FOREWORD
At no time during the last three or four decades have the communication skills of individuals in the business world come under closer scrutiny than today. And never before have those who work in the business world needed better, more effective communication skills.
The emerging technology appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing, the need for effective communication skills. As more individuals have ready access to desk-top equipment to process written communication, fewer support personnel will be readily available to provide editing assistance. Therefore, welldeveloped communication skills among originators are more important to success than ever before.
This book is suitable for several different audiences, including undergraduate and graduate students.
The organization of this manual is a logic sequence of chapters including both business communication and correspondence. The first part is dedicated to business communication and the second to business correspondence.
The special features found in this edition are:
1. Examples of effective letter writing. Studies have shown students studying written business communication can learn as much, if not more, from ineffective examples of written communication as they do from effective examples.
2. Varied application problems in the writing-oriented chapters. The number of problems has been increased.
While the majority of problems require the writing of a letter or report, some are designed to give students an opportunity to develop the often overlooked skill of editing.
3. Many new application problems in the non-writingoriented chapters.
4. New topics, such as nonverbal communication language, various types of speeches and presentations.
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Part 1
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
1. The Business Letter
1.1. The Lay-Out of the Letter
Subordinated to the aim envisaged by the letter, the form of a business letter contributes to obtaining a favourable atmosphere and business environment. The business letter is most of the times unique, but in the case of repeatable operations containing small or series merchandise, for certain parts of a business transaction, forms may be used. These include the enquiry, the offer, technical specifications, the invoice, transportation instructions, etc.
In order to have an aesthetic aspect of the letter, certain requirements must be fulfilled:
 A balanced placement of the text on the paper
 Alignment
 Avoiding to split words into syllables
 Text must be written in paragraphs
 Text should be continued on a new page only if it contains more than two lines.
 The extra documents connected to the letter should be placed in enclosures
 Post scriptum should be avoided
In international business correspondence, there are two main forms of arranging the text in a page: the indent style – especially used by UK and USA firms, and the bloc forma letter style. The latest is considered to be a modern layout and used more and more. As variants the semi-bloc form and the modified bloc form can be used. Each one has distinctive features () .

5

1. The Indent Style
- the first line in each paragraph will be placed few intervals from the left border the inside address, the ending formula and the signature will be placed few intervals to the inside compared to the upper line

2. The Bloc Style
- all the elements of the letter are aligned from the left border
- a double space is placed between paragraphs 3. The Semi-Bloc Style
- the text of the body-letter can be written in the indent form
- lines including the internal address are placed to the left and the lines containing the ending formula and the signature are placed to the right in the bloc form
6

4. The Modified Bloc Style
- the text is written completely in the bloc style
- the date and the rows representing the salutation formula, the ending formula and the signature are placed to the right

Writing business letters and memos differs in certain important ways from writing reports. Keep the following advice in mind when you write and especially when you revise your business letters or memos.
State the main business, purpose, or subject matter right away. Let the reader know from the very first sentence what your letter is about. Remember that when business people open a letter, their first concern is to know what the letter is about, what its purpose is, and why they must spend their time reading it.
Therefore, avoid round-about beginnings. If you are writing to apply for a job, begin with something like this: "I am writing to apply for the position you currently have open...." If you have bad news for someone, you need not spill all of it in the first sentence.
Here is an example of how to avoid negative phrasing: "I am writing in response to your letter of July 24, 1997 in which you discuss problems you have had with an electronic spreadsheet purchased from our company."
If you are responding to a letter, identify that letter by its subject and date in the first paragraph or sentence. Busy recipients who write many letters themselves may not remember
7

their letters to you. To avoid problems, identify the date and subject of the letter to which you respond:
Dear Mr. Stout:
I am writing in response to your September 1, 19XX letter in which you describe problems that you've had with one of our chainsaws. I regret that you've suffered this inconvenience and expense and....

Dear Ms. Cohen:
I have just received your August 4, 19XX letter in which you list names and other sources from which I can get additional information on the manufacture and use of plastic bottles in the soft-drink industry....

Keep the paragraphs of most business letters short. The paragraphs of business letters tend to be short, some only a sentence long. Business letters are not read the same way as articles, reports, or books. Usually, they are read rapidly. Big, thick, dense paragraphs over ten lines, which require much concentration, may not be read carefully - or read at all. To enable the recipient to read your letters more rapidly and to comprehend and remember the important facts or ideas, create relatively short paragraphs of between three and eight lines long. In business letters, paragraphs that are made up of only a single sentence are common and perfectly acceptable. Throughout this section, you'll see examples of the shorter paragraphs commonly used by business letters.
"Compartmentalize" the contents of your letter. When you "compartmentalize" the contents of a business letter, you place each different segment of the discussion - each different topic of the letter - in its own paragraph. If you were writing a complaint letter concerning problems with the system unit of your personal computer, you might have these paragraphs:
 A description of the problems you've had with it
8

The ineffective repair jobs you've had
The compensation you think you deserve and why
Study each paragraph of your letters for its purpose, content, or function. When you locate a paragraph that does more than one thing, consider splitting it into two paragraphs. If you discover two short separate paragraphs that do the same thing, consider joining them into one. Provide topic indicators at the beginning of paragraphs. Analyze some of the letters you see in this section in terms of the contents or purpose of their individual paragraphs.
In the first sentence of any body paragraph of a business letter, try to locate a word or phrase that indicates the topic of that paragraph. If a paragraph discusses your problems with a personal computer, work the word "problems" or the phrase "problems with my personal computer" into the first sentence. Doing this gives recipients a clear sense of the content and purpose of each paragraph. Here is an excerpt before and after topic indicators have been incorporated:



Problem:
I have worked as an electrician in the
Decatur, Illinois, area for about six years. Since
1980 I have been licensed by the city of Decatur as an electrical contractor qualified to undertake commercial and industrial work as well as residential work. Revision: As for my work experience, I have worked as an electrician in the Decatur, Illinois, area for about six years. Since 1980 I have been licensed by the city of Decatur as an electrical contractor qualified to undertake commercial and industrial work as well as residential work.(Italics not in the original.) List or itemize whenever possible in a business letter.
Listing spreads out the text of the letter, making it easier to pick up the important points rapidly. Lists can be handled in several ways, as explained in the section on lists.
Place important information strategically in business letters. Information in the first and last lines of paragraphs tends
9

to be read and remembered better. Information buried in the middle of long paragraphs is easily overlooked or forgotten.
Therefore, place important information in high-visibility points.
For example, in application letters which must convince potential employers that you are right for a job, locate information on appealing qualities at the beginning or end of paragraphs for greater emphasis. Place less positive or detrimental information in less highly visible points in your business letters. If you have some difficult things to say, a good (and honest) strategy is to deemphasize by placing them in areas of less emphasis. If a job requires three years of experience and you only have one, bury this fact in the middle or the lower half of a body paragraph of the application letter. The resulting letter will be honest and complete; it just won't emphasize weak points unnecessarily. Here are some examples of these ideas:
Problem: In July I will graduate from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and
Dietetics. Over the past four years in which I have pursued this degree, I have worked as a lab assistant for Dr. Alison Laszlo and have been active in two related organizations, the Student
Dietetic
Association and the
American
Home
Economics
Association. In my nutritional biochemistry and food science labs, I have written many technical reports and scientific papers. I have also been serving as a diet aide at St. David's Hospital in
Lawrence the past year and a half. (The job calls for a technical writer; let's emphasize that first, then mention the rest!)
Revision: In my education at the University of
Kansas, I have had substantial experience writing technical reports and scientific papers. Most of these reports and papers have been in the field of nutrition and dietetics in which I will be receiving my Bachelor of Science degree this July. During my four years at the University I have also handled plenty of paperwork as a lab assistant for Dr. Alison
Laszlo, as a member of two related

10

organizations, the Student Dietetic Association and the American Home Economics Association, and as a diet aide as St. David's Hospital in Lawrence in the past year and a half.

Find positive ways to express bad news in your business letters. Often, business letters must convey bad news: a broken computer keyboard cannot be replaced, or an individual cannot be hired. Such bad news can be conveyed in a tactful way.
Doing so reduces the chances that business relations with the recipient of the bad news will end. To convey bad news positively, avoid such words as "cannot," "forbid," "fail,"
"impossible," "refuse," "prohibit," "restrict," and "deny" as much as possible. Focus on the recipient's needs, purposes, or interests instead of your own. Avoid a self-centered focusing on your own concerns rather than those of the recipient. Even if you must talk about yourself in a business letter a great deal, do so in a way that relates your concerns to those of the recipient. Avoid pompous, inflated, legal-sounding phrasing. Watch out for puffed-up, important-sounding language. This kind of language may seem business-like at first; it's actually ridiculous. Of course, such phrasing is apparently necessary in legal documents; but why use it in other writing situations? When you write a business letter, picture yourself as a plain-talking, common-sense, down-toearth person (but avoid slang). Give your business letter an
"action ending" whenever appropriate. An "action-ending" makes clear what the writer of the letter expects the recipient to do and when. Ineffective conclusions to business letters often end with rather limp, noncommittal statements such as "Hope to hear from you soon" or "Let me know if I can be of any further assistance." Instead, or in addition, specify the action the recipient should take and the schedule for that action. If, for example, you are writing a query letter, ask the editor politely to let you know of his decision if at all possible in a month. If you are writing an application letter, subtlety try to set up a date and time for an interview. 11

1.2. Business Letter Formatting Examples
The Indent Form
5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700
15 March 2005
Ms. Helen Jones
President Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234
Dear Ms. Jones:
Ah, business letter format - there are block formats, and indented formats, and modified block formats . . . and who knows what others. To simplify matters, we're demonstrating the indented format on this page, one of the two most common formats.
For
authoritative advice about all the variations, we highly recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed.
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace communications.
There seems to be no consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do not.
Let's hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice you make!
If you are using the indented form, place your address at the top, with the left edge of the address aligned with the center of the page. Skip a line and type the date so that it lines up underneath your address. Type the inside address and salutation flush left; the salutation should be followed by a colon. For formal letters, avoid abbreviations.
Indent the first line of each paragraph onehalf inch. Skip lines between paragraphs. Instead of placing the closing and signature lines flush left, type them in the center, even with the address and date above, as illustrated here. Now doesn't that look professional?
Sincerely,

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John Doe

The Bloc Format
5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700
March 15, 2005
Ms. Helen Jones
President
Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234
Dear Ms. Jones:
Ah, business letter format-there are block formats, and indented formats, and modified block formats and who knows what others.
To simplify matters, we're demonstrating the block format on this page, one of the two most common formats.
For authoritative advice about all the variations, we highly recommend
The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace communications.
There seems to be no consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do not.
Let's hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice you make!
When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information is typed flush left, with one-inch margins all around. First provide your own address, then skip a line and provide the date, then skip one more line and provide the inside address of the party to whom the letter is addressed. If you are using letterhead that already provides your address, do not retype that information; just begin with the date.
For
formal letters, avoid abbreviations where possible. Skip another line before the salutation, which should be followed by a colon. Then write the body of your

13

letter as illustrated here, with no indentation at the beginnings of paragraphs. Skip lines between paragraphs. After writing the body of the letter, type the closing, followed by a comma, leave 3 blank lines, then type your name and title (if applicable), all flush left. Sign the letter in the blank space above your typed name. Now doesn't that look professional?
Sincerely,
John Doe
Administrative Assistant

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The Semi-bloc Letter Format
3303 West Valley Cove
Round Rock, Texas 78664
August 5, 1990
Personnel Assistant
JD Employee Credit Bank of Texas
P.O. Box 32345
Austin, Texas 78745
Dear Personnel Assistant:
I am writing about your newspaper ad in the August 1
Austin-American Statesman concerning your need for an experienced programmer in the database environment.
I believe that I have the qualifications and experience that you are looking for.
As for my experience with database programming, I have worked for the past year as a programmer/analyst in the Query database environment for Advanced
Software Design. In that capacity, I have converted a large database that was originally written in a customized C language database into the Query database environment.
I am currently working on a contract with Texas Parks and Wildlife to make major modifications to its existing
Query
database application. On both of these assignments, I have also served as customer contact person.
Related to this database-programming experience is the work I have been doing to write and market an automated documentation utility for Query database applications. This product was written using a combination of C, Pascal, and Query programming languages. I was responsible for the authorship of the Pascal and Query programs.
The Pascal programs are completely responsible for the user interface and system integration management.
Enclosed you will find a resume, which will give you additional information on my background and qualifications. 15

I would welcome a chance to talk further with you about the position you are seeking to fill. I can be reached by phone between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at
(512) 545-0098.
Sincerely,
Virginia Rementeria
Encl.: resume

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The Alternative Bloc Format
Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453, (315) 565-6789
March 29, 19XX
Complete Table, Inc.
P.O. Box 3132,Austin, TX 78703
Subj.:

March 24 letter about damaged freight

Dear Mrs. Hughes:
I have just received your March 24 letter about the damaged shipment you received through Green Tree
Freight and regret the inconvenience that it has caused you.
From your account of the problem, I am quite sure that your request for the $240 adjustment on the damage to the 2 crates of Valjean Cristal stemware will be granted. A certain amount of breakage of this sort does unavoidably occur in cross-country shipping; I am sorry that it was your company that had to be the one to suffer the delay.
I must remind you to keep the damaged crates in the same condition in which you received them until one of our representatives can inspect them. That inspection should take place within 2 weeks.
If all is in order, as it sounds to be in your letter, you can expect the full reimbursement within
2 weeks after our representative's inspection. I hope this unfortunate accident will keep you from having merchandise shipped by Green Tree Freight in the future.
Sincerely,
David F. Morgan, Customer Relations
Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453
(315) 565-6789

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1.3. Contents of the Letter
International theory and practice have established a certain set of elements as being the essential components of a business letter: Heading. The heading contains the writer's address and the date of the letter. The writer's name is not included and only a date is needed in headings on letterhead stationery.
Inside address. The inside address shows the name and address of the recipient of the letter. This information helps prevent confusion. Also, if the recipient has moved, the inside address helps to determine what to do with the letter. In the inside address, include the appropriate title of respect of the recipient; and copy the name of the company exactly as that company writes it. When you do have the names of individuals, remember to address them appropriately: Mrs., Ms., Mr., Dr., and so on. If you are not sure what is correct for an individual, try to find out how that individual signs letters or consult the forms-of-address section in a dictionary.
Salutation. The salutation, the "Dear Sir" of the letter, is followed by a colon (except when a friendly, familiar, sociable tone is intended, in which case a comma is used). Notice that in the simplified letter format, the salutation line is eliminated altogether. If you do not know whether the recipient is a man or woman, traditionally you write "Dear Sir" or "Dear Sirs" and just not worry about it. More recently, however, salutations such as
"Dear Sir or Madame," "Dear Ladies and Gentlemen," "Dear
Friends," or "Dear People" have been recommended. Deleting the salutation line altogether or inserting "To Whom It May Concern" in its place, however, is not always a good solution; it's quite impersonal. Try to get a person's name within the organization; make a quick, anonymous phone call to get a name. Or, address the salutation to a department name, committee name, or a position name: "Dear Customer Relations Department," "Dear
18

Recruitment Committee," "Dear Chairperson," "Dear Director of
Financial Aid," for example.
Subject or reference line. As shown in the order letter, the subject line replaces the salutation or is included with it. The subject line announces the main business of the letter.
Body of the letter. The actual message of course is contained in the body of the letter, the paragraphs between the salutation and the complimentary close. Strategies for writing the body of the letter are discussed in the section on businesscorrespondence style.
Complimentary close. The "Sincerely yours" element of the business letter is called the complimentary close. Other common ones are "Sincerely yours," "Cordially," "Respectfully," or "Respectfully yours." You can design your own, but be careful not to create florid or wordy ones. Notice that only the first letter is capitalized, and it is always followed by a comma.
Signature block. Usually, you type your name four lines below the complimentary close, and sign your name in between. If you are a woman and want to make your marital status clear, use
Miss, Ms., or Mrs. in parentheses before the typed version of your first name. Whenever possible, include your title or the name of the position you hold just below your name. For example,
"Technical writing student," "Sophomore data processing major," or "Tarrant County Community College Student" are perfectly acceptable. End notations. Just below the signature block are often several abbreviations or phrases that have important functions.
Initials. The initials in all capital letters are those of the writer of the letter, and the ones in lower case letters just after the colon are those of the typist.
Enclosures. To make sure that the recipient knows that items accompany the letter in the same envelope, use such indications as "Enclosure," "Encl.," "Enclosures (2)." For example, if you send a resume and writing sample with your application letter, you'd do this: "Encl.: Resume and Writing
Sample." If the enclosure is lost, the recipient will know.
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Copies. If you send copies of a letter to others, indicate this fact among the end notations also. If, for example, you were upset by a local merchant's handling of your repair problems and were sending a copy of your letter to the Better Business Bureau, you'd write this: "cc: Better Business Bureau." If you plan to send a copy to your lawyer, write something like this: "cc: Mr.
Raymond Mason, Attorney."
Following pages. If your letter is longer than one page, the heading at the top of subsequent pages can be handled in one of the following ways:
If you use letterhead stationery, remember not to use it for subsequent pages. However, you must use blank paper of the same quality, weight, and texture as the letterhead paper (usually, letterhead stationery comes with matching blank paper).
1.3.1. The Letter-heading
The heading of a business letter should contain the return address (usually two or three lines) followed by a line with the date. The heading is indented to the middle of the page in the modified block and semi-block styles. It begins at the left margin in the block style. If the stationery is imprinted with the return address, then the return address may be omitted.
Sometimes a line after the address and before the date may include a phone number, a fax number, an E-mail address, or the like. Particularly if the address uses three or more lines, it is good to skip a line before the date. When using the block style, always skip a line before the date. Always include the date.
In the contemporary commercial correspondence, the form and the graphics of the letter heading is extremely variated, but generally extremely simple, good looking, without useless ornamental elements. It usually fulfils an identification, informative and advertising function.
Eg.:
Acme Explosives, Inc.
100-B Dry Gulch Alley

20

Lonesome Coyote AZ 85789
(602) 555-5555
July 14, 1997

1.3.2. The Reference Line
References are usually placed to the left of the paper, under the date in the case of the bloc format, or on the same line with the date to the right in the case of the indent format.
References are included in the letter in order to easier identify the department, the bureau or the employee dealing with the matter, but also in order to facilitate the correspondence distribution.
References are introduced using the abbreviation "Ref."
(reference) and include the name of the employee or the secretary
(separated by slash or “:” for American firms) and also the different reference numbers released by the secretariat or registration, file number or contract number, etc.
Eg.:(EB) Ref: NBI Oc 545 LP (EA)
Ref: -YS: MS - 7050 XMD

It is common to also introduce the references of the sending firm using the abbreviation "Our Ref.", and the ones of the receiving firm using the abbreviation "Your Ref." in order to easier identify this one in previous correspondence.
Eg.: Our Ref: NSI Mo 393 P - 0 Your Ref: IRI YB 39 M
45

1.3.3. The Inside Address
The inside address is placed to the left of the paper, under the reference line, its purpose being the correct identification of the letter by the postal services especially for the envelopes having a transparent band. This address includes the name of the addressee, its quality, the headquarters of the institution we are addressing, including the country. The way we address the
21

addressee differs according to the type of letter, that may be formal, official, social or personal. We shall now present as following, the different addressing possibilities that have generalized in commercial correspondence.
 To a certain person from a firm or institution, we address using the full or complete name, as used by this one, with no abbreviations
(Eg: Mary Brown; Robert F.G. Gibson).

The name will be accompanied by the politeness formula or the honorific or official functions of the person. In
English, the according formulas are: - Mr. (Abbreviation from "Mister", used for a man); - Mrs. (Abbreviation from
"Mistress", used for a woman); - Miss ( the word used for an unmarried woman ); - Ms. (abbreviation used when the civil status of a woman is unknown).
The following formulas precede a person’s name:
- Esq. (abbreviation of the word "esquire" – old nobles title, only used in UK for men and placed after the person’s name (Eg: John Smith, Esq.)
- Dr. (abbreviation for "doctor") the title of doctor (Eg: Dr.
John Brown)

- Prof. (for the title of professor)
Other abbreviations are placed after the persons’ names: Jr.,
Jun., Jur., (for "junior"), Bros. for "brothers". Eg.: Dan
White Jr.; Daniel White Jun., Esq; Gibson, Bros. In UK, the addresses function is indicated before the name, preceded by the politeness formula
(Eg.:
Mr./
Manager).

Mrs./

Miss

W.Browing,

General

In the case of persons having official positions, the addressing formula is "His Excellency", followed by the specific formula (Eg.: His Excellency the Trade Minister).



To a clerk whose name we do not know or to a department in a institution, or firm that we address, we name the function or the department.
(Eg.:The
Managing Director, The Secretary, The Customs

22

Officer, The Export Department). This indication

can also be placed at the end of the interior address, preceded by "Attention"... or "For the attention of..." . This can be under lined. (Eg. For the attention of the
Secretary Attention the Managing Director
Attention: The Export Department). After the name



of the person to whom the letter is addressed, we have to indicate the name of the firm, the institution, the bank etc. and the organization form. (Ltd., Co., Corp., Inc.).
A firm, institution, bank, we can address by mentioning its name (Eg.: Ed. White & Bob Green,
Ltd.; National Iran Oils, Ltd.). Underneath the firm’s name, we must state the address – street name, number, city, postal code and the country. For the business correspondence sent to the English language countries, the house number will go first, then the street.
As far as the destination country is concerned, we have to remember that the official name of the British Isles is
Great Britain, comprising England, Scotland and Wales.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland abbreviated UK also includes Northern Ireland.
For the correspondence having as destination the US, the name of the state must be stated after the city name, as cities having the same name may be encountered in different states.

Eg.: New
U.S.A.

York,

N.Y.,

U.S.A.

New

York

City,

1.3.4. The Salutation
The salutation formula is placed appreciatively three lines under the addressee’s address. The manner in which we present this depends on the addressing formula used. In case, the addressee is a person, to whom we have addressed using the his/her position, the salutation formulas will be:
- Dear Sir, for a man
- Dear Madam, for a woman.
23

If personal names have been used, they will also be used in salutation formulas, but mentioning at the same time titles or functions, or even only one of them.
1.3.5. The Subject line
The formulation constituting the subject of the letter is placed to the middle of the page, one line underneath the salutation formula and it should be underlined. Its role is to briefly present the problem the specific letter deals with. Customary, the letter subject was preceded by abbreviations Re: (from Latin "res"
= thing, matter) or Ref: ( "referring") when the writer wishes to draw attention on a previous letter concerning the matter, but these are more and more rare in modern correspondence.
Eg:1. Dear Sirs,
Re: Letter of Credit No...
2. Dear Sirs,
Ref: Our letters MCl 3 MCl f of...
3. Dear Sirs, Wool Contract No...

Apart from the other elements of the letter, the inclusion of subject of the letter is not compulsory and may be omitted, in case the treated matter is briefly presented in the first paragraph of the letter. If we address an institution or a firm in general, the formula will be
- Dear Sirs,
- Dear Madames.
The formulas Sir and Sirs are only rarely encountered, due to the fact that they create a distanced atmosphere between partners. In the correspondence written in American institutions or firms, the formula is :
Dear
Dear
Dear
Dear

Mr. Brown, Dear President Brown,
Miss Brown, Dear Mr. Vice-President
Mrs. Brown, Dear Sir John,... etc,
Professor Brown,

24

1.3.6. The Body of the Letter
The content of letter represents the essential element of the business correspondence, and thus, it should be written carefully.
Usually, it contains:
- the introductory paragraph,
- the message of the letter,
- the ending.
1. The introductory paragraph is connected to the subject of the letter and it contains this subject as it is: the confirmation of correspondence, merchandise or documents’ delivery, formulation of an answer to previous correspondence etc.
2. The message of the letter comprises the point of view of the sender concerning the treated matters; thus, ideas should be stated clearly, in a logic concatenation, using adequate vocabulary and a corresponding tone. It is advisable to use short, direct phrases for each and every treated matter in a separate paragraph.
3. The ending must present the logic conclusion of the point of view comprised in the message. This may be achieved and materialized in expressing a promise, a will to continue or strengthen the collaboration relations with partners, thanks, recommendations or apologies for certain errors.
1.3.7. The Complimentary Close
The ending formula and salutation is usually placed 2 or 3 rows underneath the text of the letter, to the middle of the page.
Most common formulas are:
- Yours faithfully,; Faithfully yours, (we a firm or an institution is addressed.)
- Yours sincerely,; Sincerely yours, (when the sender addresses a well-known person, even if they can also be used for the previous situation)
- Yours (very) truly; (Very) truly yours, (especially used in the US).
25

It is to be remembered the fact that all these formulas are followed by comma. The salutation presented above may be preceded by some formulas that give it a more formal character, such as:
- We/I hope to hear from you soon,
- We are/ I am
- With our/my best wishes/ Kind regards.
1.3.8. The Signature
The signature is placed underneath the complementary close and the salutation formula, preceded by the name of the firm. The complete name of the person signing the correspondence should also be placed under this line, the position (Managing Director,
Deputy Director, Manager etc.)and eventually the title (doctor, professor, civil engineer etc.).
This requirement is a legal consequence that derive from the engagement of the firm or institution through that signature.
For female addressees, the civil status will be mentioned using the abbreviations "Mrs" or "Miss" in order to know the addressing manner for the answering correspondence.
Sometimes, correspondence may be signed for and in the name of the firm’s management. In this case, the correspondence has a special annotation referring to the quality of the person signing: - per procurationem per prof p. p
- for and on behalf of
Eg.:

1. Yours faithfully,
THE MODERN TOOL CORPORATION
William Brian Vice-president
2. Yours sincerely,
A.JOHNSON & Co, Ltd.
(Mrs) Dr. DIANA PINK Managing Director

26

Table no1
Scheme of salutation and addressing formulas according to the addressee Addressee

Salutation

The Woolen Mills,
Ltd (E.B.)

Dear Sirs, Dear Mesdames

Roger Brothers Co,
Inc.(E.A.)
Robert Gibson, Esq.
Mr. Robert Gibson

Gentlemen:

Mrs. Vivian Grant
Miss Ann Porter

Dear Sir,
Dear Mr. Gibson,
Dear Madam, Dear Mrs.
Grant.
Dear Miss Porter

Complementary clause Yours faithfully,
Faithfully yours,
Yours truly,
Very truly yours,
Yours sincerely,
Yours very sincerely Sincerely yours,
Yours sincerely,
Yours truly

1.3.9. Initials and Postscript
In certain institutions or firms, the custom of indicating the initials of the person writing the letter in the left bottom corner has been established, instead of stating these elements in the reference line. The number of copies should also be mentioned here, the destination of the letter, the firm or the person it is sent to. As far as the post scriptum is concerned is concerned, it is advisable that it is avoided, because its use may be interpreted by the addressee as an omission from the content of the letter and thus as a proof of negligence from the sender.
Even though, sometimes, the post-scriptum is used aiming to draw attention on a very important or most recent element.

27

1.3.10. Enclosures
When the letter is accompanied by enclosures, this is mentioned in the end of the letter in the bottom corner of the paper. Eg.: 1.
2.
-

- Enclosure/ Enclosures- Enc./ Encl/ Encs
-Enclosures: 3
Invoice
B/ L
Certificate of origin

1.3.11. The Envelope
As it is the case for the letter, the paper used should be of good quality and resistant. The text written on envelope should contain the following elements:
1. – The addressee’s address, the same as the interior one as form and content, five rows at most. In case we use a transparent envelope, the inside address becomes
2. – Mailing specifications (referring either to the postal category or tariff, or to the sending status):
- Registered mail
- By air mail
- Registered air mail
- By express mail
- Printed matter
- Printed paper - reduced rate
- Books only
- Season's card
- Unsolicited gifts
- Sample without value
- Return if not delivered
- Please do not bend
- Special delivery
28

- To be called for
3. – Special indications (referring to the correspondence features): - Personal/ Private
- Confidential
4. – Indications for correspondence mailing to a certain department or person.
E.g.:
For the attention of: Selling Department
Attention: Managing Director
Mr. Smith, Deputy Director

In case the sender does not know the address of the person he wants to contact, but considers that an other person/institution could hand it over, the letter will be addressed to the latter and in order to draw attention the it will contain the abbreviation C/ 0
(care of). All such directions are present both in the letter and under the inside address.
E.g.:

Dr.Samuel Horn c/ 0 London University
London
Great Britain

5 – the space reserved for stamps or mail markings S (postage/ stamps). As far as the sender’s address is concerned, this will be written
(printed) on the back of the envelope or an envelope printed with the firm’s heading should be used.
Forma bloc
TEHNOFOREST 4 Piata Rosetti
Bucharest - Romania stamp Mr.John Brown c/ 0 The Furniture Co.Jnc.
12 W.Thirty-Second St.
New York 43, N.Y. U.S.A.
BY AIR MAIL

29

1.4. Essential Letter Types
Business correspondence theory and practice have isolated several types of business letters in connection to different economic activities or requirements of the business activity.
Business Letters have a variety of uses. Organizations use them to contact outside parties. They are also used to respond to requests, motivate some kind of action, request or provide information, and to sell goods and services. A good business letter is brief, to the point, straightforward and polite. If possible, it should be limited to one typewritten page. Because they are so brief, such letters are often judged on very small, but important, things: grammar, punctuation, openings, closings and formats. A business letter is not the place to try out fancy fonts or experimental writing styles.
A direct, conservative style works best. Listed here are the elements of standard business letters and their functions.
Most commonly used types of letters can be synthesized as following:  Enquiries
 Offers
 Orders
 Appointments
 Reservations
 Complaints
 Adjustments
 Acknowledgments
 Agreements
 Announcements
 Confirmations etc.
Business letters can be also be classified by following the criteria of the addressing entity – a partner firm (supplier, client etc) , an employee/employer, a bank or even an official body.

