ByDilshad Zaidi

Business

letters
Notices & Circular

Memorandum, Meetings

Minutes & Agendas

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

1. HEADING - contains the name, address, tele/fax number, Email address of the firm therefore most firms use letter heads. The name & address are printed on the top middle of the page & other information is given in the margins.
Eg: Contact numbers: Fax: E-mail:

1, Nariman point, Munbai-400001

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

2. DATE enables quick reference in future & helps in prompt action & orderly filing. The date should be typed two spaces below the last line of the heading & should be typed in the right hand corner. Names of the month & year should be written in full & no suffix such as st or th should be used.
Eg:

USE IT
31 January, 2009 January 31, 2009

AVOID IT 31-3-2009 31st Jan., 2009 31st January, 09

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

3. REFERENCE It helps to link correspondence for the prompt reply & quick action. Also it serves to identify the department or section from which the letter is sent. Eg:

Reference: 7 / MA / 09 some letterheads contains two lines for references

Your references. Our references..

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

4. INSIDE ADDRESS It contains Name & full address of the firm or individual to whom the letter is written. It should be written two lines below the reference. Special care should be taken to spell the addressees name correctly. Eg:
Superline Electronics Limited A1, Nehru place, New Delhi-60

Where a firms name contain a personal name, Messrs should be used:

Messrs Ram Aggarwal & Sons

A1, Nehru place, New Delhi-60 When you wish to direct the letter to a particular official, an attention line two spaces below the inside address should be given
Attention: The Sales Manager or

Attention: Mr. R.K. Lalwani

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

5. SALUTATION Its a greeting of the addressee. Shouls be written two lines below the inside address. Official & formal correspondence may use Mr. before the surname of the addressee. Eg:
For Official correspondence For Business correspondence For Saluting firms For Informal letters Sir/Madam Dear Sir/ Dear Madam Dear Sirs/ Dear Mesdames My Dear

6. SUBJECT LINE The purpose of subject line is to let reader know immediately what the letter is about. In some cases the subject line is mentioned before salutations.
Eg: Subject: Payment of Bill No. 897 of July, 09
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

7. BODY OF THE LETTER It contains the message to be conveyed. Body text of the letter should be single spaced with double spacing between paragraphs & without paragraph indentation. The main body consist of following:
Opening paragraph:

Should open with acknowledgement or gratitude. Its a Introductive paragraph which may include reference to previous correspondence.
Main paragraph: It conatins the subject-matter. It must contain all relevant details. Use of bullet or numbered list is advised. Closing paragraph: The concluding paragraph states the action expected from the reader. It should be firm so as to motivate the reader .an offer or a request may be made here.
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

8. COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE Its usually given below the closing paragraph & only the first letter of the close is capitalised. Some letters may also have Participial closure (thanking you & Regards.) after the closing paragraph which may or may not be used. Closure should correspondence with the salutation as shown below:
Eg: SALUTATION Sir/Madam Dear Sir/ Dear Madam Dear Sirs/ Dear Mesdames COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE Yours faithfully or Yours respectfully Yours faithfully or Yours truly

My Dear Mr. Ghosh Dear Madhu

Yours sincerely

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

10

9. SIGNATURE It leads authenticity & is placed below the closure Name of the person signing the letter is typed below the signature. Women should indicate marital status. Few forms are shown below:
Sole proprietorship For Rama Enterprises Ram Dass Partnership firm For Ram Dass & Bros. Ram Dass Partner Limited company: Managing Director Super India Ltd. Ram Dass M.D. Director For Super India Ltd. Ram Dass Director
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

Others On behalf of Super India Ltd. Ram Dass Sales Manager

11

10. IDENTIFICATION MARKS Initials of the person dictating the letter & person typing are given. It helps fixing responsibilities. It can be in either of following form:

CBG OPA CBG : OPA

Eg: CBG are initials of person dictated OPA are initials of person typed

CBG/OPA
CBG- opa

11. Enclosure Abbreviation Encl. some documents are attached invoice, bill, receipt, catalogue after signature against which mentioned.
Eg: Encl.: Two Encls. 1) Agreement 2) Invoice or

is written to indicate that with the letter such as price list etc. it is typed number of enclosure is

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

12

12. COPY DISTRIBUTION If the copies of the letter are to be sent to persons other than the addressee, names of persons are typed below the enclosure notation as shown below
C.C.

