to maintain her less formal relationship with David.

Business world environment

Business reports

How to Structure a Business Report

Title Page This page carries the title of the report along with the writers name, date and other details if required. Contents This lists the various sections of the report.

Synopsis
This

is an introduction to the report and includes an executive summary of what is to be expected in the report and what the report explores. You can specify your objectives and planning ideas here.

Terms of Reference
List down who the report is meant for and what it is about. List the details of your research. You must specify whether it was primary research, secondary research or both. Also mention the exact tools that were used to collect the data. For example, questionnaires, telephonic interviews etc.

Detailed Findings
Detailed Findings This section will typically show pie charts, bar graphs and other statistics found out from your research. Conclusions Summarize your findings in detail. The implications of the findings will be discussed in the next stage.

Recommendations
You

will now suggest solutions, ideas or recommendations based on your findings. Stick to brief paragraphs and crisp pointers.

Appendices & Bibliography

Appendices

This section is for reference. You can add additional charts and graphs, sample questionnaires and so on. Bibliography List all of the references used for the report websites, newspapers, books, journals, documentaries, movies etc. This usually appears in alphabetical order.

Executive summary

The executive summary provides the reader with an overview of the reports essential information. It is designed to be read by people who will not have time to read the whole report or are deciding if this is necessary; therefore, in your executive summary you need to say as much as possible in the fewest words (Weaver & Weaver, 1977). The executive summary should briefly outline the subject matter, the background problem, the scope of the investigation, the method(s) of analysis, the important findings arguments and important issues raised in the discussion, the conclusion and recommendations. The executive summary should not just be an outline of the points to be covered in the report with no detail of the analysis that has taken place or conclusions that have been reached.

Usually written last

The executive summary stands as an overview at the front of the report but it is also designed to be read alone without the accompanying report (this would often occur in the workplace); therefore, you need to make sure it is self sufficient and can be understood in isolation. It is usually written last (so that it accurately reflects the content of the report) and is usually about two hundred to three hundred words long (i.e. not more than a page).

Reports and Executive summary

Definition of Executive Summary

The executive summary is usually no longer than 10% of the original document. It can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long, depending on the report's length. Executive summaries are written literally for an executive who most likely DOES NOT have the time to read the original.

The purpose of executive summary

Executive summaries make a recommendation Accuracy is essential because decisions will be made based on your summary by people who have not read the original Executive summaries frequently summarize more than one document

Abstracts
Abstracts, like all summaries, cover the main points of a piece of writing. Unlike executive summaries written for nonspecialist audiences, abstracts use the same level of technical language and expertise found in the article itself. And unlike general summaries which can be adapted in many ways to meet various readers' and writers' needs, abstracts are typically 150 to 250 words and follow set patterns.

Processes for writing an Executive Summary

Executive summaries are typically written for longer reports. They should not be written until after your report is finished. Before writing your summary, try: Summarizing the major sections of your report. You might even copy text from your report into the summary and then edit it down. Talking aloud or even tape recording yourself summarizing sections of your report.

Questions to Ask Yourself as You Write What is your report about? 2. Why is it important? 3. What is included in the report? 4. What is included in each section?
1.

Concise Statement

As a cover sheet to your document, an executive summary need not go into ANY mention of how you conducted your analysis and/or what you are basing your conclusion on. Instead, begin with a concise statement of the conclusion you reached after conducting your analysis and/or research is the paper that will be attached.

Writing Recommendations
After

beginning with a summary statement of your findings, the executive summary should go on to provide a specific recommendation for action geared toward your audience.

More Complex Recommendations

In other cases, the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for the recommendation. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the recommendation.

Justification
Finally, an executive summary provides an analysis and/or justification for the proposed action in terms the audience will consider important. In many cases, this might involve a monetary analysis as in the example to the right, but actions can be justified many ways, depending on the concerns of the audience and the topic of the report.

I hope you shall be able to use the knowledge learned today