Republic of the Philippines

CITY COLLEGE OF TAGAYTAY

Akle St., Kaybagal South, Tagaytay City
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
General Education Department

MODULE 3 - FINAL TERM

Time: ____________

Homeschool:____________

Educator: Rizza C. Gatpandan

ENGL1a – Purposive Communication

Title: Unit IV: Communication for Work Purposes, Communication for Academic Purposes
Lesson 1: Communication for Work Purposes
 Business Letter Styles
 Writing Business E-mails
 Writing Memorandums
 Writing Minutes in Business Meetings
 Writing Business Reports
 Writing Business Plans

Learning Outcomes
a. Explain the importance of effective communication in the workplace
b. Analyze different communication documents in the workplace
c. Prepare communication materials in the workplace
d. Appreciate the significance of understanding the value of effective workplace communication

Rationale:
Essential to business success is effective communication in the workplace. Workplace
communication is simply described as the process of sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal
messages among members of a business organization. Its main purpose is to increase efficiency and
profitability through clear and effective communication that unifies actions of employees toward attaining
company objectives. In general, effective workplace communication improves relationships among
empleyees and between companies and clients. On the otherhand, poor workplace communication is
damaging to the business. In fact, US research firm Gartner as cited in the webpage of University of
Auckland (2017), reprted that 70% of business mistakes are due to poor communication. This statistic
substantiaties the need that more emphasis should be put on improving communication in the workplace
to prevent business losses.

Topic/s:
Lesson 1: Communication for Work Purposes
Business Letter Styles: Block and Modified Block

A. Block Letter Style

 Every line of every component, except for the company letter head, begins at the left margin.
 It is efficient because it eliminates the need to set tabs and indent lines.
 It does not necessarily mean full justification - there is usually no attempt to have each line end
evenly on the right margin.

B. Modified Block Letter Style

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  It is a traditional letter style still used in some businesses.
 The date, complimentary close and signature block are indented.
 The first line of each paragraph may start at the left margin as in the block style or it may be
indented one-half inch.
In both styles, the company letterhead is typically centered horizontally about one inch from the
top of the page, whether keyboarded or preprinted.

Block Letter Format Sample

Company Letterhead
March 31, 2019
ATTY. ENRICO F. CUENCA
General Manager, Golden Opportunity, Inc.
RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. Cor. Gil Puyat Ave.
Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines 1200
Dear Atty. Cuenca:
First of all, let me congratulate you for …

I would like to inquire about …

I hope to receive your reply…

Sincerely,

(Signature)
John James San Sebastian
Sales Manager
Global Communications, Inc.

Modified Block Letter Format Sample

Company Letterhead
March 31, 2019

ATTY. ENRICO F. CUENCA

General Manager, Golden Opportunity, Inc.
RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. Cor. Gil Puyat Ave.
Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines 1200
Dear Atty. Cuenca:
First of all, let me congratulate you for…
I would like to inquire about…
I hope to receive your reple…

Sincerely,

(Signature)
John James San Sebastian
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 Sales Manager
Global Communications, Inc.

C. Writing Business Emails

By now, you must have sent and received a lot of emails from friends, relatives and business
firms. Indeed, sending and receiving emails have become common place in our personal and
professional life. When writing emails to your friends and relatives, you can be as informal as you
want. However, writing business emails to your manager or client is quite different. Although it is
normally less formal than a printed business letter, you have to abide by the rules and etiquette of
business email writing if you want your recipients to take your communication seriously and
professionally.
Just like other workplace communication documents, the purpose of email is to convey
information in inexpensive and quick way to colleagues, customers, suppliers, investors and other
contacts around the globe. In fact, it has become one of the major ways of communication at work. But
remember that your business contact may not have the luxury of time to read a long message, so keep
your emails short and direct. The more concise and to the point they are, the better chance that you will
get prompt replies.

Example 1: Formal
In this example, you can see the basic parts of a formal business letter. It follows the format
and tone of a printed business letter.