30

1.4.1. The Enquiry Letter
An enquiry is a short and simple business letter, sometimes pre-printed, form of business correspondence through which the firm ask a potential partner for:
 Catalogues, price lists, presentation brochures or prospectuses  Samples and demonstrations
 Terms and methods of payment
 Discounts
 Goods on approval, sale or return
 Estimate or tender.
Enquires can be made by telephone, telex, fax, e-mail or mail.
A first enquiry (sent to a supplier with whom you have not previously done business) should include:
 As short mention of the source of information of the supplier’s name and contact address (embassy, chamber of commerce, exhibition or trade fair, recommendation from a business associate, advertisement in the mass-media etc.)
 The demand in the area for the products that the suppliers deals
 Details concerning the required information
(catalogues, methods of payment, delivery terms, delivery times, discounts, price lists, samples, etc.)
 A closing sentence.
The enquiry letter is useful when you need information, advice, names, or directions. Be careful, however, not to ask for too much information or for information that you could easily obtain in some other way, for example, by a quick trip to the library. There are two types of enquiry letters: solicited and unsolicited. A solicited letter of enquiry is written when a business or agency advertises its products or services. For example, if a
31

software manufacturer advertises some new package it has developed and you can't inspect it locally, write a solicited letter to that manufacturer asking specific questions. If there are no information on a technical subject, an enquiry letter to a company involved in that subject may represent a solution. In fact, that company may supply much more help than expected.
The letter of enquiry is unsolicited if the recipient has done nothing to prompt the enquiry. For example, as a consequence to an article by an expert, there may come up further questions or more information may be needed.
As the steps and guidelines for both types of enquiry letters show, the unsolicited type must be constructed more carefully, because recipients of unsolicited letters of enquiry are not ordinarily prepared to handle such inquiries.
Enquiry Letters have the following organization:
1. Early in the letter, the purpose-to obtain help or information must be identified (if it's a solicited letter, information about an advertised product, service, or program). 2. In an unsolicited letter, the sender, the working activity and the reason generating the need for the requested information must be identified, and also the source of the primary information that determined the enquiry. In an unsolicited letter, the source that prompted the enquiry must also be identified, for example, a magazine advertisement. 3. In the letter, list questions or information needed in a clear, specific, and easy-to-read format. If many question have to be included, the person writing the enquiry letter must consider making a questionnaire and including a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
4. In an unsolicited letter, the writer must try to find some way to compensate the recipient for the trouble, for example, by offering to pay copying and mailing costs, to accept a collect call, to acknowledge the recipient in your report, or to send him or her a copy of your report. In a
32

solicited letter, suggest that the recipient send brochures or catalogues. 5. In closing an unsolicited letter, the writer must express gratitude for any help that the recipient can provide you, acknowledge the inconvenience of your request, but do not thank the recipient "in advance." In an unsolicited letter, tactfully suggest to the recipient will benefit by helping you (for example, through future purchases from the recipient's company).
Sample Enquiry Letter
1102 West 30th
Lawrence, KS 66321
August 4, 19XX
Dr. Maria Gomez-Salinas
Director of the Diabetes Clinic
St. David's Hospital
1000 Greenberg Lane
Wichita, KS 66780

Dear Dr. Gomez-Salinas:
I am writing you in hopes of finding out more about how the new Glucoscan II blood glucose monitoring system, which a representative at Lifescan informed me that your clinic is currently using.
Originally, I saw Lifescan's advertisement of this new device in the January 19XX issue of Diabetes
Forecast and became very interested in it. I wrote the company and got much useful information, but was recommended to write several current users of the system as well.
For a technical report that I am writing for a technical writing class at Johnson County Junior
College, I need some help with the following questions: 33

1.

How often does the Glucoscan II need to be calibrated in practical, everyday use conditions?
2.
How accurate is the Glucoscan II compared to other similar systems that your patients have used? 3.
What problems do your patients experience with this new device?
The Lifescan representative indicated that your clinic is one the leaders in implementing new technology for diabetics, and therefore I am eager to hear from you.
In the report I will acknowledge your contributions, and I will send you a copy of the completed report if you wish.
Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely,
Anita Teller
Student, Medical Technology
Johnson County Junior College

1.4.2. The Offer
The offer is the second element in the chain of the precontractual correspondence, and sometimes it is written as response to the previous enquiry. Through the offer, the seller/exporter declares the availability to sell goods or offer services under certain conditions.
The offer can be solicited, when it is preceded by an enquiry, or unsolicited when it is sent on the sellers initiative. The offer may also be transmitted as a consequence of an invitation of publicitary announcements.
Apart from the enquiry, which is always legally unengaged, the offer can be ferm or informative. Also, it can be conditioned or under the reserve of annulment.
Despite the existence of several types of offers, this
34

document can be structured according to certain elements. The introductory paragraph should make reference to the circumstances that determined the contact and it should also express the satisfaction of establishing/continuing business relations. For the case of un unsolicited offer, the introductory paragraph includes the motivation for the offer.
Basic compositional element includes:
a. product name
b. quality
c. price
d. delivery terms
e. delivery date
f. payment conditions
g. guarantee .
h. type of offer ands its validity.
The new compositional element is represented by the publicitary paragraph. It can not be found in all offers, but where it is present, it generates higher quality and raises interest. This one includes supplementary information referring to products/services, suppliers etc. in order to create a positive image for the products and the firm.
1.4.3. The Order
As a consequence of the offer analysis, the buyer/importer transmits the seller an order for goods or services, usually using:
- an order form
- a registered letter of order
- both, in case the letter aims to stress some details
- the return of the offer or of the pro-forma invoice signed by the buyer
- a fax letter.
Rarely, the order is transmitted by phone or verbally (with a written confirmation). Besides the order we can also encounter:
- the (trial order) in order to test the goods ; the buyer has the right to return the goods on his own expense if it is not
35

satisfactory,
- the (repeat order) for goods and services identical to the ones from the original order ; specifying only the number of the order. In English the term used for the external order is indent.
The order is compulsory from the legal point of view, that’s why, attention should be granted to clarity and precision in formulation.
If the order replaces the contract (for goods and services with low value), it will comprise all the elements of a contract.
1.4.4. Acknowledgement of Orders
The acknowledgement of orders is transmitted using the same types of documents to the ones mentioned above for the order. Rarely, this can also be sent by phone with a written confirmation. The acknowledgement must:
- transmit at once with the receival of the order;
- express gratitude for the order;
- specify the date and/or the number of the order;
- repeat the essential elements of the indent in order to avoid any misunderstanding;
- ensure to respect all indications regarding the order, and specify the expedition date.
1.4.5. The Complaint Letter
Complaint letter requests some sort of compensation for defective or damaged merchandise or for inadequate or delayed services. While many complaints can be made in person, some circumstances require formal business letters. The complaint may be so complex that a phone call may not effectively resolve the problem; or the writer may prefer the permanence, formality, and seriousness of a business letter. The essential rule in writing a complaint letter is to maintain your poise and diplomacy, no matter how justified your gripe is. Avoid making the recipient an adversary. 36

1. In the letter, identify early the reason the person is writing for - to register a complaint and to ask for some kind of compensation. Avoid leaping into the details of the problem in the first sentence.
2. State exactly what compensation is desired, either before or after the discussion of the problem or the reasons for granting the compensation. (It may be more tactful and less antagonizing to delay this statement in some cases).
3. Provide a fully detailed narrative or description of the problem. This is the "evidence."
4. Explain why your request should be granted. Presenting the evidence is not enough: state the reasons why this evidence indicates the request should be granted.
5. Suggest why it is in the recipient's best interest to grant the request: appeal to the recipient's sense of fairness, desire for continued business, but do not threaten. Find some way to view the problem as an honest mistake. Do not imply that the recipient deliberately committed the error or that the company has no concern for the customer. Toward the end of the letter, express confidence that the recipient will grant the request.
Sample Complaint Letter
206C Park Lane
Austin, Texas 78705
11 February 19XX
Director of Consumer Relations
American Airways Mail Drop 4F13
P.O. Box 56989 DFW Airport
Dallas, Texas 75441-4545
Dear Director:
I am writing you concerning a round-trip flight from
Austin, Texas, to Detroit, Michigan, I made on
December 10, 19XX. Travel demands have made me a consistent patron of American for the past six years.
In that time, service on your airlines has always been good to excellent. But an interruption in

37

service on the flight mentioned above has prompted my request for a 50 percent reduction in airfare on my next flight.
Here is what happened on December 10. While changing planes during the return trip at DFW Airport, I was informed that our flight would be delayed. After two hours' delay, we boarded the plane we had just left in order to meet our Chicago connection in Dallas.
After take-off from DFW, our pilot casually informed us that we should be impressed by the fact that the
Dallas Cowboys football team had just left our seats.
This was the only explanation of our inconvenience.
I believe that this re-routing was done purely for promotional gain and was in no way mechanically or technically necessary. As a loyal patron of American
Airlines, at least until this point, I have every confidence that the compensation I request above will be provided, considering the high standard of service and consideration your company has demonstrated toward its customers in the past.
Sincerely,
Scott Woodrow

encl.: copy of ticket

1.4.6. The Adjustment Letter
The adjustment letter replies to complaint letters, often called letters of "adjustment," must be handled carefully when the requested compensation cannot be granted. Refusal of compensation tests a person’s diplomacy and tact as a writer. Here are some suggestions that may help you write either type of adjustment letter:
1. Begin with a reference to the date of the original letter of complaint and to the purpose of your letter. If the request is denied, do not state the refusal right away unless the is no way do that tactfully.
2. Express concern over the writer's troubles and appreciation that he has written.
38

3. If the request is denied, the reasons why the request cannot be granted must be explained in as cordial and noncombative manner as possible. If the request is granted, it must not sound as if it is done so in a resent way.
4. If the request is denied, try to offer some partial or substitute compensation or offer some friendly advice (to take the sting out of the denial).
5. Conclude the letter cordially, perhaps expressing confidence that the writer will continue doing business.
Sample Adjustment Letter
Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453 (315) 565-6789
March 29, 19XX
Complete Table, Inc.
P.O. Box 3132 Austin, TX 78703
Subj.: March 24 letter about damaged freight
Dear Mrs. Hughes:
I have just received your March 24 letter about the damaged shipment you received through Green Tree
Freight and regret the inconvenience that it has caused you.
From your account of the problem, I am quite sure that your request for the $240 adjustment on the damage to the 2 crates of Valjean Cristal stemware will be granted. A certain amount of breakage of this sort does unavoidably occur in cross-country shipping; I am sorry that it was your company that had to be the one to suffer the delay.
I must remind you to keep the damaged crates in the same condition in which you received them until one of our representatives can inspect them. That inspection should take place within 2 weeks.
If all is in order, as it sounds to be in your letter, you can expect the full reimbursement within
2 weeks after our representative's inspection. I hope this unfortunate accident will keep you from having

39

merchandise future. shipped

by

Green

Tree

Sincerely,
David F. Morgan, Customer Relations
Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453
(315) 565-6789

40

Freight

in

the

1.4.7. The Business Memo
A memorandum (memo) is used to make announcements, to confirm what transpired during conversations or meetings, and to request or exchange information.
It can be directed to a few specific people but often addresses a group, entire team or department. It is often written in the first person (I or we) and ranges from very informal to extremely formal, depending on the writer and the intended recipients. Its topic is narrow and should be apparent immediately.
Since it is a business document, it is important that the writing be up-front and concise. A good memo summarizes facts, analyzes pertinent issues, makes a recommendation, and supports it. It is easy to get overly technical and use unnecessary words to describe a situation; attention to clarity eliminates any need for the writer to go into lengthy explanations. Remember, too, that a memo becomes the property of its recipients and is not “private.” Don’t say anything in a memo that you wouldn’t say in person.
Business memos are not that much different from the letters, for a long time they have been the second type of business correspondence after business letters. Nowadays email has probably ousted them from this position, but still nothing can replace the good old memos and you continue to see them everywhere in the business world.
Business memos are a piece of interoffice correspondence sent between employees in a company or between company subsidiaries to transmit ideas, decisions, requests or announcements. They are more private and more formal than emails but less formal than letters. They can also be compared to reports, but very short ones.
Business memos appeared in the later nineteenth century along with the increased need for internal communication across distances and between levels of management of the corporate enterprises. Initially the term 'memorandum' was used but by the
1920s when the internal documents were already widely spread it was shortened to 'memo'.
41

Business memos can always be distinguished from any other piece of business correspondence because of their own specific format which excludes salutation, complimentary closing and formal signature.
Though the format for a memo may vary from one organization to another, the standard heading consists of a series of clearly labeled lines that convey key information about the memo’s contents and its distribution. The following are standard elements of a memo header:
Date: The date on which the memo is distributed
To: The person(s) to whom it is primarily addressed (sometimes with job title) cc: Name(s) of anyone else who receives a copy (sometimes with job title)
From: Name of the writer, usually followed by his/her handwritten initials (sometimes with job title)
Subject: or Re: Concise statement of the memo’s topic
Things to remember when writing memos:
 Identify your audience before you begin to write.
 Ask yourself, should this be persuasive, directive, or technical?  Be concise and come straight to the point.
 Maintain a business-like tone.
 Use headings, bullets, and/or numbered lists so key points stand out and the document is easy to read.
 As when writing anything, each paragraph should contain one main idea. Also, try to keep each paragraph short.
 Always proofread very carefully. Check all of your facts.
 Don’t forget to identify any attachments. If not, a recipient would not realize anything was missing.
 Never include a closing. The “From” line eliminates the need. 42

Sample Business Memo
Memorandum
To: Stephen Powers
From: Dan Smith
Date: July 26, 1999
Re: Computer problems
We are still having problems with the five new computers we have purchased from Bryan
Hansen at the Hometown Computer Company. The problems we have been having include:
•
Two notebook computers won’t boot up. Hometown’s technicians think it may be a problem with the motherboards, but they can’t solve the problem.
• One monitor continues to make a high-pitched whining sound.
• Two desktop computers came infected with viruses. I feel that we should check into sending these computers back and get new ones from another supplier. I don’t feel confident with any equipment from this supplier.

The body of a business memo is very similar to the body of a letter, most of the principles of letter writing can be applied in writing this part of the memo. In most cases the first paragraph in a memo is a purpose or a topic statement, and it foes not need too much of an introduction. Further in your memo provide the reader with any necessary background information including dates, briefly describe the current situation and the related problems this is sometimes called the discussion segment of a business memo. Close the memo with a courteous ending that states your request or the action you want your reader to take. The tone used in the body of the memo depends on who the memo is addressed to. Memos should not be too informal as they are usually considered to be internal documents as well as pieces of business correspondence. 43

Some companies may have very strict format for business memos that each employee is supposed to follow, they even have it stated in their internal manuals. Others pay less attention to the format as long as the memo resembles a memo. Some memos could have just one sentence in the body, the others about 3 pages.
Some business memos are initiated by the author near his or her name in the header, others are signed as regular letters would be.
Memos could be blocked or indented. In most cases (but not always) a line was drawn under the memo header.

44

1.4.8. The Business Report
Business reports are required in disciplines such as accounting, finance, management, marketing and commerce.
Often the type of assignment set is a practical learning task requiring you to apply the theories you have been studying to real world (or realistic) situations; for example, accounting and finance students may be asked to analyse a company’s financial data and to write a report detailing their findings, marketing students may be asked to research and develop a marketing campaign for a product and to write a report presenting the proposal to the company, management students may be asked to report on the management structure of a company and make recommendations for its improvement. Learning how to report on financial information, marketing and management strategies and issues to others is an important component of business studies.
Thus business reports can include issues from accounting and finance, marketing or commerce. In these examples there are separate, yet related tasks, and this will be reflected in the structure of the report: information will be divided into sections with headings (for example, Recommendations), and the sections will follow a logical progression.
Business reports will obviously differ according to the specific question and task they seek to answer. It is important, however, to be clear what the overall purpose of your report is: is it to inform, to make a proposal, or to solve a problem?
In business, the information provided in reports needs to be easy to find, and written in such a way that the client can understand it. This is one reason why reports are divided into sections clearly labelled with headings and sub-headings.
Technical information which would clutter the body of the report is placed in the appendix.
The structure of a report and the purpose and contents of each section is shown below.

45

TITLE PAGE

report title your name submission date

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

overview of subject matter methods of analysis findings recommendations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

list of numbered sections in report and their page numbers

INTRODUCTION

terms of reference outline of report’s structure

BODY

headings and sub-headings which reflect the contents of each section. Includes information on method of data collection (if applicable), the findings of the report and discussion of findings in light of theory CONCLUSION

states the major inferences that can be drawn from the discussion makes recommendations

REFERENCE LIST

list of reference material consulted during research for report APPENDIX

information that supports your analysis but is not essential to its explanation 46

The executive summary provides the reader with an overview of the report’s essential information. It is designed to be read by people who will not have time to read the whole report or are deciding if this is necessary; therefore, in your executive summary you need to say as much as possible in the fewest words
(Weaver & Weaver, 1977). The executive summary should briefly outline the subject matter, the background problem, the scope of the investigation, the method(s) of analysis, the important findings arguments and important issues raised in the discussion, the conclusion and recommendations. The executive summary should not just be an outline of the points to be covered in the report with no detail of the analysis that has taken place or conclusions that have been reached.
The executive summary stands as an overview at the front of the report but it is also designed to be read alone without the accompanying report (this would often occur in the workplace); therefore, you need to make sure it is self sufficient and can be understood in isolation. It is usually written last (so that it accurately reflects the content of the report) and is usually about two hundred to three hundred words long (i.e. not more than a page). In a report longer than several pages a table of contents should be included as it assists the reader to locate information quickly. It also gives the reader a schematic overview of the structure and contents of the report.
A table of contents should include all section headings and subheadings:  worded exactly as they appear in the report
 numbered exactly as they appear in the report
 with their page numbers.
The table of contents should be on its own page. As well as a table of contents, you may wish to include:
 List of Figures
(optional,
separate page) This list is used mainly for reports containing numerous figures. It includes the figure number, caption and page number, ordered as they appear in the text.
47



List of Tables (optional, separate page). This list is used mainly for reports containing numerous tables. It includes the table number, caption and page number, ordered as they appear in the text.
 List of appendices (optional, separate page)
This list is used mainly for reports containing numerous appendices. It includes the appendix letter (each separate appendix should be lettered i.e. Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.), its title and page number, ordered as they appear at the end of the report.
Nomenclature (optional) - Where symbols are used extensively, a list of symbols and definitions should appear at the beginning of the report. If there is no list, symbols should be defined in the text when first used.
The introduction presents:
 the background to the issue (i.e. why was the report commissioned),  the objective or purpose of the report
 a definition of the research problem/topic
 a definition of the report’s terms of reference (the what, where, and when of the research problem/ topic)
 an outline of the report’s structure
 an overview of the report’s sections and their relationship to the research problem
 an outline and justification of the scope of the report (the boundaries the report is working within)
 a description of the range of sources used (i.e. personal investigation, interviews, statistics and questionnaires)
 acknowledgment of any valuable assistance received in the preparation of the report
While there will be some duplication in the contents of the executive summary and the introduction, the purpose of the executive summary is to provide a summary of the findings of each section of the report. The purpose of the introduction,
48

however, is to outline what the report will cover and how these issues address the research problem.
The body section expands and develops the material in a logical and coherent manner, reflecting the structure outlined in the Introduction. It contains a description of the findings and a discussion of them. It should also relate the findings to any theory of relevance. The following questions are examples of some of the types of questions the body of your report should seek to answer:

What were the most significant findings or factors involved in the topic/ problem?

Did the findings support the theory?

Have you found some disagreement with the theory?

Did you uncover any unexpected or new issues that need to be considered?
This section is usually the longest part of the report. The material must be presented logically. The type of headings you use to organise the information in the body of your report will depend on the purpose of the report you are preparing. Make sure the headings and sub-headings you choose are informative. The following general structures are just examples of ways it may be appropriate to structure your report.
Type 1:
Findings/ Discussion
• Sub-heading 1
• Statement of issue
• findings
• discussion of whether it supports or contrasts with theory
• discussion of significance to theory/ practice • Sub-heading 2
• Statement of issue 2
• findings
• discussion of whether it supports or contrasts with theory
• discussion of significance to theory/ practice 49

Type 2:
Findings
• Sub-heading 1
• Statement of issue 1
• findings
• Sub-heading 2
• statement of issue 2
• findings

Discussion
• Issue 1
• discussion of contrasts with theory
• discussion of practice • Issue 2
• discussion of contrasts with theory
• discussion of practice whether

it

significance

whether

it

significance

supports to theory/

supports to or

or

theory/

If the report requires any collection or analysis of data, it would generally contain a method section in the body of the report briefly describing how the data was collected: literature search, web pages, interviews (details of the questions and the subject pool), financial and other business reports, etc. Details of types of calculations or analysis undertaken would also be detailed. The body of a report will also probably contain supporting evidence such as tables, graphs or figures. Only include those that are essential for reader understanding, the rest can be placed in an appendix that is referred to in the text; for example - Appendix C contains the YoY predicted growth in shareholder accounts for the company. The conclusion summarises the major inferences that can be drawn from the information presented in the report. It answers the questions raised by the original research problem or stated purpose of the report (Blake & Bly, 1993) and states the
50

conclusions reached. Finally, the conclusion of your report should also attempt to show ‘what it all means’: the significance of the findings reported and their impact (Weaver & Weaver, 1977).
The conclusion/s presented in a report must be related to, resulting from and justified by the material which appears in the report. The conclusion must not introduce any new material. It should report on all the conclusions that the evidence dictates as it is NOT the job of a conclusion to “gloss over conclusions that are puzzling, unpleasant, incomplete or don’t seem to fit into your scheme” (Weaver & Weaver, 1977: 98). Doing this would indicate writer bias and mean your conclusion may mislead the reader. In the workplace, conclusions are quite often read by managers before the main text of the report and hence, should summarise the main points clearly. This section also may include:

reference to original aim(s) and objective(s) of report,

application(s) of results,

limitations and advantages of the findings,

objective opinion, evaluation or judgement of the evidence Quite often the present tense is used in the conclusion; for example, “The healthy lifestyles concept analysed in this report is a good candidate for next phase of the marketing campaign for
Choice chocolate”.
The conclusions may be ordered in several ways (Weaver
& Weaver, 1977). The main conclusion may be stated first and then any other conclusions in decreasing order of importance.
Alternatively, it may be better to organise the conclusions in the same order as the body section was organised. Another strategy would be to present the positive conclusions together and then the negative conclusions. The organisational strategy you use may vary; the important thing is that the organisation of your conclusion is logical.
The conclusion must arise from the evidence discussed in the body of the report. It should not, therefore, subjectively tell the reader what to do (Blicq, 1992; Weaver & Weaver, 1977): this job
51

is performed by the recommendations section. (NOTE: Sometimes the conclusion and recommendations can be presented together in one section but they should be presented in separately labeled subsections).
It is essential to include a reference list or bibliography of the reference material you consulted during your research for the report. A bibliography is a list of all the reference material you consulted during your research for the report while a reference list is a list of all the references cited in the text of your report, listed in alphabetical order at the end of the report. Each reference in the reference list needs to contain all of the bibliographic information from a source. You should also check with your lecturer or tutor for any Faculty guidelines on referencing formats.
Throughout the text of your report you will also need to provide references when you have included an idea in your report which is not your own original idea. You don't need to reference an idea, however, if it is common knowledge (i.e. enzymes are proteins) or if it has been established by you in your experiment
(i.e. in scientific reports reporting on an experiment). A reference is the bracketed or footnoted piece of information within the text of your writing that provides an acknowledgment that you are using someone else's ideas. There are several systems of referencing such as the Harvard or author-date system, footnotes or endnotes. Different faculties, departments and even lecturers will generally have preferences about how you should reference and you should seek these out before submitting your assignment.
Information that is not essential to explain your findings, but that supports your analysis (especially repetitive or lengthy information), validates your conclusions or pursues a related point should be placed in an appendix (plural appendices). Sometimes excerpts from this supporting information (i.e. part of the data set) will be placed in the body of the report but the complete set of information ( i.e. all of the data set) will be included in the appendix. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix include figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, questionnaires, transcripts of interviews, pictures, lengthy
52

derivations of equations, maps, drawings, letters, specification or data sheets, computer program information.
There is no limit to what can be placed in the appendix providing it is relevant and reference is made to it in the report.
The appendix is not a catch net for all the semi-interesting or related information you have gathered through your research for your report: the information included in the appendix must bear directly relate to the research problem or the report's purpose. It must be a useful tool for the reader (Weaver & Weaver, 1977).
Each separate appendix should be lettered (Appendix A,
Appendix B, Appendix B1, Appendix B2, Appendix C, etc). The order they are presented in is dictated by the order they are mentioned in the text of the report. It is essential to refer to each appendix within the text of the report; for example,
For
the
Appendix B

manufacturer's

specification,

see

or
Appendix C contains the YoY shareholder account growth rates. The rates are high. The increasing growth rate of accounts will significantly affect the valuation of the company.

53

1.5. Commercial Documents in International
Business
1.5.1. The Invoice
An invoice is a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer. It indicates products, quantities and agreed prices for products or services which the Seller has provided to the Buyer. It also indicates that unless paid in advance, payment is due by the
Buyer to the Seller according to agreed terms. Invoices contain a serial number and date of issue. Invoices are often called bills.
A typical invoice contains:
 a purchase order, invoice and internal order numbers
 a business name and address
 a customer's name and address
 supply and invoice dates
 a VAT registration number (where applicable)
 a description of the goods or services
 terms of payment including date the amount is due
 an itemised list of products, quantities and prices, excluding VAT
 the total amount due, with and without VAT
 the shipping method and cost.

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Sample Invoice

55

1.5.2. The International Sales Contract
Amongst the various types of commercial contracts used in international trade, here are the most widely used:
 Sale-Purchase Contract
 Fungible Contract
 Non-fungible Contract –
 Cash-Payment Contract –
 Credit-Payment Contract
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Commercial Banking Contract
Factoring Contract
Forfeiting Contract
Leasing Contract
Lease-back Contract
Licence Contract
Know-how Contract
Agent Contract
Commission Contract
Consignment Contract
Agency Contract
The sales contract, a particular case of the general contract, is the most used type of contract in international trade, especially for buying and selling high or average value goods, large quantities of goods etc.
As far as the shape is concerned, this represents a sequence of clauses (articles) in an order upon which the signing parts have agreed; it is desirable that this sequence follows the practical evolution of the involved operations beginning with the definition of the obligations and ending with the fulfilment of these obligations. Next, we will briefly present the main clauses of a sales contract, which modified and adapted may represent a starting base for different practical situations.

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1.5.2.1. The Preamble to Contract
Usually, the preamble to contract contains:
- the number of the contract,
- the date and the place of the signing
- contracting parts and their identification information in practice, the contracting parts will be called according to their economic relationship and/or the object of the contract, as following - Seller-Buyer for the contracting parts of the sales contract
- Exporter-Importer for the contracting parts of a high tonnage contract - Constructor-Beneficiary for the contracting parts of a construction contract
- Licensor-Licensee for the contracting parts of a license contract and which may include payments for granting licences or fees, royalties, know-how, engineering and design, technical assistance, service etc.
- Consultant-Beneficiary for contracting parts of contracts in the field of consulting and technical assistance
- Owner-Leaseholder for contracting parts in renting contracts for terrain, construction, industrial equipment, facilities, etc.
- Landlord-Tenant for the contracting parts of contracts dealing with renting premises/ sites, terrain, building, deposits, offices, etc.
- Employer-Employee for the contracting parts of the employment contract.
1.5.2.2. The Object of the Contract
The object of the sales contract usually includes:
- parties' obligations
- description of the goods
- quality
- specifications
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- quantity
- packing, marking etc.
1.5.2.3. The Quality Clause
The quality clause agreed upon by the contracting parts and appearing in the contract, includes all the physical, chemical, organic etc. properties that define the object of the contract. They must be according to the usual commercial practice as there are lost of possibilities to formulate a quality clause according to the object of the contract (raw materials, natural products, manufactured goods, etc.)
Amongst these, here are the most significant:
- by catalogue sent by the firm making the offer
- by specification made by the buyer or the seller.
1.5.2.4. The Quantity Clause
The quantity clause in a sales contract is formulated according to the characteristics of the object of the contract using:
A. number of pieces
B. weight units – grams, kilograms, tons, long tons, short tons, metric tons, ounces –oz., pounds – Ib., - long hundredweights – cwt or short hundredweight –sh.cwt.
C. units of length: - millimetres, centimetres, meters, inches - in., feet - ft., yards - yd. etc.
D.- units of area surface:- square centimetres - sq.cm., square meters - sq.m, square inches - sq. in., square feet sq. ft., square yards - sq.yd.,
D. units of volume: - cubic meters cu.m., cubic inches - cu. in., cubic feet - cu. ft., cubic yards - cu. yd.,
E. standards
F. units of capacity: - gallons - gal., quarts - qt., pints - pt. etc. 58

G. the inferior or the superior limit when the total quality is not defined, in the case of bulk merchandise.
H. some traditional measurement units, still used, such as: the bale, the sack, the bag, the drum, the demijohn, the barrel, the bushel etc.
1.5.2.5. The Packing Clause
The contract clause referring to the packing contains specifications meant to ensure the qualitative, quantitative, commercial and technical integrity of the merchandise that represents the object of the contract and that will be transported from the production site to the place of reception. The clause may also state the right of the buyer to an additional delivery or a replacement of goods in case the merchandise has been damaged due to inadequate packing.
Packing is done according to the nature of the goods and to the transportation type involved, and its main function is to protect the goods. In formulating this clause we may use the following formulas: - seaworthy packing; moisture proof packing, waterproof packing, rust-proof packing, pilfer-proof packing, fire-proof packing etc..
This clause may state a sort of packing such as - strong packing to resist rough handling.
An other requirement is to maintain a low cost, to save freight or to keep freight low and that involves the choice of an adequate packing that would avoid dead freight and broken stowage. The packing material should thus be as light as possible, without jeopardising the goods security.
When formulating this clause, the writer should also take into account the dependency of the packing type on the loading and unloading possibilities in destination ports. Thus, the packing should have carrying handles made of rope, ears, in order to facilitate handling or loading/ discharging. The customs specification from the importing country should also be considered. 59

