IL. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE BC-1 Need, Functions and Kinds of a Business Letter (0 Need of a Business Letter 0 Functions of a Business Letter 6 Kinds of a Letter CO Kinds of a Business Letter “CF Questions for Assessment Q Need of a Business Letter Every business, whether big or small, has to maintain contacts with its suppliers, customers, prospects, government departments and the like. In his regular work, a businessman has to exchange information of varied types with different parties. Making and/or soliciting enquiries; placing orders for goods; acknowledging and executing orders; granting or applying for credit; sending statements of account to debtors; Tequesting for settlement of accounts; complaining about delaor mistake in supply of goods; making adjustments for customers’ grievances; canvassing for the firm’s new lines of goods or ideas; and a lot of such matters require communication. Included in this list is also the correspondence with government departments, such as the tax section of the local government, sales-tax and income-tax offices, etc. In the case of a very small business, letter-writing may be less important, but is not unimportant. As and when the business expands, its activities increase, as also the Number of its suppliers and prospects. It is difficult to maintain personal contact with all Persons and institutions, particularly if the geographical distance between the firm and these outsiders widens. The best method for all these persons institutions to contact other is correspondence — the written communication. etter to maintain contacts with the external world stomers and government departments. Il business establishment but it is * We need to write a business | including other businessmen, cu: * Letter-writing may be less important for a smal indispensable. & scanned with OKEN ScannerQ Functions of a Business Letter ‘As L, Gartside” puts it, there are four main reasons for writing busi @ to rovide « convenient and inexpensive means of nee personal contact; 'Unicat ii) to seek or give information; (iii) to furnish evi 0 (iv) to provide a & scanned with OKEN Scannerin it. It can even be treated as “ rt of law in case of dispute, ac 4 valid doc ‘ument th at can be produced as evidence in Action can be taken, responsibilitie S can be fixe, y i communications are had in writing ihe i i pone OF telegraphic communications need confirmatic Building goodwill. An import tation and friendliness of a “Prpany relationship, holding p; spactive accounts and inviting underlying purpose of all letters j and mistakes can be pointed out is that oral communications over on in writing, business lette at building g and capturing new ones, reviving Y More and varied products, The ers by making friends company. It aims resent customers customers to by S to create custom T is to sell the good oodwill in customer- A business letter serves as a record for future reference. Bee ate itrble repression on the receiver's ning than an oral message Sinceit can reach anywhere, itis used to widen the an of operations. : It is used as a legal document, Itis used to build goodwill. Q_Kinds of a Letter Broadly speaking, letters can be classified as personal and non-personal. Personal letters are informal and are written to exchange news or to seek favours, Letters to relatives and friends are personal letters. Personal letters are written in a friendly, informal style. Business letters are non-personal letters, Q Kinds of a Business Letter For the sake of convenience we can divide business letters into the following kinds: A. 1. Enquiries and replies; 2. Orders and their execution; 3. Credit and status enquiries; 4. Complaints and adjustments; 5. Collection letters. B. 1. Circular letters; 2. Sales letters, 1. Bank correspondence; 2. Insurance correspondence; 3. Import-export correspondence; 4. Agency correspondence. . 1. Application letters; : Oca der et rmechanent eign. og a testimonials, letters of appointment, & scanned with OKEN ScannerB. 1. The correspondence of a company secretary; 2 Correspondence with State and Central Government. F. 1, Letters to the press. . is cane Business letters can also be with a request to newspapers reserve to themselves the right to publish it with or without to reject it altogether. Telease is different from a press report. ‘A correspondent representing a ra news agency covering an event on his own writes a press report. A ending matter for publication prepared by its own staff is issuing a press ts often prepare their reports on the basis of the releases issued to These days, every newspaper devot this heading are prepare & scanned with OKEN Scannerit nce & scanned with OKEN Scanner— It ma why? atehcinbe sth, oe be Possible ¢ = Y impart dep he answer why, but gince press releases are usual] eee coe E . Y very g gjscetion to determine what details ¢g fea 2 Ne writer wit have : as ‘ave to use his or her art from this, there are a fe i ee : 'W other points that can be kept in mind wh mind while preparing « Every release should be given a headi paasine. leading which ig catchy and suggestive but not 8 not « The first one or two Paragraphs that Besides, they should give the ee at “ostitute the lead shout be interesting « Paragraphs should be kept short, i Misheadings. rt, and if desirable, they should be provided with Every release should be accompanied with a covering letter. © Press releases cover important events like Appointments, new contracts, new products, collaborations and mergers, seminars, conferences, social welfare projects, etc. Press reports are often prepared by reporters on the basis of the press releases issued by companies. D Characteristics of a good press release: © Newsworthy, © actually true, © Brief, © Simple language, © Suitable for