Study Guide For Module No. 7

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.
0 10-July-2020
Study Guide in GE 4: Purposive Communication Module No.6
STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 7
Communication for Work Purposes
MODULE OVERVIEW
Workplace communication is a discipline of its own that is unlike academic or scholastic writing.
Workplace writing serves specific purposes for particular individuals, groups, organizations or departments.
The same is true to spoken communication in the workplace both in personal interactions or through phone
conversations. Therefore, in communicating in the workplace, your purpose and audience should be identified
and specifically considered to ensure that your message and the way you deliver your message are
appropriate to the context.
MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the module, the students are able to:

1. Create clear, coherent and effective communication materials;
2. Present ideas persuasively using appropriate language registers, tone, facial expressions, and gestures; and
3. Adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting/communicating ideas.
LEARNING CONTENTS (title of the subsection)

A. WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION
In communicating in the workplace, there are at least three things you need to
carefully consider: Purpose, Audience and Tone:
1. Purpose. According to Searles (2014), nearly all workplace writing is done for at least
one of three purposes: to recreate a record, to request or provide information, or to
persuade.
So, before attempting to compose a letter, you must first do some thinking in order to
identify which of the three categories of purpose applies. Ask yourself two questions: to Am
I writing primarily to create a record, to request/provide information, or to persuade?
Summarize in one sentence, what am I trying to say? To answer, focus on your subject
matter, with special emphasis on the most important elements. To enable you to get off to a
running start, answering the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) might be a helpful
strategy.
2. Audience. Who will read what I have written? That is the next logical question. Also, the
following questions should be considered: Am I writing to one person or more than one?
What are their job titles and/or areas of responsibility? What they do already know about
the specific situation? Why do they need this information? What do I want them to do as a
result of receiving it? What factors might influence their response? (Searles, 2014). By
answering these questions, you will be better able to state the purpose of your
communication, provide necessary detail, cite meaningful examples, achieve the correct
level of formality, and avoid possible misunderstandings, thereby achieving the outcome
that you desire.
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020
In identifying your audience, the following broad categories of workplace

communication must be considered:
a. Upward Communication—from your position to an audience above you in the
job hierarchy. Example: A response to a letter from your manager.
b. Lateral Communication—between you and audience within your level of
hierarchy. Example: A phone call to/from a coworker you are collaborating with.
c. Downward Communication—from your position to an audience below you in the
job hierarchy. Example: An oral reminder to a trainee.
d. Outward Communication—between you and a company that you do business
with or an audience outside your workplace. Example: A letter of inquiry addressed to a
supplier regarding a delivery to your office.
The category influences workplace communication in many ways, particularly in

determining format. For example, for the first three categories, memos and emails are the
preferred mediums. For the fourth one, writing business letters, and sometimes for
efficiency purpose, emailing are the norms.
3. Tone. After determining your target audience and what you want to say, you now have to
identify the tone in your discourse. The tone will set how your target audience will accept
what you are trying to say. Ideally, you have to set a climate of informality in your
communication style.
The following examples from Searles (2014) will show you the difference between reader-
centered from writer-centered approach:
Writer-Centered Reader-Centered
I’d be happy to assist you with your If you have any concern,
concern.
We will send you a copy of your request… The copy you requested has already been
sent…
I’m happy to let you know… You’ll be glad to know that…
As a writer, you should also consider the saying, There is no I in the TEAM. In some
sensitive situations, and in cases of collaborative effort, you have to use the pronoun We to
express cooperation between you and your reader. By doing this, the reader will
understand that you are sharing the burden of an issue or being in line with the objective
included in your discourse.
In addition, communicating appropriately in the workplace requires you to have great
deal of sensitivity and tact. This means that you have to express your message in a gentle
manner even if the subject of your workplace correspondence has an unpleasant climate,
such as apologizing for a delayed project, going beyond a deadline, or denying a claim. In
these cases, you have to us ethe upbeat, relatable, gentle and reader-centered wordings
that you can think of. Please and Thank you are positive words that may exude a sense of
understanding between you and your reader.
The following are some examples on how to rephrase a negative content to a more positive
climate:

Negative Positive
I cannot process your request for a credit in Your request for a credit in your account
your account unless it has been will be processed after it
Been investigated by the fraud department. has been investigated.
We are closed after 5:00 PM daily. You may visit us daily before 5: PM.
Wait for our call regarding your concern. Please be advised that you can expect a
call from us regarding your request.
Finally, if a problem or issue had been caused by you represent, you have to include an
apology in your communication. But you have to remember not to include the
specifics of your mistake or it may be used as evidences if the situations get out of hand.
You just simply acknowledge that a mistake was made and apologize for it. Here is an
example of a statement that is less incriminating.
Thank you for being able to use our service and contacting your concern. We
apologize for the unsatisfactory service provider had caused you.
Making an apology which is vague and rather impersonal does not mean that
workplace communication suggests to falsify responsibility. It is important that you uphold
moral and ethical standards in providing sincerity to an issue.
Speaking of moral and ethical standards, remember that workplace communication

will fail the ethics test if it is corrupted by any of the following tactics identified by Searles
(2014):
1. Suppression of Information: The outright of burying of data to hide inconvenient truths.

(Example: A company fails to reveal product-testing results that indicate potential danger to
consumers.
2. Falsification or fabrication. Changing or simple inventing data to support a desired

outcome. (Example: A company boasts of a fictitious enterprise to lure investors into
supporting a new venture.)
3. Overstatement or understatement. Exaggerating the positive aspects of a situation or

downplaying negative aspects to create the desired impression. (Example: A public-opinion
survey describes 55 percent of the respondents as a “substantial majority” or 45 percent as
“a small percentage.”).
4. Selective misquoting: Deleting words from quoted material to distort the meaning.
(Example: A supervisor changes a report’s conclusion that “this proposal will seem feasible
only to workers unfamiliar with the situation” to “this proposal will seem feasible …to
workers.”)
5. Subjective wording: Using terms deliberately chosen for their ambiguity. (Example: A
company advertises service charges,” knowing that “customary” is open to broad
interpretation.
6. Conflict of interest: Exploiting behind-the-scenes connections to influence decision

making. (Example: A board member of a community agency encourages the agency to hire
her company for paid services rather than soliciting bids.)