If the customs’ taxes are calculated based on the merchandise value - ad valorem duty, the nature of the packing is not essential. But, if the duties are calculated according to the weight or the volume, the nature of the packing is essential to the costs of the transaction.
In the case of weight taxes, this weight can be - gross weight and net weight. According to the nature of the contracted merchandise and to the transportation type, the type of packing and the packing material will be established.
The bag or sack is made of jute, textile material, canvas burlap, rubber or ply-paper.
The bale is covered or is wrapped in waterproof kraft paper.
The barrel, cask, keg or firkin is wooden. Barrels are usually sift-proof and lined with chemicals or waterproof paper.
The box or chest is made of wood, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plywood.
The tin, can is made of metal.
The carboy or demijohns made of glass and protected by a basketwork. The carton box is made of cardboard, corrugated cardboard, or strawboard.
The case is made out of wood, strengthened with metal straps. The crate consists of a bottom and a frame with diagonals.
The cylindrical drum is made of steel and iron.
The pail is made out of metal, it has a spout and a handle.
The jar is made of glass.
1.5.2.6. The Marking Clause
The visible marking of the packing is very important for the merchandise handling of goods during loading, transhipment, unloading. For marking, stencils, burning the marks into the wood, paint, or indelible ink are used. It is advisable to use marking on at least two sides of each packing or, when it is not
60

possible, the marking should be fixed on linen tags. Marking envisages both shipper's own distinctive marks and the consignee's distinctive marks. Marking should contain the official marks required by authorities, such as the weight and dimensions.
It may also consist in figures, letters or drawings. This clause may also include special directions and warnings.
Here are few examples of special warnings: Do not drop; do not store in damp places; fragile; handle with care; keep in cold place; liquids, do not tilt; machinery, handle with care; open here;
(sling here; stowaway from boilers; this side up; top; use no hooks. 1.5.2.7. The Price Clause
In international sales contract, the price is settled both for piece - unit price, but also total price in the agreed currency. It may appear separated or on categories of deliveries.
The price may be specified either directly – in exact figures, or by reference. In this second case, the price is determinable, in the respect that only the elements serving for the price calculation are present in formulating the price clause.
The price may be fixed price or sliding price.
The price of the contract is mentioned both in figures and letters in order to avoid confusions. It can be expressed either in the Buyer's currency, in the Seller's currency, or in a third currency. This price can be calculated both for the net weight, and the gross weight. In order to appreciate the parts’ contractual obligations, to the authorities or to third parties, the price may be associated to the following formulas:
 duty paid
.
 duty unpaid
 package included
 package excluded
 non return(able) package
 package returnable within... days
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freight. charges and expenses prepaid free/ franco domicile carriage paid delivered free to... free consignee's door free of charges delivered at...
1.5.2.8. The Delivery Clause

This contract clause offers the contracting parts - the Seller and the Buyer the opportunity to establish the obligations residing from the contract in connection to the delivery terms, usually referring to the INCOTERMS.
They agree upon the delivery time/ date, according to which the delivery can be:
- prompt delivery
- ex stock
- ex warehouse
- ex works etc.
- delivery on call
- fixed time delivery
- delivery on...
- by...; within...
By reporting to the effective delivery date, this may be:
- delivery in time
- advance delivery/ delivery in advance
- late/ postponed delivery
In the contract, the parts usually make official the conditions under which they accept - to modify/integral, complete delivery, one lot shipment/ delivery or delivery by instalments, part/ partial
The delivery clause may referee to:
- place of delivery
- transfer of property and risks from the Seller to the Buyer
- evidence of delivery
- other elements concerning delivery and documents
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connected to the INCOTERMS.
The international set of rules for the interpretation of the trade terms, also known as INCOTERMS, that the delivery clause makes reference to, has been elaborated by the International
Chamber of Commerce in Paris and first published in 1936 an later with modifications in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990 and
2000, in order to reflect changes in international trade rules, in transportation and communications.
The last version of the INCOTERMS contains the following grouping: Group E

(Ex works)
EXW

Group F

Group C

(Free carrier)
FCA

(Cost and freight) CFR
(Cost, Insurance and Freight)
CIF
(Carriage paid to) CPT
(Carriage and
Insurance Paid to) CIP

(Free along side ship) FAS
(Free on board)
FOB

Group D

(Delivered At
Frontier)
DAF
(Delivered Ex
Ship)
DES
(Delivered Ex
Quay)
DEQ
(Delivered Duty
Unpaid)
DDU
(Delivered Duty
Paid)
DDP

Inside each delivery term the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are presented considering ten essential aspects:
1. Provision of goods in conformity with the contract;
Payment
2. Licences, authorisations and formalities
3. Contract of carriage and insurance
4. Delivery
5. Transfer of risks
6. Division of costs
7. Notice to the Buyer/ Seller;
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8. Proof of delivery, transport document or equivalent electronic message;
9. Checking, Packaging, Marking. Inspection of goods
10. Other obligations.
1.5.2.9. The Transportation Clause
This clause specifies the parts’ obligations referring to transportation – means of transport, (according to the
INCOTERMS term agreed upon ), for example the complete or partial chartering of a ship, or of renting a different transportation means, or the space of a railway wagon, truck, plane, etc.
-loading and unloading of goods;
-loading, forwarding and unloading
- written communication of the departure of the transport form the loading port/ station and the arrival to the unloading port/ station.
The establishment of the transport condition is done accordingly to certain factors such as:
- the type o product
- the quantity to be delivered
- the existing transportation routes
- the partners’ preferences, etc.
For example, in the case of petroleum products, for maritime transport, there are the following options:
1. delivery FOB Constanta, in bulk
2. CFR named port of destination,
3. FOB Constanta, drums, stowed
4. CFR named port of destination, drums: liner term, free out
5. FOB Constanta drums containers
6. CFR named port of destination containers
7. tanks, bulk, free on Romanian border
As resulting form this, the transporting conditions are closely connected to the delivery ones, to packing and to the product cost (the cost increases for the drum packing and stewing in containers, for example). The seller is interested in delivering
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the products using his own transportation means, as the income is higher. For these reasons, the transportation clause is negotiated in close connection to the delivery, pecking and price, and also taking into account all the factors that could determine a profitable contract. 1.5.2.10. The Terms of Payment Clause
The clause ruling the payment conditions - terms of payment will settle the price and the currency the payment will be made in, and also the payment methods - methods of settlement, the payment instruments, the place and time of payment but also the documents necessary for the payment. The sales can be made using payment in advance, payment on delivery, credit payment.
The payment in advance may also be cash payment in advance, or cash down-payment. The payment on delivery can be
- cash payment, cash on delivery and it may also be done as payment against documents.
The most largely used payment methods are the documentary credit; documentary letter of credit and the documentary collection; payment upon receipt of documents.
Amongst the payment instruments, the most commonly used are the draft or bill of exchange, the cheque and the promissory note.
1.5.2.11. The Penalties and Other Sanctions Clause
This clause makes reference to:
- penalties applicable for the un-fulfilment by either of the parts of one/some contractual obligations
- criteria and ways in applying penalties, calculating penalties and damage amount that must be paid to the injured party by the part generating the damage
- the term of payment for the penalties or damages.
Penalties can be fixed penalties, fixed feel percentage per unit of time or measurement of quality, variable progressive/ regressive sum/ percentage.
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1.5.2. 12. The Force Majeure/ Contincency Clause
This clause includes:
- exoneration from total or partial obligations’ achievement by the party affected by those events/circumstances that represent cases of force majeure/ contingency
- procedural aspects of the claiming of force majeure such as: written notification of the parties concerning the case, the means of probation of the force majeure case, the notification term
- admissible terms for the duration of the force majeure and for the extension of the contract execution. The cases and the terms when the party to whom the force majeure has been claimed has the right to solicit contract cancellation, and when saving the contract becomes impossible.
1.5.2.13. The Arbitration Clause
This clause includes:
- the circumstances settled by arbitration, disputes that came up between parties and could not be settled amicably, procedures submitting a dispute for settlement by arbitration, such as: the question at issue, the arbitrator appointed
- parties obligations that convene such a ruling; their a priori commitment to willingly obey the Arbitration Court’s decision that is definitive/ final and binding.
1.5.2.14.The Cancellation Clause
The cancellation clause present in the contract is meant to discourage parts in meant to discourage parts in seriously breaking contractual engagements.
Even though, being in nature an extreme measure, its application is rare, only for really severe cases and only after all the other amiable solutions in solving disputes have been
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unsatisfactory for the affected part.
The following represent limit situations that may lead to the application of the cancellation clause:
- the seller does not respect the delivery dates
- the seller can not prove partially or completely the quality features, performance, etc.,
- the seller/buyer invokes the force majeure clause beyond the deadline mentioned in the contract
- the seller/buyer proves bad faith, is not solvable, is bankrupt - the buyer does not put at the seller’s disposal the material means needed for delivery under the contractual rules.

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1.5.3. Personal correspondence
Personal correspondence covers a variety of written materials either sent or received by a particular individual. Here we make reference to the letters sent by a person to a company/organization in connection to business activities, employment, studies. This type of letter writing may be especially important because it usually involves evaluation from specific professionals and may significantly contribute to the judgment of the writer. This includes writing a CV or a letter of intent and applying for a scholarship or a job.
The CV (resume in American English) is a document meant to introduce a certain individual to a potential employer or to an academic authority. It should be clear, concise and well structured. It represents the record of the most important events in someone’s professional life.
Even if most of the times the two terms CV and Resume are considered similar, differences still exist. The resume: emphasizes information on the experience, abilities and studies relevant for the objectives that must be fulfilled in a certain position for which you are applying, or in which selection process you are taking part. The CV is a compilation of all the academic data and experience of a person throughout their life (as vitae indicates the
Latin term life), unrelated to the position you are applying for or in which selection process you are taking part. The structure usually is personal data, academic, experience, languages, computer science and other data, all in chronological order.
The information given in the CV is structured according to the following chapters:
 Personal details
 Education
 Work history
 Interests
 References.
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Certain specific types of CV (e.g. the academic CV) may include some particular chapters such as – publications, scientific titles or prizes etc. Even though some differences may exist, and even if specialized literature may differ in presenting the layout of the CV, this does not affect the main function of the document or the type of information it gives.
Before personal computers, people used one resume for varied kinds of employment searches. However, with less expensive desktop publishing and high-quality printing, people sometimes rewrite their resumes for every new job they go after.
For example, a person who seeks employment both with a community college and with a software-development company would use two different resumes. The contents of the two might be roughly the same, but the organization, format, and emphases would be quite different.
There also exist resume-writing software: the data is introduced and they produce a resume.
There is no one right way to write a resume. Every person's background, employment needs, and career objectives are different, thus necessitating unique resume designs. Every detail, every aspect of your resume must start with who you are, what your background is, what the potential employer is looking for, and what your employment goals are - not with from some prefabricated design.
 Sections in Resumes
Resumes can be divided into three sections: the heading, the body, and the conclusion. Each of these sections has fairly common contents.
Heading. The top third of the resume is the heading. It contains your name, phone numbers, address, and other details such as your occupation, titles, and so on. Some resume writers include the name of their profession, occupation, or field. In some examples, writers put things like "CERTIFIED PHYSICAL
THERAPIST" very prominently in the heading. Headings can also
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contain a goals and objectives subsection and a highlights subsection. Body. In a one-page resume, the body is the middle portion, taking up a half or more of the total space of the resume. In this section, you present the details of your work, education, and military experience. This information is arranged in reverse chronological order. In the body section, you also include your accomplishments, for example, publications, certifications, equipment you are familiar with, and so on. There are many ways to present this information:
 functionally - into separate sections for work experience and education.
 thematically - into separate sections for the different areas of your experience and education.
Conclusion. In the final third or quarter of the resume, other related information and background can be presented. For example, activities, professional associations, memberships, hobbies, and interests can be listed. At the bottom of the resume, people often put "REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST" and the date of preparation of the resume. At first glance, listing non-work and personal information would seem totally irrelevant and inappropriate. Actually, it can come in handy - it personalizes the writer to potential employers and gives something to chat while you're waiting for the coffee machine or the elevator. For example, if the person mentions in the resume other activities, that gives the interviewer something to chat with you about during those moments of otherwise uncomfortable silence.
 Resumes: Types and Design
To begin planning the resume, the person should decide which type of resume is needed. This decision is in part based on requirements that prospective employers may have, and in part based on what your background and employment needs are.
Type of organization. Resumes can be defined according to how information on work and educational experience is handled.
There are several basic, commonly used plans or designs you can consider using.
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Functional design: it starts with a heading; then presents either education or work experience, whichever is stronger or more relevant; then presents the other of these two sections; then ends with a section on skills and certifications and one on personal information. Students who have not yet begun their careers often find this design the best for their purposes. People with military experience either work the detail in to the education and workexperience sections as appropriate; or they create separate section at the same level as education and work experience. Thematic design: It divides your experience and education into categories such as project management, budgetary planning, financial tracking, personnel management, customer sales, technical support, publications - whichever areas describe your experience. Often, these categories are based directly on typical or specific employment advertisements. If the job advertisement says that
Company ABC wants a person with experience in training, customer service, and sales, then it might be a smart move to design thematic headings around those three requirements. If the thematic approach is used in the resume, take a look at your employment and educational experience - what are the common threads? Project management, program development, troubleshooting, supervision, maintenance, inventory control? Take a look at the job announcement the person is responding to - what are the three, four, or five key requirements it mentions?
Use these themes to design the body section of the resume.
These themes become the headings in the body of the resume. Under these headings, the person must list the employment or educational experience that applies. For example, under a heading like "FINANCIAL RECORDS," someone might list the accounting and bookkeeping courses you took in college, the seminars on Word or
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EXCEL you took, and the jobs where you actually used these skills.
Type of information. Types of resumes can be defined according to the amount and kind of information they present:
 Objective resumes: This type just gives dates, names, titles, no qualitative salesmanship information. These are very lean, terse resumes. In our technical-writing course, you are asked not to write solely this type. The objectiveresume style is useful in resumes that use the thematic approach or that emphasize the summary/highlights section. By its very nature, the thematic approach is unclear about the actual history of employment. It's harder to tell where the person was, what she was doing, year by year.  Detailed resumes: This type provides not only dates, titles, and names, but also details about your responsibilities and statements about the quality and effectiveness of the work.
This is the type most people write, and the type that is the focus of this technical-writing course.
 General Layout and Detail Formats in Resumes
At some point in planning a resume, the person writing it must think schematically about the layout and design of the thing.
General layout has to do with the design and location of the heading, the headings for the individual sections, and the orientation of the detailed text in relation to those headings. Detail formats are the way to arrange and present the details of the education and work experience.
Detail formats. A fundamental decision about the presentation of the details of the working and education experience must be made in order to support the application. The elements to work with include:
 Occupation, position, job title
 Company or organization name
 Time period you were there
 Key details about your accomplishments and responsibilities while there.
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There are many different ways to format this information. It all depends on what the person writing the resume wishes to emphasize and how much or how little information there is.
 Special Sections in Resumes
Highlights, summary section. "Highlights" section that occurs just below the heading (the section for name, address, phone number, etc.) and just above the main experience and education sections. This is an increasingly popular section in resumes.
Resume specialists believe that the eye makes first contact with a page somewhere one-fourth to one-third of the way down the page - not at the very top. If you believe that, then it makes sense to put your very best stuff at that point. Therefore, some people list their most important qualifications, their key skills, their key work experience in that space on the page. Actually, this section is useful more for people who have been in their careers for a while. It's a good way to create one common spot on the resume to list those key qualifications that may be spread throughout the resume. Otherwise, these key details are scattered across various employment and educational experience - in fact, buried in them.
Objectives, goals. Also found on some resumes is a section just under the heading in which the person describes the key goals or objectives and key qualifications. Some resume writers shy away from including a section like this because they fear it may cause certain employers to stop reading, in other words, that it limits their possibilities. A key-qualifications section is similar to a highlights section, but shorter and in paragraph rather than list form.
Amplifications page. Some people have a lot of detail that they want to convey about their qualifications but that does not fit well in any of the typical resume designs. For example, certain computer specialists can list dozens of hardware and software products they have experience with - and they feel they must list all this in the resume. To keep the main part of the resume from becoming unbalanced and less readable, they shift all of this detail to an amplifications page. There, the computer specialist can
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categorize and list all that extensive experience in many different operating systems, hardware configurations, and software applications. Similarly, some resume writers want to show lots more detail about the responsibilities and duties they have managed in past employment. The standard formats for resume design just do not accommodate this sort of detail; and this is where the amplifications page can be useful.
Resume design and format must be focused on:
 Readability: are there any dense paragraphs over 6 lines?
 White space. Picture a resume crammed with detail, using only half-inch margins all the way around, a small type size, and only a small amount of space between parts of the resume. Our prospective employer might be less inclined to pore through that also. Find ways to incorporate more white space in the margins and between sections of the resume. Again, the "hanging-head" design is also useful.
 Special format. Make sure to use special format consistently throughout the resume.
 Consistent margins. Most resumes have several margins: the outermost, left margin and at least one internal left margin. Typically, paragraphs in a resume use an internal margin, not the far-left margin. Make sure to align all appropriate text to these margins as well.
 Terse writing style. The challenge in most resumes is to get it all on one page (or two if you have a lot of information to present).
 Special typography. Use special typography, but keep it under control.
 Page fill. Avoid spilling over by 4 or 5 lines to a second page. If you need a two-page resume, see that the second page is full or nearly full.
 Clarity of boundary lines between major sections. Design and format the resume so that whatever the main sections are, they are very noticeable. Use well-defined headings and white space to achieve this. Similarly, design your
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resume so that the individual segments of work experience or education are distinct and separate from each other.
Reverse chronological order. Remember to list education and work-experience items starting with the current or most recent and working backwards in time.
Consistency of bold, italics, different type size, caps, other typographical special effects. Also, whatever special typography is used, be consistent with it throughout the resume. Consistency of phrasing. Use the same style of phrasing for similar information in a resume - for example, past tense verbs for all work descriptions.
Consistency of punctuation style. For similar sections of information use the same kind of punctuation - for example, periods, commas, colons, or nothing.
Translations for "inside" information. Do not assume readers will know what certain abbreviations, acronyms, or symbols mean - yes, even to the extent of "GPA" or the construction "3.2/4.00." Take time to describe special organizations you may be a member of.
Grammar, spelling, usage.

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

Sample Resume (CV)

Amanda Wittig
2345 W. Randolph Lane #112
Seguin, TX 78876
Home: (513) 456-0987
Work: (513) 654-9876
WORK EXPERIENCE
Receptionist. Lincoln & Browne, Law Firm.
Responsibilities: Answering phone (21 lines); typing business correspondence and legal documents; maintaining logbooks on runners, law clerks and paralegals; calculating deposits and overflow work.
November 1987 - present.
Receptionist. Seguin Regional Clinic.
Responsibilities:
Answering phone (5 lines); calculating fee tickets; scheduling appointments. August - November 1987.
Receptionist. Louis & Maitre.
Responsibilities: Answering phone (5 lines); running errands; calculating deposits; filing; typing letters and memoranda. June - August 1987

Secretary. Downe-Burgues, Oil and Gas Specialists.
Responsibilities:
Typing of legal documents and title opinions; preparing worksheets for abstracts of title; handling of client billing and accounts payable; maintaining oil and gas drilling maps; maintaining firm library; ordering supplies. 1985 1987.

EDUCATION
Business
Management Science,
(expected
May
1991),
Austin

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Associate
Community

of Arts
College.

Courses:
Introduction
to Business
Management,
Technical Writing, Basic College Accounting. January
1989 - present.
Concordia
Lutheran.
Austin,
TX.
Courses:
Introduction to Computer
Science,
Business
Communications, Macroeconomics. January 1987 - May
1988.
Goliad High School, 1986 graduate. Office Education
Program.
NALS Legal Secretary Institute, June 1986.
Professional Legal Secretary Course, April 1986.
OFFICE EQUIPMENT
Experienced with Lanier (Qume) Word Processor, IBM personal Computer,
Hewlett-Packard
(vectra
Computer), Displaywriter, Apple Computer, Macintosh
Plus, Dictaphone, and IBM and XEROX memorywriters.

77

The cover letter (the letter of intent) is a document of equal importance to the resume.
The resume cover letter is the first impression the selector will have of the candidate and its negative or positive impact is going to influence his or her further reading (or not ) the
CV or resume.
A Cover Letter must be very professional, well written, without misspellings. The content directly explains the candidate meets the requirements for the position, emphasizing and directing the attention of the selector towards the abilities, skills and knowledge the candidate has proved, with concrete examples based on previous experience or non-work experience (if you have never worked or have been outside the job market for a while).
The essential features of the cover letter are:
 It highlights the difference with the rest of candidates.
 It has to convince the selector to select a certain candidate.
 It shows motivation.
 It reflects skills in written communication.
The cover letter should be structured as following:
 Paragraph 1: present and explain the aim of the cover letter.  Paragraph 2: explains the interest in the company, in the very industry and in the particular position.
 Paragraph 3: presents contribution (achievements, experience); abilities and capacities that will be used by the individual in order to carry out the position’s functions.
 Paragraph 4: invitation to the interview. Creativity is very important when finishing the letter, this should not be mentioned directly.
Sample cover letter
Dear Mr. Watson,
Having broken sales records and exceeded sales quotas in all my previous positions and recently completed my MBA in marketing from the School of
Managerial Leadership at California State University,

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I am an ideal candidate for the regional sales manager position at Hilton Resorts in US and Mexico
As the leading sales representative for Disney
Vacation Club, I developed key sales material, trained new sales reps, and reinvented the way club memberships are sold. My team's revenue was more than double the average for the entire operation.
The vacation club industry is a dynamic and growing industry, and I am convinced I can help
Hilton grow its reputation and dominant position in the industry.
We should meet to discuss the position. I will contact you in the next 10 days to arrange an interview. Should you have any questions before that time, please feel free to call me at 901-111-2233 or email me. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Cordially,
John Smith

The application letter tend to be more and more rare as firms have development electronic application forms for different jobs or positions inside a firm. The classic application letter is a short one (200-250 words) and it has a clear structure. Its goal is to bring to attention aspects of the applicant’s activity that can support the request and can help the recruiter to make the correct choice. The layout is that of a formal business letter. Anyway, there are some small differences as, for instance, the letter head, which indicates the address of the sender, but without the writer’s name. Any document sent with this letter should be mentioned under the heading “Enclosure”.
The role of the application letter is to draw a clear connection between the job you are seeking and your qualifications listed in the resume. To put it another way, the letter matches the requirements of the job with your qualifications, emphasizing how you are right for that job. The application letter is not a lengthy summary of the resume. It selectively mentions information in the resume, as appropriate.
The types of application letters can be defined according to amount and kind of information:
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Objective letters - One type of letter says very little: it identifies the position being sought, indicates an interest in having an interview, and calls attention to the fact that the resume is attached. It also mentions any other special matters that are not included on the resume, such as dates and times when you are available to come in for an interview. This letter does no salesmanship and is very brief. (It may represent the true meaning of "cover" letter.)
 Highlight letters - Another type of application letter, the type you'll be doing, tries to summarize the key information from the resume, the key information that will emphasize that the writer is a good candidate for the job.
In other words, it selects the best information from the resume and summarizes it in the letter - this type of letter is specially designed to make the connection with the specific job.
As for the actual content and organization of the paragraphs within the application letter, consider the following comon approaches. Introductory paragraph. That first paragraph of the application letter is the most important; it sets everything up - the tone, focus, your most important qualification. A typical problem in the introductory paragraph involves diving directly into work and educational experience. A better idea is to do something like the following:
 State the purpose of the letter - to inquire about an employment opportunity.
 Indicate the source of your information about the job newspaper advertisement, a personal contact, or other.
 State one eye-catching, attention-getting thing about yourself in relation to the job or to the employer that will cause the reader to want to continue.
Main body paragraphs. In the main parts of the application letter, the person writing the letter should present his/her work experience, education, training - whatever makes that connection between that person and the job. Remember that this is the most


80

important job to do in this letter - to enable the reader see the match between the qualifications and the requirements for the job.
There are two common ways to present this information:
 Functional approach - This one presents education in one section, and work experience in the other. If there were military experience, that might go in another section.
Whichever of these section has your best stuff should come first, after the introduction.
 Thematic approach - This one divides experience and education into groups such as "management," "technical,"
"financial," and so on and then discusses your work and education related to them in separate paragraphs.
Another section worth considering for the main body of the application letter is one in which you discuss your goals, objectives -the focus of the person’s career. A paragraph like this is particularly good for people just starting their careers, when there is not much to put in the letter.
Closing paragraph. In the last paragraph of the application letter, the person writing the letter can indicate how the prospective employer can get in touch with applicant and when are the best times for an interview. This is the place to urge that prospective employer to make a contact and arrange an interview.
Common Problems in Application Letters
 Readability and white space - Are there any dense paragraphs over 8 lines? Are there comfortable margins all the way around the letter? Is there adequate spacing between paragraph and between the components of the letter?  Page fill - Is the letter placed on the page nicely: not crammed at the top one-half of the page; not spilling over to a second page by only three or four lines?
 General neatness, professional-looking quality - Is the letter on good quality paper, and is the copy clean and free of smudges and erasures?

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















Proper use of the business-letter format - Have you set up the letter in one of the standard business-letter formats?
(See the references earlier in this chapter.)
Overt, direct indication of the connection between your background and the requirements of the job - Do you emphasize this connection?
A good upbeat, positive tone - Is the tone of the letter bright and positive? Does it avoid sounding overly aggressive, brash, over-confident (unless that is really the tone you want)? Does the letter avoid the opposite problem of sounding stiff, overly reserved, stand-offish, blase, indifferent? A good introduction - Does the introduction establish the purpose of the letter? Does it avoid diving directly into the details of your work and educational experience? Does the person writing letter present one little compelling detail about him/her that will cause the reader to want to keep reading? A good balance between brevity and details - Does the letter avoid becoming too detailed (making readers less inclined to read thoroughly)? Does the letter avoid the opposite extreme of being so general that it could refer to practically anybody?
Lots of specifics (dates, numbers, names, etc.) - Does the letter present plenty of specific detail but without making the letter too densely detailed? Is there hard factual detail
(numbers, dates, proper names) that make you stand out as an individual?
A minimum of information that is simply your opinion of yourself – Does it avoid over-reliance on information that is simply your opinions about yourself.
Grammar, spelling, usage - And of course, does the letter use correct grammar, usage, and spelling?

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Sample Application Letter
1225 Hampton Street
Yonkers, NY 10407
March 15, 2003
Ms. Dianne C. Strand
Manager of Human Resources
ABC Industries
2000 Smith Street
White Plains, NY 10592
Dear Ms. Strand:
I am applying for the position of systems analyst, which was advertised on March 12 with the career services office at Manhattan College. The position seems to fit very well with my education, experience, and career interests.
Your
position requires experience in computer systems, financial applications software, and enduser consulting. With a major in computer information systems, I have training on mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers as well as with a variety of software programs and applications. My practical experience in my college’s computer center as a programmer and as a student consultant for system users gave me valuable exposure to complex computer operations. Additionally, I worked as an intern in computing operations for a large bank where
I gained knowledge of financial systems. My enclosed resume provides more details on my qualifications.
My background and career goals seem to match your job requirements well. I am confident that I can perform the job effectively. Furthermore, I am genuinely interested in the position and in working for ABC
Industries. Your firm has an excellent reputation and
[comes highly recommended to me.
Would you please consider my request for a personal interview to discuss further my qualifications and to learn more about this opportunity? I will call you next week to see if a meeting can be arranged. Should

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you need to reach me, please feel free to call me at
914-779-2050. If I am not in, please leave a message on my answering machine and I will return your call within a day.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to talking to you.
Sincerely,
(Written signature)
Lisa Watson
Enclosure Curriculum Vitae

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1.6. Commercial documents adopted by international

organisations (UN, ECE)
Documents and descriptions adopted by:
 WCO - World Customs Organization (1952 - Customs Cooperation Council)
 ICC - International Chamber of Commerce (and Banking
Comission)
 UNCTAD
 FIATA - International Federation of Freight Forwarders
Associations
 IATA – International Air Transport Association
 UPU - Universal Postal Union
Documents are grouped according to their usage domain, the place and moment of their issuing.
PRODUCTION DOCUMENTS
1. A purchase order (PO) is a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating the type, quantities and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a PO to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to buy products or services. Acceptance of a PO by a seller usually forms a once-off contract between the buyer and seller so no contract exists until the PO is accepted. POs usually specify terms of payment, INCOTERMS for liability and freight responsibility, and required delivery date.
Structure
A purchase order usually contains: PO number, shipping date, billing address, shipping address, terms of payment (usually in the form of NET 30 - a form of trade credit which specifies payment is expected to be received in full 30 days after the goods are delivered. Net 30 terms are often coupled with a credit for
85

early payment; e.g. the notation "2% 10, net 30" indicates that a
2% discount is provided if payment is received within 10 days of the delivery of goods, and that full payment is expected within 30 days. For example, if "$1000 2/10 net 30" is written on a bill, the buyer can take a 2% discount ($1000 x .02 = $20) and make a payment of $980 within 10 days) NET 45 and NET 60 depending on requirements set by the seller), and a list of services/products, often including specifications and reference or part numbers of the items to be purchased, with quantities and prices. When accepted by the seller, it forms an agreement between the buyer and seller.
There are several reasons why companies use POs. They allow buyers to clearly and explicitly communicate their intentions to sellers, and to protect the seller in the event of a buyer's refusal to pay for goods or services. For example, say
Alice works for Company A and orders some parts from
Company B. There could be a problem if Alice wasn't actually authorized to issue this purchase order - perhaps due to a miscommunication, she mistakenly thought that she had the boss's permission to place the order. Once this error is discovered the order is canceled. Depending on the type of product being ordered, and at what stage the PO was canceled, Company B may incur manufacturing costs (labor, raw material, etc.) as well as shipping and packing costs. They might also lose the product entirely (for example, if it is perishable).
In order to prevent such problems, sellers often request purchase orders from buyers. This document represents the buyer’s intent to purchase specific quantities of product at specified prices. In the event of non-payment, the seller can use the PO as a legal document in a court of law to demonstrate the buyer’s intent and to facilitate collection efforts. Companies usually request POs when doing business with other companies for orders of significant size, as the PO reduces the risks involved.
In the course of the accounts payable process, purchase orders are matched with invoices and packing slips before the invoices are paid. 86

2. Manufacturing instructions
Document issued by a production firm (supplier) in order to start the production process for goods to be sold or supplied to foreign clients. 3. Stores requision
Document issued by a supplier aiming to order release of merchandise ordered by a foreign client.
4. Invoicing data sheet
Document issued by a firm containing relative data concerning merchandise and destined to represent basis for the commercial invoice. 5. Packing instructions
Document issued by a firm containing information concerning the established manner in which merchandise is to be packed.
6. Packing list
Document indicating merchandise distribution and placement into different packing parcels.

