Business Writing Portfolio - Essay Example

? Part I Business writing steps: In order to write the three messages as required in the assignment, we shall take the following steps Determination of the core message. 2. Identification of the Characteristics of the audience for communication. 3. Determining communication goals for the respective audience. 4. Exploring the various means of communication. 5. Choosing the most appropriate means of communication for the respective audience. 6. Customizing the core message according to the communication goals as determined above. Part II:Messages Message 1: Store Managers: A business letter To, Store Manager, ABC retail …………Store Dear Store Manager, As you are aware, through past communications, we have been witnessing falling sales and rising costs in past few months. The above is, owing mostly to rising gas prices. The Gas prices are unlikely to go down in the near future. Instead, a further rise is expected in the next few months. In order to address the above problem, we feel a need for you to make certain adjustments in your day to day operations. The adjustments are expected to be such that the employees working in the various shifts are allowed to exercise the choice to work lesser hours a day or per week. You may explore the possibilities for the same keeping into account the number of duty roaster change requests you have received in the past few months. We are gladly willing to extend any kind of support and guidance in the matter. Although you are well aware, it is important to point out at this juncture that no new stores are being opened and no stores are being closed down. Thus, the level of competition is expected to remain same. Further, we invite your suggestions on how to address the problem better. You may mail your suggestions as soon as possible through email or phone on any of the workdays, between 10am through 5pm. Thank you. Warmest regards, XYZ.. Manager Public relations, ABC retail group Message2: Store Employees: A business memo MEMO  To: (Employee Name)  From: (Your name)  Date: (current date)  Subject: Changes in work schedule This is to bring to your notice a change in work schedule that is being planned in next few days. The purpose of this memo is to inform you about the reasons and ways to do so. As you must be aware, owing to rising gas prices, we are experiencing a fall in profits. Besides, you as an employee also must be feeling the strain on your finances due to the same. We have decided to make it less so by allowing you to modify your work schedule and suggest the same to those responsible in your respective sections/departments for planning your duties. The objective is to allow you easy sanction of leaves and also flexible working hours, so that occasional overstaffing can be effectively managed. Full time employees will be allowed to exchange their working hours with any willing full time or part time employees, such that it does not violate the stipulated total number of working hours. This will help consolidate working hours and will require less time and cost in transportation to and from your home to work. To start with you shall work on ….(days) for …..hours with flexibility to exchange these hours with willing partners with written permission from your section head. The store shall open on Sundays and you are required to work at least four hours this Sunday. You may compensate this with a leave on any other weekday. Message 3: Retail customers: An email message Dear Customer, We are thankful to you for your continued support and loyalty to our retail brand. As part of our constant endeavor to bring the best to our customers, we have planned certain new initiatives that we shall unfold in the coming weeks. Our stores shall be open more hours now, so that you may get more time to experience your favorite brand and buy your favorite products at the ongoing deals you always loved. We have introduced more self help counters at the stores, so that you may get relevant product information promptly and require minimal help from our very courteous staff. We encourage you to check our website regularly for latest and best deals at our stores and place order online, so that by the time you visit our stores your order is almost ready. You may also call our toll free number (……) for placing orders for your favorite goods. Thank you. Warmest regards, XYZ.. Manager Public relations, ABC retail group Part III Reflection and comparison: Business writing style: Reflection on current writing The above pieces of business writing have the same core message. However, they differ in communication goals for the different audience for which they are meant. The various stakeholders of the retail chain have qualitatively different interests and stakes in the business and share a different kind of relationship with business, vis-a-vis each other. Thus the intended message has to be such that it appeals to the relevant concerns emanating out of the interests and stakes of the respective audience. The core issue at hand is the change in operations and management of the stores to combat falling profits. The cause behind the same has been the rising gas prices. The efforts at solving the problem have directed the management to decide that operations should be streamlined such that they allow greater freedom to the employees to work longer or shorter hours whenever they need provided it does not violate the optimum staffing at any given point in time. The store managers need to be communicated the operational aspects of the issue and also a solid basis for backing up their decisions, particularly regarding the changes in staffing. The communication had to be on a more personal note with the store managers as compared to the other stakeholders. Thus, their cooperation and suggestions have also been invited for possible alternative ways to solve the problem. However, the store managers are required to make their own decisions based on the typical staffing and operational situations they face. This requires an individualistic tone of communication. The letter format is best suited for this kind of an individualistic communication. The employees are to be taken into confidence as a change is planned, that requires direct effort from the employees. Their need for flexible working hours needs to be balanced with the management’s need for optimum staffing. However, the employees have a common need and thus a form of written communication that’s less individualistic and more general in character needs to be adopted in this case. The employees need to be apprised of the changes that might take place in terms of staffing and to make the ready for any possible changes. The format adopted for the same is a business memo. The format allows the desired form of communication. The customers and the public in general are not bothered about the problems the business is facing. However, they will witness the changes that are supposed to take place. The changes might be favorable to some and not to others. However a genuine intent behind the changes needs to be communicated to the customers. In fact certain aspects of the changes can be introduced as being favorable to the customers and public in general. The best way to communicate this is through a mass mailer, with a general message for the public. The mailer has been designed such that the staffing changes appear to be favorable and preparation for more and better services. Read More