MODULE C

Practice handout Business Communication Ms. Saulat Majid

MEMO WRITING 1. You had decided to send your employees to Lahore to attend a seminar on how to be an effective team player .you had already consented in the group that the company wont be able to bear the travel expenses. However the company has paid the registration fee for all the 5 participants. One of the 4 employees, Faisal Khurram, has requested the company to pay for his airfare as he has financial limitations. Clarify your position tactfully and offer an alternative if possible. 2. A faculty member at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University has resigned as she is immigrating to Canada with her family. You are the head librarian and notice that she has not yet returned some of the valuable library books borrowed under her name. You find it your duty to inform the Principal about the situation and recommend that NOC be not granted to this person until she clears her library account. Compose a message for the principal. 3. The management at your office has given out a two-hour break on Fridays, for Jumma prayers and lunch. However it was observed that the work force is getting relaxed about this extending the hours to quarter to three hours. Being the manager you are upset about this indiscipline and issue a memo to get things straight. 4. As the supervisor of a local amusement park you have been asked to put on paper the safety measures that the park needs to adopt to ensure maximum safety of children on water slides and all other rides. Compose a comprehensive report. 5. Make an announcement that the vacation for Eid and Jumma-tul-Wida will be granted together. A total of 5 vacations will be given to the work force. Compose a memo. 6. You are unable to meet a deadline of delivery of goods as the production department delayed their work. Explain the whole situation to your boss, so that it does not sound like accusation. Compose a memo. 7. Propose an increase of 30 minutes in the 30 minutes of lunchtime that is given to the hospital staff. This is necessary so that the work force gets mental relaxation to pray and eat. 8. As assistant Credit Manager you have interviewed a client with a debt that is 60 days in arrears. The client has explained to your satisfaction the reasons for the delay in payment. Write a memo to your boss, the Credit Manager explaining the situation and recommending that credit be extended for another 30 days. 9. A meeting to finalize the arrangements of an upcoming sales conference is being held. Representatives from various branches of your company are coming to attend the meeting. Being the chief organizer of the event and the meeting as well, inform your boss about all finalized arrangements for the meeting.

10.

A faculty member of an institution is leaving the job to settle abroad. You are the head librarian and notice that this person has not returned some expensive library books borrowed under his name. You find it your duty to inform the Principal about this problem and recommend that NOC be not granted to this person until he clears his library account. Compose a memo to the Principal. LETTER WRITING

11.Style Garments is a wholesale dealer of denim in Pakistan. Recently they received a request to send in their company profile to Europe. An Italian firm Venizachay Apparel had come across them in an international Trade Fair. Now are interested in doing business with Style garments. As a representative of Venizachay Apparel contact the Pakistani company telling about your kind of business asking for detailed company profile. 12.As a Manager of Style Garments it is your job to handle all such prospective business opportunities. The focus is on not letting the opportunity slip. Compose a reply to Q1. 13.Sialkot Sports Good Manufactures had a business delegation flying in from Greece to examine your manufacturing set up. On reaching the home country the delegation contacted you with an extremely positive response on their satisfaction of the quality of goods you manufacture. A comprehensive order of sports goods for Olympics is to be placed. You are invited to the host country of Olympics Before so that the contract may be finalized. Compose a letter from the Olympic Organizing Committee communicating this message. 14.As a Manager of Sialkot Sports Goods compose an acknowledgement letter. 15.Mr. John Lloyd has been contacted via inter net regarding a post of an Art Director at Ikea by Zeeshan Mustufa, a graduate of NCA with 6 years experience on his resume. You have been asked to compose a reference for Zeeshan Mustufa, who has worked as an Art Director at your Magazine. John Lloyd approached you directly requesting for a recommendation. 16.Compose a truthful recommendation for Zeeshan Mustufa. It should dread like an unbiased evaluation of your ex-employee. 17.Compose a letter of appreciation for your employee who has achieved an Annual Sales target just in time. You have also selected the person to attend a Business Convention in Australia. Compose the message. Invent all necessary details. 18.Your Publishing House, Pinnacle Books has recently printed an autobiography of a famous political personality. A reprint of the book has been brought into market on a recycled paper. This has reduced the cost of the book and as a result your business is suffering. Compose a letter of warning to the publisher who has violated the copyright act openly. 19.Grace University has designed a degree program for diploma holders who seek to acquire degrees in their respective professional fields. The target group either had financial imitations or is a class that was a college dropout with little passion for studies. Its a second chance to study and the best part is that you are offering an evening program so that these professionals are able to work and study together. Compose a persuasive message for a large audience.