87

PURCHASE DOCUMENTS
1. Enquiry
Document issues by a potential buyer (importer) to a potential supplier in search of an offer, where he describes the products he wishes to by and certain necessary conditions concerning the delivery 2. Order
Document engaging a buyer (importer) with a seller (exporter) in a transaction involving the delivery of specific products according to stated conditions mentioned in an offer, or known to the buyer
(UN/ECE/FAL).
3. Delivery instructions
Document issued by the buyer (importer) concerning the delivery details of the ordered products. (UN/ECE/FAL). The document contains Directions to an inland carrier by a shipper about the delivery of a shipment to a particular carrier or pier for export.
Not to be confused with delivery order document which pertains to the release of a shipment to a specified party.
4. Delivery (order) release
D/O is the abbreviation for the term Delivery Order. A delivery Order is a document from a consignee, a shipper, or an owner of freight which orders the release of the transportation of cargo to another party.
Usually the written order permits the direct delivery of goods to a warehouseman, carrier or other person who in the course of their ordinary business issues warehouse receipts or bills of lading. According to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) a delivery order refers to an "order given by an owner of goods to a person in possession of them (the carrier or warehouseman) directing that person to deliver the goods to a person named in the order”. A Delivery Order which is used for the import of cargo should not to be confused with delivery instructions. Delivery
Instructions provides "specific information to the inland carrier concerning the arrangement made by the forwarder to deliver the merchandise to the particular pier or steamship line.
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A delivery order was not regarded as a document of title at common law with the result that the transfer of the delivery order did not effect transfer of constructive possession of the goods.
Attornment on the part of the bailee was required (i.e., an acknowledgement that the bailee held the goods on behalf of the transferee). The Uniform Documents of Title Act permits the use of negotiable delivery orders (if the order directs delivery to a named person or order). However, it is still necessary to single out delivery orders for special treatment. Until the delivery order is accepted by the bailee, there is no basis for imposing obligations on the bailee.
SALES DOCUMENTS
1. Offer/quotation
Document stating the conditions under which the merchandise is offered to a potential client in respect of a future contract.
(UN/ECE/FAL).
2. International sales contract
Document certifying the existence of an agreement between the seller (exporter) and the buyer (importer) for supplying certain products; it has the commercial and legal effects of an order followed by an acknowledgement. (UN/ECE/FAL).
3. Pro-forma invoice
In foreign trade, a pro forma invoice is a document that states a commitment from the seller to provide specified goods to the buyer at specific prices. It is often used to declare value for customs. It is not a true invoice, because the seller does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts receivable and the buyer does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts payable. A pro forma invoice is not issued by the seller until the seller and buyer have agreed to the terms of the order. In few cases, pro forma invoice is issued for obtaining advance payments from buyer, either for start of production or for security of the goods produced.
The term pro forma (Latin "as a matter of form") is a term applied to practices that are perfunctory, or seek to satisfy the minimum
89

requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine. It has different meanings in different fields.
4. The commercial external invoice
An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms.
From the point of view of a seller, an invoice is a sales invoice.
From the point of view of a buyer, an invoice is a purchase invoice. The document indicates the buyer and seller, but the term invoice indicates money is owed or owing. In English, the context of the term invoice is usually used to clarify its meaning, such as
"We sent them an invoice" (they owe us money) or "We received an invoice from them" (we owe them money).
Credit memo - If the buyer returns the product, the seller usually issues a credit memo for the same or lower amount than the invoice, and then refunds the money to the buyer, or the buyer can apply that credit memo to another invoice.
Commercial invoice - a customs declaration form used in international trade that describes the parties involved in the shipping transaction, the goods being transported, and the value of the goods. It is the primary document used by customs, and must meet specific customs requirements, such as the Harmonized
System number and the country of manufacture. It is used to calculate tariffs.
Debit memo - When a company fails to pay or short-pays an invoice, it is common practice to issue a debit memo for the balance and any late fees owed. In function debit memos are identical to invoices.
Self-billing invoice - A self billing invoice is when the buyer issues the invoice to himself (e.g. according to the consumption levels he is taking out of a vendor-managed inventory stock).
Evaluated receipt settlement (ERS) - ERS is a process of paying for goods and services from a packing slip rather than from
90

a separate invoice document. The payee uses data in the packing slip to apply the payments. In an ERS transaction, the supplier ships goods based upon an Advance Shipping Notice (ASN), and the purchaser, upon receipt, confirms the existence of a corresponding purchase order or contract, verifies the identity and quantity of the goods, and then pays the supplier.
Timesheet - Invoices for hourly services such as by lawyers and consultants often pull data from a timesheet.
Invoicing - The term invoicing is also used to refer to the act of delivering baggage to a flight company in an airport before taking a flight.
Statement - A periodic customer statement includes opening balance, invoices, payments, credit memos, debit memos, and ending balance for the customer's account during a specified period. A monthly statement can be used as a summary invoice to request a single payment for accrued monthly charges.
Progress billing used to obtain partial payment on extended contracts, particularly in the construction industry (see
Schedule of values)
Collective Invoicing is also known as monthly invoicing in
Japan. Japanese businesses tend to have many orders with small amounts because of the outsourcing system, or of demands for less inventory control. To save the administration work, invoicing is normally processed on monthly basis.
Bills from utility companies are based on measured
(metered) use of electricity, natural gas or other utilities at a residence or business.
When an individual or business applies for service from the utility (opens an account), he signs an agreement (contract) to pay for his metered use of the utility.
Some invoices are no longer paper-based, but rather transmitted electronically over the Internet. It is still common for electronic remittance or invoicing to be printed in order to maintain paper records. Standards for electronic invoicing varies widely from country to country. Electronic Data Interchange
91

(EDI) standards such as the United Nation's EDIFACT standard include message encoding guidelines for electronic invoices.
But the most common continues to be PDF over email.
The United Nations standard for electronic invoices
("INVOIC") includes standard codes for transmitting header information (common to the entire invoice) and codes for transmitting details for each of the line items (products or services). The "INVOIC" standard can also be used to transmit credit and debit memos.
The "IFTMCS" standard is used to transmit freight invoices. Use of the XML message format for electronic invoices has begun in recent years. There are two standards currently being developed. One is the cross industry invoice under development by the United Nations standards body UNCEFACT and the other is UBL (Universal Business Language) which is issued by
[Oasis]http://www.oasis-open.org. Implementations of invoices based on UBL are common, most importantly in the public sector in Denmark. Further implementations are under way in the
Scandinavian countries as result of the NES (North European
Subset) project http://www.nesubl.eu. Implementations are also underway in , Italy, Spain, Holland and with the European
Commission itself.
The
NES work has been transferred to [CEN]http://www.cen.eu, (the standards body of the European
Union) workshop CEN/BII, for public procurement in Europe.
The result of that work is a pre-condition for PEPPOL, pan
European pilots for public procurement, financed by the European commission. There UBL procurement documents will be implemented in cross border pilots between European countries.
Agreement has been made between UBL and
UN/CEFACT for convergence of the two XML messages standards with the objective of merging the two standards into one before end of 2009 including the provision of an upgrade path for implementations started in either standard.
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5. Booking request (Cerere pentru rezervare (spaţiu de transport) = Dispoziţie de transport şi vămuire, cod 12-36/Cerere de tonaj – export, cod 12-3-7 (CEE/ONU))
Document in which, according to the delivery conditions, the supplier demands to a transporter, carrier or broker, the booking of the transport space for a certain products’ expedition, indicating: the means of transport, the time, etc. (UN/ECE/FAL).
6. Shipping instructions
Document describing in detail the products and the requirements imposed by the exporter for the transport.
7. Shipper’s letter of instructions (air)
Document issued by the exporter containing the details concerning certain products delivery, that allows the airway company or the specialised carrier to establish and issue an airway bill. AWB (UN/ECE/FAL).
Shipper’s Letter of Instructions is a document, which provides shipping instructions to the shipper’s freight forwarder to ensure accurate and correct movement of their products across borders.
Often this document will include billing terms regarding the freight and other charges as well as documentation preparation instructions in cases where the shipper is not providing those documents. In some cases product distribution instructions are also included.
Required Information
The following items below are required to be filled out. Any required information that is left out may result in a delay in processing the form.
Enter the exporter’s Internal Revenue Service Employer
Identification Number (EIN).
FREIGHT CHARGES (IN “CHECK APPLICABLE BOX”
AREA)
Select either “Prepaid” or “Collect”.
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If you are not familiar with the Shipper’s Letter of Instruction form, please read the definitions below to aid you in filling out the necessary fields.
1. PARTIES TO TRANSACTION – Indicate if this is a
RELATED or NON-RELATED party transaction is a transaction between a USPPI and a foreign consignee, (e.g., parent company or sister company), where there is at least 10 percent ownership of each by the same U.S. or foreign person or business enterprise.
2. DATE OF EXPORTATION – Enter the date the merchandise is scheduled to leave the country for all methods of transportation. If the actual date is not known, report the best estimate of departure.
The date format should be indicated by MM/DD/YYYY.
3. TRANSPORTATION REFERENCE NO. – Report the booking number for ocean shipments. The booking number is the reservation number assigned by the carrier to hold space on the vessel for the cargo being shipped. For air shipments the airway bill number must be reported. For other methods of transportation leave blank.
4a. ULTIMATE CONSIGNEE – Enter the name and address of the foreign party actually receiving the merchandise for the designated end-use or the party so designated on the export license. 4b. INTERMEDIATE CONSIGNEE – Enter the name and address of the party in a foreign country who makes delivery of the merchandise to the ultimate consignee or the party so named on the export license.
5a. FORWARDING AGENT – Enter the name and address of the forwarding or other agent authorized by a principal party in interest. 5b. FORWARDING AGENT’S EIN (IRS) NO. – Enter the
Forwarding Agent's (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN).
Report the 9-digit numerical code.
6. POINT OF ORIGIN OR FTZ NO. – If from a FTZ enter the
FTZ number for exports leaving the FTZ, otherwise enter the
Postal Service abbreviation of the state in which the merchandise
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actually starts its journey to the port of export, or State of the commodity of the greatest value, or State of Consolidation.
7. COUNTRY OF ULTIMATE DESTINATION – Enter the country in which the merchandise is to be consumed, further processed, or manufactured; the final country of destination as known to the exporter at the time of shipment; or the country of ultimate destination as shown on the export license. Two-digit
(alpha character) International Standards Organization (ISO) codes may also be used.
8. LOADING PIER (Vessel only) – (For vessel shipments only)
Enter the number or name of the pier at which the merchandise is laden aboard the exporting vessel.
9. METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION – Enter the method of transportation by which the merchandise is exported (or exits the border ). Specify the method of transportation by name such as: vessel, air, rail, truck, etc. Specify “own power” if applicable.
10. EXPORTING CARRIER – Enter the name of the carrier transporting the merchandise out of the country. For vessel shipments, give the name of the vessel.
11. PORT OF EXPORT – (a) For Overland Shipments: Enter the name of the Customs port at which the surface carrier (truck or railcar) crosses the border. (b) For Vessel and Air Shipments:
Enter the name of the Customs port where the merchandise is loaded on the carrier (airplane or ocean vessel) that is taking the merchandise out of the country. (c) For Postal (mail) Shipments:
Enter the Post Office from which the merchandise is mailed.
12. PORT OF UNLOADING – For vessel shipments between the
United States and foreign countries, enter the foreign port and country at which the merchandise will be unloaded from the exporting carrier.
13. CONTAINERIZED – (For vessel shipments only) Check the
“YES” box for cargo originally booked as containerized cargo and for cargo that has been placed in containers at the vessel operator’s option.
14. CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODE – Enter the 4-character
Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) of the carrier for vessel, rail
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and truck shipments, or the 2- or 3-character International Air
Transport Association (IATA) Code of the carrier for air shipments. In a consolidated shipment, if the ultimate carrier is unknown, the consolidators carrier ID code may be reported. The
National Motor Freight Traffic Association (703) 838-1831 or www.nmfta.org issues the SCAC’s for ocean carriers, trucking companies and consolidators. The International Air Transportation
Association
(IATA) issues the air carrier codes.
15. SHIPMENT REFERENCE NO. – Enter the unique reference number assigned by the filer of the SED for identification purposes. This shipment reference number must be unique for five years. For example, report an invoice number, bill of lading or airway bill number, internal file number or so forth.
16. ENTRY NUMBER – Enter the Import Entry Number when the export transaction is used as proof of export for import transactions, such as In-Bond, Temporary Import Bond or
Drawback’s and so forth.
17. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS – Check the appropriate “Yes” or “No” indicator that identifies the shipment as hazardous as defined by the Department of Transportation.
18. IN BOND NUMBER – Report one of the 2- character InBond codes listed in Part IV of Appendix C of the FTSR (15 CFR
Part 30) to include the type of In-Bond or not In-Bond shipment.
19. ROUTED EXPORT TRANSACTION – Check the appropriate “Yes” or “No” indicator that identifies the transaction as a routed export transaction. A routed export transaction is where the foreign principal party in interest authorizes a forwarding or other agent to export the merchandise out of the country. 20. SCHEDULE B DESCRIPTION OF COMMODITIES – Use columns 22 - 24 to enter the commercial description of the commodity being exported, its schedule B number, the quantity in schedule B units, and the shipping weight in kilograms. Enter a sufficient description of the commodity as to permit verification of the Schedule B CommodityNumber or the commodity
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description as shown on the validated export license. Include marks, numbers, or other identification shown on the packages and the numbers and kinds of packages (boxes, barrels, baskets, etc.). 21. D/F OR M – DOMESTIC EXPORTS (D): merchandise that is grown, produced, or manufactured in the country (including imported merchandise which has been enhanced in value or changed from the form in which imported by further manufacture or processing in the United States). FOREIGN EXPORTS (F): merchandise that has entered the country and is being re-exported in the same condition as when imported. FOREIGN MILITARY
SALES (M): exports of merchandise that are sold under the foreign military sales program.
22. QUANTITY (SCHEDULE B UNITS) – Report whole unit(s) as specified in the Schedule B commodity classification code. Report also the unit specified on the export license if the units differ.
23. SHIPPING WEIGHT (kilograms) – (For vessel and air shipment only) Enter the gross shipping weight in kilograms or each Schedule B number, including the weight of containers but excluding carrier equipment. To determine kilograms use pounds
(lbs) Multiplied by 0.4536 = kilograms (report whole units).
24. VIN/PRODUCT NUMBER/ VEHICLE NUMBER – (For used self-propelled vehicles only). Report the following items of information for used self-propelled vehicles as defined in Customs
Regulations 19 CFR 192:1 (1) Report the unique Vehicle
Identification Number (VIN) in the proper format; (2) Report the
Product Identification Number (PIN) for those used self propelled vehicles for which there are no VINs; and (3) the Vehicle Title
Number.
25. VALUE – Enter the selling price or cost if not sold, including freight, insurance, and other charges to port of export, but excluding unconditional discounts and commissions (nearest whole monetary unit, omit divisions). The value to be reported is the exporter’s price or cost if not sold, to the foreign principal party in interest.
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26.
LICENSE
NO./LICENCE
EXCEPTION
SYMBOL/AUTHORIZATION – Whenever a Shipper’s Export
Declaration (SED) or Automated Export System (AES) record is required 27. EXPORT CONTROL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER
(ECCN) – You must enter the correct Export Control
Classification Number (ECCN) on record for all exports authorized under a license or License Exception, and items being exported under the “No License Required” (NLR).
28. DULY AUTHORIZED OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE – Provide the signature of the exporter authorizing the named forwarding or agent to effect the export when such agent does not have a formal power of attorney or written authorization.
29. SIGNATURE/CERTIFICATION – Provide the signature of the exporter (U.S. principal party in interest) or authorized forwarding or other agent certifying the truth and accuracy of the information on the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) the title of exporter (U.S. principal party in interest) or authorized agent, the date of signature, the telephone number of the exporter (U.S. principal party in interest) or authorized agent preparing the SED and who can best answer questions for resolving problems on the SED, and the email address of the exporter (U.S. principal party in interest) or authorized agent.
30. AUTHENTIFICATION – For Customs Use Only.
8. Ready for dispatch advice
Document issued by the supplier (exporter) informing the buyer
(importer) that the demanded products or representing the object of the contract are ready for expedition. (UN/ECE/FAL).
9. Despatch order
Document issued by the supplier (exporter) that initiates the products’ expedition process to the destination indicated by their buyer (importer). (UN/ECE/FAL).
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10. Despatch advice
A message specifying details for goods despatched or ready for despatch under agreed conditions.
The message enables a hierarchical description of the shipment, starting with the highest level (shipment) and ending with the lowest level (items). One can for example describe a container comprising 5 pallets, a pallet being composed of several large despatch units which themselves contain smaller despatch units. The traded units (any level of packaging agreed by the trading partners) are then specified.
It is however not mandatory to describe the hierarchical structure of the shipment. A simple and probably most frequent use of the message consists in specifying the items to be despatched and the relevant information per item (quantity, additional identification ...).
SHIPMENT

PALLET SNP1

2 PN1 SN1-SN2

3 PN3 SN6-SN8

PALLET SNP2

3 PN1 SN9-SN11

4 PN3 SN12-SN15

3 PN2 SN3-SN5

The following example is used to illustrate the different descriptive options of the Despatch Advice message. Options 1 through 4 are presented in an ascending order of complexity or completeness. A shipment consists of 2 pallets. The first pallet, identified by the serial number SNP1, contains 8 cartons. 2 cartons of product number PN1, 3 cartons of PN2 and 3 cartons of PN3. The cartons are individually identified by serial numbers ranging from
SN1 through SN8.
The second pallet identified by the serial number SNP2, contains 3 cartons of product number PN1 and 4 cartons of
99

product number PN3. The cartons are individually identified by serial numbers ranging from SN9 through SN15.
The shipment can be represented like this:
Please note that for easy reading, the product numbers (PN's) and the serial numbers (SNP's, SN's) have been shortened. In real transactions, standard EAN product numbers and the Serial
Shipping Container Code should be used. The message structure has been simplified with only the functional segments of the detail section presented.
Option 1:

Only product numbers and total shipment quantities are provided, no carton specific serial numbers are provided and no description of the shipment structure is given.
This option allows for the description of the shipment composition only in terms of products and total quantities per product. In this case the shipment is described as being composed of 5 units of
PN1, 3 units of PN2 and 7 units of PN3. Using this option, the message will provide no information regarding individual despatch carton serial numbers or the way they are organised hierarchically in the shipment, i.e. the shipment consists of two pallets, the first containing..., the second pallet containing...,.
Option 1 Detail Section of the Despatch Advice Message:
CPS+1'
LIN+1++PN1:EN'
QTY+12:5'
LIN+2++PN2:EN'
QTY+12:3'
LIN+3++PN3:EN'
QTY+12:7'

"Dummy" CPS segment
First line item; PN1
Quantity Despatched 5
Second line item; PN2
Quantity Despatched 3
Third line item; PN3
Quantity Despatched 7
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Option 2:

Product numbers and total quantities of the shipment are provided. Additionally, each carton is uniquely identified by a serial number. No description of the structure of the shipment is given. This option allows for the description of the shipment composition but ignores any hierarchical structure of the shipment. In this case the shipment is described as being composed of 5 units of PN1, 3 units of PN2 and 7 units of PN3. Additionally, each carton is uniquely identified by a serial number so as to distinguish cartons with the same product number, so that for example cartons PN1 will be identified with the serial numbers SN1, SN2, SN9, SN10 and SN11. This option does not provide information on how the groups of cartons are organised in the shipment, (i.e. in terms of pallets). Option 2 Detail Section of the Despatch Advice Message:
CPS+1'
LIN+1++PN1:EN'
QTY+12:5'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+SN1:SN2+SN9:SN11'
LIN+2++PN2:EN'
QTY+12:3'

101

"Dummy" CPS segment First line item; PN1
Quantity Despatched
5
Marked packaging with SSCC
Serial numbers of 5 cartons PN1
Second line item;
PN2
Quantity Despatched
3

PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+SN3:SN5'
LIN+3++PN3:EN'
QTY+12:7'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+SN6:SN8+SN12:SN15'

Option 3:

Marked packaging with SSCC
Serial numbers of 3 cartons PN2
Third line item; PN3
Quantity Despatched
7
Marked packaging with SSCC
Serial numbers of 7 cartons PN3

Description of the shipment hierarchical structure in terms of pallet content, with pallets uniquely identified. This option allows to describe the composition of the shipment in terms of the pallets it contains, each pallet uniquely identified by a serial shipping container code (SNP1 and SNP2). The message describes the composition of each pallet in terms of the cartons contained and in what quantity, per pallet.
Option 3 Detail Section of the Despatch Advice Message:
CPS+1'
PAC+2++201'
CPS+2+1'
PAC+1++201'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+SNP1'
PAC+8++CT'
LIN+1++PN1:EN'

1st CPS; no parent
Number of packages = 2 pallets type ISO 1
2nd CPS; first pallet; parent = shipment Outer packaging level, pallet type ISO 1
Marked packaging with SSCC
Serial number of 1st pallet
Pallet contains 8 cartons
First line item; PN1
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QTY+12:2'
LIN+2++PN2:EN'
QTY+12:3'
LIN+3++PN3:EN'
QTY+12:3'
CPS+3+1'
PAC+1++201'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+SNP2'
PAC+7++CT'
LIN+4++PN1:EN'
QTY+12:3'
LIN+5++PN3:EN'
QTY+12:4'
Option 4:

Quantity Despatched 2
Second line item; PN2
Quantity Despatched 3
Third line item; PN3
Quantity Despatched 3
3rd CPS; second pallet; parent = shipment Outer packaging level, pallet type ISO 1
Marked packaging with SSCC
Serial number of 2nd pallet
Pallet contains 7 cartons
Fourth line item; PN1
Quantity Despatched 3
Fifth line item; PN3
Quantity Despatched 4

Description of the shipment hierarchical structure in terms of the pallets and their content. Both pallets and cartons contained are uniquely identified by serial numbers.

This option allows to describe the composition of the shipment in a hierarchical nature. The shipment is identified as being composed of two pallets each identified by a serial shipping container code (SNP1 and SNP2). The message describes the composition of each pallet in terms of the units contained and their serial shipping container codes. Following the same hierarchical logic the message could go on to describe the composition of each carton in terms of its traded or consumer units. Option 4 Detail Section of the Despatch Advice Message:
CPS+1'

1st CPS; no parent
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PAC+2++201'
CPS+2+1'

Number of packages = 2 pallets type ISO 1
2nd CPS; first pallet; parent = shipment PAC+1++201'
Outer packaging level, pallet type ISO 1
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SNP1'
Serial number of 1st pallet
PAC+8++CT'
Pallet contains 8 cartons
LIN+1++PN1:EN'
First line item; PN1
QTY+12:2'
Quantity Despatched 2
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SN1:SN2'
Serial numbers of 2 cartons PN1
LIN+2++PN2:EN'
Second line item; PN2
QTY+12:3'
Quantity Despatched 3
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SN3:SN5'
Serial numbers of 3 cartons PN2
LIN+3++PN3:EN'
Third line item; PN3
QTY+12:3'
Quantity Despatched 3
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SN6:SN8'
Serial numbers of 3 cartons PN3
CPS+3+1'
3rd CPS; second pallet; parent = shipment PAC+1++201'
Outer packaging level, pallet type ISO 1
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SNP2'
Serial number of 2nd pallet
PAC+7++CT'
Pallet contains 7 cartons
LIN+4++PN1:EN'
4th line item; PN1
QTY+12:3'
Quantity Despatched 3
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SN9:SN11' Serial numbers of 3 cartons PN1
LIN+5++PN3:EN'
5th line item; PN3
QTY+12:4'
Quantity Despatched 3
PCI+33E'
Marked packaging with SSCC
GIN+BJ+SN12:SN15'Serial numbers of 4 cartons PN3
11. Advice for distribution of documents
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Document in which, the side required to issue a set of international commercial documents states the different consignees of the originals and copies of certain commercial documents, also indication the number fo copies to be transmitted to each of them. (UN/ECE/FAL).
12. Commision note
Document issued by the seller (exporter) stating the value of the commission, the percentage of the ivoice value or any other basis for calculating the commission owed to a commercial representative. (UN/ECE/FAL).

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FINANCIAL AND BANKING DOCUMENTS
1. Instructions for bank transfer
Document used by a client in order to give his bank instructions for a certain payment of an amount, in a certain currency, to a certain person or firm from a foreign country using a specified method or using a method chosen by the bank. (UN/ECE/FAL).
2. Application for banker’s draft
Form used by a client towards his bank requiring the issuing of a draft and indicating the value and the issuing currency for the draft, the beneficiary’s name, the place and country of the payment. (UN/ECE/FAL).
3. Collection payment advice
Document issued by a bank and informing its client about the results of covering or remitting a letter of credit. (UN/ECE/FAL).
4. Documentary credit payment advice
Document issued by a bank and notifying one of its clients concerning a payment using a letter of credit. (UN/ECE/FAL).
5. Documentary credit acceptance advice
Document issued by a bank and notifying one of its clients concerning the acceptance of a letter of credit. (UN/ECE/FAL).
6. Documentary credit negotiation advice
Document issued by a bank towards its clients notifying them concerning the negotiation of a letter of credit. (UN/ECE/FAL).
7. Application for banker’s guarantee
Document containing a clients application to his bank for the issuing of a guarantee in favor of a person or a firm from a foreign country, stating the amount, the currency and the special conditions of a guarantee. (UN/ECE/FAL).
8. Banker’s guarantee
Document committing a bank for the payment of a certain amount to a firm or a person, under special conditions (others than the ones indicated in Uniformous rules and usages) (UN/ECE/FAL).
9. Documentary credit letter of indemnity
106

Document issued by the benfficiary of a letter of credit, in which he accepts the responsibility of the un-execution of clauses or conditions of the letter of credit and commits to pay the amount received as credit, and also additional taxes or interest rates.
(UN/ECE/FAL).
10. Documentary credit application
Document in which a banck is requested to issue a letter of credit according to certain conditions. (UN/ECE/FAL).
11. Documentary credit
Document issued by a bank declarying to have issued such a document based on which, the beneficiary can get payment, acceptance or denial under certain conditions and after presenting the stated documents and eventually of the indicated dtrafts. The documentary credit can be confirmed or not by an another bank.
(UN/ECE/FAL).
A letter of credit is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking (it can also be revocable, confirmed, unconfirmed, transferable or others e.g. back to back: revolving but is most commonly irrevocable/confirmed) to a beneficiary against complying documents as stated in the Letter of
Credit. Letter of Credit is abbreviated as an LC or L/C, and often is referred to as a documentary credit, abbreviated as DC or D/C, documentary letter of credit, or simply as credit (as in the UCP
500 and UCP 600). Once the beneficiary or a presenting bank acting on its behalf, presents to the issuing bank or confirming bank, if any, on or before the expiry date of the LC, documents complying with the terms and conditions of the LC, the applicable
UCP and international standard banking practice, the issuing bank or confirming bank, if any, is obliged to honour irrespective of any instructions from the applicant to the contrary. In other words, the obligation to honour (usually payment) is shifted from the applicant to the issuing bank or confirming bank, if any. Nonbanks can also issue letters of credit, however beneficiaries must balance the potential risk of payment default.
107

The LC can also be the source of payment for a transaction, meaning that redeeming the letter of credit will pay an exporter. Letters of credit are used primarily in international trade transactions of significant value, for deals between a supplier in one country and a customer in another. They are also used in the land development process to ensure that approved public facilities
(streets, sidewalks, stormwater ponds, etc.) will be built. The parties to a letter of credit are usually a beneficiary who is to receive the money, the issuing bank of whom the applicant is a client, and the advising bank of whom the beneficiary is a client.
Almost all letters of credit are irrevocable, i.e., cannot be amended or canceled without prior agreement of the beneficiary, the issuing bank and the confirming bank, if any. In executing a transaction, letters of credit incorporate functions common to giros and
Traveler's cheques. Typically, the documents a beneficiary has to present in order to receive payment include a commercial invoice, bill of lading, and documents proving the shipment was insured against loss or damage in transit. However, the list and form of documents is open to imagination and negotiation and might contain requirements to present documents issued by a neutral third party evidencing the quality of the goods shipped, or their place of origin.
The English name “letter of credit” derives from the
French word “accreditation”, a power to do something, which in turn is derivative of the Latin word “accreditivus”, meaning trust.
S.‘The Application of the Letter of Credit Form of Payment in
International Business Transactions’ (2001) 10 Int’l Trade L.J. p.
37. In effect, this reflects the modern understanding of the instrument. When a seller agrees to be paid by means of a letter of credit, the creditor/seller is looking at a reliable bank that has an obligation to pay the amount stipulated in the credit notwithstanding any defence relating to the underlying contract of sale. This is as long as the seller performs their duties to an extent that meets the requirements contained in the LC.
One of the primary peculiarities of the documentary credit is that the payment obligation is abstract and independent from the
108

underlying contract of sale or any other contract in the transaction.
Thus the bank’s obligation is defined by the terms of the credit alone, and the sale contract is irrelevant. The defences of the buyer arising out of the sale contract do not concern the bank and in no way affect its liability. Article 3(a) UCP states this principle clearly. Article 4 the UCP further states that banks deal with documents only, they are not concerned with the goods (facts).
Accordingly, if the documents tendered by the beneficiary, or his or her agent, appear to be in order, then in general the bank is obliged to pay without further qualifications.
The policies behind adopting the abstraction principle are purely commercial and reflect a party’s expectations: firstly, if the responsibility for the validity of documents was thrown onto banks, they would be burdened with investigating the underlying facts of each transaction and would thus be less inclined to issue documentary credits as the transaction would involve great risk and inconvenience. Secondly, documents required under the credit could in certain circumstances be different from those required under the sale transaction; banks would then be placed in a dilemma in deciding which terms to follow if required to look behind the credit agreement. Thirdly, the fact that the basic function of the credit is to provide the seller with the certainty of receiving payment, as long as he performs his documentary duties, suggests that banks should honour their obligation notwithstanding allegations of misfeasance by the buyer. Finally, courts have emphasised that buyers always have a remedy for an action upon the contract of sale, and that it would be a calamity for the business world if, for every breach of contract between the seller and buyer, a bank were required to investigate said breach.
The “principle of strict compliance” also aims to make the bank’s duty of effecting payment against documents easy, efficient and quick. Hence, if the documents tendered under the credit deviate from the language of the credit the bank is entitled to withhold payment even if the deviation is purely terminological. The general legal maxim de minimis non curat lex has no place in the field of documentary credits.
109