C.C.

Mr. R.B. Chatterjee

Miss Anuradha

Marketing Manager
Purchasing Manager

13. Postscript When the writer forgets to mention some important point in the main body, he can add the message in this part. It is not a good practice & should be avoided. Can also be used to emphasize main points of the letter.
Eg: P.S. Please remember the low price offer is valid till December 09.

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

13

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

On behalf of your company you are making enquiries, seeing Quotation about some required products. Write a letter for same to the supplier. After you have received the details you requested, Write a letter for placing the order of the product. Write a letter as a supplier asking for the payment of bills. After the delivery of the product you ordered, Write a letter of complaint against some damaged items. On behalf of supplier write a apology letter for sending the wrong invoice. Write a letter for the new product launch on behalf of your company.
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

14

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

15

Memorandum (Interoffice memo) is a short piece of writing used to transmit message from one person or department to another within the same organisation. The main purpose of the memo is to records or convey information & decisions or to make short requests. Memo has no inside address & Unlike a memo, letter has a formal appearance.

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

16

(Company name)
DATE : __________________ FROM /DESIGNATION: __________________ TO / DESIGNATION : ____________________ DEPT : ____________________ DEPT : _____________________

SUBJECT(may/may not be):______________________________________________

MESSAGE, COMMENT OR REPLY.

FOR YOUR

APPROVAL INFORMATION COMMENT NAME OF THE COMPOSER

eg..

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

17

No. To : Mr. A.K. Arora, Clerk From: S.C. Bansal, Manager

Date:

You remained absent from your duties on the date & for the period mentioned below. Please note that you have earned salary & emoluments for the said period. Date: march 20,2009 Period 10:00a.m.-5:00P.m. R.M. Sharma cc to GM, north zone
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

18

 Offices

notes are usually for a horizontal communication. Exchanged between officers of almost equal ranks asking for suggestion or seeking or giving information about matters concerning their respective departments
meant to be put on notice board & follow memo format

Usually

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

19

A directory of all employees is being prepared . All members of the staff are requested to provide the following details: Name 1.______ 2.______ Residential Address _______________ _______________ Contact Number ___________ ___________ Ashok Dhawan 5th April, 2009

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

20

 Office

circulars are meant to convey information to a large number of people

information is usually of general nature & not confidential circulars are formal in nature. These are used to inform employees changes in working hour/promotions/order/insist on punctuality etc. it should be brief, precise & persuasive.
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

Such

Office

21

(Company name)
Ref no: __________ DATE : __________________

SUBJECT : ________________________________________________ MESSAGE_________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ __________________________________ Copies to: a)_______________ b)_______________ DEPT : ____________________ eg.. FROM /DESIGNATION: ________________ DEPT : ____________________

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

22

Date: Sub: change in office timings This is to inform all that from november 1st, 2009 , the office timing will be as follows. 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. Morning session 12:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Lunch 1:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m. Evening session Employees are expected to strictly adhere to these office hours. B.K. Mittal Personnel Officer
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

23

No.

Date:

Sub: use of office telephone for personal calls It has come to my notice that some members of the staff frequently misuse office telephones for making personal calls. This results in telephone lines being busy & office calls have to wait. You are requested to avoid making personal calls, except during emergency, from office telephones. S.C. Bhatia Manager
MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

24

Memo: Requesting a Department head for submission of monthly report Circular: use of office telephone for personal calls Notice: Providing details of list of holiday

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

25

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

26

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

27

MBA-I_BC(W)_DZ

28