Teicalbtxoent Business Style guide Advanced Business EnglishPearson Education Limited contents Edinburgh Gate Introduction 2 and Associated Companies throughout the world. General nules z sewnlongmancom ‘Onganising your writing 4 © Pearson Education Limited 201 une - ‘Numbers 8 The right of Tonya Trappe and Gesham Tullis be 1 ofthis Work has been asserted by Spelling 9 cordance with the Copyright, Designs and ey ee 8 Abbreviations 2 Test messaes B eters 4 6 ed 200 sli Memos 8 as pant of Intelligent Business Advanced BN 978-4ORD-7733 andl ISBN. 9734082-5597) Minutes [Not for separate sale. Short ceports Press releases Set in Eeonomist Roman 10s /125 bby Neografia Designed by Wooden Ari.iieduction 20 in your business writing. Eee rules Before you write ‘Ask yourself the following “* Who am | writing to? lp you to determine the tone and degree of formality. never be t00 informal and should always be polite and courteous, = Why am I writing? tis a good idea to note ‘+ What does my correspondent know? Never assume the other person has all the background information necessary (0 ‘understand your message. Think about ‘we shall be glad to furnish such cuitional els as muy he require by telephone. Write If you have any questions, please ving. + Don't be overtechnical or use slang ot jargon. Your reader may not understand. Dont write: Foon a-rall here. Write: ‘The trip has been suecessil so fer, + Don't overuse people's better to use them only in the opening Before you send + Akoays read your business communication it aloud to see ceagy to read. + Ask yourselE Could the person reading this tnderstand and act upon it fiom a singe reading + Check for spelling and grarnmar mistakes. Do not rely on spellcheck software, as it will Ce eres rEOrganising your wri From plan to paragraph You should start by thinking about the message that yous want to communicate. IF you have a clear idea of this, it will help to make your writing coherent. ‘Make notes ofall of your idess and then onganise these into tapi areas. Each topic area should canis of one of your main ideas and may also include a number of secondary points that you can develop. Draw up a plan for each topic area and start to think ofthe order in whieh you want to preset them. The order will depend on how the topic area relate to each other snd on how you wish to develop your message. Each topic area and any related secondary points will usualy foem a paragraph, ‘Moving on to 3 new paragraph shows your readers that yeu are focusing on a new topic area, ‘The paragraphs themselves can be onjanised in diferent ways: you may want to present the information chronologically ‘or you may prefer to present points in Corder of imponance. Alternatively, you _may wish fo balance negative and positive ‘points or compare and contrast diferent ideas First draft IF you have prepared your plans wel, the weting process should be relatively straightforward. You can now give your full attention tthe language that you are going to use. Prepare a first draft of the complete document and den read through it to see which sections need to be improved or resriten. Final draft Before you present the final draft of yout text, you should read it through several times, eliminating repetitions and changing ambiguous phrasing You can also make long sentences shorter or connect short sentences together. When you are happy with the wording of your final document, you should do a final check for any spelling and punctuation mistakes that you may have overlooked, ‘Compare the first and final drafts opposite. Notice how in the final draft, sentences and wordings have been changed and linking expressions and paragraphs have been used. Useful phrases and notations Linking expressions Using the right linking expressions will allow you to connect your sentences and your ‘paragraphs together smoothly and will show "your eader hw you message is together. Use inking expression to + show contrast: However... On the other hand... ‘whereas while although ive additional information: In aiition «.. “+ summarise: Tn concusion ... To conclude. Tou op. shaw cause and effect Consequently... Asa rest Theefor Bs because of... .. due to © Give examples: Jorexample .. .. for instance. = mate veforences: theformer... the latter... the one / the ones. Notes 4 action rironmental ACHES mentation (OREO Ant Background! ipresoure from ong for mp Peotone titans & = Performance Prodiote complete pease ceca First draft (Our Environmental Action Plan was launcted two years ago to respond to changes In our industy, More and more customers wanted information about our products! ‘environmental impact. The investment community needed more information and tighter regulation and controls (eco labels) were being introduced in markets. The plan was in three phases: the evaluation of our products and processes, recommendations for changes _and implementaton. These are now complete for products, whore wa have improved sustainability by eliminating some production materials. For processes, our goal to introduce ‘uidelines and procadures for tho group's activities workwide has not yet been achiwed, But we have introduced standard supplier and logistics management processes and made substantial savings. We are pxoud of what we have achieved and hope to complete the plan ‘next year. This will enhance our reputation asa business which can meet environmental challenges, Final draft CCnly two years ago we took the important decision to launch our Environmental Action Plan In exder to respond to important changes within our industry. Both our customers and the investment community were requesting more information about the environmental impact Cf our products. Furthermore, govermments anc rogulators in our diferent markets were Imposing ‘eco labels naw standards of evvronmenial conformity “The plan wes in these diatinct phacos: fire, an auelt of our products and processes, then recommendations for change and finaly implementation in our business operations. On the product side, ths is now complete and we have reduced the numberof production ‘materials, thus making our products more sustainable. However, for business processes, ‘we have not yet completed te inioducton of group-wide polices alfhough we have successfully implemented standard supplier and logistics management processes and ‘made substantial savings. ‘We are extremely proud of whet we hve achieved in such a short time and we plan to continue implementation of cur Environmental Acton Plan, thereby entancing our reputation as a business that is prepared to meet the environmental challenges ofthe future,ae Co) Using the correct punctuation is an ie a. the meaning within a sentence: ‘After tw0 months of discussions, the fate of the companies has been decided (Commas are also used when a clause is inserted in the middle ofa sentence: Lagardére will not become Erope’s biggest ‘nook publisher. ‘Most important, aid should be lavished on the countries that can use it. ‘The investors said the fund managers were fools. ‘The investors, said the firul muenagers, ‘were fools. om Many analysts are wondering how the ‘new strategy will work. ‘© exclamation colon: ‘Colons indicate thar what follows is an illustration or example of what has