1、Chapter 5 Writing,The most important projects and decisions in the life of a business end up in writing.,I. Writing is an important form of management communication because it:,A. Provides a way to think about and organize a business;B. Provides analysis and justification for a managers best ideas;C
2、. Provides documentation and discipline for an organization.,II. An introduction to good business writing.A. Good business writing is simple, clear, and concise.B. It helps the reader focus on the idea the writer is trying to communicate, rather than on the words used to describe it.C. The evidence
3、used to support a writers ideas is readily understandable.,III. Here are fifteen ways to become a better business writer:A. Keep in mind that your reader does not have much time.B. Know where you are going before you start writing.C. Do not make any spelling or grammatical errors.D. Be responsive to
4、 the needs of the reader.,E. Be clear and specific. F. Try to use the present tense. G. Make your writing vigorous and direct. H. Use short sentences and paragraphs. I. Use personal pronouns. J. Avoid clichs and jargon. K. Separate facts from opinion.,L. Use numbers with restraint. M. Write the way
5、you talk. N. Never be content with your first effort. O. Make it perfect!,IV.The strategy of writing memos. A. Good memos get to the point, focus on just one issue, and support the writers central ideas with coherent, relevant, convincing evidence. B. Memos are usually internal documents and therefo
6、re are used to pass information, ideas, and recommendations to other people in the same organization.,C. The opening or overview paragraph of a memo should reveal a communication strategy for the entire document. 1. Purpose: Why are you writing the memo? 2. Main idea: What do you want to tell the re
7、ader? Or, what do you want the reader to do? 3. Opinion: What is your point-of-view on the subject?,V. When you know what you want to achieve and what you want your reader to learn from your writing you will need a communication strategy. A. Information strategies.1. To confirm agreement.2. To provi
8、de facts.3. To provide a point-of-view.,B. Action strategies.1. To request assistance.2. To give direction.3. To seek agreement.,VI. The overview is the first paragraph a reader will see and is one of the most important elements of a memo. A. Keep the words simple and the sentences short so that any
9、one who receives the document will understand it. B. Keep the overview brief as it is to act as an “executive summary” of the memo that follows. C. Deal with “what” is being addressed, not “how” to fix it. D. Include and identify the writers opinion. E. Reflect the needs of the reader. F. Although b
10、rief, the overview should be thorough and complete.,VII.A persuasive memo must provide a complete, logical argument with which the reader cannot disagree. A. Consider your objective against the readers attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge of the subject. B. Construct an outline on paper, focusing o
11、n the Situation Analysis and Rationale sections. This will help develop a logical argument and identify missing information. C. Include a plan of action to add credibility and practicality to the ideas presented in the memo.,D. Avoid controversial issues, opinions, and unsupported assertions in the
12、Situation Analysis. Stick to the facts to ensure the reader will agree with this section of the memo. E. Present your Recommendation and Rationale before you discuss other options that you have considered and rejected. F. Always lead from strength. 1. Start the proposal with a strong, confident Over
13、view. 2. Bring important ideas to the beginning of each section. 3. In the Rationale section, always present your arguments in order of performance.,G. Use precedent to make the proposal appear less speculative.H. Gear the argument to the decision criteria of the reader.,VIII. The outlining of a pro
14、posal memo. A. The flow of the outline follows three basic steps. 1. Situation Analysis: Where are we today and why are we here? 2. Recommendation: What should we do about it? 3. Rationale理由: Why is this a good thing to do?,B. The seven-step outlining procedure helps the writer to improve their thin
15、king and reduce confusion for the reader. 1. Review the strategy to ensure the goal of the memo is established. 2. Assemble all of the information that will go into the memo. 3. Identify and separate the information the reader needs to know to understand the situation.,4. Identify and separate the r
16、ecommended course of action. 5. Develop the rationale by eliminating invalid arguments and strengthening areas that appear unclear. 6. Rank the arguments from most powerful to least important. 7. Test the argument against the readers decision criteria.,IX.Standard formats for memos. A. Help the writ
17、er to organize information and concepts quickly. B. Help the reader to know immediately where to find pieces of information and how they fit together. C. Two suggested formats for business documents are The Proposal and The Information Memo.,1.These formats are appropriate regardless of how long and
18、 complex the memo is. 2.Note the formats suggested here separate the contents of a memo into six or seven sections, each no more than a paragraph or two, and each clearly marked with an all-caps, boldface heading.,X. Managers are often called upon to evaluate the actions of their competitors. A. Usi
19、ng the Information Memo Format is a good way to organize information and help managers through this process. B. Managers should also consider the following thoughts when preparing this memo. 1. The most important information (i.e., competitive strategy) is hidden below the surface. 2. Work backwards
20、 and construct a hypothetical statement of strategy based on whats happening in the marketplace.,3. Competitive appraisals are often triggered by changes, so include how recent actions fit in with past efforts. 4. Discuss the implications to your product or company. 5. Remain objective in your analy
21、sis.,XI. Meeting and conference reports are used to record decisions made at a meeting. A. Avoid long descriptions of meeting events. B. Use a standard format that includes the name of a groups, persons attending, and subjects covered. C. Briefly report on what was discussed or presented as well as
22、what was decided and why.,D. Focus your report on these issues: 1. What action is required. 2. Who is responsible. 3. What the timing will be.,XII. Project lists keep track of current and proposed activities. A. Simple descriptions of what the organization is doing to achieve goals or serve its cust
23、omers. B. Separate each project by category, then list projects in order of priority or importance. C. Each project should include: a title and brief description, status, next steps, responsible parties, and dates due. D. Completed or terminated projects should be shown as such the following month,
24、with a brief notation about why the project will not appear on future project lists.,XIII. Make memos inviting and attractive. A. Grab attention up front by presenting a strong overview section. B. Vary sentence and paragraph length - but keep them short. C. Use headings to improve organization. D.