Converge ICT Team <[email protected]>

To: [email protected]
Dear Valued Subscriber,
As part of our efforts to constantly innovate not just our product but also our internal systems,
which are equally important in providing you better experience as a customer, we are excited to
announce that we will be implementing a new business support system. These system
advancements will soon allow you to access your account online to do service modification,
view e-billing, and transact payment, among others.
Should you have other questions on these changes, you may reach as through the following:
FB page: bit.ly/2FFKntK-FBSupport
Hotline: 02-667 0850
Best regards,
Converge ICT Team

Example 2: Informal
The following example shows the more conversational tone throughout the email. It’s like a
telephone conversation between sender and receiver.

On Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 6:04 PM Pete Caudilla <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi, Mark.
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Can you tell me the email address of Zach Nostratis? Hope to connect with him ASAP.

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 Kind regards,

Pete

Example 3: Very Informal

This informal email is similar to texting. This type of email is commonly sent only to
colleagues with whom you have a close working relationship.

Insley, Robert <[email protected]>

To: Pete Caudilla
Apr 8 at 7:25 PM
Glad to help, Pete!

Bob

10 Tips on How to Write Emails by International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC)

(https:www.ilac.com/10-tips-on-how-to-write-a-business-email-in-english/.)
1. Subject Line says a lot. No doubt, a subject line is the first thing a recipient reads. The decision of
whether or not to open an email depends highly on how the subject like looks. Make sure the subject
line is simple, specific, but catchy. Use key words that breifly summarize the content of your
message.
2. Start your email with greetings. It is always important to have a contact name, unless a recipient is
unknown (in “to whom it may concern” case). if neede, don’t be shy to call and ask for the person’s
name. Some people use informal salutations, such as “Good morning” or “Hi”. It totally depends on
how formal your relationships are.
The most standard ones are:
Dear First name Lastname
Dear Mr./Ms. Lastname
Dear Mr./Ms. Firstname Lastname
Dear Dr. Lastname
To whom it may concern
3. Say Thank You. If a person has replied to your email, you should thank him/her by writing “Thank
you for your (prompt) reply”. It is important to start an email on a positive note, as it creates a good
first impression of you.
4. Be clear and Precise. No matter how complex your email appears to be, try to define its purpose
clearly at the very beginning of the email by writing “I am contacting you as…” or “I am writing to
you in reference to/regarding…” It helps the reader understand the purpose of your email.
5. Save someone’s time. To save everyone’s precious time, keep your emails specific and concise
6. Informal vs Formal. Your manner of speaking depends on who you are talking to.
Here are some examples of demonstrating different ways to write the same thing:
Informal: Can you…?
Formal: I was wondering if you could…
Informal: Sorry, I can’t meet you. I’m busy that day.
Formal: I am afraid I will not be available to make it that day.
7. Don’t avoid the negative. Delivering bad news is never easy! But it’s something you have to do
sometimes, when working in a business environment. A good way to do it is to provide a reader
with neutral or positive information first. Only then move to the negative part, explaining what
caused it and why it’s important. The final part of the message should provide a potential solution to
the problem or an optimistic note.

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 8. The last vow. Before ending your email, thank the recipient one more time by saying “thank you for
your consideration.” It is also very common to add “should you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me” or “I look forward to hearing from you”.
9. Write a Closing to Your Email. Okay, you are almost there, but here is another thing to do: As you
have already constructed your email beautifully, it requires a beautiful closing too.
Choose the most suitable phrase before typing your name.
Yours sincerely, (when you know the name of the recipient, Formal)
Best regards, or Kind regards, (Formal, Most common)
Take care, Thank you, or Have a nice day (Less Formal)
10. Proofread your email. Wait! Don’t send it yet! It is very important to reread your email carefully
before hitting the send button. Check if there are any typos, grammatical or punctuation errors, or
inappropriate word usage.