been referred to before: ‘The company isin a strong position Financially: ws shares ere now trading at 45 times their original price. olons can also be used to introduce lists: “The issues that will be discussed are the following: * Education «Trade * Governance protuce the same result. ‘apostrophe ” troup of people or with another thing or things Messier’ bigest mistake was to have smierestimated shareholder discontent. “The apostrophe comes before the possessive swith a singular noun, even when the noun itself ends with an s: London's traffic problems ‘my bos’ office ‘The apostrophe comes after the ofa plural noun ending with the employees’ complaints ‘But with irregular plural nouns it is followed by the s: women’s preferences Well agree to your ofer if you don’t make ‘ary further demands ‘inverted commas” on” Inverted commas, or quotation mars, fare used when citing the exact words that somebody used: ‘Just on on of 750m Africans hve a There is match more room says Marien Pieters of Celtel sctrmceets (Joe |] ‘Brackets, or parentheses (US Engh are used to present additional informati Laganéve wants t0 stop making missiles (fis fire. owns 158 of the European Aerospace Defence and Space group) arid instead concentrate on the companys sedia interests. dash — Dashes introduce explanations and comments that are precedes and can, like interruptions to the fk ‘The company shouldn't have agreed to the rmenger ~ it wasn’t in its best interests, last weekend in Sydney only half of the properties for auction — the most common. ‘method of sale Australia ~ were actually sold hyphen - ‘Hyphens connect two words when they are ‘used as compounds: state-owned Asia-Frcific region debt-equity ratio‘Numbers, figures and quantities are at this are listed below General Fiat has haa five chief executives in 10 ‘years. Summer Redstone is the St-jear-old who rots he firm with. 72% of its voting 8 nowght or zero ics / temperatures) or a nil development cost four thousand euros. Product development cost thousands of using expressions of quantity use hyphens and use the lion-dollar contract (a contract ‘million dollars) Deating with large numbers 5301 fan ext figure isnot required, a number is offen rounded up like rou, approxi The group lost €19 billion last year and around €400m the year before. Fractions and percentages ‘These can be written in numerical form or as complete words. per cent ‘thousand three hundred and rwelve, Ratios ‘These are usually written out in fall: ‘The proposal was wlopted by nine votes 10 wo. spelling are outlined below. preceding the final consonant. than one syllable, the stress is on the final ‘Not doubling a consonant when necessary ‘not when the two vowels come afer the As is often the case with English spelling, there are exceptions to the rule: allowed ate board weit heir siloud eight bored pear their dheyre ‘weight Commonly confused words 0 easy to confiase words that have inor differences in spelling. Some of ‘the most common are: advice ensure envelop formally Inter passed perspective precedence prescribe principal stationary advise evnelope m9Letters ‘The format for letters is general there are some diferences concerning the opening, where a comma or no punctuation is used in ish or American readers, 3s below provide examples of the ences between British (UK} and ‘American (US) English. ‘yours, which are not common in British letters (See Letters, page 14} Grammar 10/06/06 10 June 2006 (IK) {6 October 2006 (US) Numbers In British English, aud is used for numbers i anti not usually six huoudred sinty-nne (US) Quantities ‘The head office isin Wall The head office is on Wall {often play golf atthe weekend. (UK) 1 often play golf on the weekend. (US) Jody is at school today. (UK) ‘Jody isin school today. (US) General words UK ill car par lever UK us pavement sidewall petrol gas / gasoline post ‘nil quewe line amdenground subway, upmarket tuyseale ‘work out figure out Business terms UK us balance sheet statement of “financial postion, banknote bill cuurent account checking necount creditors payables debtors receivables deprecation ‘amortization estate agent realtor land and buildings teal estate ‘ordinary shares common stock profit cen Loss fncome statement account soft net income provisions aliowarices servings and Iuilaing socieay loan. association shareholder shares stocks tumover sunt trust ‘The past forms of some vers are also different. UK us fitted fit got otter muAbbreviations Abbreviations are often use 0 refer to names ancl tts when ther full forms are long ‘or complicated. They are also sed for technical terms that are often refered ta in a Particular profssion or indusiy. They are pronounced giving the individual leers that ‘make up the abbreviz jon and are sometimes preceded by an article, eg. The BBC, The EL, {In formal writen texts abbreviations are often printed out in fl, but in informal communication by email and over the phone they are normally left in thei shot forms ‘An acronym isa form of abbreviation where the it vidual letters form a word which can be pronounced, eg. Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), SWOT, FAO, ROM and PIN. Common abbreviations used in business Job titles CEO Chief Executive Officer CFO Chief Financial Officer CIO. Chief Information Officer COO. Chief Operating Officer VP Vice President Organisations EMU European Monetary Union FU Buropean Union IMF Intemational Monetary Fund, IRS__ Inland Revenue Service TUC Trades Union Congeess UN United Nations WTO. World Trade Organisation Countries UAE United Arab Emirates UK United Kingdom USA United States of America ‘Companies BA British Airways BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke BM tional Business Machines Business terms AGM Annual General Meeting B2B Business to Business B2C Business to Consumer CRM Customer Relationship Management CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility EBIT Farnings Before Interest and Taxes TY Fiscal Year GDP Gross Domestic Product HR Human Resources IPO. Initial Rublic Offering MEA. Mergers and Acguisitions Qe MBA. Master of Business ‘Administration MBO. Management Buy Out P&L Profit and Loss PLC Public Limited Company RAD Research and Development ROI Return on Investment SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats TOM Total Quality Management USP. Unique Selling Proposition VAT Value Added Tax ‘Measurements ETA Estimated Time of Arrival GMT. Greenwich Mean Time kg kilogram kph kilometres per hour Ib pound (weight) ‘Technology CAD Computer Assisted Design CAM. Computer Assisted Manufscruring FAQ Frequently Asked Question HTML HyperText Markup Language PDF Portable Document Format RAM Random Access Memory ROM Read Only Memory WWW World Wide Web General AOB Any Other Business ASAP As Soon As Possible ID Identity eg. example gratia (for example) PIN Personal Identification Number Ea Pulse) ( ‘The popularity of mobile phones and instant messaging via phone and computer has led to anew form of abbreviated writing, where words are shortened or even sometimes replaced by individual leters, symbols or numbers “This means that fewer keystrokes are required when composing the message, and it also makes it easier for a condensed ‘message to fit on the limite screen