Office Administration Chapter 8 Writing Business Documents CPS

Office Administration Chapter 8: Writing Business Documents CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Positive Letters n n Types include orders, granting a refund or adjustment, response to an inquiry, or goodwill message Direct approach is used n n n Opening paragraph begins with goodwill and information Body paragraphs provide details Closing paragraph includes positive statement and request for action CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 2 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Routine or Neutral Letters n n Types include requests for information and responses to information requests Direct approach is used n n n Opening paragraph presents the main point Body paragraphs include facts to support the need for information Closing paragraph emphasizes the main point, asks for action, and provides contact information CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 3 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Negative Letters n n Types include refusal to send information or assistance, problem with an order, or refusal to grant action Indirect approach is used n n Opening paragraph is a buffer setting the stage for the negative news First body paragraph includes the rationale for the refusal Next body paragraph conveys the bad news Closing paragraph asks for action and a pleasant close CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 4 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Combination Letters n n Types include a partial order being filled or a partial response to an information request Letter should begin with the positive aspects of the message n n n Opening paragraph is the “yes” response Body paragraphs support the positive and negative aspects, be logical Closing paragraph should be positive, forwardlooking, include contact information CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 5 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Persuasive Letters n n Types include special requests for assistance or information and marketing goods, services, or ideas The Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) approach is used n n n Opening paragraph gets the reader’s attention Body paragraphs emphasize the reason the reader should respond positively Closing paragraph explains action and appeals to reader’s interest CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 6 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Merged Letters n Correspondence with some identical parts sent to more than one person or company n n n Personalized repetitive letters are the same letter sent to different people with their own address and personal information Letters with variable information inserts personalized information throughout the letter Letters from form paragraphs combine standard paragraphs to make different letters CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 7 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Memoranda n n Internal communication, sent within the organization A favorable memorandum is written using the direct approach for reasons similar to letters An unfavorable memorandum carries a “no” response, use an indirect approach A persuasive memorandum seeks a positive response from the reader, AIDA approach CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 8 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Informal or Short Report n n Internal document to transmit information: a proposal, feasibility study, or progress report Fewer pages better, no more than 4– 7 Use a memorandum format, letter format, or manuscript Approach may be direct or indirect, depends on message CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 9 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Electronic Mail n n Becoming typical way of sharing information inside and out of an organization Should be concise, correct, complete, and courteous Subject line should describe the content of the message Include a salutation (formal or informal) and message CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 10 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Types of Business Reports n n n Textual material is presented in narrative reports; numeric information in statistical reports Scheduled reports are sent at specific time intervals, special reports are prepared on demand A vertical report is sent to upper-levels, horizontal reports to those on the same level, and external reports outside the organization Nontechnical reports are sent to those without a background; technical reports go to those in the field Informational reports present facts, analytical reports present the facts and an interpretation of them Information can be presented chronologically, and psychologically CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 11 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Defining a Research Problem n n n Determine specific research questions Define at least three subproblems Perform preliminary research for background Set limitations for the study, narrow the topic Set the scope of the study and what will not be studied Identify the independent variables, and other factors CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 12 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Collecting Data n n Secondary research gathers information from what others have written Primary research is conducted through experiments, observation, and surveys Data collection methods must be carefully planned and monitored Question formats should be selected to make data analysis easy—closed, open, or scaled CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 13 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Analyzing Data and Reporting Findings n n Organize data for further evaluation and interpretation Evaluate and interpret data related to the problem that was defined Report findings in narrative format following the data presentation Conclusions and recommendations may follow CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 14 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Preparing the Report n n Organize the report sequence and approach, outline each section Writing the report includes preliminary documents (letter of transmittal, title page, table of contents), the body of the report (introduction, data analysis, and conclusions), and supplementary parts (bibliography, works cited, appendices, glossary) CPS ® and CAP ®Examination Review OFFICE ADMINISRATION, Fifth Edition By Schroeder and Graf 15 © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458