20. Danish Salahuddin has reserved an apartment at Gulistan-e-Jauhar and is usually on time

with his payment schedule. The installment is to be paid on the 5th of every month. Unfortunately, this month he has not kept with the regular payment practice. It is August 20,2004 and you have not heard from him still. Compose a reminder that is both polite and courteous getting the message through as well. 21.Samina Ahmed Khan has recently completed her dentistry course. She has applied at you dental hospital for an internship. You are unable to accommodate her for various reasons. Create valid reasons to refuse. 22.A guest speaker had accepted your invitation to speak at the seminar on the role of NGOs for the development of Pakistan. A week is left in the event when you receive a message that he wont be able to make it, as he has to leave urgently for a cardiac surgery to the USA. Compose a letter of refusal with a practical alternative solution. 23.Notify it to the exporter that 40% of the consignment, that his company shipped, is damaged. You are in no position to sell it off on the original market price. A third party is to veto that the situation is genuine. The exporter and the importer may carry out a joint

investigation as well. Either demand a reimbursement or a discount on the goods shipped to you. 24.You received an application from a yoga instructor. The post was advertised in the local newspaper by your health club. Compose a refusal as the post has been filled already and you received her application 4 days after the given deadline. 25.You have subscribed to THE CONTEMPORARY LIVING MAGAZINE for the past five years. During the past two months you have received four notices that your subscription is about to expire. These notices urge you to renew your subscription immediately. According to the receipt you have your subscription still has two years to run. You renew your subscription one year ago. Write to the circulation manager. 26.Compose a reply from the circulation manager, acknowledging the error on part of the magazine, to the client of letter # 1. 27.You have been assigned to write a research paper on water pollution in the north east of your home town. You are especially interested in the industrial causes of the problem as well as legislative changes that are currently under consideration as a means of overcoming the problem. Write a letter to Senator Justin Davis, Chairman of the Fisheries, and request for some meeting time so that you may discuss the matter with him. 28.Compose a letter of refusal from the Senator inventing a plausible reason. He also suggests an alternative arrangement that suits you just as well. 29.For many years it was the policy of Classic Mail Order House to send a personal note to any customer whose order would be delayed more than a week. This chore has become too time-consuming. You have been asked to draft a form letter that could be sent to customers in case of a delayed order. 30.Bruce Andrews purchased a Gotcha electric shaver in Perth. The shavers warranty was for one year and covered parts and free service till then. After 17 months Bruce returned the shaver with warranty card because the motor had burnt out. The factory repair division estimate repairs will cost $ 15.78 plus postage. Write a letter to this customer explaining that the repairs will not be paid by the company. The company however does offer a 30 % trade in on new shavers. A new model of Gotcha Supersmooth costs $ 23. 31.For 10 years independent hardware shops have held stocks of your plastic roofing material. Your factory has just diversified into the hardware business and has decided to distribute this roofing material only through your own hardware chain. Write to one of your stockists explaining politely that you no longer require their services as your agents. 32.A well known food additive used by your company has been attacked in the press. The attack claimed that your products; a. are bad for teeth b. lead to hyperactivity in children c. lead to poor dietary habits in children 33.Write a convincing reply for publication as a news release. REPORT WRITING 34.You are asked to submit a Business Intelligence report to your Manager on the regular business strategies that your competitor adopts. This is just another routine report that your distribution business requires for its own clarity as to what line of action it needs to take to maintain your market share and increase it if possible. Compose an unbiased memo report. 35.Dutch delegates are coming to Pakistan to finalize the deal of a collaborative construction project in Islamabad. You have been given the responsibility to make all arrangements for

their stay from 25 to 29 August 2004. Your boss wants to see what is done and what needs to be done. Compose a report for this purpose. 36.Your organization has sponsored a concert arranger for the fund raising of a local cancer hospital. Now it needs to have a clear cut idea as to what promotional material be distributed or displayed out there for maximum projection of your products. As you are the Marketing Manager therefore you have been asked to draft a report in this respect.

37. You have been experiencing a severe backache due to the uncomfortable chair that you

have at your desk. Your physician has detected the problem and has asked you to take up a chair that assures maximum support for the spine. During informal conversation you found out that the other people in your office face the same problem. This is a reason for the dip in efficiency level of the work force. Compose a report for the top management, analyzing the issue with recommendations. 38.You were assigned the job of conducting a survey for your organization on the difficulties your large organization has experienced during recruiting and retaining staff. Write a memo report to your General Manager. 39.Your bosss son has expressed an interest in doing the Executive MBA Course you are currently enrolled in. He lives in Zambia but intends to return to continue studies next year. Compose a letter report on your bosss request providing details of the course and the benefits students will enjoy when they graduate. MEETING DOCUMENTS

40. In order to discuss the change in curriculum applicable from the new session, the principal
of Bright Future School has called a meeting. Prepare all the 3 meeting documents. Notice and agenda is to be made as a combination document.

41.Board of Directors of your organization are to meet in order to discuss the business expansion plan, which includes launch of two new products and extension of the factory and warehouse premises. Newly imported packaging machines are also to be installed at the earliest. Compose all the three meeting documents keeping in view the formats of all 3. Invent all necessary details.