D. Office Memorandum/Writing Memorandums

Memorandum or Memo is a written record of an important message between two or more
employees of the same company or department. It is an official communication within the organization
used to put on record what is going on or agreed verbally, make announcements, discuss procedures,
report on company activities, provide a response to a question, make a suggestion, and disseminate
employee information.
It is typically informal (but business-like) in structure and has the following elements:
 An addressee: Flush left, in capital letters, near the top of the page
 The sender: Flush left, in capital letters, immediately below the addressee
 Date: Flush left, in capital letters, immediately below the sender’s name
 Subject: Flush left, in capital letters, immediately below the date, contains the essence of
the memo
Here is an example of a properly structured business memorandum.
MEMORANDUM
TO: All employees
FROM: Jackielou E. Cansancio, Office Manager
CC: Atty. Cris Belas, HR Manager
DATE: May 6, 2019
SUBJECT: INAPPROPRIATE USE OF COMPANY TIME
It has reached my attention that there were some employees who are inappropriately using their
time browsing their social media account during office hours. This memo serves to remind you
to utilize your work hours for office tasks.
While I encourage a happy and healthy working environment, I advise that you use company
time for what it is actually intended. Should you have questions regarding this issue, please read
the employee’s manual to be reminded of the company rules.

Thank you!

Remember these three tips when writing your memo:

Memo Tip #1: Before sending it out, make sure that it is 100% necessary.
Ask yourself the following:
“Does this memo even NEED to be written and sent?”
“This memo will surely take up employee’s time…can’t this be put aside?”
“What specific action would employees do after reading the memo?”
If these questions lead to negative reply, maybe you need to think over again if it is necessary to
write and send out the memo.
Memo Tip #2: Your memo should convey all the information in brief but substantial text.
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 Make sure that only the most important message is included in the memo because people might
not have a lot of time reading it. Remeber, keep it short and simple. It’s not necessary to lengthen the
memo, add pointless explanations, or use pompous words to appear intelligent. In short, just be straight
forward.

Memo Tip #3: In a single sentence, end your memo forcefully by repeating the action employees should
carry out.
Make sure you restate exactly what you need from employees at the end of the memo. However,
use “No action required” when recipients will not do anything further after reading the memo.
(Source: https://kopywritingkourse.com/how-to-write-a-memo/)

E. Minutes of Meeting/Writing Minutes in Business Meetings

Minutes of a business meeting are written in order to maintain a record of what occurred and
what topics were brought up during a meeting, as well as the information about the activity of
attendees or decisions made. They are the repository of information that usually serves as basis or
background material for upcoming meetings. This is essential so that when you do business meetings,
you do not end up going in different directions and then meeting again for the same original purpose.
Minutes is written, kept and distributed usually by a secretary or by any member of the business
group present in the meeting. Generally written in simple past tense, minutes are the official written
record of a meeting.

Main Parts of Minutes of Meeting (Nordquist (2019))

 Heading includes the name of the business organization or committee as well as the date, location
and time of the meeting.
 Participants or attendees consist of the names of all those who attended the meeting , including
guests, and those who sent apologoes for not attending.
 Approval of the previous minutes is a short note whether the minutes of the previous meeting
were approved as read without corrections or approved with corrections of significant errors or
omissions.
 Action items include a report on the items discussed in the meeting - tje subject of the discussion,
person who led the discussion and the conclusions or decisions that have been reached. This part
also includes unfinished business from the previous meeting.
 Announcements part reports about any announcements made by the participants or those who
were not around, and the proposed agenda items for the succeeding meeting.
 Next meeting is a short note on the date and time of the subsequent meeting.
 Adjournment is a short note on the time the meeting ended.
 Signature line carries the name of the person who prepared the minutes and the date they were
submitted. In some organizations, the minutes of a legal nature require more than one signatory.

Steps in Writing Meeting Minutes (based on Academic Help article at

https://academichelp.net/business-writing-help/write-meeting-minutes.html)
1. Choose the format of the meeting minutes. This format should include information about the
attendees, the agenda items, the conclusions reached or decisions made, and actions performed.
2. Choose the method in recording the proceedingsof the meeting. You can decide on pen and paper or
electronic gadget such as a laptop, a tape or voice recorder or a video recorder. Prepare this before
the meeting.
3. Prepare a list of the names of those attending the meeting along with a list of information about the
coverage and the objective of a meeting.
4. Prepare a template for the official document of the meeting. The template you choose should include
the main parts such as time and date, place and purpose of the meeting, the name of participants
including the guests, etc. A space should be provided for the topics and a complete description of
how each area was discussed and concluded.
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 5. Take note of important information during the meeting. A template can surely help you organize the
discussion and keep the record easy to read and understand.
6. Verify your notes right after the meeting. Ask the participants of the meeting for corrections or
objections to the recorded statement.
7. As possible, encode immediately the minutes and print an electronic copy of the record to avoid
losing the value of the meeting. Distribute the minutes to the attendees promptly.