space of a mobile phone. Telephone test messages are usually limited in length to 160 characters, But on computer messages they can be of unlimited length. Text ‘messaging isa very informal way of ‘communicating and is never used for ‘official communication. Here are some simple guidelines for vaiting text messages in English, There are also several websites where you ean write a message that will be automatically tuansformed into a text message, ed, www. Jingo2word.com, ‘The most important rules fo remember when abbreviating for a text message are the following. Words that have the same sound as a lener of the alphabet oF a number are represented by that letter or number: U you —-R are 2 ioofto 4 for @ ate ¥ why Words that corsespond to a graphic symbol on a keyboard are represented by that symbol: & and @ at # number + plus ‘The per cent symbol (4) represents a double ‘0 Take look Vowels that normally appear in the middle ‘or at the end of words and syllables are removed: KNO know CHK check Upper case letters can represent both vowels and word endings: WK like snd sending Standardised abbreviations are used for some words and phrases: BCZ because LOL laugh out loud. WOT complete waste of time BAL. business as usual AARS at any rate ITS don’t think so WUCIWUG shat you see is what you get By using the colon and bracket keys, sraphic representations or ‘smileys can bbe produced to show the emotions of the +0 + @ Sample text message ‘Are you coming to Pats presentation at 3 otlock? Hope to se you theret a3Rees as this will make your letter more dynamic: Formal business correspondence is usually done by leter a this leaves aviriten record which ean be kept for reference. Business leer can be of different types ‘with different purposes: to apply for a job, to inform people of developments, to request action, to make an enquiry, to complain, ete To write a suecessfl busines letter you need 10 use the right tone ancl to communicate your message 10 the reader using staightforward language. ‘The way a leer is writen reveals a Jot about the person who is writing it and it also sends a message about the organisation that he or she is working for eis, therefore very imporant to make site that the information, layout, syle and spelling are all correct before you send it Layout When writing a business letter, you should follow the standard format, The letter opposite shows where the following different components should appear on the ae. a letterhead/address (out not name) of iter name and address of recipient references date ‘opening sbjest heading body ofthe letter closing signature name and job title enelasutes a Language styles ‘Business lentes are usually quite formal in syle. A conversational style is therefore riot approprare and you should avoid ‘contractions, for example. Try to use verbs Jn the active and not inthe passive form ue ‘You should also avoid writing sentences that ate 100 long and that include complicated or unnecessary langue {A straightforward letter will get your message across more effectively than a long ‘wordy one. There ate certain conventions conceming the correct way to address people ancl to close your letter. ‘Opening. Letters always start with Dear followed by the correct form of address. If the leter is going to someone whose name ‘you do not know, it starts with Dear Sir, or ear Madan, or Derr Sir or Madeon, But ifyou do know the name, then you can begin vith Dear Mr/Ms Taylor, or Dear Greg Tao, Closing. Letters are usually closed in standard ways. At the end of your letter you should inelude a short sentence like 1 look forward to hearing from you. or Please ddo not hesitate to contact me ff you need {further irformation. Below that, you should puta closing phrase: Yous sincerely, formal, for letter: beginring Dear + name) Yours faichlly, formal, fo ftters beginring Dear Sir/Madam) Yours truly/Bestregards,/Best wishes, (ess formal) on writing to you to conf Thank you for taking the time t Pagardng the question of I think you wit agree that. We are sony for any inconvenience caused. Tom enclosing full contact det, ene (shows that something is enclosed) cc (copy sent to another person) 5 (fer additional sentence(s) included after the signature) Sample letter (of confirmation) b Jeanne Eokhart Oprtecal 3) Fue Julbs Welter Sinem apo. Luxembourg Our of T950.001 21 May 200_ a0 eat Mi Eckhart, "7360 Dalvery Fotoning eur rcen telephone conversation, | wog oy to cufln the erngerents 8 | rane celuery afte TS tet sate hat you erdved weugh or Grseoe cfc. 2s Imentoned tara engrees om ou UX a Garman olen ibe otenng ‘felengranng tae chown Hanovr ror +3 uy. Ou sun athe show wi ose 8 hurt of pa prod ard tes sts, cuig the rt plodicton model he TSE ‘obo Coppa oe! Hor te Ur easy re eer placoading withthe doivary hl Yours: sincerely, i Mark Rathbone J) sede Rathbone Soles Manager k ENC HPSempra Systems Inc ‘Conway Indus Estate Harlegoo HPL 7GN United Kingiom © Was) 00728 5187 rmarkiisalas/semora.org ‘The shove closes its doors onthe evening ofthe third and wve wl atange forthe simulator to bo vismanted end pocked on 10 fated tru fr delery to you directly. The transportation ‘il bo Randle! the same freight company thats looking after the logistics forthe show, ‘ransMax, ard | am enosing ful contact deta wath tis ltter. ave already spoken with | ther decoy, Mr Willgang Hartung, and ne is aveing conimarion from yur sie before «ane Bradley, the sos engineer who wil be in age of our stand, wl be avaliable to travel to your plant on tha Thursday afte the show, and she wil provid assistance wth the final ‘saltion and configuration ofthe machine during the folowing two days. [ml rot personaly ba present atthe fair but Ms Bradley willbe able to answer any queries ‘youtay have. | know that thi is an unusual daivery procedure but | think isan ieresing portunity for you a Save the eat andl ime daley of nara delivery rom the UK Hook forward to doina business with you inthe future an thank you again for placing one.ot theft orders forthe TSEd. ler sure t wil ave you complete satisfaction a5aaa House’ emails between colleagues can be Email is one ofthe most commonly ‘used forms of communication in the interational business world. It is used extensively within companies to cieulate information, requests, results, instructions, recommendations, minutes of meetings, tc Email isan effective, rapid and. relatively cheap means of communicating with customers and suppliers, both nationally and internationally. Because ‘of the brevity rapidity and relative informality of emails, it is important to ‘heck that all information has been given and that the tone is appropriate. Layout ‘te emails apposite show where the following diterene components appear (thouzh 2-g may be ina different order depending en the system being wed, 4 name of the person sending the email b_ name of the person/people the email is addtessed to © petson/people who will also receive the mail though itis not addressed directly to them d_person/people who will receive @ copy ‘without other people knowing + © date anc time) F information about the content of the email files, documents ee. sent separately rather than included in the actual rmeszage or body of dhe emai opening body of the email