7. Withholding information: Refusing to share relevant data with coworkers. (Example: A

computer-savvy employee provides misleading answers about new software to make a
recently hired coworker appear incompetent.
8. Plagiarism: Taking credit for someone else’s ideas, findings, or written material.
(Example: An employee assigned to prepare a report submits a similar report written by
another company and downloaded from the Internet.
B. BUSINESS LETTERS
Over the past years, the skill in business writing is considered as one of the
important elements for success in any field of endeavor, be it in business, profession, or
specialization. Thus, obtaining skills in making an effective business letter is a requirement
to making a strong connection to any linkages in any kind of transaction.
Here are the following definitions given by experts about business writing:
Nordquist (2017), author and professor in Armstrong State University, said in his
online article: The term business writing refers to memoranda, reports, proposals, emails,
and other forms of writing used in organizations to communicate with internal or external
audiences. Business writing is a type of professional communication. Also known as
business communication and professional writing.
Mosura, et al. (1999), in their book entitled Contemporary Technical Writing Styles
and Strategies said: Writing business correspondence like letters and memos is a skill or
potential that must be developed and possess by a person regardless by his work,
profession or specialization.
Cullen (2017), an international business writing can propel both careers and
businesses. It is the channel that transmits nearly all business work and insight and
interaction. It flows up, down, laterally, internally, and externally to customers. It is the
foundation of business.
These provide you with ideas regarding the use and importance of business letters in
almost all sorts of transaction, that having necessary skills in making them as early as your
student years will be your advantage.
All business letters have the following basic parts:

1. The heading. You can see here the return address and the date on the last line.
Sometimes, the date is seen on the right side depending on the format that will be used.
Example:
The National Teachers College

Quiapo, Manila
Telephone Number
Email

January 1, 2028
2. Inside Address/Recipient’s address. This part contains the name to which the letter is
written and addressed. It could be a person, a company or an organization’s name.
DR. VICTORIA B. MARTINEZ

Principal
St. Anthony Integrated School
Quezon City
3. Salutation. This is the greeting part that is written in a polite and courteous manner
followed by a comma (,) or a colon (.)
Example:
Mr.(Name), Madame (Name):
Sir (Name), Dear Madame (Name):
Dear Sir (Name), Dear Dr. (Name):
My dear (Name), Dear Rev. (Name);
Mrs. (Name), Miss (Name):
4. Body of the letter. This part contains the main purpose of the letter, the very reason for
writing. It is very important that the body of the letter be written in a straightforward, simple,
and coherent manner.
Example:
The undersigned would like to request your good office to grace her an interview
with the one in-charge on the Human Resource Management in your respected company.
This is in line with the expansion that our business is going to have whether we can
consider your business as one of our partners. These all will be depending on the result of
our somehow quick survey and study with your company.
The undersigned is fervently hoping for your favorable response.

5. Complimentary closing. This is the polite yet business-like ending of the letter. This
ends with a comma (,).
Examples:
Sincerely yours, Very sincerely,
Truly yours, Very sincerely yours,
Respectfully yours, Very respectfully yours,
Much obliged, Very much obliged,
6. Signature block. The name of the sender is written on the first line, then his/her position
on the next line. It is expected that the sender will put his/her signature above his/her name.

Remember, some business letters have other parts like the letter head, thru lines,
attention line, enclosure line, copy furnish line, and initial of the typist.
These are formats of a business letter according to

https://www.nmu.edu/writingcenter/parts-business-letter:
1. Block. This is the format that positions all the parts of the letter to the left, single space,
and justified. Double space is used only when starting a new paragraph.
2. Modified block. This is the format wherein all the parts of the letter are tabbed on the
left, single space, and justified except the heading and the closing which are tabbed in the
center.

3. Semi-block. Here, the paragraphs are indented instead of placing them all on the left.
Heading is on the center, and the date can be placed in the right side three spaces after the
heading. The recipient’s address is on the left, and the closing on the right.
The following are the most frequently written business letters. Each is briefly described and
exemplified using different formats:
1. Letter of Request. This letter is written to make someone do something or consider
something. A letter requesting for an interview is an example of this. The application letter

could be the most popular example of this as the applicant is requesting a prospective
employed to consider his job application.
Example:







LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

L
EARNING CONTENTS (title
LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
Skill Builder 20.


Summary:
Oral presentations in the workplace have distinct features. Unlike the usual public speaking for general
purposes, an oral presentation uses a more business-like tone and language because of the facts that it is
used for work purposes. It typically utilizes audio-visual materials such as projectors and other presentation
software.
An oral presentation may be delivered to an internal (within the organization) or external (outside the
organization) audience. Some examples of an oral presentation for internal audience include presentations
during departmental meeting, employee orientation, and annual reports. Oral presentations for external
audience include sales presentations and business proposal presentation. With the advent of technology, an
oral presentation may not be done face-to-face but also through video conferencing.
SUMMAR
References:
Barrot, J., & Sipacio, PJ., (2018). Purposive Communication in the 21 st Century
Bernales, R., Balon, W., Bibligan, RJ., (2018). Purposive Communication in Local and Global Contexts.

Study Guide For Module No. 7

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Study Guide For Module No. 7

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

Study Guide in GE 4: Purposive Communication Module No.6