25、Use bullets and numbers to identify groupings.,E. Use parallel structure for lists. F. Underline or use boldface type to focus on topic sentences, key words, and phrases. G. Leave adequate margins to make the document more inviting. H. Dont settle for a sloppy马虎or illegible难以辨认duplication.,XIV. Edit
26、ing your memo is necessary to produce quality writing. A. This process helps to trim, clarify, and simplify the document. B. To edit your memo, put yourself in the readers place and go through the document several times, each time asking yourself one of the following seven basic questions. 1. Is it
27、clear? 2. Is it complete?,3. Is it persuasive? 4. Is it accurate? 5. Is it concise简洁? 6. Is it inviting to read? 7. Is it perfect?,XV. Writing good business letters. A. Unlike memos, business letters are primarily external documents. B. Like memos, good letters are crisp, concise, spoken in tone, an
28、d organized so that readers can follow and understand with a minimum effort. C. Employ the following thoughts when writing a business letter: 1. Answer the mail within three business days or drop the reader a note explaining the situation.,2. Show by your words and actions that you are genuinely int
29、erested in them and the issue they have written about. 3. Do not be too short, brief, or curt简短的. 4. Soften the blow of bad news by saying you are sorry it happened, you regret the outcome, or some similar selection of words. 5. Share in the readers good fortune if it is good news. 6. Give the reade
30、r the benefit of the doubt if the issue is not clear. 7. Never send off an angry letter.,8. If an odd character crosses your path, be polite, do your job, and they will usually go away. 9. Show that you have a sense of humor if someone makes (or attempts) a joke. 10. Make sure your letter answers al
31、l of the questions your audience is likely to have; respond to their fears, doubts, and concerns.,XVI. Guidelines to follow when you are required to explain something.A. Nothing is self-explanatory. Explain in simple, ordinary English what you want your reader to know.B. Explain any scientific or te
32、chnical language used in the document.C. Be sequential in your explanations, moving step-by-step through processes that are complex.D. Make certain you provide enough to answer questions, allay fears, and quell平息doubts.,E. Dont overdo it. Provide enough detail to satisfy their curiosity, but not so
33、much that you put them off. F. Illustrate. If you cannot explain it, perhaps you can show it. G. Answer expected questions. H. Caution the reader about items that can be easily misunderstood or misread.,XVII. Guidelines to follow when you are required to apologize. A. Take the complaint seriously. B
34、. For the most part, people will calm down and adopt a more understanding attitude if you simply explain what happened and tell them why. C. Dont shift the blame. Just accept responsibility for what has happened and offer a solution. D. Dont just write. Do something to fix the problem.,XVIII. The st
35、yle of your writing is important to your career development.A. Business writing is best received if it is compact, informal, and organized.B. This brand of writing leads to organizational efficiency, personal productivity, and upward movement in your career.,XIX. Help to make your writing more effic
36、ient by eliminating common problems.A. Use plain English to replace big words.B. Dont use words ending in “-wise.”C. Avoid doublings or words having the same meanings to describe what you want your reader to know.D. Avoid the use of noun modifiers.,E. Avoid using the phrase “it is” unless it refers
37、to something definite mentioned earlier. F. Avoid using legal-sounding language. G. Remember that two-word modifiers may need hyphens when two words act as one. H. Express ideas involving action with specific verbs. I. Try to avoid specialized terms with outsiders and use them no more than you must
38、with insiders.,J. More often than not, “that” and “which” do not help the meaning or flow of a sentence, so use them sparingly. K. Eliminate “the _ion of.” construction whenever the context permits. L. Simplify wordy expressions.,XX. Try to make your writing more like your speaking.A. Write with per
39、sonal pronouns.1. Use we, us, and our when speaking about the company.2. Use I, me, and my when speaking for yourself.B. Occasionally use contractions. Using negative contractions for instructions often softens direct orders.C. Occasionally reach out to your reader by asking questions.D. Use short s
40、poken transitions more often than long formal ones.,E. Do not rework a sentence just to shift a preposition from the end.F. Keep sentences short, about twenty words on average.,XXI.Use active verbs in place of passive verbs. A.Passive sentences are deadly in business memos for three reasons. 1.They
41、obscure responsibility by omitting a subject or human actor from the sentence. 2.They are almost always longer sentences. 3.They delay discussion of the subject.,B. To write actively, remember this simple rule: put the doer before the verb.C. Passive sentences may be used in one of three circumstanc
42、es:1. When the doer is obvious.2. When the doer is unknown.3. When the doer is unimportant.,XXII. A few more organizational tips to improve your letters. A. Open with your main point, the one sentence you would keep if you could just keep one. B. Give directions before reasons, requests before justi
43、fications, answers before explanations, conclusions before details, and solutions before problems. C. Use headings and sub-headings to break-up information. D. Make reading easier by keeping paragraphs short. E. Do not clutter your first paragraph with unnecessary chatter.,XXIII. Every manager has a
44、 responsibility to improve the communication skills of his or her subordinates. A. Show your people you want clear, concise writing by example. B. Know what you want before giving assignments and then proceed to give specific directions. C. When projects are difficult or complex, break up the assign
45、ment into manageable parts. D. Read and review before discussing a memo.,E. When you review a memo, start with big issues. 1. Do not rewrite the memo. 2. Remember to be positive in your suggestions. F. Be certain the writer understands and agrees with your comments. G. Give people flexibility and freedom to develop their own style.,