losing name and job title Language styles Emails are usually shorter than other forms of communication and the language is simple and concise. ‘The tone for emails to superiors oF people ‘outside the company should be formal. But om semiformal, When replying to mails, it is important not to reply simply ‘yes’ or ‘no! to questions without referring back to the question and not to use pronouns out of context. However, if returning the sender's email with your reply by using “Reply, the sender will have their original 10 refer to, “Useful phrases Opening and closing For Semi-ormalemais Helo and ate tomnmon openings and Best wishes or Al the bes ae often used to clase. ‘When vting to severat people, you can ‘ukdess the group, €.g. Door Project Managers Fornal emails, lke ates, start with Deor SiyModam or Dear Hi/MsX and close with Yours sincerely or Yous faithfully 2s _appopsiete (see Letters, page 14). | Exchanging information | “Goud you mai me the soles figures for ast sort by dpm? Here's the brochure on the now produit you asked for (se attachment). ‘Tra sending you the boars recommendations vith eis matt. Pease note thet todays opprisal meetings ‘ove boon canceled. They wil be rescheduled for be same tines next Mandy. ust let you now, Ese the attached | mntesof Tuesday's Production meeting tool the potceant “Replying temas | eck you fr our 1 gt your al, hans. Sony it get back to you yesterey . "Resour ewe for st ont sles “Figues “Teoul't open the attachment you sent = “plese reser it 3 soon a8 you ce. Thanks forthe information about the aoraisal | eins. 1 make a nate of ae Sample emails Formal Pe eetreemteeemenesenearereseet TTC R TT ecmernmeememmeent' | Siren Stein Pieowre QR 9 Frame AH SSE] From: Mishel Har, Desnatoh Assent To: Rochis Akzoucn Ce: ay Hooper, Depoteh Manager, Pascal Winsbetim, Accounts Department Bee! Jo Bary, Soa Maregar Sort: 9 dune 20 0747 cnjeot Fe: Ser slay ‘tachment: Contact Dear Mr Ake ‘Thank you fer your mal. | have checked! o find cut wy your order hast ban deere art seems we haven received payment yo, erm sending you @ copy ofr contact, ich states ‘thatl payments must be made in advanoo, Please eooapt aur apologies for sry rcundarstanding,# you wish to cance your order, plans [Ek mo how ASAP, Yours soa Michael Het Despatch Assist Semi-formal | taney etal Fieve GY we oo | Rem We a RO ONY Pat He, Sas Manage iG Pit, Su Your, Hay Toor, Jato Beit Vala, Manag Dretor 2 Feenany 209. 1108 snes veo Hi Everyone ‘Apparent, complains nave been rad fo Mr Murey about the unnecessary quantity of emis ‘surenty occur in the eempany, Th franoe and preduction depsxtment in parle xt that much of tha te is wastad reang mals that do net dey concern them. thas Aso ‘baer trough 0 Mr uTe's stanton thar wo In Salen ar he che onterdrs | recogni that am partly to Hane aI cl ack you to kaop the othr coparmert intone ‘four actus | oul aoe ak you, omever, only too Hof members of sa on |] corrnurioatone which re of cet concer to them, know tan rely on your co-operation in his matt Beat wisnos Pat a7Lemos The word memorandum, or memo for shor, originally meant a reminder or confirmation. Now it has become a very ‘common form of business communication used for a wide variety of messages ‘exchanged between people working in the same organisation, A memo usually focuses on only one specific topic, as in the following examples: ‘+ Conveying information: Reporting ‘ack the minutes of meetings or summaries of brainstorming sessions ‘+ Requesting information: Asking ‘employees to send in requests for the use of office parking spaces instructions: Telling employees to display identity badges when centering the building ‘+ Recommending options: Informing people in the company of decisions reached on the best way t0 solve & company dilemma and recommending that these options be implemented Layout ‘when writing memos, you should follow ~ the standard format. The memo opposite shows where the following components should appear on the page a date 1b name of the person/people the memo is addressed 10 ‘© name of the person/people sending the information about the content of the introduction to the subject matter ‘main points conclusion, often recommending the action to be taken closing, which can be the name ot initials of the person sending the memo am Language styles [Although styles vary across cultures and organisations, dere are asic sues for memo writing ‘The opening is more direct and less formal than in a leer or email with no greting such as Dear and memos casually start with the introduction w the main points The closing is generally just the intals of the sender Memes ae less formal chan business Tewterss0 the tone is neutral and the Tangusge simple Sentences ane vsually short and clear, ut not brisk and bossy. Memes offen conclude with a request for action Useful phrases Giving information You vib hapa to ear Tan) oe delisted to nfm you 1am delighted to be able to oneunce “ul ke to remind you that. Ihave recently been informed ... Requesting information “ud ike to haw. Cou youprovise me wih? you hve ony questions, plese Giving instructions Plas read. | We Wirly request | oie sure tat. peated onl Recommending options 1 is commended that It is in the best interests of ‘Having considered olf te olternatives, I/we sug. ‘Sample memo iElectroTechnika inc. MEMO DATE ‘thane 10 Alistat FROM ‘ison Stanford, 10 SUBIECT seo infomation resources ‘have recent boon nirmed bythe HR Deparment of varius irequlartesin the use of Invoation resources by mernbersof staff n some deparumens. hae therfore prepared ‘the folowing memorandum in order to outie company poy regarding the proper use of Invoomation resources by al gersonne Please red these guidlines carefully and make sure that you apply them atl ines when using lrmation resources. ‘nlrration resources ers oa computers, pripheras ond sofinere and electronic mal ‘services that are sed a operational components for conducting the company's business. Permissible use Altouh nication rescurces are designed tobe usd for ofa purposes isin the interests ofall meer of staf to have accesso these resources for limited petsoral use. However, ll appropriate use willed zo dscptnary proceedings. Official use ‘This indudes the use of equipment oral activites cating to company business and covors all ‘workteated acts that have been authorised by nea fice. Non offi ute Petsnal use ofr equipments permite only on condtlon that toes no interfere ether with siaff members producty or affect the productivity of any other rember of tall. Short emai messages may be senttocoleagues, and internet services may be consul for itd pviods ‘fume i order to obtain nens and information. Inappropriate use Allstff are remines that they are not permitted to: * dowload software to ther computers ‘usu ery eipient Wo conduc busines for persona gain +tseble vis protection softwere + post company information to persons ouside the organisation + make copies of ary softrare installed on computors ‘would also eto remind al taf thatthe use of infomation resources may be monitored. Itistherefore recommended that you donot use te crmpary's information resources to communicate information that you wish to kegp privat. Hf youhave any questions eating to these policy