All the charges for issuance of Letter of Credit, negotiation of documents, reimbursements and other charges like courier are to the account of applicant or as per the terms and conditions of the Letter of credit. If the LC is silent on charges, then they are to the account of the Applicant. The description of charges and who would be bearing them would be indicated in the field 71B in the
Letter of Credit.
Although documentary credits are enforceable once communicated to the beneficiary, it is difficult to show any consideration given by the beneficiary to the banker prior to the tender of documents. In such transactions the undertaking by the beneficiary to deliver the goods to the applicant is not sufficient consideration for the bank’s promise because the contract of sale is made before the issuance of the credit, thus consideration in these circumstances is past. In addition, the performance of an existing duty under a contract cannot be a valid consideration for a new promise made by the bank: the delivery of the goods is consideration for enforcing the underlying contract of sale and cannot be used, as it were, a second time to establish the enforceability of the bank-beneficiary relation.
Legal writers have analyzed every possible theory from every legal angle and failed to satisfactorily reconcile the bank’s undertaking with any contractual analysis. The theories include: the implied promise, assignment theory, the novation theory, reliance theory, agency theories, estoppels and trust theories, anticipatory theory, and the guarantee theory. [4] Davis, Treitel,
Goode, Finkelstein and Ellinger have all accepted the view that documentary credits should be analyzed outside the legal framework of contractual principles, which require the presence of consideration. Accordingly, whether the documentary credit is referred to as a promise, an undertaking, a chose in action, an engagement or a contract, it is acceptable in English jurisprudence to treat it as contractual in nature, despite the fact that it possesses distinctive features, which make it sui generis.
Even though a couple of countries and US states (see eg
Article 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code) have tried to create
110

statutes to establish the rights of the parties involved in letter of credit transactions, most parties subject themselves to the Uniform
Customs and Practices (UCP) issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. The ICC has no legislative authority, rather, representatives of various industry and trade groups from various countries get together to discuss how to revise the UCP and adapt them to new technologies. The UCP are quoted according to the publication number the ICC gives them. The
UCP 600 are ICC publication No. 600 effective July 1, 2007. The previous revision was called UCP 500 and became effective 1993.
Since the UCP are not laws, parties have to include them into their arrangements as normal contractual provisions. It is interesting to see that in the area of international trade the parties do not rely on governmental regulations, but rather prefer the speed and ease of auto-regulation. Documents that may be required for the documentary credit are: - commercial documents of quantitative, qualitative and value identification of the merchandise – external invoice, pro-forma invoice etc.
- transport documents: bill of leading, airway bill, expedition document etc.
- insurance documents: insurance certificate or policy
- documents proving quality, quantity and origin of the goods: quality certificate, warranty, certificate of origin etc. Denial of payment can be explained and motivated by presenting incomplete or incorrect documents, documentary credit expiral, delayed document presentation to the bank or delays in goods expedition.
Documentary credit types:
1.
according to the banking engagement: revocable – it is a simple promises of payment, not commiting the issuing bank. It can be modified or canceled by the issuing bank at any time and without the obligation of a previous
111

notification. The reason of such a payment is the importer’s wish to eventually reconsider his decisions in case there is reason for that. The issuing bank will act accordingly to the instructions given by the issuer. The essential condition is that the revocation should be executed before the goods’ expedition to the exporter. irrevocabile – the documentary credit involves the ferm commitment from the issuing bank to make the payment for the beneficiary, conditiond by the fact that the presented documents are strictly conform to the terms and conditions in the documentary credit. The irrevocable documetray credit has a widely spread use due to the low risk for the parties that can not modify it unilaterally and can not cancel it. This type of documentary credit can be confirmed or unconfirmed.
2.
according to the confirmation, an irrevocable documentary credit can be: confirmed – the firm commitment of the issuing bank is dobled by the commitment of athird bank – confirming bank. In case of the letter of credit modification, the confirming bank may or not accept the extension of the confirmation to the new modified documentary credit. un-confirmed – the issuing bank is the only one firmly commited to payment, the other banks intervene as mandataries in the name of the issuing bank without engaging to any ferm payment.
3.

according to the moment of the payment:
- immediate payment – the payment is performed at the moment of the documents’ presentation to the bank. Banks do not pay documents that do not comply to terms and conditions in the letter of credit.
- term payment
- delayed payment – it is performed at a future date mentioned precisely in the documentary credit document. Usually, it takes 30 to 60 days from the moment of the documents presentation. 112

- negotiating – envisaging to avoid certain disadvantages for the exporter, the issuing bank based on the instructions of the issuer, may authorize an other bank to negotiate the documents. in this respect, the negotiating bank is paid a commission, usually by the beneficiary of the documentary credit.
- accepting – used for credit exports. At the same time with the documents, the exporter presents to the bank a draft or a set of drafts on a bank indicated in the letter of credit with certain deadlines. The bank accepts the drafts becoming principal debtor, returns them to the exporter and sends the documents to the importer. At deadline, the exporter presents the drafts to the bank and the bank pays them.
4. according to the location:
- the country of the exporter
- the country of the importer
- a third country.
The location of the documentary credit, meaning the establishment of the paying bank is important due to the promptness, the commission and other taxes. Normally, the documentary credit must be located in the exporter’s country. The commission and other taxes of a documentary credit located in a foreign country are due to the benefeiciary, execepting the notification and confirmation commission supported by the importer. 5. according to its clauses:
- transferable – the documentary redit may give the beneficiary the right to require the bank to make the document payable completely or partially for one or more beneficiaries.
Such a documentary credit is used in interediation where the beneficiary of the documentary credit is an intermediary and the second beneficiary is the real exporter.
- red clause – the paying bank is authorized to make the payment in favor of the beneficiary before this one presents the documents proving the goods expedition. Payment may be in
113

advanced or may be equal to the documentary credit amount. The amount thus obtained can be used by the exporter to buy the goods or certain components. At the deadline stated in the documentary credit, the beneficiary delivers the goods and presents the documents to the bank being paid the difference.
- revolving – the value of the documentary credit revolves automatically as the payments are performed according to a certain level according to each delivery. It is used for large value conracts, with scheduled deliveries. The value of the documentary credit is given by a certain delivery and consequently, the banking taxes are lower.
6. according to combined usage:
- back-to-back – two types of letters of credit: an export one and an import one correlated in value and in time by an intermediary. There are to types of back-to-back letters of credit:
· accordant – when the issuing of a subsidiary documentary credit requires the same documents as the original one. - unaccordant – when the original documentary credit, after the change of the invoice or the draft, can not be used with the necessary documents for the subsidiary one.
- of compensation – containing a clause that does allows the use of the exporting documentary credit only in correlation to the import one. The combination of the to letters of credit containing such clauses, partners involved in compensation operations make sure that if one of them will not deliver the goods in compensation, the other one will receive from the bank the difference in an amount of money.
- leased – the beneficiary of a documentary credit is entitled that a part or to the whole value to be leased to a third – the lease beneficiary, most often the real exporter.
From the exporter’ point of view, the best documentary redit – lowest in risk – is:
- irrevocable – not to be modified or canceled;
- confirmed – beneficiates of a another bank’s guarantee;
- is located in the exporter’s country;
114

- is paid immediately.
12. Documentary credit notification (Notificarea acreditivului)
Document issued by a bank as notification of receipt, transmission of the documentary credit to a beneficiary or bank that gives notification of receipt. (UN/ECE/FAL).
13. Documentary credit transfer advice (Aviz de transferabilitate al acreditivului)
Document issued by a bank and notifying the parties of a contract that a documentary credit (or part of it) will or has been transferred in favor of a a second beneficiary. (UN/ECE/FAL).
14. Documentary credit amendment advice (Aviz de modificare a acreditivului)
Document issued by a bank and notifying that certain clauses or documentary credit conditions have been changed.
(UN/ECE/FAL).
15. Banker’s draft (Trata)
A banker's draft (also called a bank cheque) is a cheque (or check) where the funds are taken directly from the financial institution rather than the individual drawer's account. A normal cheque represents an instruction to transfer a sum of money from the drawer's account to the payee's account. When the payee deposits the cheque into their account, the cheque is verified as genuine (or
'cleared', a process typically taking several days) and the transfer is performed (usually via a clearing house or similar system). Any individual or company operating a current account (or checking account) has authority to draw cheques against the funds stored in that account.
However, it is impossible to predict when the cheque will be deposited after it is drawn. Because the funds represented by a cheque are not transferred until the cheque is deposited and cleared, it is possible the drawer's account may not have sufficient funds to honour the cheque when the transfer finally occurs. This dishonoured or 'bounced' cheque is now worthless and the payee receives no money, which is why cheques are less secure than cash. 115

By contrast, when an individual requests a banker's draft they must immediately transfer the amount of the draft (plus any applicable fees and charges) from their own account to the bank's account. (An individual without an account at the issuing bank may request a banker's draft and pay for it in cash, subject to applicable anti-money laundering law and the bank's issuing policies.) Because the funds of a banker's draft have already been transferred they are proven to be available; unless the draft is a forgery or the bank issuing the draft goes out of business before the draft is deposited and cleared, the draft will be honoured. Like other types of cheques, a draft must still be cleared and so it will take several days for the funds to become available in the payee's account. (UN/ECE/FAL).
16. Bill of exchange (Cambie)
A bill of exchange or "Draft" is a written order by the drawer to the drawee to pay money to the payee. The most common type of bill of exchange is the cheque, which is defined as a bill of exchange drawn on a banker and payable on demand. Bills of exchange are used primarily in international trade, and are written orders by one person to his bank to pay the bearer a specific sum on a specific date sometime in the future. Prior to the advent of paper currency, bills of exchange were a more significant part of trade. They are a rather ancient form of instrument
(UN/ECE/FAL).
17. Promissory note (Bilet la ordin)
A promissory note is a written promise by the maker to pay money to the payee. The most common type of promissory note is a bank note, which is defined as a promissory note made by a bank and payable to bearer on demand. Through promisory note a person i.e. maker (drawer) promise to pay the payee (beneficiary) a specific amount on a specified date without any condition. So the important points in a promissory note are 1) it is unconditional order 2) a specific amount 3) payable to the order of a person or on demand 4) payable on a specified date.

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INSURANCE DOCUMENTS
1. Insurance certificate (Certificat de asigurare)
Document issued by an insurance firm (agent) confirming the agreement unpon an insurance and the issuing of an insurance policy. This is especially applicable to special cargos and when the cargo is insured using a floating or opened policy; at the request of the insured firm, this can be exchanged against a policy.
(UN/ECE/FAL).
2. Insurance policy (Poliţa de asigurare)
Document issued by an insurance agent as proof of the acceptance to insure. It contains the agreement through which the insurance firm commits to compensate with a determined amount the other parties for the loss derived from risks and accidents mentioned in the insurance contract. (UN/ECE/FAL).
3. Insurance declaration sheet. (Borderou sau foaie de declarare pentru asigurare)
Document used by an insurance agent in ordert o communicate the insurance firm the detailed description of different shippings
(deliveries) that are covered by the insurance contract – or a floating policy between the parties. (UN/ECE/FAL).
4. Insurer’s invoice (Factura asiguratorului)
Document issued by the insurer in order to indicate the price of the contracted insurance and soliciting the payment of the insurance (UN/ECE/FAL).
5. Cover note (Notă de acoperire)
Document issued by an insurer (broker, insurance agent) in order to notify the insured that his instructions for the execution of the insurance have been executed (UN/ECE/FAL).

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TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS
1. Universal (multipurpose) transport document (Document de transport universal (polivalent))
Transport document consisting in a contract for goods transport using a certain transport mode, on the territory of one or more countries based on international conventions or national legislation applicable according to the transport conditions of the carrier or transport operator. (UN/ECE/FAL).
2. Goods receipt, carriage (Confirmare de primire a m`rfurilor (pentru transport) = Proces-verbal de predareprimire) 12-10-5
Document issued by a carrier or by the carrier’s agent in order to confirm the receiption of the goods, in order to be transported in the conditions mentioned in the document, and that allow the carrier to issue a transport document. (UN/ECE/FAL).
3. Sea way bill (Liner way bill, Ocean way bill) (Scrisoare de transport maritim (nave de linie, transport oceanic))
Negociable document consisting in a seaway transport contract for goods and that states the reception of the goods by the carrier, document engaging the carrier to deliver them to the specified recipient (UN/ECE/FAL).
Note: Sinonimous „the direct sea way bill” or „negociable” used under certain circumstances (eg: Canada and the USA).
4. Bill of lading (Conosament 12-3-11 (CEE/ONU))
Document consisting in a contract for sea transport of goods and confirming the reception and the loading of the goods by the carrier. Through this document, the carrier commits to deliver the goods to the destination against document remission. The specification in the document of a clause stating that goods must be delivered at the demand of a certain person or of the carrier also represents an engagement (Conference of the United Nations for Seaway Transport). The Bill of leading is decisevly important in the payment of the goods this document represent. It makes certain proof of the loading of goods on-board of the vessel and symbolicly represents the cargo, the posesion of the bill of leading is equivalent to the posesion of this cargo. The Bill of leading is
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usually issued in several orginals (minimum 2) and several negociable copies. Indifferent of the number of originals of a bill of leading, only one of them can produce the leagal effects of the cargo reliese – the one first presented to the capitain of the vessel in the off-loading port. From that moment on, all the originals become null. From the point of view of the transfer of the property right, bill of leading can be nominal, at carrier or at order.
5. Mate’s receipt (Chitanţa căpitanului (pentru primirea mărfurilor la bord) = Chitanţa căpitanului) (CEE/ONU)
Document issued by the captain of a vessel and certifying that a certain quantity of a cargo has been loaded and describing the apparent state of the goods. This allows the carrier to issue the bill of leading (UN/ECE/FAL).
6. Rail consignement note (generic term) (Scrisoare de trăsură feroviară (termen generic))
Transport document constituting an un-signed contract between the shipper and the carrier (railway agent) for the transport of goods. Note: in international railway traffic, this document must be in accordance to the model in international conventions for railway transfort of goods: CIM Convention and SMGS (GTI) convention.
7. Road list – SMGS (Lista de însoţire SMGS)
Accounting document accompanying the cargo throughout the transport (one copz for every railway consignment note).
(UN/ECE/FAL).

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Part 2
Business Communication
The need for effective communication has been recognised for centuries. In parallel with the increase of commerce, people started paying more and more attention to some other activities related to it. Preoccupation for business communication led, for instance, to the introduction of business administration and letter writing as formal university courses in Florence (Italy) in the early
15th century.
Over the years, developing adequate oral and written communication skills has become a major objective of any training course in business.
Today, rarely can you read an advertisement for jobs in business for which “good communication skills” is not mentioned as a professional requirement.

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2.1.

Nature and Scope of Communication
2.1.1.Introduction

Achieving success in workplace is closely associated with the ability to communicate effectively, both in the workplace and with outsiders. Unlike in the past, today we face a highly volatile world where everything is in a state of flux. Most of the changes associated with this transformation revolve around the processing and communication of information. A number of communication challenges exist at workplaces. Identifying a problem, arriving at an appropriate solution, supervising work, co-ordinating various functions, co-ordinating people and their activities, developing products and services, and developing relationships-all these activities call for effectiveness and efficiency in communication.
This chapter aims at providing an insight into the process, certain basic concepts, and the importance of communication in business. 2.1.2. Definitions
Communication is the process of exchanging information, usually through a common system of symbols.
It takes a wide variety of forms from two people having a face-to-face conversation to hand signals to messages sent over the global tele-communication networks. The process of communication facilitates interaction among people; without it, we would be unable to share our knowledge or experiences with anybody else. Common forms of communication include speaking, writing, gesturing, and broadcasting.
The word 'communication' has a rich history. The term communication comes from the Latin word communicare that entered the English language in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. It is difficult to define communication. The Latin root
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word communicare has three possible meanings, which are as follows. 1. 'to make common', which is probably derived from meaning number 2 or 3
2. cum + munus, i.e., having gifts to share in a mutual donation
3. cum + munire, i.e., building together a defence, like the walls of a city
Therefore, communication means to inform, tell, show, or spread information. When a person communicates, he/she establishes a common ground of understanding. In the organizational context, it brings about unity of purpose, interest, and effort. Communication can also be defined in the following ways:  The process by which information and feelings are shared by people through an exchange of verbal and non-verbal messages  The successful transmission of information through a common system of symbols, signs, behaviour, speech, writing, or signals
 The creation of shared understanding through interaction among two or more agents
Communication depends on the interpretation of a message by the listener. Shared understanding evolves through detection and correction of misunderstandings (as opposed to a one-way transmission of data). The understanding created through one communication cycle can never be absolute or complete. It is an interactive and ongoing process in which common ground, Le., assumed mutual beliefs and mutual knowledge, is accumulated and updated. Or e I
2.1.3. The Mehrabian Model
Professor Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of
Psychology, UCLA, is a pioneer in the field of understanding communications. Mehrabian established the following statistics, which have now become a classic, for the effectiveness of spoken
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communication:
 7% of meaning is in the words that are spoken.
 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the manner in which the words are said).
 55% of meaning is conveyed through facial expression. This model, though widely referenced in communications, should not be oversimplified or used indiscriminately to cover all manner of situations. While it serves to underline the importance of non-verbal factors in a communication situation, it is important to consider the context of the communication when applying this model. Mehrabian's research concluded that 93% of the meaning inferred by the people in the experiment could indeed be accounted for by factors such as style of speaking, tone, facial expression and body language. However, this is not a hard-andfast rule that can be applied across the board to any form of communication. For example, if the study was conducted with face-to-face communications, the conclusions it arrived at would be unreliable in the case of written or telephone communications, where without visual clues, the chances for miscommunication are even greater. A fair way then, to apply this model to modern communications where visual inputs are absent (telephone, email, memos), is to infer that in the absence of visual signs, even greater care needs to be exercised while communicating.
With the Mehrabian model as a reference point, one can understand why briefly written e-mails or memos so often cause offence or result in the lack of understanding. However, this does not mean that all written communications, due to lack of visual inputs, are inevitably ineffective. For instance, legal documents, written contracts, public notices, when well written convey their meaning in no uncertain terms, using only written words. When we see a sign, such as 'NO ENTRY' or 'VISITORS ONLY', we understand the meaning perfectly well, even though we may not understand the reason for such communication. In telephone
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communication, words and tone of voice are conveyed, bur facial expressions are missing. If, the telephone discussion is of a sensitive or emotional nature, Mehrabian's model shows up its disadvantages. This conclusion cannot be extended to all telephonic communication and say that without facial expressions; only 45% of the meaning can be conveyed successfully. For example, if one is calling home to ask for the address of a friend, this form of communication is perfectly adequate. It is also far more efficient and cost effective than to drive all the way back just to ask the question directly and receive an answer face to face.
Thus, it is more than clear that the Mehrabian model gives us tremendous insight into the nature of human communication and helps explain the importance of careful and correct communication. The basic principles can be used as a guide and an example. However, it should not be blindly applied to every communication situation.
2.1.4. Types of Communication
The particular forms of communication can be classified as following:
1. according to the form of communication
a. verbal communication
b. written communication
c. nonverbal communication, different from the written one. 2. according to the manner of communication
a. direct communication
b. indirect (mediated) communication
3. according to the relationship with the exterior
a. internal communication which can be
- vertical; ascendant or descendant
- horizontal
- oblique.
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or from the point of view of the involvement of certain hierarchical levels internal communication can also be:
- intra-hierarchical communication (intra or inter/- departmental)
- inter-hierarchical communication.
b. external communication
- with economic partners
- with social partners (unions, associates, local organizations, public opinion)
- with political partners (local administrations, political parties, central administration)
4. according to the number of persons involved, communication can be:
a. inter-personal
b. intra-personal
c. inside a small group
d. mass communication
e. global communication.
5. according to the personal space, communication can be:
a. intimate communication
b. personal communication
c. social communication
d. public communication
6. according to territory:
a. immediate communication
b. local communication
c. regional communication
d. national communication
e. international communication
7. according to the frequency of communication
a. permanent communication
b. periodical communication
c. occasional communication
8. according to the status of the persons or the position of the institutions involved, communication can be:
a. official
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b. un-official
9. according to the importance level:
a. low level communication
b. average communication
c. strategic communication.
10. according to the reference area:
a. political communication
b. economic communication
c. social communication
d. cultural communication
e. technical communication.
Most of the communication types mentioned above do not need any further explanations. Few of them still need some details in order to be clarified.
One way to define inter-personal communication is to compare it with other types of communication. It differs from the other forms of communication in the small number of participants, their physical proximity, and the use of relatively high number of sensorial channels. Non-verbal communication involves the use of other means apart from the written language or the voice. Here we can include: kinetic communication (using body movements, gestures, look, face expression etc.), object communication, colour communication. Face expression refers to mimic, smile, and sight. The forehead may thus express preoccupation, anger, frustration, lifted eyebrows can express wonder, surprise, the lips pressed may express uncertainty, hesitation, hiding information.
The smile is a very complex gesture. The interpretation of the smile varies with the culture and it is closely connected to the specific assumptions concerning inter-human relation in that culture. The sight, looking, or not looking at someone may have a certain significance. Looking may confirm the recognition of his/her presence. A direct look may mean honesty and intimacy, but in some cases, it may be a threat. Generally, an insistent look may bother. Avoiding to look at someone may mean hiding feelings, lack of comfort, guilt or ignorance.
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Here are some examples of gestures’ significance:
- open arms mean honesty and acceptance,
- fist closed means hostility, pride or determination, according to context,
- the hand covering the mouth means nervousity, and hiding things,
- hands kept behind the back mean superiority, control,
- the vertical movement of the head mean approval in most cultures (with the exception of Bulgaria and Sri
Lanka where they mean negation), this gesture is also neutral in the US, and an insult in Asian countries.
The body position, the posture communicates the social status of an individual, thus it represents a way in which people report to each other.
The body movement can be:
- lateral denoting a good communicator
- front- back, denoting an action man,
- vertical, denoting a convincing person.
Communication using objects – involves the use of material objects such as clothing, furniture, architecture aiming to voluntarily or involuntarily transmit certain messages.
Communicating through colours – means communications trough elements representing a mirror of the individual’s personality, and influencing the results of communication. Bright colours are chosen by action and communicative persons, and the pale ones by the timid ones. For Europeans, black is a sad colour, while for the Japanese and Chinese, the colour expressing sadness is white.
Intimate communication involves the existence of a contact zone closer to half a meter. Exaggerate closeness expresses threat, need of confidentiality, strictly personal nature; excessive distance may express arrogance, superior social status. Here we can make the difference between two types of communication: classic, traditional one, where proximity is physical and electronic communication where intimacy can exist without actual physical closeness. 127

2.1.5. Business Communication
An organization is a group of persons constituted to achieve certain specific objectives. The achievement of these objectives largely depends upon proper co-ordination and integration of human effort in an organization. The people working in an organization are interrelated; their activities are also interrelated because they are performed to achieve common organizational objectives. Co-ordination and integration of various human activities is possible only if there is an effective system of communication in the organization which provides for exchange of information and sharing of various ideas. The more effective the system of communication, the better the relations between workers and between workers and the management.
Communication is the flow of information and understanding from one person to another at the same level or at different levels. It is a process which enables management to allocate and supervise the work of the employees. The effectiveness of the management largely depends upon the effectiveness of their communication. Communication system is the medium through which an organization adapts to its environment. It not only integrates the various sub-units of an organization but also, in a systematic sense, serves as an elaborate set of interconnected channels designed to sift and analyse information imported from the environment. It also exports processed information to the environment. As an organization grows in size, complexity, and sophistication, the role of communication also undergoes a change, and it becomes more critical to organizational functioning. It, therefore, becomes necessary to upgrade the system according to the needs of the organization from time to time. Communication keeps the workers informed about the internal and external happenings, which helps them in accomplishing their respective tasks and are also of interest to the organization. It co-ordinates the efforts of the members towards achieving organizational objectives. It also
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influences the actions of a person or a group. Communication is necessary to facilitate meaningful interaction among human beings in order to initiate, execute, accomplish, or prevent certain actions. Though business communication is a specialized branch of general communication, there is no basic difference between the two. The process is the same and so are the principles that regulate them. The difference lies in their application to situations. Whereas general communication plays diverse roles, business communication is specifically concerned with welldefined business activities.
There are two types of business activities-internal and external. Internal activities include: maintaining and improving the morale of employees, giving orders to workers, prescribing methods and procedures, announcing policies and organizational changes, and keeping the management informed. External activities relate to sale and purchase of goods and services, rep9rting to the government and the shareholders on the financial condition and business operations, and creating a favourable business climate. Every activity, internal or external, leads to some result. Therefore, the main purpose of business communication is to obtain some results, i.e., to secure an action by the receiver. The sender expects the receiver to do something on receiving the message-write a cheque, place an order, approve an action, send some information, etc. To achieve this purpose, the language used should be direct, plain, and concise, and the style should be able to draw attention, arouse interest or create desire, develop conviction, and induce action. The main features that lend business communication a distinct identity of its own are as follows:
 It deals with various commercial and industrial subjects.
 It is characterized by certain formal elements, such as commercial and technical vocabulary, the use of graphic and audio-visual aids, and conventional formats.
 It is impartial and objective as extreme care is taken to convey information accurately and concisely.
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

It details complex "writing techniques and procedures.
Effective
Business
Communication
Business communication becomes effective only when the language used is effective, the message conveyed is dear, and the predetermined purpose is achieved. Hence, effective business communication can be defined as the use of effective language to convey a clear business message to achieve a predetermined objective.
Characteristics of Business Communication
 A two-way traffic: Since communication is an exchange of views, opinions, directions, etc., it is a two-way traffic. It moves upwards and downwards. Messages, directives, opinions, etc., are communicated upwards, i.e., from workers (lower level) to management (higher level), as well as downwards, from the management to the workers.
George Terry has rightly remarked, 'simply talking or writing, without regard to the recipients' response, is conducive to misunderstanding.' Thus, communication should be both ways.
 Continuous process: Communication is a continuous process. More often than not, it is repeated to achieve the desired results.
 A short-lived process: The process of communication is complete as soon as the message is received and understood by the receiver in the right perspective. Hence, it is a short-lived process.
 Needs proper understanding: The basic objective of conveying a message is a proper understanding of the message by the other party. For this purpose, it should be clearly and concisely worded.
 Leads to the achievement of the organizational objective:
Effective communication does this by creating a sense of object orientation in the organization.
 Dispels misunderstanding: It leads to clear understanding between people and thus builds camaraderie among people. 130

Importance of Business Communication.
Communication is the most vital ingredient of an organization. In fact, an organization cannot be run without an effective communication system in place. It is widely known that the achievement of organizational objectives largely depends upon proper coordination and integration of human effort in an organization. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the inter-personal, intergroup, intra-group, organizational, or external level.
Communication is the essence of organizational effectiveness and acts as a social glue that keeps an organization together. In short, the ability of the executives to communicate effectively increases not only their own productivity but also the productivity of their organization.
Benefits of Effective Communication A manager's job is varied and complex. A manager needs certain skills to perform the duties and activities associated with his/her job. The three essential skills or competencies a manager should possess are: technical, human, and conceptual. Of course, the relative importance of these skills varies according to the manager's level within the organization. Human skill refers to the ability to work well with other people, individually as well as in a group. This skill is crucial, and is as important at the tOp levels of management as it is at the lower levels, since managers deal directly with people. Managers with good human skills-skills to communicate, motivate, lead, and inspire-can get the best out of their people.
Therefore, communication is intricately linked to managerial performance. Almost everything a manager does involves communication. He/she cannot make a decision without adequate information, and to obtain this information he/she needs to communicate. Once a decision is made, it needs to be communicated. The finest plan, the best idea, or the most creative suggestion cannot take shape without communication.
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Doing business is communicating. The problem raised is not the one of the existence of communication, but of “knowing how to communicate”.
The science of business is specialization like any other, only, tougher, more difficult, and pretty new. Business administration and communication is the latest news in business specialization. Communication, especially in business is one of the most influent types of activities on firms, groups or environments. Its main aim is to establish inter-personal or institutional relations tat may allow to define and reach the firm’s objectives. By means of communication, plans and schemes will be developed so that the objectives are reached , a favourable behavioural climate to good leadership, support and motivation is created.
Communication also represents a method to unite people inside an organization in reaching a common objective. No group activity can evolve outside communication. There are still series fo problems that may come up while initiating, transmitting and receiving information through the communication process.
Communication determines employees involvement in the organization, increases motivation and engagement in problem solving. Managers must communicate inside the organization on different hierarchical levels, both with individuals and groups, departments, suppliers, clients, banks, etc.
Both official and unofficial communication systems are necessary in order to evaluate and interpret information.
Communication capabilities represent the core of leadership abilities. Both horizontal and vertical systems are very useful in common concentration on a certain objective.
The general aim in organizational communication is to determine internal changes capable to generate inner and outside adaptation to these changes. The meaning of this objective is to influence activities in such a manner capable of a positive impact on firm’s situation.

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Thus, communication can be: internal vertical communication, horizontal, oblique or inter-departmental external communication: with economic and financial partners ( banks, clients, suppliers etc.), social partners
(unions,
professional associations, local communities etc.), political partners (local administration, political parties, central administration etc.).
External communication is based on internal communication. They cannot be separated and they influence each other. Presently, the business environment is very dynamic. The more technology advances, the communication quality decreases.
Thus, there is an indirect relation between the communications’ means evolution and the quality of the classic communicational process. In 1995, Boeing registered a real disaster from the point of view of a conflict duration – the mechanics’ strike. Boeing lost hundred of millions and encountered problems in clients’ relations due to deadline overdue for 36 airlines. Part of the problem was that while Boeing was preaching team work and productivity, the number of jobs was decreasing due to subcontracting for lower costs. This discordance determined tensions between unions and management. This is an example of lack of communication and communication underestimation.
The effects of such events have a double impact:
- on the internal environment (meaning on the activities and implicitly on firm’s financial results)
- on the external environment (on clients, suppliers and financial partners).
Business
communication depends on the environment/environments where the firm evolves. For example,
Romania, the lack of communication between the government and the business environment has been depicted and the solution for this problem is still searched for, even if there has been created the
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necessary legal background by putting away administrative barriers inside the business environment.
Another problem inside this communication environment is the one of the insufficient involvement of the business environment in governmental decisions concerning this business environment. Normally, the question is who influences who? The politic environment influences the economic one, or the other way around? The insufficient implication of the business environment may have two explanations: the first is the lack of interest in such a matter, and second, a more realistic one, consists in creating barriers preventing the business environment from participating.
Direct communication inside this environment should take place in the framework of a website using both Romanian and
English languages, and which should present the action plan envisaged. The lack of communication, in transmitting the necessary information leads to insatisfaction, tensions and problems from, employees, groups of interests, firms, etc.
One thing is essential: one organization is not capable to initiate and conduct proper communication on its own, it depends on several other structures, and these structures depend in turn on the organisation. Any action from the organization can not exist by itself and it has more or less influence on the activities of the other firms.
In order to avoid negative situations, the significant role of communication organizing, of the transmission of information necessary to all firms involved, and the use of communication as means of preventing and solutioning problems must not be neglected What is business communication?
The specificity of business communication derives from the nature of the situation in which communication is performed.
Thus, any communicative act established and performed in a business situation may be described as business communication.
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Since business situations are extremely varied, effective business communicators should have the ability to select promptly, from a large range of communication skills, the ones that will prove to be the most adequate for a particular situation and will serve their interests best.
Effective business communicators are the individuals capable to select those communication skills that will prove the most adequate for a particular situation and will serve their interests best.
Recent studies show the necessity to organise training courses for developing communication skills and critical-thinking skills in order to cope with:
 high technology
 competitive world
 demands of the modern economy written and oral communication skills
Generally, communication skills, and particularly business communication skills include:
 advocacy
 elocution
 oral response
 preparing formal reports
 writing business plans
 planning and writing strategies
The main purpose of teaching in the field of business communication is to change people's attitude towards acquiring these abilities and answering the question whether communication is an innate ability. Apart from the inborn communication and public speaking skills, the abilities can be educated, trained and stylised up to excellence. This can be achieved by means of documentation, practice and contact with the business environment.
The strengths of a good and skilled communicator are:
 knowing what to communicate
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 how to communicate to different people in different ways  having a system of measuring their performance
(how much they have progressed)
Business schools and courses teach both formal and informal skills in the field of business communication. This type of communication, just like general communication makes use of the specific language functions, such as explaining, analysing, making tactful refusals, communication expertise, persuading, making complaints, criticising tactfully etc.
In order to acquire a certain set of abilities associated with high performance in business communication, few skills need to be exercised. These skills include:
 the ability to express oneself
 the ability to use analytical/conceptual skills
 the ability to write and speak creatively
 the ability to empathise with the partner (social self) The abilities on which communication expertise is based on, may be easier and better developed if business people learn how to exploit the elements of the communicative act and the functions related to them.
In other words, in business communication involves exploiting the language functions1.
• Emotive function  ability to express oneself – induce a certain reaction; selection of vocabulary/structures/registers, etc) • Conative function  correct level of approach; to get the partner involved; use of vocatives/ polite forms of address/titles) • Emotive and referential function  ability to speak & write creatively; adequate reference to the business context = proof of increased creativity)
1

Ghiga G., Comunicare de afaceri in limba engleză, ASE, 2006

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Phatic function  empathy with the partner/ adapting to the partner Phatic communication/ Rapport  adequate use of those verbal and non verbal elements in order to create the atmosphere of sociability/ communion necessary to the development of co-operative relationships (business meetings
& negotiations)
Depending on the nature of the channel, business communication is either oral or written communication.
Oral communication is characterised by the following main features:  Reversible (bi-univocal relationship)roles of speaker & listener  open to linguistic varieties (regional, social varieties, dialectal items etc)
 negotiation of meaning (both partners contribute to the building of the meaning; "I mean", "What do you mean by?", "what I mean is …")
 the processing of information is spontaneous face-to-face communication (less elaborate, sometimes, faulty; repetitions; starts & re-starts; hesitations; fillers; redundant elements; non-verbal = paraverbal elements, violation of rules, feedback, more informal, etc)
 interactional and transactional - tends to establish and maintain relationship, to create a certain social atmosphere). In exchange, written communication is2:
 irreversible (univocal relationship)
 restrictive (standard language)
 the writer cannot change the meaning carefully elaborated - message; observance of rules (complex syntax, reduced repetition, precise, concrete vocabulary, lack of immediate feedback, more formal)
•

2

Idem

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

predominantly transactional (orientation towards conveying factual information)
Business communication requires the use of a certain strategy in order to be successful, reach its destination and purpose.