publication, © Answers as many of the 5 W's as important. Apress release should also © have a catchy heading, © be written in short paragraphs, © be accompanied with a covering letter- & scanned with OKEN Scannerce aan leases al = . an important appointment, a specimen Pres Re! Example 1. A press release regarding Covering letter ae peppy, CHETTY, NAMBIAR LIMITED parel, Mumbai rebruary 15, 20-+ the Chief Reporter the Economic Times Mumbai Dear sir : Press release subject : | I am enclosing a press release relating to the appoint. — 1c Vice-Chairman. I hope it ment of Dr. P.N. Reddy a8 ov: will be accommodated in your weekly column ‘Executive Diary’. Dr. Reddy's photograph is also enclosed. yours Sincerely For REDDY, CHETTY, NAMBIAR LIMITED Ss. Parmeswaran Public Relations Officer Encl : 1. Press release 2. Dr. Reddy’s photograph. Press Release Dr. Reddy, the new Vice-Chairman of REDDY, CHETTY, NAMBIAR LIMITED Dr. P.N. Reddy, Personnel Director REDDY, CHETTY |AMBIAR LIM! be ceva tothe poston af the Viee Chairman ake eee MA chemical technolo : . Reddy has been with the Company since 1980. He is the President of stitute of Personnel Management and Executive Member of the westem committee of the Empk f i committee ployers’ Federation of India and alternate member of > & scanned with OKEN ScannerOC Meetin 1 Introduction G Formal and Informal Meetings Wry Meetings Misfire 1 How to Make Meetings Successful C1 The Duties of the Chairperson OO Members’ Duties + 1 Questions for Assessment Q Introduction A meeting consists of two or more individuals assembled to discuss an iss resolve a conflict, to exchange views, to deliberate on a problem, or maybe met pool or to transmit information. Meetings are an integral aspect of the corporate Meetings of the members of a particular department, meetings of the department or meetings between the management and the employees are internal meetings. may be a meeting between company officials and some external agency like a b: insurance company, etc. Or there can be company meetings, such as a meeting Board of Directors of a company, Annual General Meeting and statutory meetings Directors and Shareholders. © Formal and Informal Meetings Formal meetings are held according to pre-established procera ty ni announcing the date, venue and agenda has to be circulated among t oor 7 advance (how much in advance is also already decided). The pees oe ied without a quorum that is, the presence of a minimum ans a age er to accept the meting as valid. The secretary is Required Eee rier] meetings. Board meetings, statutory meetings, eae oe are all formal meetin Meetings and Meetings of Shareholders or Debentur: & scanned with OKEN Scannera al meetings can be held anytime MEETINGS BIT infowetings take the shape of » Without a m record the minutes for; 30° etiae. ‘mally, esiede Fe eons and it is not et members ePing a proper Tecord of 4. “itculation of the that ensure that the discussion ry OF a fixed agenda oon itive note. foaposit 5 Meeting is an merely, Of two or more in « todiscuss an issue, « toresolve a conflict, « toexchange views, « tosolvea problem, «to transmit information, 1 Formal meetings «Held according to pre-established + Notice, agenda and quorum neces. 0 Informal meetings ¢ Primarily brainstorming sessions, * Notice, dividuals Procedures, sary. agenda or quorum not necessary to validate the meeting. Most people believe that nothing worthwhile is achieved in meetings. Members assemble, talk at random, let off so: me steam, take tea and snacks, and disperse. There seem to be some truth in this belief. We discuss below some of the factors *sponsible for the failure of meetings. |. Poor leadership Very often the meetings of a committee misfire because of poor leadership. The Person fails to effectively control the meeting and give a direction to the ee nitenbers get distracted from the main subject and lose themselves in a maze o ilevancies ’ Sverbearing Leadership a ian irperson behaves in an Whortan SCY the opposite of poor leadership. Here the chairperson b haves nan Seeman feonner a doen sgnaliowehe members to express een Reel p WNication, is choked and idea-production is stifled. psoas Sn er ir own i d try to shape their contri "the orth of their own ideas an | M wants to hear. a. & scanned with OKEN ScannerESSENTIALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION ith Formal Procedures of the secretary, form: at procedulas not been given and fijegen ie ‘Feta, 3. Lack of Compliance wi on account of the negligence ‘a proper notis is not complete. No meeting can be held and there is unnecessary wa’ wastage offigg 4. Inadequate or Very Large Membership Ifa meeting is being attended by too many oF fe work ended by too many or too few members, its Worky | 5 a small number of participants, the meet bey, Prot available. Oe afar and, f affected. If ¢ repress native and an adequate variety of opinions i he attendance at a meeting is too large, there is such a large diversit becomes difficult to take any ccc ” 1 ot opt that ip 5. Undesirable or Incompetent Membership ing of meetings, it is very essential that right are asked to attend them. If the members know their job well, toren Prope reduce the meeting to an ‘organised pooling of ignorance’. If they ae vue they will wreck the meeting. a explosive or rigid and unaccommodating tl For successful functioni ‘1 Meetings usually misfire because the chairperson fails to control the meeting and gi the chairperson is too dominating and the mem themselves freely, @ proper procedures have not been complied with while calling the meeting, © the participants are either t00 few ‘and therefore there is poverty of opinion or fy many and therefore they fail to function as a unified 3YOUP, the participants are not qualified to fulfil the purpose of the meeting. How to make Meetings Successful wing guidelines should be helpful in ensuring the success of a meeting: ive it a meaningful direction, bers are not able to expres The follo 1. Clearly define the purpose of the meeting. defined, it will immediately help to decide whether itis ible that in certain cases it may suff If the purpose is clearly to call a meeting. It is quite poss) inion of the people roidable loss of d individually ask for the opi Ip to take a quick decision without any av‘ X © call a meeting, the next step is to mine who ¢ t items should be on the agenda. 