gucelins, you cen const the new upset FAQ section on our intranet r contact Heid Wassermarn in Hunan Resouces ‘son Stanford a9————— At every business meeting someone is assigned to take the minutes: This person notes down all the important points made atthe meeting and later writes up # cleat summary of what was said and decided Its generally agreed that the minutes, shoul be sent within 24 hours to al the participants and anyone else affected by the content. This ensures that people stay focused on the issues raised and keep future action points clear in their minds. Minutes are sent to make sure that scussed at meetings actually get done. Layout When writing minutes, you should follow the standard format. The minutes opposite show where the following diferent components should appear on the page. subject and date of the meeting bist of participants © summary of the chairpersons introduction summary of opinions and suggestions exchanged action points decided upon, people assigned to each action and deadlines . given F date and time of next meeting Language styles ‘The style of language is quite formal. Sentences shad be shon, clear, concise and easy to tea You should summarise nly the most important points as you will rot be able to refer to everything that was said Long speeches made at meetings should be summed up, using bullet points for clarity. ‘The minutes of even a long meeting shouldn't be longer than ane page. Useful phrases ‘Giving thelist of participants Use Present olowed by the lst Sumnarising the chairperson’ {ntrofuction M/s: Kopened the meeting withthe etoring points: (+ bullet points) Summarising a ciscussion MeX wos tho fist to speat/react contribute ‘ad ut forward the folowing ideas. WY egreed/expressed approval an odded.. Ws Zdsagred and gue: Bex expressed dsopprovaieorcer and insist. Ms Zacepted that... but deferdet her positon on... However, she conceded that. _icX agroi/offeret/oromised/refused/ | wont... (followed by to + infritive) Mr ¥senied/adted/suggested/ ‘ecommended... followed by the getund) | is Zoisedasted/nstocted/reminde (fllewed by object fo + infinitive) | cree ated on Action points and deadlines “The feng action points wore decided “por. | Bron iooktntafresearch/chaw up a ist off | eleiat/ sou. by the ond of nat weak “Hr Yl speak to. before the 15th. ‘Ws Z come tothe nent meeting with. Mel gt back o/sed a report the | Force Commitee within the met few dos Sample minutes | Present: As Graham, Managing Director (chairperson; Mr Bhupathi, IT Manager, Ms MeKenzia, Human Resources Manager, Mr Wenzel, France Director, Ms Graham opened the meeting by welcoming all the members and cangratulating Ms Mekenzia ex her fist month's performance aid on how quickly she had adapted to our corporate culture. Sne exprasced regret that Ms Amvtra (Export Manager) could not attend as she had been called away unexpectedly to deal with a problem with our agent inindla. She then announced that: > the training budget would be cut by 20% this year + the H Departments developing a new cost-cutting strategy. | She went onto cutie fur modficatonsto company taining py: 2: the compary would no longer be using the services of Target Trang Consutants employee development would be more closely Inked to business-growth strategies «all uture training would be based ono deta intouse needs analysis assessment 4 vaming woul be svc ited to staff whose perfommances ae crucl tthe company's success | | | | Mr Wenzel was the frst to speak and suggested hiring a small independent consultant, ‘whose fees would be considerably lower than those of large firms like Target Training Ws McKenzie sald that while independent consultants could be cheaper, they would almost certain filo ensure that resources were used as effectively as possible. ‘She argued tha sre would profer to process all requests and proposals for training ‘personally. She acded that any request agreed upon by hor predecessor was also ‘currently under review. Mr Bhupathi expressed concern about his application for training in Java and Javascript {or his staff. He requested! that his application be given priority status. He sald that he had already contacted the training centre recommended by Target Training on the advice of eur former HA manager ‘Ms McKenzie conceded that this traning wes essential but advised him to resubmit his sequest asking for cheaper onine training ar Stupath! expressed lsapproval a this ea and continued to make a case for using the training centre but he finally agreed to lock at what's avellable online The following action points were decided won: + MrBhupathi wil draw up alist of elearning courses currently available and subi a ‘new proposal to the HR Department as saon as possible + Ms Graham wil develop a detailed needs analysis assessment questionnaire to || be aistributed to all departments ‘+ Nirwenzel will prepare a cost breakdowm ofthe previous year's spending on training and arrange a meeting with Ms McKenzies department next week to dscuss the now cost-cutting measures in more detall Date of next meeting ~ 12 December, in the main boardroom ma—————_ Short reports are used to summanise information that has to be communicated to people inside or outside an organisation. They are designed to provide an overview which can be read and assimilated quickly. Many diferent subjects can be presented in a short report and some of the mast common types of short reports are projectiprogress reports, business proposals and summaries of research or results. Although the length of a short repon will vary depending on the ‘amount of information and commentary that it contains, most short reports will ‘be between one and six pages long. They sould be clearly structured so that the reader can find the relevant information ‘quickly Shor reports may also include fraphic matecial and are often used as the basis for an oral presentation. Layout Title pages indicates the subjot tha is being dealt with, in large font, with the name and postion of the author of the report clearly indicated atthe bottom ofthe page, togeer with the date of its __ publication Summary: ves a concise presentation of the report, the reasons for writing it, the ‘most important information it contains and a genctal idea ofits main findings. For a short report this can be simply one ‘or Wi sentences Introduction: presents the overview, showing why the report was writen and Fhow thas been eonstucted Development setion: includes the rain body of information which may be divided into several subsections Conelusion: presents the results of the report. This might tke the form of a recommendation for future action or draw the reader’ tention to problems that need be addressed. 