REFERENTIAL
POETIC

EMOTIVE

CONATIVE
PHATIC
METALINGUAL

Figure no. 1.
The language functions
The main business communication strategies are based on the following elements:
 the problem
 the objectives
 the reader/writer
 the order
 the format
The problem – assess the circumstances imposing the necessity to communicate (speak/write). This also describes the particular setting/background based on certain internal factors
(strengths, weaknesses) and external factors (state of competition, technological level, customers' attitude).
The objectives of the business communication are generally:
• to inform
• to get approval
• to get information
• to persuade
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• to give instructions
• to make complaints
• to notify
• to make adjustments
• to make proposals
• to congratulate and specifically: to give details and to support the general objective. Successful communicators use only one major objective for each piece of communication, make the message clear - taken into account promptly, followed by immediate action. The use of unclear objectives lead to misinterpretation, ineffective communication and additional action/waste of time.
Oral business communication is directed towards the audience, their needs and reactions, and every single element of the communication strategy is adapted to the type of audience and their reactions in order to get a positive feed-back and the desired results. The audience may be divided on certain categories such as: the general public, the expert audience, layperson - primary
(decision makers; action takers, etc) or secondary (people affected by the decision taken).
In both oral and written business communication, the order of presentation is essential for the outcome of the communication process. The order of the presentation represents the way in which selected information and data are arranged in order to achieve the desired objectives.
In written business communication (business letters) three order levels are relevant from this point of view - the overall message, the paragraph and the sentence.
The overall message: can be arranged - directly – most important ideas at the beginning of the message or indirectly – main objective at the end of the message. The choice of arrangement depends on the type of message, the objective and the relationship with the partner.

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The paragraph should be arranged in such a way as to emphasize a particular point and direct the reader's attention to this main point.
The topic sentence is the sentence carrying the core information, the sentence that all the other sentences will be related to. A well-written paragraph should be coherent (it follows a definite plan), developed (all sentences explain the main point), unified (all sentences should be relevant to the main point).
The sentences represents a selection and combination of words meant to achieve emphasis, to direct the reader's attention
The presentation of ideas in business communication follow a certain pattern concerning the subject-matter, or the object of the presentation: simple  complex, familiar  unfamiliar, known
 unknown, most important  least important, cause  effect, chronological etc.
The format – refers to the type of communication used oral presentation, memo, letter, note, fax etc.
2.1.6. Functions of Communication
Given the importance of communication in organizations, it is not surprising that managers spend as much as 80% of their time communicating, such as giving press interviews, reading reports, listening to employees' grievances, preparing proposals, etc, It will not be wrong to say that the growth and success of any organization can be gauged by the quantity and quality of information that flows through its personnel.
Communication serves four major functions in an organization: information, control, motivation, and emotional expression. Information
Information refers to the role of communication in facilitating decision making and problem solving. Managers, by means of adequate and effective communication, receive and transmit information that enables them to solve problems and make decisions. For instance, in case of a strike in an organization, it is
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the duty of the manager to call workers for interaction-listen to them, explain the organization's stand, etc. These communication activities enable managers to solve a problem in a better manner.
Likewise, when managers have to take any decision, say, whether a particular location is suitable or not for setting up a branch of their company, they need to go through the field reports and related documents before arriving at a final decision.
Control
In the organizational context, control refers to the power to influence people's behaviour. When the employees are required to comply with company policies and procedures, adhere to their job description, or first communicate their job-related grievances to their immediate boss, communication performs the control function. Similarly, when two managers do extraordinarily well in whatever project they take up and if some other manager teases them in an informal manner, and if it affects their behaviour in some way, the latter is not only communicating with the two managers but also controlling their behaviour.
Motivation
Motivation refers to the fostering of motivational spirit among the employees. Effective communication is needed in setting and defining clear goals, giving feedback on the progress made in achieving these goals, and reinforcing the desired behaviour. Consider the function of the vice president of a company in motivating his/her junior executives to accomplish a project related to setting up of a training division in the company.
The vice president should define the goal clearly at the first instance. Once some work is completed, along with giving feedback on the progress made, he/she should specify the steps for implementation. In all these tasks, communication plays an extremely significant role.
Emotional Expression
Finally, emotional expression relates to the function of communication in expressing or letting out the feelings and emotions of employees under various circumstances. Today,
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organizations depend on teams rather than individuals for achieving the set goals. Besides its other advantages, the teams have an in-built mechanism which provides the members an outlet to express their feelings of satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and frustration. This mechanism works entirely on the basis of communication. Consider the example of a team in a consultancy firm that has undertaken the project of preparing a code for export operations of another company. If some members of this team do not agree with a part of the code designed by some other member, they can express their dissatisfaction or disagreement to the team.
In this context, communication provides a release for their emotional expression.
All the four functions of communication discussed above are of equal importance in an organization. The members of a team need to:
 interact for making decisions;
 persuade be to perform effectively;
 exercise some form of control in order to check their behaviour; and be provided a means for emotional expressions in order to be free from the pent-up feelings.
Besides other factors, a person's communication skills are of phenomenal importance in today's dynamic and demanding workplace.
How well one communicates with one's superiors, peers, and subordinates is one of the crucial factors for success in the workplace. Contemporary corporate sector or for that matter any other professional world is changing dramatically. The work environment, the kind of jobs assigned, the tools used, and the people in the organization are undergoing dramatic transformation. Many of the changes and upheavals in organizations revolve around conceiving, encoding, transmitting, decoding, and receiving information. As a result, a person's communication skills acquire utmost importance in the changing business scenario. By now you would have got a fairly good idea of the importance of communication in general as well as in an organizational set-up. However, before going into the nuances of
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communication basics, it would be better to understand the role of managers in the workplace and what sort of communication activities they perform. An understanding of these roles will further asseverate the importance of managerial communication.
Roles of a Manager
Managers engage themselves in a large number of varied and short term activities. Figure no.2 depicts a categorization scheme, which helps in defining a manager's roles. These are primarily concerned with interpersonal relationships, and decision making.

Figure no.2
Manager’s roles
Interpersonal Roles
Every manager is required to perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature. While performing such duties a manager plays an inter-personal role for his/her organization. Sources may be individuals or groups outside a particular unit of his organization and may be inside or outside his organization. For example, a production manager obtaining information from the marketing manager of his/her company plays an internal liaison role. When the production manager
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confers with other marketing executives through a trade association, he/she plays the role of an outside liaison person.
Informational Roles
Collection of information by managers from organizations and institutions in their external environment indicates the informational role played by them. A manager becomes a monitor when he/she reads magazines, talks to others to learn the changes in the public's tastes, and what the competitors are planning, etc., with a view to collect information. The same manager becomes a disseminator when he/she acts as a conduit to transmit information to organizational members. However, when he/ she represents his/her company to outsiders and transmits information on company's policies, plans, actions, results, etc., he/she becomes a spokesperson
Decisional Roles
The decisional roles played by a manager comprise four subcategories. As an entrepreneur, a manager initiates and supervises new projects that will potentially improve the organization's performance. As a disturbance handler, he/she is their organization. For example, the role of a disseminator, figurehead, negotiator. liaison person, and spokesperson is practiced at the higher levels of the organization than at the lower ones. On the other hand, the role of a leader is 1110re important for lower-level managers than it is for either middle-or top-level managers. Similarly. a manager's role also differs according to the size of the organization. For example, the entrepreneurial role is least important to managers in large firms, whereas the spokesperson's role is extremely important to managers in small firms Different scholars have viewed the communication process differently and have, therefore, developed different models.
However: there is no disparity as far as the essential components of communication or its functions and nature are concerned. The communication process is carried out in a systematic manner, as given below and also shown in Figure 1.4
Step 1 Sender conceives an idea depending on the purpose
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of communication.
Step 2: Sender chooses appropriate symbols, and encodes the idea and formulates the message.
Step 3: Sender sends the message through a suitable channel (oral or written).
Step 4: Receiver receives the message.
Step 5: Receiver decodes the symbols, and comprehends, and interprets the message.
Step 6: Receiver sends response that is observed by the sender responsible for corrective action when his/her organization meets unexpected disturbances and crises.
As a resource allocator, he/she allocates human, material and financial resources. Finally, as a negotiator, he/she discusses and bargains with external groups to gain advantage over other organizations irrespective of the type of organization they work in or the level at which they work, managers perform similar roles.
However, the emphasis they give to the various roles changes with the change in their hierarchical levels and the size of The entire communication process takes place within a communicational environment which is also called communication context or frame of reference have meant a report prepared twice a month, whereas you may understand the same as a report prepared once in two months. After assigning some meaning to the message, the receiver may respond in the form of words, gestures, physical actions, etc. When he/she decides to send a response, he/she takes into consideration the general meaning that the response will carry. This process of replying involves the most complex workings of his/her mind. His/her ability is directly proportional to his intelligence and also the extent to which he/she applies his/her mind in this step of communication process. Once the receiver decides upon the response, he/she converts it into symbols and sends it. If he/she is engaged in oral communication, the response may be in the form of words or non-verbal means, such as gestures, facial expression, movement, touch, etc., or a combination of these. If the communication process happens in the reading or writing mode, the response may be in the form of
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words, diagrams, signs, or a combination of these. When the response enters the sender's sensory world his/her unique mental filter gives a meaning to the response and then another cycle of communication begins. The process may continue as long as two people wish to communicate.
Written communication also follows a similar process with some minor differences. These differences may be related to the creative effort, time gap between the two communication cycles, the number of cycles, etc. In fact, some written communication contexts may even end up with one cycle. For example, when vice president, marketing, of a company seeks some clarification through a memorandum from the vice president, sales, and gets the required response, the communication cycle is completed and it need not be repeated.
2.1.7. Basic Facts about Communication
To avoid misunderstanding and to achieve effectiveness in business communication, we should be aware of the following facts about the communication process:
(i) Without receiving, a response the cycle is incomplete.
(ii) Meanings received are not necessarily due same as the meanings transmitted. This is mainly because of the loss, distortion, or creation of symbols used in the process.
(iii) Meaning sent and meaning received is in the mind of the sender and the receiver-not in the words or other symbols used.
(iv) The symbols used in communication are imperfect. We may not find equivalent words in our culture for certain words used in othn ndtlllTS. Although these facts bring to light the difficulties, complexities, and limitations of communication, on the whole, we as human beings cannot live without it.
Communication Networks
Compare the following two communication situations:
First, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla
Group, announces new product plans to the stockholders of his
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company. Second, one day in the lunchroom, two office assistants of Aditya Birla Group gossip about their colleague whose services have been terminated recently. Though these two situations satisfy the essential steps of communication process and relate to the same organization, they differ significantly. The first describes a situation in which Mr Birla shares official information, which the stockholders need to know; the second one involves the sharing of an unofficial information about what is going on in the company. The former is known as formal communication while the latter, informal. As these are very common forms of communication in organizational set-ups, it is beneficial if one understands the ins and outs of formal and informal communication networks existing in organizations.
Organizations are often described in the way they dictate who major may not communicate with whom. The organizational structure of a workplace is the formally prescribed pattern of inter-relationships existing between its various units. This structure influences in many ways the various forms of communication in the organization. An organizational chart provides a graphic representation of an organization's structure and an outline of the planned, formal connections between its various units. Figure no.3 depicts the structure of a small part of an organization and an overview of the types of communication expected to occur within it. Each of the boxes shown in Figure no.3 represents a particular business function and the lines connecting the boxes represent the formal lines of communication between the individuals performing these functions. In other words, the lines indicate the flow of information in the organization or who is supposed to communicate to whom.
People in organizations communicate formally with those immediately above them and below them, as well as those at their own level. Formal communication between people several levels apart occurs rarely. However, in present times, such highly restricted hierarchical structures are giving way to more open forms of organizational structures.
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The nature of formal communication differs according to people's position in an organizational chart. Information about policies and procedures originates from executives and flows down through managers to supervisors and finally to lower level employees. vice
President

vice
President

Manager

Manager

Manager

Manager

Instructions and Directives

Information

PRESIDENT

Efforts of Co-oridnation

Source: M. Raman, P. Singh – Business Communication, Oxford University
Press 2007, p. 15

Figure no.3
Organisational structure and type of message
Many
organizations have formulated official communication policies that encourage regular and open communication, suggest means for achieving it, and spell out responsibilities. Official information among the people of an organization typically flows through formal channels. Figure no.3 clearly reveals that information flows in an organization in three different directions-upwards, downwards, and sideways.
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Upward Communication Upward communication refers to the flow of information from lower levels to higher levels within an organization, such as messages containing information, requests. reports, proposals, and feedback (suggestions, recommendations). Personnel officer of a company conveying the information regarding the continued absence of certain employees to his/her manager communicates vertically upwards. In the same way. when an employee in the production division of an industry expresses his/her grievances to his/her immediate superior, communication flows upwards.
Although we consider the upward communication as the logical opposite of downward communication, there are some important differences between them. These differences arise because of the difference in status of the communicating parties.
Some significant differences between upward and downward flow of communication are as follows:
 Upward communication occurs far less frequently than downward communication. For example, communication between a shop-floor worker and his/her supervisor occurs less than once a month. When people communicate upward, their conversations tend to be far shorter than the ones they have with others at their own level. This is mainly because of the difference in their status. The infor ther withholding or distorting information to avoid looking bad, the accuracy of the information communicated is bound to suffer.

Downward Communication Downward communication refers to the flow of information from the superiors to subordinates. In general, messages that flow through downward communication channels comprise information, instructions, directions, and orders, i.e., messages instructing subordinates what they should be doing. You may also find feedback on past performance flowing in a downward direction. When a company introduces a new policy or procedure, it sends the information using the downward channel. A sales manager, after going through the market surveys, may tell the members of his/her sales
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force what products they should be promoting. A production manager may instruct his/her subordinates about the operational details of a new production process. When formal information slowly trickles down from one level of an organization to the next lowest level through a downward communication channel, it becomes less accurate. This is more so when the information assumes spoken form. In such cases, it is not unusual for at least part of the message to get distorted and/or omitted as it works its way down from one person to the next lowest-ranking person.
When the message passes down several lines of hierarchy, there is a possibility of message distortion, as shown in Table no.2.
Table no.2
Extent of Message Distortion
Message
Amount of Message Passed
(%)
Written by board of directors
100
Received by vice-president
63
Received by general manager
56
Received by plant manager
40
Received by team leader
30
Received by worker
20
Source: M. Raman, P. Singh – Business Communication, Oxford University
Press 2007, p. 13

There may be various reasons for this distortion, which will be discussed at length in the section on 'miscommunication'.
Horizontal Communication In case of horizontal communication, messages flow not only up and down the organizational chart but also sideways. When communication takes place among the members of the same work group, among members of work groups at the same level, among managers at the same level, or among any laterally equivalent personnel, we describe it as lateral or horizontal communication. Messages of this type are characterized by efforts at coordination or attempts to work together. For example, vice president, marketing, has to
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coordinate his/her efforts with people in other departments while launching an advertising campaign for a new product. This necessitates the coordination of information with experts from manufacturing and production (to see when the product will be available) as well as those from research and development (to see what features people really want). While vertical different organizational horizontal communication involves people at the same level. Therefore, it tends to be easier and friendlier. It also is more casual in tone and occurs more frequently as there are fewer barriers between the companies, This does not mean that horizontal communication is without its potential pitfalls. Indeed, people in different departments sometimes feel that they are competing against each other for valued organizational resources, leading them [0 show resentment towards one another. When an antagonistic, competitive orientation replaces a friendly, cooperative one, work is bound to suffer. Transmitting messages through horizontal channels of organizational communication save time and facilitate co-operation, Lateral communication is more beneficial since strict adherence to the formal vertical structure for all communications can impede the efficient and accurate transfer of information. Horizontal communication plays a more significant role in organizations where the functions are decentralized, as there are increased possibilities of the gaps in communication among the various divisions.
Spiral or Diagonal Communication apart from t11e vertical-up. downs, and horizontal directions, communication also takes place in a circular or diagonal direction, If the management circulates the copy of a new bonus and incentive scheme among all the employees, it is circular, diagonal, or spiral communication. Sometimes, however, communication takes place between persons who belong to different levels of hierarchy and who have no direct relationship. This is used generally to quicken the information How, improve understanding, and co-ordinate efforts for the achievement of organizational objectives. Such a movement of information flow is termed as diagonal communication, 151

