To: NANCY MYERS

From: REO CHEESE WAGON

Date: MARCH 13, 2021
Subject: APLED 121 - Chapter 9 Summary

CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY– ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE

THE IMPORTANCE OF ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE

 Inquiries
 Cover letters
 Complaints
 Status reports
 Meetings, scheduling & organizing.
 Procurement
 Proposals.

WHICH COMMUNICATION CHANNEL SHOULD YOU USE?

 Electronic is good for casual business communication.
 Printed memos should be posted for an audience without regular access to electronic communications.
 Printed documents in a sealed envelope should be used for communications containing proprietary,
confidential, or legal service of documents.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE CHANNELS

 Letters, email, Memos and IM/TM.
 These range from internal/informal going to people that you know and work with to external/formal and
protracted going to leadership, customers or regulatory agencies.

REASONS FOR WRITING MEMOS, LETTERS, AND EMAIL

 Inquiries
 Cover letters
 Complaints
 Status reports
 Meetings, scheduling & organizing.
 Procurement
 Proposals.
 Documentation
 Confirmation
 Procedures
 Recommendations
 Feasibility
 Directive

USING AN ALL PURPOSE TEMPLATE FOR MEMOS, LETTERS, AND EMAIL

 Introduction – Get to the point.
 Discussion – Develop your content specifically.
 Conclusion – Conclude with a pleasant sign-off.
 CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY– ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE
(CONTINUED)
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF MEMOS
 Introduction
 Body
 Conclusion
 Must also have I.D. Lines
o Date
o Recipients
o From
o Subject

ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF LETTERS

 Writer’s Address.
 Date.
 Reader’s Address.
 Salutation.
 Letter Body.
 Complimentary Close.
 Signed Name.
 Typed Name.
 Optional Components Of Letters.
o Subject Line
o New Page Notations
o Writer’s and Typist’s Initials
o Enclosure Notation
o Copy Notation

LETTER FORMATS
There are three major type of letter formats :
 Full Block
o All information is on left margin, no indents or paragraphs.
o No subject line.
 Full Block With Subject Line
o All information is on left margin, no indents or paragraphs.
o Includes subject line.
 Simplified
o No Salutation opener.
o No complimentary closer.
 CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY– ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE
(CONTINUED)
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF EMAIL
 Identify Yourself.
 Provide An Effective Subject Line.
 Keep Your Email Message Brief.
 Organize Your Email Message.
o Introduction
o Discussion of subject.
o Conclusion
 Use Highlighting Techniques Sparingly
 Be Careful When Sending Attachments.
o Manage file size.
o Declare file format in email body.
 Practice Nettiquette.
o Be courteous.
o Be professional.
o Avoid abusive angry email messages.
o Avoid all capital letters.

CRITERIA FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROUTINE CORROSPONDENCE

Choosing a memo, letter, or email depends on the audience, if it is internal or external, and the subject.
Subjects such as :
 Inquiries
 Cover Letters
 Complaints
 Status Reports
 Meetings, Scheduling & Organizing
 Procurement/Orders
 Proposals
 Documentation
 Confirmations
 Procedures
 Recommendations
 Feasibility
 Directives
 Responses
 Adjustments
 And of course, Thank-Yous.

BUFFERS TO CUSHION BAD NEWS

 Establish rapport with audience with positive words.
 Sway your audience to accept bad news with facts.
 Provide information that everybody agrees on.
 Compliment the audience or show appreciation.
 Make you buffer concise and short.
 Make sure that your buffer is relevant to the message.
  Avoid placing blame.

INSTANT MESSAGES
IMs are typewritten conversation transmitted in real-time.
 Benefits Of Instant Messages Are :
o Faster communication
o Improved efficiency for collaboration between dispersed and groups and individuals.
o Synchronous communication with coworkers and customers
o Cheaper than long distance telephone rates.
o More personal than email.
o Less intrusive than voice calls.
 Challenges Of Instant Messages
o Security issues. Wifi through a handheld device is the least secure way to communicate.
o Lost productivity. Typing is slower than talking.
o Employee abuse. Abused employees work slower.
o Distraction.
o Nettiquette. Civility and manners can fall away over time due the brevity of the IM format.
o Spim and interstitial spam.
 Techniques For Successful Instant Messages
o Choose correct channel.
o Summarize decisions in group messages through other archivable channels.
o Tune in and use it, then turn it off to avoid distraction.
o Limit personal use.
o Never use IM for secure, confidential communication or for bad news.
 IM/TM Corporate Usage Policy
o Workplace should have IM/TM policy in place.
o Publish what kind of communication is allowed in the workplace.
o Do not allow password to be stored electronically.
o Install the usual security hardware and software fire walls and filters to protect against external
threats and spam.
o Archive IMs and TMs for company compliance and future research.

TEXT MESSAGES
Known as Short Message Service (SMS) is transmitted over all wireless phone services and has a 160
character limit.
 Reasons For Using TM
o Cost. TM is cheap.
o Everybody has access.
o Speed.
o Lends its self to multitasking. Can be done quietly while doing other things.
o Decreases the “Intimidation Factor”.
o TM communications are archivable on the device.

THE WRITING PROCESS AT WORK

 Prewriting
o Brainstorming and listing.
 Writing
o Overall organization
o Highlighting
o Details
 o Add graphics.
o Submit for suggestions and revisions.
 Rewriting
o Prepare and print or send a finished copy.