2. Distribute the agenda among all the members. portance, for if members are ignorant of the i participation in ; This is of utmost im] not be able to make any advance preparation be ineffective. & scanned with OKEN Scanner necessary circulate a note an procedure will hel money. If it is necessary t attend the meeting and what |all the facts, the items on the agenda req om ing is to rane those facts iqg sales Of a particular Produ ‘ance. If a ny some im ct, eet feet sowl be colected ndcal e c ang nbe am — the number of invites, ong the members, number of invitees to a meet; ‘ eeting sh . roductive. Only th 8 Should not b, be unprot y those persons sj De Very large, of the subject to be discussed, anc eo be invited wi a 1 UtBe groups tend 4 ooh : > ending @ meeting is between five and ten, e'se. The optimum number ae nee Wire th, in ady, Members 'Portant facts, th called to discuss the ving any bearing on e (1 Ameeting can be successful if its purpose is well defined, the items on the agenda are well defined, the agenda is circulated among the inemiore ‘well in adva all inputs required to have a meaningful Ee the number of invitees is restricted, eee ees discussion are readily available, Ifyou are the chairperson at a meeting and want to run it successfully, the following should prove very useful to you. Observe punctuality. Itis always good to start a meeting on time. Do not wait for the members who have come. Do not think of those who are absent, think of those who are present. If you ‘nit for the late-comers, those who are in time for this meeting will be late for the next, Besides, if you begin a meeting on time, you can hope to end it on time. 2 Clearly define the purpose of the meeting. circulated, it is only reaso! * Begin on a positive note. the tone and dir ‘ng that per for a specific purpose oc “nc contribution to the realisation of that Purpose two to present Be ite OF Sra see Det ei a “Problem, Short openings sugses* eres ly reasonable to assume that the 7 ing. Give the members th jirection of the et is anit to make their & scanned with OKEN Scannerthis urgency and the members) become lek leisure! openings take the edge off this approach. 5. Sit out the in ‘The chairperson’s opening general reluctance 0 speak. People " To find out where other Prop mmeone to take the respons sirable to suggest ways of s very und ther members’ thinking: One of your impo! way that only one cause disunity ant i i as 10. ¢ You should not suppress em out to the members $0 willingly °F rejected. 11. Clarify contributions: ‘Make it sure that each sure common misconception that & scanned with OKEN Scannera ite a lot of what is said j tut 0" uestions, ng 8 Mise, | » pull d. ; | 1ski08, etation, asking mee apa ‘haitperson can pl, | night not be clear. 8 t0 elaborate ous ing words” ‘thar. | ‘ain points and res i" make frequent summaries, sae Positive role could lead Ss ‘asing statements It is a good Practice to keep o, sent. SUMMATIeS Serve to clari ” summarising th wed and which points cena est Points hav PrOBESS Of the meeting to all et OFe attention, But these sme te discussed and summari, point out the decisions reached, Were: When the meeting is about to en bring clarity to the discussion sak & “leat itive has been achieved. Bive the Point out the differences. with the decisions, disa; Bee hetien ied Saiaen should also be stated clearly. You should . Saad and Crit re on major or minor issues. These issues will iscussed in subsequent meetings, so everybody should be clear them. (contd. on page OC-36) Statement of the decisions arrived at. members satisfaction that something Ifyou are acting as the chairperson at a meeting, you should © begin and end the meeting on time, restate the purpose of the meeting in spite of the agenda having been circulated in begin on a positive note, giving the members a sense of purpose, keep the opening remarks brief in order to seta businesslike pace, wait for ra a member to initiate the discussion rather than take the lead, conduct the meeting neutrally and impartially, ; keep your own ee keep in check emotional flare-ups between other members encourage all the members to contribute to the discussion, keep the meeting orderly and ae shee them creatively 50 that i . a cout the decisions a members clear in they do not & scanned with OKEN ScannerEGE esseviaus oF susiness communicaTion i tion, 15. Point out the course of act nt part of the meeting. You should clearly indi se the meeting are to be implemented, In faet, you should follow paw confirmation of the decisions reached and the action to be 16. Close the meeting in time. je If you are able to keep to the stated time limit, you will cr impression on the members. The meeting should neither drag o1 come to an abrupt close. Members’ Duties If you have been invited to att positive contribution and not contribution will depend upon a representing a particular section or advice or information in a] (©) (d) 2. Study the other The next important step is participants, their likes and the way they react to different are committed to certain sj meeting only to pull the s that they are unwilling even to: 3. Speak at the most a A number of good spe have really good ideas that you a & scanned with OKEN Scanner