2.1.8. Tips for Effective Internal Communications
Downward Communication
1. Ensure that every employee receives a copy of the strategic plan, which includes the organization's mission, vision, values statement, strategic goals, and strategies about how these goals will be reached.
2. Ensure that every employee receives an employee handbook that contains updated personnel policies.
3. Develop a basic set of procedures for how routine tasks are conducted, and include them in the standard operating manual.
4. Ensure that every employee has a copy of the job description and the organizational chart.
5. Regularly hold management meetings (at least every two weeks), even if there is nothing pressing to report. If you hold meetings only when you believe there is something to report, then communication will occur only when you have something to say-communication will be one way and the organization will suffer.
6. Hold full staff meetings every month to report how the organization is doing, major accomplishments, concerns, announcements about staff, etc
7. Leaders and managers should have one-to-one meetings with employees at least once a week. Even if the organization has over 20 employees (large for a non-profit organization), the management should supervise the activities once in a while.
8. Regularly hold meetings to celebrate major accomplishments. This helps employees perceive what is important, gives them a sense of direction and fulfilment, and lets them know that leadership is all important.
9. Ensure that all employees receive yearly performance reviews, including their goals for the year, updated job descriptions, accomplishments, areas that need improvement, and plans to help them effect these improvements. If a non-profit organization has adequate resources (a realistic concern), it is better to develop a career plan with the employees.
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Upward Communication
1. Ensure that all employees give regular status reports to their supervisors. Include a section for what they did last week, will do next week, and any actions/issues to be addressed.
2. Ensure that all supervisors meet one-on-one at least once a month with their subordinates to discuss how it is going, hear any current concerns from them, etc. Even if the meeting is a chit-chat, it cultivates an important relationship between the supervisor and the employee.
3. Use management and staff meetings to solicit feedback.
Ask how is it going. Practice the round table approach to hear from each person.
4. Informal Communication: Communication in organizations goes beyond sending formal messages up, down, or across the organizational hierarchy. To get a complete picture of orgal1lzational communication one also must pay attention to informal communication information shared without any formally imposed obligations or restrictions.
Everyone is free to tell anything to anybody. Although it would be inappropriate for an office assistant to share his/her thoughts with a senior manager about matters of corporate policy, both parties may be perfectly at ease exchanging act on feedback from others. 5. Respect the grapevine. It is probably one of the most reliable forms of communication. Major 'movements' in any organization usually first appear when employees feel it safe to express their feelings or opinions to peers.
Supervisor and Employee Communications
Supervision includes designing a job, hiring someone to fill the job, training them, delegating responsibilities to them, guiding them via performance reviews, helping [hem develop their career, noting performance issues, and even firing them, if necessary. Obviously, small non-profit organizations may not be able to pay attention [0 all of these activities. However, there are
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several basic and regular activities, which provide a solid foundation for effective supervision. These basics ensure that everyone is working together towards a common goal. Ironically, these basics are usually the first activities that stop when an organization is in a crisis. Consequently, an organization development specialist, when 'diagnosing' the workings of an organization, often looks to see if these basics are being practiced.
The supervisor should conduct the following activities:
1. Have all employees provide weekly written status reports to their supervisors: Ask the employees to include the tasks undertaken in the past weeks, the tasks planned for the last week, any pending issues, etc., and date the repon. Preparing these repons may seem a tedious task, but they are precious in that they ensure that the employees and their supervisor have mutual understanding of what is going on. These repons come in handy for the purpose of planning. They also make the otherwise harried staff and managers stand back and reflect on what they are doing.
2. Hold monthly meetings with the staff Review the overall condition of the organization and review recent successes.
Consider conducting 'in service' training where employees rake turns describing their roles to the test of the staff For clarity, focus, and building morale, set an agenda and ensure follow-up.
Consider bringing in clients to tell their story of how the organization helped them. These meetings go a long way towards building a spirit of teamwork among the staff
3. Hold weekly or biweekly meetings with all staff together if the organization is small (e.g., under 10 people); otherwise, with all managers together: Have these meetings even if there is not a specific problem to solve; just make them sooner.
Holding meetings only when there are problems to solve cultivates a crisis-oriented environment where managers believe their only job is to solve problems. Use these meetings to give a brief overview to the employees of what they will do that week.
4. Facilitate the meetings to summon exchange of ideas and questions. Set an agenda, take minutes, and ensure follow-up.
See that each person brings his/her calendar to ensure proper
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scheduling of future meetings direct reports in one-on-one meetings. This ultimately produces more efficient time management and supervision.
5. Develop a basic communication plan: Planning your internal or extem21 communications efforts helps a great deal to develop a communications plan. either informally or formally.
While doing so consider the following questions:
(a) What key messages do you want to convey?
(b) To what key stakeholders do you want to convey the key messages (e.g., clients, funders, community leaders, service providers, etc.)?
(c) What is the best approach to reach each key stakeholder, including who! how should the message be conveyed? (d) How will you know if you are reaching these stakeholders or not?
2.1.9. Miscommunication
At the height of the Cold War, an offhand comment made by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to a British diplomat was translated as 'We will bury you'. According to linguist Alan K.
Melby, Khrushchev's remark, made in the context of a conversation about the competition between communism and capitalism, was essentially a restatement (in considerably more vivid language) of Marx's claim of communism's historic inevitability. Although 'we will bury you' is an acceptable literal rendering of Khrushchev's words, an equally accurate and contextually more appropriate translation would have been 'We will be present at your burial'. Such a rendering is consistent with
Khrushchev's comment later in the same conversation that communism did not need to go to war to destroy capitalism, since the latter would eventually destruct itself. In the United States, the common interpretation of 'we will bury you' was that we referred to the USSR, you meant the United States, and bury denoted annihilate. For many, especially those who viewed communism as
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a malign doctrine, the phrase became prima facie evidence of the
USSR's malevolent intentions toward the United States. The controversy over proper translation of Khrushchev's remark reveals a serious shortcoming of the encoder-decoder account of human communication. Although language is in some respects a code, in other respects it is not. The fact that 'we will bury you' could yield two equally 'correct' renderings that differed radically underscores the fact that humans do not use language simply as a set of signals mapped onto a set of meanings.
Although
all communication is subject to misunderstandings, business communication is particularly difficult as the material is often complex. Moreover, both the sender and the receiver may face distractions that divert their attention. Further, the opportunities for feedback are often limited, making it difficult to correct misunderstandings.
Communication barriers are not limited to an individual or two people only, they exist in the entire organization.
Miscommunication takes place when the message received is not the same as the message sent. The causes for miscommunication are many. Some significant causes for miscommunication are discussed below:
Organizational Structure All organizations, irrespective of their size, have their own communication techniques and each nurtures its own communication climate. In large organizations where flow of information is downward, feedback is not guaranteed. Organizations with a flat structure usually tend to have an intricately knitted communication network. Tall organizations generally have too many vertical communication links, as a result messages become distorted as they move through the various organizational levels.
Irrespective of the size, all organizations have communication policies that describe the protocol to be followed.
It is the structure and complexity of this protocol that usually gives rise to communication barriers.
Organizations not only employ the formal methods of communication but also the informal ones, such as grapevine.
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Today, organizations have realized that a rigid hierarchical structure usually restricts the flow of communication. When the process of communication is hierarchical, information flows through a number of transfer points, There is a strong possibility that messages may get distorted, delayed, or lost at these points.
To further overcome structural barriers, opportunities should exist for communicating upward, downward, and horizontally (using techniques like employee surveys, open-door policies, newsletters, memos, and task groups). An attempt should be made to reduce hierarchical levels, increase co-ordination between departments, and encourage two-way communication.
Difference in Status When people belonging to different hierarchical positions communicate with each other, there is a possibility of miscommunication. Generally, employees at lower levels of the hierarchy are overly cautious while sending messages to managers and talk about subjects they think the managers are interested in. Similarly, people of higher status may distort messages by refusing to discuss anything that would tend to undermine their authority in the organization. In other words, they may want to retain the importance of their status. This tendency is beneficial neither for the employees nor for the organization. Limiting oneself to a particular department or being responsible for a particular task can narrow one's point of view so that it differs from the attitudes, values, and expectations of people who belong to other departments or who are responsible for other tasks.
Miscommunication arising due to differences in status can be overcome by keeping the managers and the lower-level employees well informed. Employees should be encouraged to keep their managers informed by being fair minded and respectful of their opinions. They should be brave and convey even such information that the boss might not like lack of Trust Establishing credibility or building trust among subordinates or with colleagues is a difficult task. Subordinates may not know whether their manager will respond in a supportive or responsible way, and hence, it is necessary for the manager to ensure that they have
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faith in him. Without trust, free and open communication is effectively blocked, thereby threatening the organization's stability. You may be very clear in your communication, but that is not enough. People should trust you to accept or to freely discuss with you on what you communicate.
Barriers to trust can be overcome by being visible and accessible. Hiding or insulating behind assistants or secretaries will not help.
Closed Communication Climate
An organization's communication climate is influenced by its management style. A directive, authoritarian style blocks free and open exchange of information that characterizes good communication. To overcome barriers related to organizational environment, one should spend more time listening than issuing orders. Make sure you respond constructively to employees, and, of course, encourage employees and colleagues to offer suggestions, help set goals, participate in solving problems, and help make decisions. See to it that employees are willing to communicate both their problems and perspectives to you openly.
Incorrect Choice of Medium Choosing an inappropriate communication medium can distort the message and block the intended meaning. One should select a medium that suits the nature of the message and the intended recipient(s). Media richness relates to the value or importance of a medium in a given communication situation. It is determined by a medium's ability to convey a message using more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, or vocal) to facilitate feedback and to establish personal focus. Face-to-face communication is the richest medium because it is personal, it provides immediate feedback, transmits information from both verbal and non-verbal cues, and conveys the emotion behind the message. Telephones and other interactive electronic media are not as effective. Although they allow immediate feedback, they do not provide visual non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, eye contact, and body movements.
Written media can be personalized through memos, letters, and
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reports, but immediate feedback is missing along with the visual and vocal non-verbal cues that contribute to the meaning of the message. The leanest media are generally impersonal written messages, such as bulletins, fliers, and standard reports, They lack the ability to transmit non-verbal cues and to give feedback. They also eliminate any personal focus. The table given below summarizes the discussion on media richness.
The barriers that arise out of an inappropriate choice of media can be overcome by:
(a) choosing the richest media for non-routine, complex messages, (b) using rich media to extend and to humanize your presence to promote the employees commitment to organizational goals, and
(c) using leaner media to communicate simple, routine messages. Information Overload At rimes, people load their messages with too much information. Remember that too much information is as bad as too little because it reduces the audience's ability to concentrate on the most important part of the message.
The recipients facing information overload sometimes tend to ignore some of the messages, delay responses to messages they deem unimportant, answer only parts of some messages, or react only superficially to all messages. All these failures lead to miscommunication. To overcome information overload, as a sender, be focused, realize that some information is not necessary, and include only the pertinent information. Give some meaning to the information rather than just passing it on. As a receiver, set priorities for dealing with the information flow and do not get trapped in the sea of information.
Message Complexity There are two significant reasons for any message to become complex in a business setting-one, the dry and difficult nature of the message itself and the other, the difficulty in understanding it. For example, one may have to deal with subject matter that can be technical or difficult to express.
Imagine trying to write an important insurance policy, a set of
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instructions on how to operate a sophisticated LCD projector, the guidelines for checking credit references, an explanation of why profits have dropped by 10% in the last six months, or a description of some solid waste management programme. These topics are dry, and making them dear and interesting is a real challenge. When formulating business messages, you communicate both as an individual and as a representative of an organization. Thus, you must adjust your own ideas and style so that they are acceptable to your employer. In fact, at times you may be asked to write or say something that you disagree with personally. Suppose you work as a recruiter for your firm. You have interviewed a candidate who, you believe, would make an excellent employee, but others in the firm have rejected this applicant. Now you have to write a letter running down the candidate. Regardless of your personal feelings, you must communicate your firm's message, a task communicators find difficult. It also happens many a time that you may not be clear about what needs to be communicated. Suppose your boss asks you to give a briefing to all the employees on the newlyintroduced policy related to family pension, you may find it extremely complex unless you know the ins and outs of this policy thoroughly.
Of course, it is not difficult to overcome the barriers to communicating complex messages. Never Forget to ask For feedback, which is essential for clarifying and improving a message. Message Competition Invariably most of the business messages compete for the full and undivided attention of their receivers. This may happen at two levels intra-personal and interpersonal. If you are talking on the phone while scanning a report, both messages are apt to get short shrift. It may happen so that when you are the sender of a message, it may have to compete with a variety of interruptions phone rings every five minutes, people intrude, meetings are called, and crises arise. In short, your messages rarely have the benefit of the receiver's undivided attention. Such barriers are true for both oral and written messages. Avoid communicating to a receiver who does not have
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the time to pay attention to your message. Make written messages visually appealing and easy to understand, and try to deliver them when your receiver has time to read them. Oral messages are most effective when you take recourse to the face-to-face mode of communication rather than resorting to intermediaries or answering machines. Always set aside enough time for important messages that you receive, as you know that the sender and receiver keep changing their role in the communication process.
Unethical Communication Relationships within and outside the organization depend on trust and fairness. It does not mean that organizations should not be tactful. By all means it is possible for organizations to avoid illegal or unethical messages and still be credible or successful in the long run. Barriers arising out of unethical conduct may affect communication both within and outside the organization. Imagine a situation in which your colleague goes to your boss and takes credit for the success of a project, which in reality YOLI have accomplished.
Similarly, think about a leading company that has created hype about the potential process hoodwinked its prospective customers. These examples reveal that resorting to unethical means in communication may not drive you to success but to trouble. Make sure that your messages include all the factual information that ought to be there. Ensure that your information is adequate and relevant to the situation. Above all, make sute that your message is completely truthful, not deceptive in any way, and does not mislead the audience. Physical Distractions Recall the time when you delivered a talk to a large audience seated in a hall, which was poorly lit and inadequately seated. You might have observed that though you tried your best to attract the audience's attention through the various verbal and non-verbal means of communication, you found it difficult because of the shortcomings of the place. Communication barriers are often physical: bad connections, poor acoustics, illegible copy, etc.
Although noise of this sort seems trivial, it can completely block an otherwise effective message. An uncomfortable chair, poor lighting, or some other irritating condition might also distract
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your receiver. In some cases, the barrier may be related to the receiver's health. Hearing or visual impairment or even a headache can interfere the reception of a message. These annoyances do not generally block communication entirely, but they do reduce the receivers' concentration by distracting their attention. To overcome physical barriers, exercise as much control as possible over the physical transmission link. If you are delivering an oral presentation, choose a setting that permits the audience to see and hear you without straining. Communication can easily make or break an organization's effectiveness. Just think about the times when you or others misunderstood an oral or written communication. Most likely, you even passed on that message to others, believing it was correct and appropriate. Soon, too many people probably received an incorrect message.
Feelings could have been hurt, products could have been ordered incorrectly, manufactured the wrong way, or even cancelled-all of it by mistake.
To decrease the possibility of miscommunication, follow these four simple steps:
1. Consider seriously the recipients of your message.
Make sure that the key people who have to receive the written or oral message are included. Omit the people who lack veto authority, who do not need to be informed, who have no responsibility for the message or its results, who will not act on the message, or who should not have access to the information.
One way to ensure you have involved the right people is to think about who should have a say in the context. Make your decisions accordingly. 2. Think about how to send the message, i.e., should the mode be verbal or written. Verbal messages can be easily misinterpreted, especially when there are noises or distractions in the immediate surroundings; if the sender or receiver is anxious. uncertain, or fearful; if the words used are unclear; or if the message is complicated, detailed, unclear, and so on. Nonetheless, messages often do need to be verbal, such as those delivered on
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the phone, in a meeting, or while passing someone in a hallway.
In such cases, as a leader, you must ensure that the receiver correctly hears what you want him/her to hear. How do you do that? Do not ask the person if he/she heard you or understood you. The answer to both questions is almost always yes. Why?
Because no one wants the boss to think he/she is ignorant or was not paying attention, or that he misinterpreted the message. Ask the receiver to repeat, in his/her own words, what he/she heard you saying, just to ensure that both of you have understood the same message. Otherwise. ask the receiver what will be the most difficult, easiest, or complicated steps in carrying out the task.
3. Follow up your verbal message with a written statement. In a meeting, if you make an important planned statement, distribute a copy of that message. After a phone call, a brief encounter with someone, or a scheduled meeting, follow up the statements with a written communication of understanding or confirmation. 4. Finally, decide who can communicate with whom. As a leader, your goal is to combine simplicity with effectiveness.
YOLL want messages to come in and go our; you want the right people to receive them in an efficient and effective manner. This means deciding who speaks and writes to whom. Do all communications have to go through your office for approval before being sent? Who speaks to the world outside your organization, i.e., the public or the government? The managers or individual employees? Who communicates with or approves communication with other managers, departments, or sites? If all communications pass through your office, you will have direct and complete control over formal information. This is a very rime-consuming. bureaucratic, and control-oriented approach with clear drawbacks. The disadvantage, however, of allowing everyone to speak with everyone is that the company messages probably would not be uniform. Therefore, consider the risks before deciding how to handle company information.
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2.1.10. Effectiveness in Managerial Communication
By being effective, managers can create and establish a healthy organizational environment. They can bring about vast changes not only in the management employee relations bur also in the external and internal communication networks of the organization. Effective communication enables managers in moving towards better fictionalization of departments and successfully dealing with the complexity of business activities. A manager with good communication skills would certainly have an edge over others in dealing with and solving problems arising out of turbulence in trade unions and other disturbances among abjurers. He/she will be competent in facing inrer-cultural differences too. How to make managerial communication more effective? There are certain characteristics of managerial communication, an understanding of which would provide the managers with a proper perspective on effectiveness in communication. The factors that render communication effective are as follows:
1. Appropriate Communication Style: Every organization has its own culture, which is a reflection of its values, traditions, habits, and customs, Some companies tend to curb the upward flow of communication believing that it is time consuming and unproductive, whereas other companies foster candor and honesty, and employees feel free to confess their mistakes, ra disagree with their boss, and to express their opinions.
There are several factors that influence an organization's communication climate, including the nature of the industry, the company's physical set-up, the history of the company, and passing events. However, one of the most important factors is the management style of the rap management. Some managers regard workers as lazy and irresponsible, motivated by the fear of losing their jobs. Such managers adopt a directive style. On the other hand, some other managers adopt a more supportive style, assuming that people like co work and take responsibility when they believe in what they are doing. There is yet another set of
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managers who encourage employees to work together as a team.
Such managers adopt a participative style. Although the company still looks after employees, it also gives them the opportunity to take responsibility and to participate in decision making. The trend today is towards any style that encourages open communication climate. In such a climate, managers spend more time listening than issuing orders, and workers not only offer suggestions bur also help set goals and collaborate on solving problems. It expects special managers to create an open atmosphere and stay in touch with employees. Effective managers understand that free flow of information allows an organization co identify and arrack problems quickly. Therefore, to promote the right atmosphere, these managers get out of their offices, walk around headquarters, meet often with small non-management groups, and travel the country and the globe to visit their 'troops'.
To understand and to be understood by their work force, they learn other languages when necessary, and even though they prefer face-to-face conversations, they use high-tech means like video conferencing.
As the participative style promotes and establishes open communication climate, it is the best amongst the three styles of management. 2. Audience-cantered Approach: Managers need ra keep their audience in mind at all times during the process of communication. Their ability to empathize with, be sensitive to, and generally consider their audience's feelings is the best way to be effective in their communication. Focusing on the audience is the impetus for everything else they do in the communication process. For example, being clear and correct in their communication is important not only because it is ethical but also because it ensures that their audience has an opportunity to react to their message without having to sort out altered or incorrect language. Further, managers take every step possible to get their message across in a way that is meaningful to their audience.
They might actually create lively individual portraits of readers and listeners to predict how they will react. They might simply try
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to put themselves in the audience's position and might try to adhere strictly to guidelines about courtesy, or try to gather information about the needs and wants of their audience.
Whatever the tactic, the point is to write and speak from the audience's point of view. More than an approach to business communication, the audience-centered approach is actually the modern approach to business in general (it is behind the concepts of total quality management and total customer satisfaction). The advantages of using this approach include successful communication by making it meaningful for the audience, enhanced credibility (because our audience perceives our sincerity), and staving off uncountable ethical questions that managers want to know what their audience's needs are and what they think of their message, they will work for an open communication climate inside and outside their organization.
Because they sincerely wish to satisfy the needs of their audience, they will approach communication situations with good intentions and high ethical standards. Since they need to understand their audience, they will do whatever it takes to understand intercultural differences and barriers. Because they make a practice of anticipating their audience's expectations, they will choose the appropriate technological tools for their message and make the best use of them. Finally, because they value their audience's time, they will prepare and communicate oral and written messages as efficiently as possible. Hence, centering their attention on their audience helps managers accomplish the other five factors that contribute to the effectiveness of managerial communication. 3. Understanding of Intercultural Communication: With the phenomenal advancement in the field of science and technology, more and more businesses are crossing national boundaries to compete on a global scale, and the make up of the global and domestic work force is changing rapidly. The
European, and US firms are establishing offices around the world and creating international ties through global partnerships, cooperatives, and affiliations. It is necessary for these companies
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to understand the laws, customs, and business practices of their host countries, and deal with business associates and employees who are native to these countries. Even within their nation, firms are working with a growing number of employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. So, whether managers work abroad or at home, they will encounter increasing cultural diversity in the workplace. To compete successfully in today's multicultural environment, they have to overcome the communication barriers arising out of various differences in language, culture, business practices, etc.
Understanding cultural differences in perception, greetings, and gestures is critical to all business people. Success in business often depends on knowing the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of the host country. Ignorance in this regard and the mistakes committed may lead to miscommunication, which can cause businesses to lose their position in the market, keep firms from accomplishing their objectives, and ultimately lead to failure.
Today's managers must realize that it is not enough if they are able to speak a language, they must also be able to communicate effectively in various business situations.
4. Commitment to Ethical Communication: The term business ethics refers to the principles of conduct that govern a person or a group in any business enterprise. In general, ethical people are trustworthy, fair, and impartial. They respect the rights of others and are concerned about the impact of their actions on society. On the other hand, unethical people are essentially selfish and unscrupulous; they will say or do whatever it takes to achieve an end. Under the influence of competition and job pressure, business people sometimes make unethical choices. Despite all the negative publicity, the level of ethical awareness has risen over the last few years. Firms like Hewlett-Packard are making sure that every employee is familiar with the company standards for business conduct. Citicorp trains its employees using an ethics broad game to solve hypothetical quandaries. General Electric employees have access to interactive software that answers their
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questions on ethics. Texas Instruments employees get a weekly column on ethics through an international electronic news service.
Raytheon employees make some 100 calls a month to a hodine set-up to log complaints and ask about questionable behaviour.
Ethics plays crucial role in communication. Language itself is made up of words that carry values. So, merely by saying things a certain way, managers influence others' perception of their message, and can, thus, shape expectations and behaviour.
Likewise, when an organization expresses itself internally, it influences the values of its employees; when it communicates externally. It shapes the way outsiders perceive it. In ethical message, managers are accurate and sincere. They avoid language that manipulates, discriminates, or exaggerates. They do not hide negative information behind an optimistic attitude, do not state opinions as facts, and portray graphic data fairly. They are honest with employers. However, deciding what is ethical can be quite complex. Hence, managers should make sure that certain code of conduct is prescribed and the employees strictly adhere to the same. 5. Proficiency in Communication Technology: The everincreasing quantum of information to be communicated and the speed of communication are two explicit results of the everchanging technology that managers come across in their job.
Hence, to be successful, they have to ensure that they not only develop their ability to understand, use, and adapt to these technologies but also motivate their subordinates to adapt themselves to the technological tools of communication. The present-day technology is determining whom we communicate with, how frequently we communicate, and what son of devices we use to communicate. Increasingly, employees are finding computers at their workplace and are using laptops at home or during travel. Moreover, both employees and organizations are becoming increasingly accessible through fax, car phones, cellular phones, electronic mail, voice mail. and satellite communication,
Of course, the success of any business depends on words rather than on the technological tools used to manipulate those words.
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Nevertheless, today’s businesses operate at such a fast pace, communicate across such great distances, and demand such professional-looking documents that the managers are left with no option but to master the technological tools and processes necessary to compete. Irrespective of his/her designation, whether an entry-level employee, a manager, or a CEO, it is necessary for a professional to have access to the latest technological tools. For many such people, it means repeatedly adapting to new technologies and procedures. When a business purchases new computers or other new technologies, it expects to improve operations and increase productivity. However, because some employees are unable to adjust to new ways of performing work, some 30% of such new technologies either fail or are never used to their fullest potential.
Technology has already blurred the lines between organizational responsibilities. For example, word processing is now an essential tool for executives and no longer an exclusive domain of secretaries. Technology is also helping companies communicate more easily and effectively; for example, Ford and
Federal Express are successfully using satellite television to communicate with their employees. There is no doubt that technology is becoming evermore useful. For example, fiber optics and electronic bulletin boards will put workers in touch not only with other workers bur also with customers, clients, vendors, and regulators; satellites will improve shipment tracking so that businesses will know the location of every package and vehicle; and automated translations will help multicultural and international businesses overcome language barriers to improve intercultural communication.
6. Control Over the Flow of Communication: It is necessary for the managers to make sure that all communication messages flow efficiently across and outside their organizations. The sixth factor contributing to effective organizational communication is efficient flow of communication massages. If we consider the logistics of transmitting all the messages communicated, both within the organization and from the outside world, we will find
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that information does not flow efficiently because of several reasons, which are as follows:
 Information overload
 Lack of efficiency in preparing messages
 Lack of adequate training
All companies can keep the costs down and maximize the benefits of their communication activities by reducing the number of messages, by speeding up their preparation, and by training employees in communication skills.
7. Reducing the Number of Messages: One useful way to reduce the number of messages is to think twice before sending one. Only about 13% of the mails that executives receive are of immediate value, and not surprisingly, they tend to give it short shrift. They also tend to ignore many of the internal messages that are intended for them. In a study it was found that five CEOs received about 40 routine reports in five weeks and responded to only two of them.
Since organizations spend a lot of time and resources on producing letters and memos, they have to be concerned with how many messages they create. If an important message has to be sent, a letter or memo is a good idea. On the other hand, if it merely adds to the information overload, it is probably better left unsent or handled in some other way-say a quick telephone call or a face-to-face chat. However, with the alarming increase in the number of emails and fax messages, the managers have to devise an efficient method of not only reducing the number of such messages but also handling them appropriately. In order to accelerate the pace of preparation, business people try to transmit messages as quickly as possible. One thing that helps in accelerating this process is to make sure that written messages are prepared correctly the first time around. If we are handling out assignments, we must explain what we want.
Another way to increase efficiency in the preparation of messages is through standardization. Most organizations use standard format letters for handling repetitive correspondence, and most employ a standard format for memos and reports that
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are prepared on 'Right-messages-at-the-right-time-add-valuetothe-communication' motto. Although following a formula may inhibit creativity, it reduces the writing time. In case of memos and reports, standardization also saves readers' time because the familiar format enables people to absorb the information more quickly. 2.1. 11. Strategies for Improving Organizational
Communication
Given how important it is for people in organizations to communicate with each other in a clear, open, and accurate fashion, it is worthwhile to consider ways of improving organizational communication. There are several tried-and-tested techniques for improving organizational communication, which are as follows:
Encourage Open Feedback
In theory, encouraging open feedback is simple. If accurate information is the key to effective communication, then organizations should encourage feedback. After .111, feedback is a prime source of information. However, we say 'in theory' because it is natural for workers to be afraid of the repercussions they may face when being extremely open with their superiors.
Likewise, high-ranking officials may be somewhat apprehensive about hearing what is really on their workers' minds. In other words, people in organizations may be reluctant to give and receive feedback situation that can wreak havoc on organizational communication. These problems would be unlikely to occur in an organizational climate in which top officials openly and honestly seek feedback and lower-level workers believe they can speak their mind with impunity. How can this be accomplished?
Although this is not easy, several successful techniques for opening feedback channels have been used by organizations. The following are some of the techniques:
 360-degree feedback: These are formal systems in which
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people at all levels give feedback to others at different levels and receive feedback from them as well as outsiders-including customers and suppliers. This technique is used in companies such as Hewlett-Packard,
Motorola, and 3M.
 Suggestion systems: These are programmes that invite employees to submit ideas about how something may be improved. Employees are generally rewarded when their ideas are implemented. For example, the idea of mounting film boxes onto cards that hang from display stands, which is common today, originally came from a Kodak employee.  Corporate hotlines: These are telephone lines staffed by corporate officials ready to answer questions and listen to comments. These are particularly useful during times of change when employees are likely to be full of questions.
For example, AT&T used hotlines in the early 1980s during the period of its anti-trust divestiture.
Use Simple Language
No matter what field you are in, chances are that it has its own special language its jargon. Although jargon may greatly help communication within specialized groups, it can severely interfere with communication among the uninitiated. The trick to using jargon wisely is to know your audience. If the individuals with whom you are communicating understand the jargon, using it can help facilitate communication. However, when addressing audiences whose members are unfamiliar with the specialized language, simple, straightforward language is bound to be most effective. In either case, the rationale is the same: communicators should speak the language of their audience. Although you may be tempted to try to impress your audience by using big words, you may have little impact on them if they do not understand you.
Our advice is clear: Follow the KISS principle, i.e., keep it short and simple.
Avoid Overload
Imagine this scene: You are up late one night at the end of the
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term. You are writing a paper and studying for finals, all at the same time. Your desk is piled high with books when your roommate comes in to explain what you should do to prepare for the semester-end party. If this sounds familiar to you, then you probably know (only too well) that it is unlikely that you would be able to concentrate on the things you are doing. After all, when people are confronted with more information than they can process at any given time, their performance tends to suffer. This condition is known as overload.
Staying competitive in today's hectic world often requires doing many things at once-bur without threatening the performance, which is often the result when communication channels are overloaded. Fortunately, several things can be done to avoid, or at least minimize, the problem of information overload. Some of these are given below:
1. Rely on Gatekeepers: People whose jobs require them to control the flow of information to potentially overloaded individuals, groups, or organizations are known as gatekeepers. In making appointments for top executives, administrative assistants actually provide gate keeping service to them.
2. Practice Queuing: Queuing involves lining up incoming information Walk the Talk
When it comes to effective communication, actions definitely speak louder than words. Too often, communication is hampered by the practice of saying one thing but meaning something else. Also, whenever implicit messages (e.g., 'we may be cutting jobs') contradict official messages (e.g., 'don't worry, the company is stable'), it is bound to result in confusion.
This is especially problematic when the inconsistency comes from the top. In fact, one of the most effective ways of fostering effective organizational communication is for CEOs to 'walk the talk', i.e., to match their deeds to their words. After all, a boss would lose credibility if he/she told his/her employees 'my door is
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always open to you,' bur was never available for a consultation.
Good communication demands consistency. For words to be heard as loud as actions, the two must match.
Be a Good Listener
Effective communication involves more than just presenting messages clearly. It also involves doing a good job of comprehending messages sent by others. Although most of us take listening for granted, effective listening is an important skil!.
In fact, given that managers spend about 40% of their time listening to others, but only 25% on effective listening, the latter is a skill that could be developed in most of us. When we speak of effective listening, we are not referring to the passive act of just taking in information the following.
Rather, effective listening involves three important elements:

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2.2. Business Presentations and Public
Speaking in English

A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that "presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way.
People are sometimes afraid of speaking in public, but if a few simple rules are followed, giving a presentation may actually be very easy.

2.2.1. The Oral Presentation
2.2.1.1. General Communication Aspects
For the oral report, imagine that you are formally handing over your final written report to the people with whom you set up the hypothetical contract or agreement. For example, imagine that you had contracted with a software company to write its user guide. Once you had completed it, you'd have a meeting with chief officers to formally deliver the guide. You'd spend some time orienting them to the guide, showing them how it is organized and written, and discussing some of its highlights. Your goal is to get them acquainted with the guide and to prompt them for any concerns or questions. (Our class will gladly pretend to be whoever you tell us to be during your talk.)
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As you can see, you shouldn't have to do any research to prepare for this assignment - just plan the details of your talk and get at least one visual ready. If you have a topic that you'd prefer not to present orally to the group, discuss other possibilities with your instructor. Here are some brainstorming possibilities in case you want to present something else:
Purpose: The topic of the presentation is directly linked to the objective of the talk.
Most messages delivered in business have one of the three objectives:  to inform
 to persuade
 to celebrate
This means that a presentation aims to instruct (for example, to explain how to run a text editing program on a computer), to persuade (to vote for or against a certain technically oriented bond issue), or simply to inform (to report on citizen participation in the new recycling program).
 Informative purpose: An oral report can be primarily informative. For example, as a member of a committee involved in a project to relocate the plant, the aim might be to give an oral report on the condition of the building and grounds at one of the sites proposed for purchase. Or, the speaker might be required to go before the city council and report on the success of the new city-sponsored recycling project. Thus, the presentation will contain facts/ issues/ events by supporting various presentations, instructions, training.  Instructional purpose: An oral report can be primarily instructional. Presenter’s task might be to train new employees to use certain equipment or to perform certain routine tasks.
 Persuasive purpose: An oral report can be primarily persuasive. The person giving the presentation might want to convince members of local civic organizations to support a city-wide recycling program. He/She might
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appear before city council to persuade its members to reserve certain city-owned lands for park areas, softball and baseball parks, or community gardens. The purpose of message will be to motivate, to persuade, to think /act in accordance with the speaker. The following situations require a persuasive presentation: to sell products & services, to support ideas/strategies, to motivate listeners in order to change behaviours.
 Celebration purpose: recognize/ acknowledge a person, an event, an occasion, an organisational theme. The purpose of message would be to inspire; to entertain in case of: commencement awards, retirement addresses, achievement awards, founder's day speeches, other congratulatory speeches. Topics may include: a technical subject, for example, solar panels, microprocessors, drip irrigation, or laser surgery. The topic is also influenced by the audience’s interest.
Place or situation: Topics for oral reports can be found by thinking about the place or the situation in which it might naturally be given: at a city council meeting? at a meeting of the board of directors or high-level executives of a company?
Thinking about an oral report this way makes you focus on the audience, their reasons for listening to you, and their interests and background. The focus for an oral presentation is to be:
 clear,
 understandable
 well-organized,
 well-planned,
 well-timed.
The requirements list of and oral presentation contains:
 the situation of the oral report, who you are, making sure that there is a clean break between this brief explanation and the beginning of the actual oral report.
 the oral report generally lasts no longer than a certain number of minutes, previously indicated.
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

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the introduction of the presentation is essential – it should indicate the purpose of your oral report, an overview of its contents, and it should raise the interest of the audience. visual support is essential the key elements of the visuals should be discussed.
Don't just throw them up there and ignore them. Point out things about them; explain them to the audience. speaking style and gestures must be appropriate. The presentation should be made loud enough so that everybody can hear, that you do not speak too rapidly
(nerves often cause that), and that your gestures and posture are okay. technical aspect of the topic should be explained very clearly and understandably. Don't complex, technical stuff should not be raced through, they should be explained carefully in order to be understood. use "verbal headings". There is a corollary in oral reports. They offer the audience a very clear signal you are moving from one topic or part of your talk to the next. the report should be planned in advance and practiced so that it is organized. Make sure that listeners know what you are talking about and why, which part of the talk you are in, and what's coming next. Overviews and verbal headings greatly contribute to this sense of organization. the presentation must end with a real conclusion. People sometimes forget to plan how to end an oral report and end by just trailing off into a mumble. Conclusions can summarize (go back over high points of what you've discussed), conclude (state some logical conclusion based on what you have presented), provide some last thought (end with some final interesting point but general enough not to require elaboration), or some combination of these three. The audience should be prompted for questions and concerns.
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The aim and construction of any oral presentation must answer some basic questions such as : What am I expected to achieve by delivering this speech? Do I want action? Feedback?
Sympathy? Support? Sales? Sharing of ideas?
Without the why of the communication the first impulse of the person giving the oral report would be to develop the message concentrating more on the what step (more than on the results you want to attain)and so, the message may fail in meeting its purpose
2.2.1.2. Preparing the Oral Presentation
The construction of an oral presentation must be based on the listener’s features, needs, interests and level of experience.
This process certainly benefits from answering certain questions such as: Are they clients/ potential clients/ colleague/ strangers/ supervisors/ subordinates? Are they similar in age and background or widely varied? What do they want to hear from me? What questions will they want answered? What is their political, social, economic, cultural background? Will they be friendly or hostile? How many will be listening to me?
Chances of success depend on the correct perception of the audience. The method of preparing the presentation should also best suit the presenter’s comfort level with public speaking and with the topic. However, unless the experience is really vast, some sort of preparation or rehearsal is necessary. Drawing a mental blank is the common experience.
There are certain preparation alternatives:
 Write a script, practice it, keep it around for quickreference during your talk.
 Set up an outline of your talk, practice with it, bring it for reference.  Set up cue cards, practice with them, use them during your talk.  Write a script and read from it.
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Of course the head-down style of reading the report directly from a script has its problems. There is little or no eye contact or interaction with the audience. The delivery tends toward a dull monotone that either puts listeners off or is hard to understand.
For some reason, people tend to get nervous in this situation.
Getting feedback is also an important issue in oral presentations, in appreciating the impact and the success. Not all presentations need feedback (to celebrate an event, to acknowledge a merit, to recognize an achievement).
Feedback can be obtained: - informally by chatting with the listeners after the presentation (reactions, comments will show you if and how well they understood the message) or formally questions & answers sessions (plan carefully so as not to lose control of the meeting)
In order to maintain control of the situation and of the presentation’s evolution the presenter should anticipate listeners' questions, should prepare additional materials for the Q&A session: statistics, figures, supporting documents. For technical questions, specialists in relevant departments should also to take part at the meeting and provide the data needed (in case the presentation also includes aspects of certain specialty, the presenter is not familiar with). If the do not know the answer offer to send an answer, say you have to study the point more
The presenter should also be prepared to come with a list of questions as back up (The question I am most often asked is…
Last week someone asked me…)
If the listeners react negatively, be ready to shift gears when it is necessary to obtain a desired result and if the audience is large, repeat the questions for all to hear
2.2.1.3. Delivering an Oral Presentation
When delivering an oral presentation, the focus should be on common problem areas such as these:
 Timing - Make sure you keep within the time limit.
Anything under 6 minutes is also a problem.
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Volume - Obviously, you must be sure to speak loud enough so that all of your audience can hear you.
 Pacing, speed - Sometimes, oral presenters who are a bit nervous talk too fast. All that adrenaline causes them to speed through their talk. That makes it hard for the audience to follow. In general, it helps listeners to understand you better if you speak a bit more slowly and deliberately than you do in normal conversation.
 Gestures and posture - nervous gestures or unnatural postures should be avoided.
 Verbal crutches - other kinds of nervous verbal habits.
Instead of saying "uh" or "you know" every three seconds, just do not say anything at all. The silence that replaces them is not a bad thing - it gives listeners time to process what you are saying.
Prepare at least one visual for this report such as:
 Transparencies for overhead projector - For most business conference rooms, the overhead projector is the best way to show things to the whole group.
 Posterboard-size charts - Another possibility is to get some posterboard and draw and letter what you want your audience to see. This is not considered to be a very professional approach.
 Handouts - copies of what you want your listeners to see can be run off and hand out before or during your talk.
This option is even less effective than the first two because you can't point to what you want your listeners to see and because handouts take listeners' attention away from you.
Still, for certain visual needs, handouts are the only choice.
 Objects - If you need to demonstrate certain procedures, you may need to bring in actual physical objects.
Sometimes this practice can take up a lot more time than expected. Transparencies are very effective and inexpensive, but
Slides provide a really professional look, have a great impact on
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the audience, and are especially required where quality, simplicity and mobility are demanded.
The chalkboard/whiteboard are a rather old-fashioned method. In case it is used, write on note cards what you intend to present on the board, so as to avoid making mistakes and do not write pertinent information on the board beforehand - it will divert the audience's attention to the board.
Flipcharts allow writing information on one sheet at a time ahead of time and then flip the sheets as you discuss. They are useful for small group presentations
Handouts represent a useful way of complementing your presentation. They should be distributed at the end of the speech
(audience free to concentrate on yr. presentation) and the presenter should know what the audience should do with the handouts (to take home some ideas, be provided with a summary of the presentation (key points), to take some action or provide feedback (a checklist; easy for them to respond)).
Recently, the modern and most efficient method consists in video-projecting computer-made slides on a display.
Slides in a presentation should point-out the central ideas using mainly:
 Drawing or diagram of key objects - If objects are described or referred, the best choice is to get visuals of them so that different components or features can be pointed to.
 Tables, charts, graphs - If statistical data are discussed, they should be presented in some form or table, chart, or graph. Many members of your audience may have trouble
"hearing" such data as opposed to seeing it.
 Outline of your talk, report, or both - if the presentation is complex, have an outline of it that it can be shown at various points during the presentation.
 Key terms and definitions - A good idea for visuals is to set up a two-column list of key terms user during the oral presentation with their definitions in the second column.
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Key concepts or points - Similarly, key points can be listed and shown them visuals. (Outlines, key terms, and main points are all good, legitimate ways of incorporating visuals into oral presentations)
During the actual oral report, make sure to discuss your visuals, refer to them, guide your listeners through the key points in your visuals. It's a big problem just to throw a visual up on the screen and never even refer to it.
Delivering an oral presentation can be achieved by means of certain methods, such as:
 Reading from a prepared manuscript
 Delivering from memory
 Delivering extemporaneously relying on brief notes or clue cards.
Reading from a prepared manuscript is not the most fortunate choice for a good oral presentation. Its purpose is generally to deliver an exact, structured message such as: keynote speeches -speeches with long-range effect (government officials) -sometimes, scripts are approved prior to presentation and made available to the members of the press. memorizing the
Delivering from memory means presentation word-for-word. The possible problems of using such a method are forgetting a line or sentence or the lose their place in the speech.
Extemporaneous presentation are most popular, most desirable. The main features of this presentation method are:
 materials are organised either in outline form or on note cards;
 it allows to monitor the audience’s reactions, to slow down, to elaborate on different points;
 it encourages the audience’s involvement;
 it contributes to building trust, confidence and commitment The PMM Concept involves three basic components:
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Person – individual making the oral presentation
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Message – the presentation itself
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Media – the presentation aids
This represents the basis for the strategy for communicating orally. Every society has an unwritten standard by which its citizens are measured.
The professional image of an individual implies the capacity to determine what constitutes that standard in your society. This approach involves the capacity to analyze yourself objectively in terms of:
 profession
 educational background
 intelligence level
 status (leader or follower)
Business communication and the achievement of a positive impact also requires the use of nonverbal elements as standards for determining success. They include:
 good grooming
 appropriate dress
 natural manners
 silent communicators
 effective body language
 a pleasing voice
 good eye contact
 an authoritative presence
In terms of figures, about 55% of what we believe about one another is based on our observation & interpretation of nonverbal signals.
Most people will judge the speaker by means of:
 self-confidence
 personality
 determination
 self-control
Natural manners are part of the business communication process. The most natural reaction to public speaking is stress.
Audience may detect how confident you are by observing your
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mannerism. Habits, gestures and speaking should be relaxed, nonrepetitive and it should avoid - knuckle rapping, fist clenching, nail biting, foot tapping or coin jingling.
As part of the un-natural and non-recommendable bodypositioning during an oral presentations, we should point out folding your arms across your chest, leaning against the wall/lectern other object, folding your hands behind you or placing your hands in your pockets. Natural, self-confident manners, positions and speaking are recommended. Professional speaker's stance should be standing straight (arms/hands hanging loosely at your sides) and feet firmly planted and spread naturally.
Body Language is also an important aspect of the nonverbal communication during an oral presentation. The point and central ideas of the speaker should be emphasized in search of effectiveness by natural gestures. The key word for a successful presentation is – natural.
The eye contact is part of the natural behaviour and attitude when delivering an oral presentation, as the eyes are the most prominent feature of the face. The eye contact should be used by the speaker in order to make contact with the audience, with the whole audience and not to single out a particular person, but make eye contact with many people in the audience. The speaker should begin by looking ahead, rotate slowly from side to side, making eye contact with a number of different people and then lock eyes for a few seconds, but never long enough to complete more than
8-10 words. Let your eyes do some of the talking, even if they might say a little more than you intend to.
The visual presence consists in integrating nonverbal elements into a professional image and it should result into a positive visual image. The positive impact is always based on an appropriate attire - good grooming or appropriate dress.
In the case of women it should consist in tailored clothing only (no frills, ruffles, straps or plunging necklines), suits and blazers in plain, neutral colours, scarves for colour accents, skirts that are pleated, straight, or dirndl, with no extreme slits, basic
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dark pumps with medium or low heels, stud earrings; gold or pearl necklaces; avoiding dangling bracelets.
In the case of men, generally recommended out-fit consists of dark or grey suits; navy blazers and grey trousers, dress shirts in solid colours, mostly white, pale blue, or yellow, variety of ties in muted colours but in contrast to the suit . calf-length hose in dark colours to match suits, black or brown 1-inch belt, loafers, wingtips, or laceup shoes, avoiding flashy cuff links, rings, or neck chains
In delivering a successful oral presentation the transmission of the message has three basic parts:
 the Takeoff that gains the audience’s attention and introduces the theme
 the Convincing Evidence - data /facts /info. (used to support the claim)
 the Windup - closes the message a summary of key elements The Takeoff sets the stage for the audience’s response and the motivations for its presence and importance are based on some participants’ desire for information and other required to attend.
This is the element that creates the first impact, the first impression and generates the starting-point.
The achievement of and effective beginning is based on the use of certain techniques:
 Startling information
 Humour
 The Unusual
 Suspense
 The Message Core ("We are here to discuss the parking problems on the university campus")
 Courteous Beginning – always effective - express your appreciation for the honour of speaking and then congratulate the listeners on any accomplishment relevant to the speech topic
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The convincing evidence represents the middle section of any presentation. This part of the presentation should include
 concepts that are familiar to your audience ( esp. for controversial subjects)
 more complex concepts gradually introduced
 important elements in logical sequence
 cases & incidents supporting ideas
 use of illustrations & examples
 the necessary depth in the presentation but avoid boring, irrelevant details
The Windup is that part of a presentation where the central theme is restate, the evidence is summarized, some type of action is proposed without introducing new evidence. All these components of an oral presentation are supported by the MEDIA
– or any aids used to enhance an oral presentation such as:
Transparencies, Slides, The chalkboard/whiteboard, Flipcharts,
Handouts or any others already presented before.