F. Business Report /Writng Business Report

It is a formal written document that contains analysis of a real business situation or a case study
where business theories are applied to come up with a number of solutions to problems and suggestions
for improvement (Massey University, 2012).
The purpose of writing a business report is to inform the intended readers about applicable and
probable solutions to a problem, issue or concern. The document also explains the business and
management priciples that have been applied to the problem to produce solutions and suggestions for
improvement. It highlights the cost and benefits of the solution to the organization. Conclusions are
explained and recommendations for future action are put forward as well.

Five essential elements of a business report (Beare, 2018)

1. Terms of Reference - refer to the reasons for writing a business report. Usually included in this part
is the name of person who requested the report.
2. Procedure - describes the exact steps in the investigation and data collection methods used for the
report.
3. Findings - describe the outcomes produced or discoveries made during investigation of the business
problem.
4. Conclusions - sum up the outcomes of analysis which provide grounds for recommendations.
5. Recommendations - the findings and conclusion-based solutions to problems or suggestions for
improvement put forward for future action of the organization.

Example of Business Report

Terms of Reference
Margaret Anderson, Director of Personnel has requested this report on employee
benefits satisfaction. The report was to be submitted to her by 28 June.

Procedure
A representative selection of 15% of all employees were interviewed in the period between
April 1st and April 15th concerning:
 Overall satisfaction with our current benefits package
 Problems encountered when dealing with the personnel department
 Suggestions for the improvement of communication policies
 Problems encountered when dealing with our HMO

Findings
 Employees were generally satisfied with the current benefits package.
 Some problems were encountered when requesting vacation due to what is perceived as long
approval waiting periods.
 Older employees repeatedly had problems with HMO prescription drugs procedures.
 Employees between the ages of 22 and 30 report few problems with HMO.
 Most employees complain about the lack of dental insurance in our benefits package.
 The most common suggestion for improvement was for the ability to process benefits
requests online.

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 Conclusions
 Older employees, those over 50, are having serious problems with our HMO’s ability to
provide prescription drugs.
 Our benefits request system needs to be revised as most complaints concernng
in-house processing.
 Improvements need to take place in personnel department response time.
 Information technology improvements should be done considered as employees become
more technologically savvy.

Recommendations
 Meet with HMO representatives to discuss the serious nature of complaints concerning
prescription drug benefits for older employees.
 Give priority to vacation request response time as employees need faster approval in order to
be able to plan their vacations.
 Take no special actions for the benefits package of younger employees.
 Discuss the possibility of adding an online benefits requests system to our company Intranet.

G. Business Plan/Writing Business Plan

A business plan is a document that delineates the goals and the actions or stpes to actualize them.
It is usually written when starting a business or managing someone else’s. It describes your plan in
getting your business off the ground. A business plan is appropriate to convince investors or acquire
commercial loans from government or private banks and lending institutions.
Parsons (2019) suggested three rules for writing a business plan.
 Make your business plan short for two reasons: First, business people are commonly busy and
lack the luxury of time and patience to read a 100-page document, and second, your business plan
can be used over a period of time that when it is too long it is difficult to revise and update.
 Know your audience. Use a language which is familiar and easy to understand. If your business
plan is about a specialized are like a complex IT product or service, avoid using technical jargons
or terminologies that your prospective non-technical investors will have difficulty to understand.
In short, use words that everyone can understand.
 Don’t be intimidated. Not all company owners and business people are well versed in doing
business. Many of them struggle, especially the ones who are just learning, to become one. You
might even be more knowledgeable and skillful than them. Since you fully know your business, it
is no huge feat at all to write your business plan. You prepare and write it to your business
advantage and growth.
Parsons (2019) further suggested that in writing your business plan, start with a one-page Lean
Plan which you can revise and update later to translate it into a full, detailed business plan.
A full, detailed business plan, whether for real or for school project, consists of several key
components. Bellis (2019) explains these elements in the following:
 Executive Summary
 A one- to two-page overview of your business and your plan for quick read
 First part of the plan though written last
 Includes the objectives, mission statement, and “key to success”
 A stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed business plan
 Should convince investors, loan officers, or potential business partners and clients to be
eager to be a part of the plan.