2 Language styles Short reports are documents that use a forml writing style. They should not contain contracted verb forms like itl or dont but use the full forms of verbs “The language ofthe report should be as clear as possible I is not necessary to use long and complicated sentences or obseure vocabulary. Using simple language in short sentences will make it easier forthe reader to assimilate your message. ‘Try t avoid using the personal pronoun Too much. Although itis true tha ‘you! wrote the report, twill only put your readers off if you refer too often to your con cole, Use neutral phrasing instead. Useful phrases | * showing contrast: | However, this does not necessriy mean | tat. Or the other hand, i fs te that. While these results may oppeat to. though it isnot completely clear fort our esearch. showing cause and effect: This hs been mainly due 0. Consequently, cdkttonal data was obtained ich showed te. Asa result ofthis, thas not been possible te * fallowing on tothe next point that you wah to make: Horeove, inthis potcular case. “Inaddiion to this, the sumvey included. Futhemmore, we would advise that this oul provide on opportuity to. ‘Sample report Acquisition evaluation of PromoVista S.A. Summary Michael Paterson Associates has requested an evaluation of the French company FromoVista SA. with a view to analysing its value as a potential takeover target in order to enhance the ‘ntenational marketing reach of the compdey’s current European operations. The following short report situates te target company in its competitive envionment and gives a brief analysis of Promovist’scurtent position within its industy sxtor, its strategic positioning and its recent performanes, and provides a forecast forthe company's fama in the short term, Introduction ‘Adwise Incorporated looked atthe following + History + Competitive environment *# Operational species History PromoVista was created in the 180s asa regional point of sale and outdoor advertising prewider and has undergone a series of transformations during its eight-year history. From small regional operator it has developed into 2m operation of national and international scope, ‘with subsidiaries in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, The company currently employs ‘Competitive environment PromoVista was a monopoly provider of outdoor advertising space until 1985 when BXG- ‘Advertsing created Proximos, « new outdoor advertising operation in France, to support its strategy of developing national weekly and monthly publications. Praximes is now PromoVists prineipal competitor, During the las five years, PromoVista’s revenue has continued to increase lesrite greater competitive pressure, in particular from urban transit space providers and also urban fumiture advertisers. However, durin this period. Operational specifics PromoVists, unlike its main competitor in its home market, does not rely on outsourcing poste installation and display maintenance work but has ts own national teams of specialists ‘who are dretly responsible for changing posters and maintaining display sites. In terms of its implantation, the company currently has 120000 advertising sites positioned essentially in pedestrian shopping zones and tovn centres. rs esearch deparenent Conclusion “Analysis of the recent performance of PromoVista shows that the company bas performed well ‘over the last fiveyear period, with profit margins at 20%. We would advise that PromoVista ‘would provide a very interesting growth opportunity is position in the market would enable Michae! Paterson Associates ¢o enlarge its market shar, allowing i o offer enhanced and ‘angel marketing t advertisers in the markets mentioned above Jeremy Hickson Seniog Consultant Adwise Incorporated 298 August 2 a2Ee CEE Press releases or news releases are documents tha: are prepared by the Public Relations departments of corporations and other organisations in order to communicate information to the media. ‘They are desired to arouse media interest by presenting interesting and original information that can be used in an article or radio or television repo. ‘eally, the press release can be included ina publication or report with only a ‘miniraum of editing. Most press releases are of two basie types: those hat inform people about changes (new products company resus, forthcoming events, tc) andl those that fy to influence people to adopt a particular point of view (tepors, speeches, negotiation, etc). Pres releases ae rarely longer than two pages and they follow a standrd format Format. “The basic format fora press release is similar to that oF short article. Start the release with the most important information, which should provide the answers to the questions Who? What? When? Where? How? In the following paragraphs you can add in more information about the story and. include quotations from some of the people involved. Layout 2 letethead of the onganisation that is sending the release 1b headline or tite (inthe present tense) € an indication of winen the information in the release can be published: For ‘immediate release if the news can be published now or Ereargoed until. if itean only be published after a certain date 4. date when the release was sent main text of the release, divided into paragraphs with paragraph headings ‘where necessary Ff t0 show the end ofthe text contact details ofthe person who wrote the release and information about who to contaet for further information. bd a Sample press release Fasten ESsprinter TI TRACKS | Press Release EsSprinter and FasterTracks Communications announce merger Embargoed until Dec 10 EsSprinter and FasterTracks announced their agreement to merge with a commitment to create a global communications company, offering a ‘comprehensive range of services to consumer business and government customers | New York ciy Dec 201_ EsSprinter and FasterTracks will merge January 15 200_. “The companies are in the enviable position of possessing two incredibly valuable brands,” said Daniel Schweitzer, designated Chief Marketing Officer for the new company and. FasterTracks' current Vice President, Marketing. ‘The new strategy and loga will integrate the most valuable assets of each company’s identty. Given its broad appeal on the market and its history of innovation, the EsSprinter name has been chosen as the lead name for the new company. The combined company will employ FasterTracks as a product brand within the EsSprinter service portfolio, The new logo will blend elements of EsSprinter's bold red and yellow colours. \with the strong visual from FasterTracks’ famous trademark, creating 2 powerful symbol for the new dynamic brand. The inauguration ceremony, which takes place at the EsSprinter headquarters in New York on Jan 20 201_will be attended by over 3,000 quests trom all over the world nen For more information about the inauguration and to obtain high resolution pphotos of the new logo, please contact: John Pemberton 1: (401) 212 555-4500 F: @O1) 212 555-4599 | Johnpembertoni@essprinterfast.comaa letters ‘A cover letter accompanies every C¥ you send ut, It should: + explain why you are sending a CV + grab the reader's atention and make him/her take an interest in you ® point to your relevant skills and experience «reflect your personality and motivation + state how you will follow up. ‘There are different types of cover leters: * the application letter which is a response to an adverised post + the prospecting or inquiry leter which inquires about potential posts. You should write a different, purpose- designed cover lerter, for every job you apply for. Layout When writing a cover fetter you ustally follow the standard format. The letter om the opposite page shows where the following different points generally appear ‘on the page. athe