Basic principles in Business Correspondence

Basic Priciples in Business Corespondence Ms. Cindy E. Amarillo

BusinessCorresponde

nce


What is CORRESPON

DENCE?Identify some of the synonyms of the word “correspondence” by guessing the word formed out of the following set of pictures.

Follow the guidelines of the Android games “Fun Ways to Think” and “4Pics 1word”


_ _ _ _ _M L O P T IN U E A R G

E-m a i l


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _M T S H A EN E R S S G

M E S S A G E S


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _C E M I U C IN O O M T N A

C O MMU N I C A T I O N


_ _ _ _ _ _

T N E U E RT R M L N A

L E T T E R


_ _ _ _V P I U G YO A T S N I

P O S T


E-mailMessagesCommunicationLettersPost

CORRESPONDENCE


BASIC PRINCIPLES IN BUSINESS

CORRESPONDENCE


The STYLE in Business Correspondence

FORMAT

GRAMMAR

STYLISTICS

WORD USAGE


Format

A letter writer should remember that appearance creates the first impression.

careful planning of a letter format contributes much to improved communication.


Three generally accepted formats of a business letter

FULL BLOCK BLOCK


SEMI-BLOCK

STYLE


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address

SalutationBody of the

LetterComplimentary Close

Signature Line

Notations


Letterhead

found at the uppermost part of the letter.

found ONLY at the first page of a letter consisting of several pages.

1.


Letterhead

Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

College of Business Administration and Accountancy

Heritage City of Vigan

1.Example:


LetterheadElements of a Letterhead:

1. Logo

2. Full, legal NAME of the company, corporation, institution, or association

3. Full-stressed address

4. (optional) city, state, and ZIP code; area code and telephone numbers

1.


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Date Line2.typed two or four spaces below the

letterhead.

2 standard ways of writing the date:AMERICAN WAY (September 2, 2014)BRITISH WAY ( 2 September 2014)

**do not abbreviate the name of the month!


Date Line2.Example:

Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

College of Business Administration and Accountancy

Heritage City of Vigan

September 2, 2014


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Inside Address3.typed four to eight spaces below the

date line.

DR. GILBERT R. ARCE

President

University of Northern Philippines

Tamag, Vigan City


Inside Address3.1.Address an individual the

way he usually signs his name.

2.Avoid abbreviating Christian names, corporations, company, and official positions or ranks (Sergeant, Treasurer, Secretary, Sales Manager, Director, etc.)

3.You may abbreviate titles like Honorable, Reverend, Professor.


Inside Address3.4. Include the article “The”

before the company name, if it is naturally a part of the name, like – “The Dean’s Café” or “The Rabbi”

5. Use the titles BEFORE full names, not before last name.

Professor Mariano F. Avila Honorable Lovely Ann Joy

C. Lazo


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Salutation4.written on the left margin

the degree of formality of the letter tells you which greeting to use

MOST FORMAL: Sir or MadamMORE Formal: Dear Sir or Dear

MadamInformal: My dear John, Dear Jean,

etc.

followed by a colon ( : )


Salutation4.Gentlemen – salutation for company,

club, committee, and other organizations composed of MALES or BOTH males and females.

Ladies – exclusively for FEMALES

If there’s a particular person whom you want to read the letter addressed to a company, this person’s name may be written in the ATTENTION LINE


Example: Attention Line

CBAA BIZNEWSCollege of Business Administration and AccountancyUniversity of Northern PhilippinesHeritage City of Vigan

Gentlemen: Miss Novie Ada B. Urbis

CBAA BIZNEWSCollege of Business Administration and AccountancyUniversity of Northern PhilippinesHeritage City of ViganAttention: Miss Novie Ada B. Urbis

Gentlemen:


Salutation4.Another secondary part of a letter found

in the are of salutation is the SUBJECT LINE placed two spaces below the Salutation/Greeting.

SUBJECT LINE – states the purpose or topic of the letter in a short sentence.


Example: Subject Line

CBAA BIZNEWSCollege of Business Administration and AccountancyUniversity of Northern PhilippinesHeritage City of ViganAttention: Miss Novie Ada B. Urbis

Gentlemen:

Subject: The delivery of college publication magazines. The delivery CBAA Biznews magazines will be

delayed due to machine malfunction.


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Body of the Letter5.The part where the writer will convey all

the messages he wants to tell the reader.