 The Company Summary Section

 Legal structure and ownership of the business, management team, investors and
stakeholders
 Business’ location and facilities it owns, with details on workspace and property asstes
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  Complete company history - sales and expenditures, any outstanding debts and current
assets, industry trends affecting fincial goals
 Major achievements and problem areas

 The Products and Services Section

 A description of what products or services your business offers
 Voice and style that present the business to customers, e.g. SM’s “We’ve got it all for you.”
 Technology research and materials sourcing
 Competitive advantage over direct and indirect competition
 A vision of where to take the business when successful

 The Market Analysis Section

 Details the performance of current market of the industry where your business belongs
 Major and minor issues that could impact on your ability to achieve your sales and income
goals
 Demographics of your target market to show how well you understand who you are offering
your products and services
 Industry analysis focusing on the types of business and major competitions
 Distribution, promotion, advertising, buying patterns and strategic alliances of your business
and that of your competitors to inform your investors where you stand towards business
success

 The Strategy and Implementation Section

 Describes how you are actually going to make your business work
 Your business’ strategies for marketing, pricing, promotions and sales
 Plan of implementation of these strategies - the steps you will take in order to achieve your
business goals and then climb to the next level
 Measures of success
 Milestones or future major goals within a realistic schedule

 Financial Plan Section

 Sales forecast - monthly sales and revenue projections for the first year, and then annual
projections for the remaining three to five years
 Personnel plan monthly salary of each position or for each functional group
 Profit and loss - to show if you’re making a profit or taking a loss
 Cash flow statement - to keep track of how much cash (money in the bank) that you have at
any given point
 Balance sheet - to show how financially healthy your business is
Once you are done with the major components of your business plan, you can end it with a “not-
required section,” Appendix,” where you can place charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other
critical information that either felt too long or too out-of-place to include elsewhere in your business
plan” (Parsons, 2019)

Instruction/s:
Read and analyze the different instructions given below. Follow what they tell you to do.

Activities:
Write the draft of your Memo here.

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TEST YOUR KNACK!

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___________________1. This type of business letter is written to make a request for more information
about a product or service.
___________________2. This type of business letter is used to introduce new products to new customers
and past clients.
___________________3. This section of a business plan includes a summary of the ownership of the
company, which should include any investors or stakeholders as well as owners
and people who play a part in management decisions.
___________________4. A note on the time the meeting ended.
___________________5. This section of a business plan details exactly how well the current market in
your company’s business field is doing, including major and minor concerns that
could affect your ability to achieve your sales and income goals.
___________________6. It is an outline of goals and the steps need to achieve them and is an essential
step to starting your own business as it lays out what you propose to do to get
your business started.
___________________7. They are the official written record of a meeting and serve as a permanent
record of the topics considered, conclusions reached, actions taken, and
assignments given.
___________________8. It is a formal written communication between, to or from businesses and
usually sent through the Post Office or sometimes by courier.
___________________9. This section gives background information on the reason for the report. It
usually includes the person requesting the report.
___________________10. It is a short messagor record used for internal communication in a business.
___________________11. This letter part is used to notify the receiver of anything attached to the letter.
This appears at the bottom of the letter.
___________________12. It is a polite way of ending the letter. It is typed two spaces below the last line
of the body of the letter.
___________________13. It shows the organization’s name, full address, and almost always the
telephone number and telegraphic address (if any).
___________________14. it enables the reader to immediately know what the message is all about. It
also helps to direct the letter quickly to the concerned person.
___________________15. It contains the message of a letter. Its main purpose is to produce a suitable
response in the reader.

Reference:
Caudilla, J. & Cansancio, J. (2019). Purposive Communication. Books Atpb. Publishing Corp:
Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

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