sender's address b the eontact person's name or to whom it ‘may concent * e name and address of the company didate opening F first paragraph: why you are writing 14 second paragraph: what vou have to offer hnconcluding paragraph: how you will follow up i closing 5 signature Language styles ‘Cover leters should be professional and informative. Opening and closing the letter should be similar to other business Testers. As wih all business letters, avoid contractions, make sure that you have spelt everything correctly, and check %6 purciuation. The tone will depend on the position being applied for. A cover letter for a sales position can be upbeat and. direct, whereas an application for a job in finance may require a more sober and setious tone. Use language like As part of this project, 1 developed, reinforced/leamt, ete. Focus on the abilities and experience that match the employers needs rather than on what the employer can offer you. Limit your cover Tetter to one page. “Useful phrases In reponse fo your advertisement regarding | Lleort about your company through ontine reser. | Are there any openings ot XX for on enifusisic, young ‘Thave been encouraged by Mi, Placement Officer at X¥ cnivesity to contact you ‘oncaniog Second paragraph Aso gadoote in business studies, my experience includes (ver the years, Fhave developed and eee -Accorting challenges ts something I do with confidence. You con trust me to work unsupervised, meet deadlines, and develop creative reas. ‘Concluding paragraph T would appreciate the opportuity to mest cand ciscuss my quafication further with you. Te coportnity to hep implement your ‘innovative ideas would bo on exiting ‘challenge for me. willcontact you during next week to arange | oimvally convenient time for us to meet. Tran you for your time and consideration Sample letter | al 24 Sycamore Road | Cardiff | RO 81K b) James Jones © Aca Manazer | Bradshaw Lid | London XY J35 4) 22May201_ | Dear Mr, Jones, £ I read with great interest your advertisement for a Sales Representative in The Sales Manager magazine. After studying your company brochures and catalogues | am confident that I ean be an asset to your company and would appreciate your reviewing the enclosed CV which reflects my experience and accomplishments € Ihave always enjoyed taking on challenges and I fully commit myself to my professional duties. lean maintain records, keep accounts with accuracy and | need little direction to complete assigned tasks. From my past experience and education, I have acquired persuasive techniques that are needed fo influence people in making choices. Moreover, my team working and communication skills are developed and allow me to interact effectively with ethnically | diverse populations of all age groups. In short, I have spent the past years acquiring the necessary qualifications and talents needed to make an excellent sales representative, ‘geographically mobile and am willing, to begin employment immediately. Please do not hesitate to contact me if'you require further details. {look h Tam keen to discuss my experience and skills with you in person. {am | | forward to hearing from you. | | Yours rely i Sam Bums aSee) Mer Ts OE Application forms are used by both commercial ard acaclemic organisations (0 provide a siandarel process for selecting the best candidates to recruit. The principal advantage of using an application form is that it enables an employer, or an admissions officer, to compare similar information from different candidates. ‘Although there are standard application forms, which can be downloaded fiom the Internet, mast organisations produce their ‘own forms which are tailored to suit their specific requirements. Such forms contain several sections which require candidates to supply both Factual information about themselves and also written answers to questions relating to the experience that they have gained or the attitudes or approaches tht they adopt in certain situations. Filling in the application form ‘Completing an application is a time- consuming process and it should be done with meticulous attention to detail. I is important to make sure thatthe document is ledible, especially if submitted in hhandvwritten form, and that it does not contain mistakes with spelling, grammar, ‘wording or phrasing. ‘Much of the information that you will be asked to provide will be in list form (educational qualifications, previous {employers etc) and you should present this in reverse chronological order, ie starting from the present and working back. Others sections will ask you to provide information about your personal interests and your profesional and/or personal achievements, Remember that what you serite should reflect the behaviours that are ‘most likely to be those that the employer or admissions officer will be looking for ‘The most diffieult sections on an pplication form are the ones where the ‘candidate is asked to write an answer to 28m «a question or to provide a commentary in response to a statement. Fo complete these setions on an application form, you should: * pay careful attention to the question or statement. ‘ask yourself what sort of information the question is designed to elicit Is ita question that asks you to give a specific example ofa situation that you experienced, o i it one that Serks to determine how you approach situations in general? + include keywords, especially if you thnk thae your application may be scanned by computer. Before you send the form ‘Make sure that you prepare several drafts ‘of your form, Reread and correct what you have written in your frst draft. Wis advisable to ask a ftiend to read through your final draft 0 sex iit s coherent and relevant Sample questions ‘Look atthe lst of sample questions and statements How would you answer them jn no more than 200 words ? Give an example of @ situation where you found it dificult to meet your objectives. ‘Whiat do yow consider to be your greatest achievement so far? Desorbe n situation where you had to sidapt to change, Deseribe a situation where you worked as prt ofa team to achieve something. What skills have you developed from. ‘your nore or study experience. Describe a setback in your life and say ‘what you did to overcome it Look at the sample answers on the ‘opposite page. Sample answers What kind of work or fob would you like to be doing in enaitwoltive years tine? lia few years fom now, woud ko 1 be worn in postien of responsibilty within the Human Resources depertment ofan ntemational organisation. Ideally this would “be in role whera | would be able to apply the experience thet | have already gained inthe fel of Intemational Mobility management, This aspect of Human Resources has always apposed fo ms and | have already completed two internships wher | |was able to gain hands-on experience of dealing with the problems and cheilengss of managing population of Sqpatiate engineer. | found this experience to be extremely reweding and | naw tly appreciate the enonmous siraalc importance that Intemational 'Mebity maragemant has for many corporations these days. | fal that ry mutuitural ‘background and miy ablity to cornmunicate with execurves om al sorts of dierent backgrounds ae essets that | could apelin this