Apply the 5Cs of an effective business letter.1. Clarity

2. Completeness3. Conciseness

4. Consistency5. Courtesy


A. CLARITY1. RIGHT WORDS2. CLEAR AND ACCURATE

SENTENCES3. AVOID GRAMMATICAL

ERRORS4. OBSERVE UNITY, COHERENCE AND EMPHASIS


B. COMPLETENESS1. COMPLETE DATA/EXPLANATIONS2. ATTACH NECESSARY ENCLOSURES

C. CONCISENESS1. USE SHORT AND SIMPLE WORDS2. AVOID HACKNEYED AND TRITE EXPRESSIONS


D. CONSISTENCY1. CONSISTENT IN THE FORM AND

STYLE OF PRESENTING THE MESSAGE TO THE READER

2. CONSISTENT IN OBSERVING NEATNESS AND ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE LETTER

E. COURTESY1. POLITE/COURTEOUS IN WORDS2. POSITIVE TONE

3. EMPHASIZE THE “YOU-ATTITUDE”


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Complimentary Close6.Very respectfully yours,Respectfully yours,Very truly yours,Truly yours,Sincerely yours,Cordially yours,Best wishes,Kindest regards,


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Signature Line7.2 signatures are needed:

PRINTED and PENNED

Respectfully yours,

Juan de la CruzJUAN DE LA CRUZ


1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

Letterhead

Date Line

Inside Address



Signature Line

Notations


Notations8.1

• Identification Initials

2• Enclosure

3• Carbon Copy

4• Blind Copy

5• Postscript


Notations8.1

• Identification Initials

These are initials of the writer or dictator and the typist or transcriber.

A colon or slash mark is used to separate the two kinds of initials.

Respectfully yours,


JCDA/CEA


Notations8.2

• Enclosure

Important document or papers attached to the letter.

The enclosure of these documents are made known to the reader by the explicit statement in the body of the letter.

Respectfully yours,


JCDA/CEA

Enc.

Resume


Notations8.3

• Carbon Copy

Let the reader know that a copy of the letter is sent to another person whose name is mentioned in the address

symbol: CC

Respectfully yours,

Juan de la CruzJUAN DE LA CRUZManager, Vigan Printing Press

CC. Miss April N. Salvdor


Notations8.4

• Blind Copy

If the writer decides to give a copy of the letter to a person not referred to in the address he may note this as BCC on the COPY of the “secret recipient”

This BCC is not reflected on the original letter.


Notations8.5

• Postscript

This may be added after the last notation.

Serves as a device for emphasis.

symbol: PS


Types ofBusiness Letter


1.Formal Invitations2.Letter of Inquiry3.Claim letter4.Letters of

transmittal5.Letter of

Reservation

6.Letter of appreciation

7.Credit letter8.Collection letter9.Adjustment letter10.Application letter11.Resignation letter

Types of Business Letter


1. Formal Invitation

Notices of seminars, conferences, commencement exercises and other speaking engagements.

It should bear the ff:• Occasion• Purpose• Audience and participants• Theme• Time, data, and venue of the activity


2. Letter of Inquiry

It is a letter asking for information. It must observe the ff:1. Ask specific and thorough questions so that the

recipient understands exactly what you need to know.2. List and number your questions, if there are several.3. If you need the certain information by a certain date,

mention the date in the letter. Allow the recipient a reasonable amount of time to answer.

4. Express your appreciation in the letter by stating the immediate need for reply.


3. Claim Letters

CLAIM LETTER • sometimes called “COMPLAINT” letter• It should be specific, concise, and

courteous in stating facts.


4. Letters of Transmittal

- sometimes called a letter of report


5. Letter of Reservation

- It should be brief and definite.- The writer of the letter should

specify the number of reservations wanted, the location or position preferred, and the date of the reservation


6. Letter of Appreciation

- should be written from the heart- Brevity adds strength and conviction to

the message- Like the letters of sympathy and

congratulation, the letter of appreciation is easiest to write and is most enthusiastically received when it is written promptly.


7. Credit Letter

Its purpose is to carry out those rules and regulations of the house which will establish reasonably safe and mutually profitable relationship with the customers.


8. Collection Letter

Its purpose is to secure payment of debt as quickly as possible.


9. Adjustment Letter

It is written to give a solution or remedy to the customer’s complaints on the products delivered, services rendered, errors in the policy and procedure.

It contains the following elements:


9. Adjustment Letter

1. Thanking the customer for calling the seller’s attention to the error.

2. Expression of feeling of regret about the customer’s inconvenience, dissatisfaction to show courtesy.

3. Brief and polite explanation of the cause or error or damage to the product, to mitigate the customer’s satisfaction.

4. Willingness to stop further recurrence of dissatisfaction.


10. Application Letter

An application letter is a typical example of sales letter since you are selling your services or qualifications to the employer. It is a letter written seeking for a job.


TWO KINDS OF APPLICATION APPLICATION LETTER

1.Solicited application letter- is made in response to an advertisement

2. Unsolicited Application letter - is prepared even if there

was no advertisement made.


I have the honor to fill up the position which you advertise in the Classifieds Ad of the Manila Bulletins.

Imagine the reaction of a personnel officer to this opening of an application letter:

If you are looking for a secretary who works with a dedication and commitment and who goes the extra mile in her work, perhaps I am the person you are looking for.


THREE IMPORTANT ITEMS

A. Your reason for leaving

b. Effectivity of your resignation

c. An expression of appreciation for having worked in the company

Resignation Letter

Education

Basic principles in Business Correspondence