sort of werfeng ervrcrment Describe a challenging assignment that you successfully completed. During my final yeer at unversty | took overall resnonstlty for organisha the annual ‘coecyium for ou Masters degree program, Together with a team of fv folow cracute “students we not ony nado determine a ultale tpl for he event but we were aso ‘lven ful responstilty forall aspects ofthe adminstraion andl management of the Project. This volved selecting epoakers. negotiating with service provctrs and ensuring that we dl not excoed the Imited budget that was availabe forthe ever Mer several months of hard work was very proud to make the openng address to an audlence | of more than seventy international Human Fesources professionals and to be able to inaugurate a cay of ctures and discussions on the subject of Dwersly Managment A the end of the coloquium we conducted a feedback anys and I vas very nappy 10 See thatthe levels of salisfocton with the event exceaded my anid my teers expectations.The Curriculum Vitae A curriculum vitae of CV (also called résumé in American English is the key document that is used by recruiters to seleet candidates applying fora job. How you design and present your GV ean make the difference between being offered an interview or having your application rejected. A good GY should provide a clear picture of who you are, ofthe skills and experience that you have acquired, and cf what makes you stand out from other candidates. You should pay particular attention tothe following things when preparing or rewriting your CV. Style ‘The writing syle on a CV is different to other forms of writing. Everything that appears on a CV isin condensed form. This means that sentences are presented without the subject pronoun LAs Cvs refer mainly to things that were dane in the pas, the past simple form is used for most ents. Layout Make sure that your CV is designed so that «its easy to read and atractve. The choice ‘of font, the pastion of the margins and the use of shading wil all contibute to giving your CV a unique visual appearance. Your CV isa pensonalised document andl does nat have to follow a standard Format Contents. Look atthe flowing checklist of ‘components that should feature on your CY and notice where they appear in the sample CV on pages 31 and 32. 4 Personal details ‘Make sure that you include your full ‘name, posta address and your contact details (emul, mobile and home phone numbers. Iris not necessary fo give your date of birth on a CV and in most 30 countries prospective employers are not allewed to ask for this For the same reason, you need not include a photo. b Objective line In some counties itis normal to include an objective fine which specifies the pe of positon that you are looking for and ives an overview of your background, ¢ Educational background or studies ‘his section should give detailed information about all the post secondary studies that you. have completed or undertaken. You should list the institutions that you have attended and indieate both the subjects that you studied and the results that you obtained. ‘Most employers wil expect you to enclose photocopies of key educational certificates, along with your CV. Work or intemship experience future employer will want to know exactly what experience you have gained duting your career so far. Make sure that you include a clear deseription ‘of positions that you have held. This should inelude an outline of what your job involved and of any projects that you ‘manaiged or partipated in, List any major achievements. TF you do not yet have full time professional experience, you should list work that you have done during vacation periods or part time positions. € Skills and achievements Most employers will expect you to provide some information about your extmcurricular activities. You should list the elubs that you are a member of and mention any voluntecr work that you have done. You should also give Some indication of your own personal interests, Remember to specify the foreign languages that you speak and your level of competence in computer technology. F References ‘You will normally be asked to provide the names of two or more referees who can vouch for your character and integrity. ‘Your referees can be either course tutors ‘or managers or colleagues who know you vel Jelftey Blaye 1K) Marchmom Terace (Nationality: Brish Halford Single KG69TD, Clean driving Hicenee United Kingdon Mobile: 07123 229875 Home: D1234 123456 Email jblayer@britnet Application for end-of-studis internship Job objectives Enriching and applying my finance ad management knowlege and eperienes hrough a challenging internship position in consuling, audit or financial valuation, nance and management experience ‘Corporate Finance and Markets related education and work experience 2010-Present —-Masier’sdeuree in Financial Engineering Loughborough Business Administration Insiute (BAI) Loughborough UK Financia information and valuation, Financial enginesring operations, Financial and ax management 2005-2010 Master's degree in Corporate Finance ~ First elass honours | London ‘Congreve Business School (CBS) uK Financia eudit, Banking audit, Financing techniques, UK/US accounting 2009 Galway Corporate & Investment Banking — Global Transaetions Services Temonth Transeetion Serves representative, responsible for transactions in glohal internship and emecging markets Dublin, (Corporate actions management: Ireland Reconciled eustomers stock balances | Matched all ash paymens made to customers aginst payments received | Elaborate dashboard sith indicators for complianee monitoring of | internal procedures | ‘Management ConiroF- related elveation and work experienes | 2008 Bachelor's degive in Management Ascounting Information Systsms | Potstam, Potsdam School of Management and Peononvies Germany ‘Management control models: Balanced Scorecard, Relling forecast, | ‘Boyond Budgeting, Activty-Based Management 2o07 Fquipear~ Automotive systems Gxnonih Assistant management controller intomship | Teesdale, ‘Conducted a survey of inventory discrepancies | UK Renovated the manazement control dashboard Prepared the anna Bude | Ansty department performs end meiloed indie produipn costs =Cangusges and [Tsalls Languages lish Mother tongue German Fluent (12 months of study at the University of Potsdam) Spanish Proficient Information technology General software Excellent command ofthe Microsot fice Pack: Excel, VBA, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Outlook Financial/Spevalised software Bloomberg, Business Objects, Mergermarket, Tenet Association sztvitios 2009-Present Alumni Association of Congreve Business Schoo! In charge of organising the international network f S00 Alumni Cultural actvtos eon interest in financial and evonomic atTirs English laqguage publications: The Economist, The Financial Times Several says abroad: 8 months in Ielard, 12 months in Germany, 2 months in the USA, Member of drama society ~ regular performances at charity evens ‘Sports activities CCaposira and Basket-hall References ‘Mark Gallagher ‘Margarets Galtier Director of Operations Professorof Finance Gabvay Corporate and lnvestment Banking Congreve Business Schoo! Liffey Tower Millwall Road Dublin 20 London NI SLY