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2.2.2. Business Meetings
2.2.2.1. General Overview
The business meetings communication is and essential component of business communication, it is central to day-to-day business activity and it involves all types of personnel in a firm.
Business meetings are object to a certain typology as following:
 one-to-one meetings (job interviews, employer-employee talks, sales meetings, various business dialogues)
 small-group meetings (discussions with colleagues/ coworkers/ co-members of certain groups, training sessions etc.)  large-group meetings (annual general meetings (AGM), conferences symposia, congress meetings etc.)
One-to-one meetings are generally informal - people tend to treat them superficially, people give up preparing them in advance. This is not always a good attitude due to the fact that not all of them are informal. For example, a job interview in a new company or a sales meetings are not always such informal meetings. Depending on the degree of formality, these meetings require previous preparation in order to have your key points ready, to be able to adhere to a time schedule, to get and provide adequate feedback and to make it be efficient interaction.
Small-group meetings rarely follow a prescribed order, have a high level of informality, are time-consuming due to detailed ideas discussions where interlocutors interrupt/contradict each other, they introduce new information or give additional, long information. The leader in such business meetings has serious responsibilities for conducting the meeting in order to achieve the objectives and to maintain the cohesion of the group.
Most guidelines focus on the fact that the leader should:
 show sensitivity (sympathetic to the participants’ ideas);  use opportunities wisely (to speak, to listen, to direct discussion); 188




be brief (say all that should be not all that could be); use language discreetly (an informal atmosphere does not mean relaxation of all barriers, positive professional image).
Large-group meetings are more formal and require prior preparation to be efficient. If a meeting is not well prepared it may lead to dissatisfaction generated by various reasons (meetings last too long, often the wrong people attend meetings, there is too much paperwork associated with some meetings etc.) It takes some good work to make meetings productive, pleasurable and satisfying. Both organisers and participants should take on responsibilities, should contribute to creating the necessary healthy environment for meetings
In short, small groups will work more effectively in meetings.
Smaller groups offer increased security and allow for greater participation. In international business meetings, using smaller groups can be used in two ways.
First, prior to a large international business meeting identify who will be coming and what they can contribute. Will the meeting cover different topics? Will it require input from different business areas? If you are organised enough you can initiate some smaller meetings where you group participants who are comfortable with one another or who share expertise in the same area. Ask the groups to take their conclusions to the next, larger, meeting. Participants there will now feel comfortable with their contributions and ideas.
Second, if the company culture allows, break your meeting up into smaller groups where feedback and open discussion may flow more easily. Then ask a delegated head of each group to summarise their findings. This may allow those who would not normally speak out in front of larger groups to get their views across. After a few pleasantries in the meeting room, the common term in the West is, ‘let’s get down to business’. Western
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meetings generally run to a tight schedule with an organised, preplanned agenda.
Meetings are for business. On the other hand, different cultures see the meeting as the arena for building personal relationships and strengthening bonds. Getting down to business comes further down the priority list.
When chairing an international business meeting it is always advisable to bear in mind the attendees’ cultures and backgrounds. Is it a very varied group or do the majority of participants have cultural similarities? Think about their approaches to meetings. How have they acted in meetings before?
Can you identify the cultural reason why?
Following are some guidelines that may assist you when approaching cultural diversity in your next international business meeting. Due to the fact that business activity may be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without group effort, the purposes of business meetingsare extremely varied:
 to co-ordinate activities
In many companies this is done on a regular basis. Certain people have to report on what they have been doing, on the progress of activities is monitored this way, on any possibly overlapping of activities can be avoided.
Such meetings may be also used to build morale (Morale is promoted when people can identify with what the company is seeking to achieve.)
 to make decisions
 to transmit information. From time to time a briefing on the current state of the organisation’s affairs is necessary
 for training purposes
 for problem-solving. Difficult problems may be solved better and faster, also contributing to motivate people and develop the self-esteem feeling
 exchanging information
 exploring an issue
 persuading people
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Apart from these legitimate purposes for which a meeting may be called, there may be “hidden objectives”. So a person may call or attend a meeting in order to show superiority, perhaps through having a special report on the agenda, impress others who have not been invited to attend, gain promotion by turning in a good performance to attract the attention of superiors, discredit a rival, especially if the rival is not present, make life difficult for others in some way, possible by calling the meeting at an inconvenient time, etc.
Good planning is a part of any business function and it requires preliminary work: setting the objective(s) of the meeting; working out the agenda; determine the size of the meeting; determine the date, time and place of the meeting distribute the agenda; provide each member with a copy of the agenda and with other relevant materials (reports, statistics, etc), inform each member of the meeting objective
Number of participants: between 5 and 9 is the most desirable for many purposes
However, the size of the meeting depends on its objectives.
 for problem solving and decision making: 5 or fewer members  for training/ information transmission:15 -20 up to
30 members
2.2.2.2. Types of meetings
Meetings can be classified according to various criteria: content, degree of formality, form, function etc. Most often they are classified according to their purpose into:
1. Executive/ command meetings. Their purpose is to pass orders or instructions down the chair of command. The person who calls the meeting is usually the decision maker
(accountable for them). This person decides what works are to be carried out the sequence in which they will be performed and who is responsible for having the task done
These meetings are:
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

authoritarian - situations where little or no discussion and debate are necessary
 short
 take place in business, industrial and public service companies every day
2. Discussion/consultative/advisory meetings are small-group meetings called for one of the following purposes: to exchange info/ideas, to explore issues/problems, to talk around a subject
(for its better understanding)
Everyone is encouraged to participate freely. Possible dangers are that they may escape control and degenerate into "talking shops” 3. Colleague meetings are organised by people of similar status/ expertise/ professional knowledge. Their purpose is to bring each other up-to-date, to resolve a common problem, to settle a difference of opinion on a course of action. Decisions are made by consensus rather than by vote or by an authoritative person. 4. Committee meetings
Main characteristic of committees is that they put together people who represent various interests/ groups. These meetings are directed towards making decisions on matters of common concern or decision made on the basis of vote in which the majority side wins the day. They envisage to solve the situations when the votes for and against are tied, the chairperson has an additional casting vote, to resolve the issue.
Committees are a traditional democratic method of making decision. 5. Bargaining/ negotiation/ trading meetings have the following characteristics:
 people come together to discuss something of mutual advantage;  each side has to feel that it has something to gain;
 the point of attraction is the “win-win” nature of the meeting; everyone should feel that has achieved the better of the deal
(regardless of the true outcome).
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Participants have to support their positions by strong arguments.
Decisions are usually based on a “give-and-take” basis and sometimes they need to meet several times before different points of dispute are solved. In certain cases it is necessary to use a mediator if a deadlock has been reached
6. Progress/ review meetings concentrate on analyses of the progress of work and are designed to identify possible problems/difficulties early and to enable fast remedial action.
They are very common in business and industry. The best example is the site meeting at construction works, where the progress of work is regularly analysed). This type of meeting is often done in the form of reports on progress made by those responsible for carrying out specific parts of a larger project and are usually chaired by the most senior person present
Meetings can be conducted formally or informally depending on: the status of the company, the objectives of the meeting and the chairperson’s personality. When invited to attend a meeting, one should get informed about the type of meeting s/he is going to take part in/at as this will help to increase awareness of and familiarity with the context within which the person will have to operate. Table no.3
Organisational meetings: overlapping types, purposes and styles
Type

Briefing

Primary purpose To deliver information To gather

Formal example Chief executive presents financial results to investment analysis Board of
Enquiry
interviews
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Informal example Project manager explains the task to a newlyformed team
Architect and structural engineer visit

Investigatory

information

Advisory

To provide information Voice
Consultative opinions

Executive

Make decisions witnesses to a serious accident

construction site to resolve technical problem
Panel of experts
Human
advise resources government manager department on consults two new legislation colleagues on a disciplinary case
Community
Manager asks leaders speak at their stuff how public enquiry they feel about a into new airport proposed profitrunway sharing scheme
Board of trustees
Emergency
agrees a new workers at the strategic plan for scene of a fire hospital trust decide on the best course of action. The formal meeting runs according to established rules and procedures, written records of previous meetings and usually has a specified membership who are able to participate.
Business etiquette is essentially about building relationships with colleagues, clients or customers. In the business world, it is these people that can influence your success or failure.
Etiquette, and in particular business etiquette, is simply a means of maximising your business potential by presenting yourself favourably. Business meetings are one arena in which poor etiquette can have negative effects. By improving your business meeting etiquette you automatically improve your chances of success.
Comfort, trust, attentiveness and clear communication are examples of the positive results of demonstrating good etiquette.
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Most large organisations have a written constitution or
“standing orders”. The company secretary is responsible for seeing that the rules are followed, and that statutory meeting are held, with appropriate notice given. There are a number of specialist terms used in and around formal meetings.
Preparing and circulating the agenda requires logical sequence, a simple items first, placing the consensus items first etc. Writing up the minutes provide an accurate and unbiased record of the meeting, are presented to the following meeting for approval. The secretary is responsible for taking the minutes
There are three main types of minutes:
Verbatim minutes:
 ‘Word-for-word’ account of the meeting (e.g. the records of parliamentary debates)
 it is not widely used in business organisations
Narrative minutes
 more or less detailed summary of the discussion that take place around each item, followed by a note of the decision taken.  Include an ‘action’ column on the right-hand side of the page, with the name or initial of the person responsible for carrying out any matters agreed by the meeting.
Resolution minutes
 The briefest type of minutes, stating only what was agreed at the meeting
 Are used primarily for statutory meetings (e.g. those required to form or make changes to the legal status of a company) Here are 10 business etiquette guidelines that are applicable to any formal meeting:
 Prepare well for the meeting as your contribution may be integral to the proceedings. If you are using statistics, reports or any other information make sure it has been handed out at least three days prior to the meeting.
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

Dress well and arrive in good time. Your professionalism is linked to both.
 Always remember to switch of a mobile phone.
 If there is an established seating pattern, accept it. If you are unsure, ask.
 Acknowledge any introductions or opening remarks with a brief recognition of the chair and other participants.
 When discussions are under way it is good business etiquette to allow more senior figures to contribute first.
 Never interrupt anyone - even if you disagree strongly.
Note what has been said and return to it later with the chair’s permission.
 When speaking, be brief and ensure what you say is relevant.  Always address the chair unless it is clear that others are not doing so.
 It is a serious breach of business etiquette to divulge information to others about a meeting. What has been discussed should be considered as confidential.
The underlying principles of the all the above business meeting etiquette pointers are good manners, courtesy and consideration. If these principles are adhered to the chances of offense and misunderstandings are greatly reduced.
Informal meetings
The basic reasons are much the same, e.g. tackling a complex problem, planning a future course of action or generating new ideas. Pre-determined agendas and detailed minutes may not be appropriate in these situations, though there is clearly a need for some degree of preparation and note taking. The most important requirement: team-working.Informal meetings are generally more relaxed affairs and may not necessarily take place in the office or meeting room. Even so a sense of professionalism and good business etiquette are still required.
There are 7 points to consider with informal meetings:
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

Business etiquette demands that the person calling the meeting (henceforth ‘the chair’) should be the most senior or the one with the most direct or urgent interest in the topic at hand.
 The chair should decide the time, place and agenda.
These details should be confirmed with everyone to make sure all are in agreement and no inconvenience is caused.  The chair must make the purpose of the meeting clear to the attendees, how long it will last and what is expected of them, i.e. particular information or preparation of documents. Failing to relay the proper information is bad business etiquette as it could cause embarrassment.
 Punctuality is a must. Keeping people waiting is considered the height of poor etiquette as it abuses their time.  The chair should strive to ensure the meeting stays within a set framework or agenda so that it is kept as short and effective as possible. He/she must keep circular disagreements and the like to a minimum.
 The chair should (pre-)appoint someone to record the proceedings; documenting major decisions or action points. This can later be distributed to the attendees for reference.  If the results of the meeting have an effect on others who were not present it is considered proper business etiquette to inform them.
The business etiquette of formal meetings such as departmental meetings, management meetings, board meetings, negotiations and the like can be puzzling. Such meetings usually have a set format. For example, the chair may always be the same person, minutes, agendas or reports may be pre-distributed or voting may take place.
Tuckman model of team dynamics – an account of four distinct patterns of communication taking place during the assumed life-cycle of a team.
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Table no.4
Tuckman model of team dynamics
Indicative patterns of
Stage
Outline of activity communication? ‘Forming’
Individuals meet and
Fairly open and begin to establish multilateral exchange of team composition, messages, as team purpose (task) and members seek initial process (i.e. ways of indication of working). capabilities and roles.
‘Storming’
Disagreements
Strong evidence of emerge over task and bilateral persuasive process issues, communication as potential for internal arguments and counterconflict and hostility. arguments are exchanged. ‘Norming’
Team establishes
Greater attention to agreed standards bilateral feedback as regarding purpose team leaders confirm and process consent and establish roles ‘Performing’
Team concentrates
Regulated multilateral on achieving its exchanges between common purpose, team members engaged while maintaining in agreed roles. process dimension.
‘Adjourning’ Focus on completion
Combination of of task and intensified multilateral dissolution of the exchanges and some team. unilateral direction that is pulled together, followed by bilateral leave-takings. Source: Tuckman (1965 – adapted; indicative communication patterns added).
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Table no.5
The concept of team roles: a communication perspective
Primary contribution Implied
Team role communication task
Organises, coMonitors and coChair ordinates and seeks to ordinates messages retain team’s focus and between team involvement. members.
Initiates, provides
Generates
Team leader leadership and drives persuasive bilateral team towards and multilateral achieving task. messages directed at team members.
Creates novel ideas
Synthesises
Innovator and solutions in messages from support of the task diverse internal and external information sources. Provides objective
Analyses primarily
Monitorassessments of cognitive taskevaluator performance in related messages relation to stated within the team. purpose. Encourages other
Assesses and
Team Worker members, fosters team generates primarily morale and reduces affective, processnegative emotions. related messages within the team.
Completer

Maintains a check on outcomes in relation to project milestones and deadlines. 199

Analyses primarily cognitive taskrelated messages within the team.

Receives bilateral messages (i.e. instructions) and avoids distraction from other internal exchanges. Resource
Establishes external
Engages in bilateral investigator contacts to secure exchanges of resources in support of persuasive stated purpose. messages beyond the boundaries of the team.
Source: Belbin (1981, 1993 – adapted; communication tasks added). Implementer

Carries out much of the practical work required to achieve stated purpose.

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2.2.2.3. Multi-Cultural Aspects International Business
Meetings
Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences manifest is in the corporate meeting room.
International meetings are an area where differences in cultural values, etiquette, interpretations of professional conduct and corporate rules are at their most visible and challenging to control.
In international business meetings, cultural differences between professionals can and do clash. Although it can not always be avoided, the negative effects of cultural differences can be minimised with careful and effective planning, organisation and consideration prior to meetings. Culture influences what we do, say, think and believe. Culture is different in different countries and contexts. In the context of international business it affects how people approach, perceive and contribute towards meetings. A few examples include:
 Time
Not all cultures live by the clock. Time orientated cultures such as the British or Germans will have strict approaches to how meetings run. The start time, finishing time and all the different stages in between will be planned carefully. Other cultures will see the start time as an approximation, the finish time as non-fixed and all the different stages in between as flexible.
 Hierarchy
The hierarchical nature of a culture can have a massive impact on the input given by participants in an international meeting. For those from hierarchical cultures speaking one’s mind, criticising ideas, disagreeing openly, giving feedback and reporting problems in front of the boss or manager are all areas they would feel uncomfortable with. To offer a criticism of the manager’s idea would be seen as a loss of face for both the manager and the criticiser.

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 Meeting Etiquette and Mannerisms
In highly diverse international companies, one can find participants in a meeting from the four corners of the globe. Each will have their own cultural etiquettes, gestures, mannerisms and ways of expression. Shouting, throwing hands around and even storming out of meetings are all possibilities. In such a company it may be advisable to provide inter-cultural awareness training to staff to minimise misunderstandings. Where differences are not as acute it may be up to you as the chair to understand how certain etiquettes, gestures and general meeting room tactics may be perceived and how you can minimise any adverse impact.
 Expectations of Meetings
Prior to the meeting make it clear what the purpose of the meeting will be. What is the goal of the meeting? Why are you asking each attendant? What do expect from them? Contact the participants and discuss the meeting and what you require of each person. If ready, send them the agenda. If it is a brainstorming meeting then maybe ask each participant to bring at least three suggestions with them. If it is a meeting bringing together different areas within a company, let each attendant know what people would like to hear about from them. Once a framework is in place people will know where they fit into the picture.
 Take a Relaxed Approach to Meetings
Many people find business meetings daunting. This may be a combination of stage fright, sitting in front of the boss and feeling inferior to colleagues. This will lead to anxiety, tension, nervousness and general discomfort. Try introducing subtle differences to a meeting to put people at ease. Ice breakers offer a good tension release at the beginning of a meeting. Warm ups offer a similar benefit. Try using an alternative setting instead of the meeting room. Consider changes in the lighting or ambience.
 Multi-Cultural Meetings
A major mistake made when dealing with diverse cultures in one meeting room is to suggest that those of similar backgrounds work, group or be seated together. Rather than allow for greater fluency in the meeting this will have the opposite affect. Once
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cosy in their cultural groups, participants will slip into their cultural patterns. It is vital you mix up your meeting. The additional benefit to this approach is that it allows for cross cultural interpersonal relationships to develop, strengthening staff bonds.  Alternative Communication Methods in Meetings
Most international meetings take on a basic format and structure whereby an agenda is set and attendants contribute to the topic of discussion orally. If you have participants who potentially will be very quiet and non-participatory then consider some alternative methods of communication. For example, prior to the meeting, e-mail members of staff some questions regarding the forthcoming topics. Give them open-ended questions as to their opinions. Ask them to e-mail back their replies which can then be used to instigate their contribution in the meeting. If you know some participants are uncomfortable speaking, then why not let them write? Either use a white board or offer to take suggestions and opinions on paper? Different cultural assumptions as to the meaning of a word, phrase, symbol, picture or agreement can cause confusion before and after a meeting. When approaching a topic or after consensus has been agreed upon a subject always confirm that the general meaning has been agreed upon and understood. Where potential problems may exist as to interpretation always simplify meanings. If the meeting will deal with complex language or concepts consider forming a consensus on the meaning all participants will be comfortable with, then circulating them in advance of the meeting for review. At the end of a meeting, summarise and capture the main agreements and disagreements. Ensure everyone is happy with them. International business meetings require great planning, organisation and consideration if they are to succeed in offering effective outcomes. Always consider the cultural variants you will be dealing with and think of ways to overcome potential problems.
The above mentioned tips are merely basic pointers that will hopefully help you start to think about how culture impacts international meetings.
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2.3. Business Negotiations
An international business negotiation is defined as the deliberate interaction of two or more social units (at least one of them a business entity), originating from different nations, that are attempting to define or redefine their interdependence in a business matter. This includes company-company, companygovernment, and solely interpersonal interactions over business matters such as sales, licensing, joint ventures, and acquisitions
(Weiss, 1993:270).
Generally, the process of negotiation consists of three different negotiation stages including the pre-, actual negotiation, and post- stages (Ghauri 1996:7). The effective flow of the negotiation process can determine the success of a negotiation.
The pre-negotiation stage, which involves the preparation and planning, is the most important step in negotiation (Ghauri
1996:14). It sets the foundation for the process negotiating
(Lewicki et al. 1994). It consists of interactions, such as building trust and relationships, and the task-related behaviours which focus on the preferences related to various alternatives (Graham &
Sano 1989, Simintiras & Thomas 1998). In brief, the first stage of negotiation emphasizes getting to know each other, identifying the issues, and preparing for the negotiation process.
The negotiation stage involves a face-to-face interaction, methods of persuasion, and the use of tactics. At this stage negotiators explore the differences in preferences and expectations related to developing an agreement.
The post-negotiation stage relates to concessions, compromises, evaluating the agreement, and following-up.
These stages are often done concurrently. The negotiation process is a dynamic process, involving a variety of factors related to potential negotiation outcomes.
International business negotiations are typically more complicated and difficult to assess than the negotiations taking place between negotiators from the same culture. This is because the values of the negotiators are different. Negotiators have
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unique perspectives on negotiations leading to different styles.
Other external influences such as international law, exchange rates, and economic growth also increase the complexity of negotiations. International business negotiators need to understand each other’s values so that they can adapt their negotiating approaches to emerging situations.
Negotiation performance is an evaluated outcome, usually based on a continuum of success to failure. Generally, in a successful negotiation a negotiator obtains something of greater value in exchange for something of a lower relative value (Buttery
& Leung 1998:379). One possible outcome is a mutual settlement.
Negotiations may end in an impasse, in which there is no settlement. Partners also compare their relevant outcomes (Buttery
& Leung 1998:380). Who gains or loses affects the perception of the negotiator’s success.
Successful negotiation does not end with the attainment of an agreement (Ertel 1999). Along with the completion of a contract, and the settlement of substantive issues, negotiators also consider the intangible aspects of negotiated outcomes, including overall satisfaction, status of the relationship, and the level of commitment (Savage et al. 1989). Negotiators may achieve a good deal but fail to sustain the relationship or develop positive feelings with their counterpart. In such a case, the negotiation can be considered successful if the agreement is the first priority.
Conversely, it can be viewed as a failure if maintaining a good relationship is the higher priority.
The negotiator’s perceptions about specific negotiation outcomes are diverse. These depend on goals which can be affected by culture. If the characteristics of the negotiation outcomes are identified by a particular cultural perspective, it will influence the negotiation process.
International business, on a macro level, is conducted within a framework of trade agreements derived from negotiations among governments. When a government, in such a negotiation, wins concessions from another government, these concessions are typically harmful to consumers in the country whose government
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won" the concession. Such concessions are usually agreements by other countries to limit the intensity with which foreign firms will compete in the export market. These concessions help special interests such as domestic firms by shielding them from competition, but harm the majority interests of the nation by imposing higher costs on domestic consumers. This is demonstrated through sugar prices in the U.S., or the retail price of rice in Japan – both of which are well in excess of world market rates (Boudreaux, 1995). A negotiation model which encompasses cultural dimensions could be an appropriate means for effectively obtaining a balance between special and majority interests of each nation in international business agreements.
Ideally, a global trade framework should take into account differences in cultural dimensions, and attempt to use them as a negotiating asset in the pursuit of mechanisms to facilitate an integrative outcome oriented system of international business.
It is my hypothesis that national culture will produce certain predetermined biases which, when combined with the degree of distance between cultural dimensions and the negotiating style employed, predictably affect the negotiator's ability to reach integrative (win/win) agreements. National culture resides in deeply-rooted values (Hodgetts 1993), and its distinctions are found to vary widely. The pursuit of establishing characteristics to define and measure these distinctions has been an ongoing focus of many research efforts. Geert Hofstede (1980) developed a pioneering and widely accepted classification scheme which breaks national culture into the dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity. Hofstede's (1980) first dimension, power distance, examines a culture's tolerance for accepting unequal dispersions in power between members of organizations. The second dimension, uncertainty avoidance, is based upon a society's degree of uncomfortability with ambiguous, unpredictable situations, and its pursuit of stabilizing activities to avoid such situations.
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The individualism-collectivism dimension measures a society's degree of identification with, and level of dependence on social frameworks. Hofstede's final dimension uses the terms masculinity and femininity to describe groupings of characteristics such as assertiveness, wealth, people, and quality of life that a society places value on (Hofstede 1980, 1991).
Negotiation, a process through which agreement may be reached on matters of mutual interest, is essentially the art of persuasion (Pruitt, 1981). As such, persuasion can result in one of three distinct negotiating outcomes - integrative agreements, distributive agreements, or no agreement. Integrative outcomes result in the production of increased benefits through the negotiation process which are in excess of the sum of inputs. An example of this is the generation of new solutions through the negotiation process which satisfy or exceed each party's interests.
This outcome is contrasted by distributive outcomes which simply result in a division of the original inputs among the negotiating parties. Here, no new solutions are produced through the negotiation process. This is usually due to the fact that each party is preoccupied with defending or expanding its position.
Numerous cross-cultural endeavours end in failure - due mainly to a negotiator's inability to accept and adapt to the underlying beliefs of the other party (Currie 1991). Since international business negotiations are more complex than domestic, due largely to this added dimension of cultural diversity, one proposed solution to the limitations of principled negotiating is the synergistic approach (Adler 1991). The culturally collaborative synergistic style of negotiating emphasizes that understanding the other parties, their interests, and their assessment criteria, becomes more difficult due to cultural and communication differences. However, the diversity of culture may enhance the generation of creative options for mutual gain. Based on these assumptions, synergistic negotiating suggests that if cross-cultural differences are recognized, clearly communicated, and understood by the negotiator, they can be the basis for constructing win-win agreements (Adler, 1991). The
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synergistic negotiating process includes the stages of preparation, relationship building, information exchange, negotiation, progression, and agreement. Of these stages, research indicates that information exchange, which is directly affected by cultural dimension differences, is one of the most influential factors in achieving integrative solutions when attempting to negotiate international agreements (Walton & McKersie 1965).
While we have examined the evolution of an approach to achieving integrative outcomes from international business negotiations, theoretical limitations continue to exist with crosscultural applications of principled negotiating and its internationalized modification of synergistic negotiating. These limitations are rooted in the role of culture through its influence on communication styles and cognitive biases. These two effects of culture impact the very effectiveness of the negotiating process.
The various dimensions of culture examined previously are fundamental to obtaining not only a proper understanding of the cultural background of various nations, but also in determining which biases may be inherent in them. With most international business negotiations research focusing on the relationship between culture and behaviour, few studies have examined culture in reference to the outcome of negotiations (Natlandsmyr &
Rognes 1995). This demonstrates a need for additional research in to the role of culture in international business negotiations. While most models assume outcome is based upon aspects of negotiation style or preparation, certain negotiation outcomes may not be obtainable in various situations.
Most past research identifies negotiation as a product of antecedent inputs and static or synergistic solution production which can result in integrative, distributive, or null outcomes
(Adler 1991; Natlandsmyr et al., 1995; Pruitt 1981;). Antecedent inputs include cultural biases, which can be perceptual and cognitive, motivation level, and negotiation behaviour
(Natlandsmyr et al. 1995). Common biases centre on a culture's ability to perceive integrative outcomes and tolerate risk
(Bazerman & Carroll 1987). A culture which is highly risk averse
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and which perceives negotiations as static (zero-sum) will have great difficulty in participating in synergistic negotiations
(Natlandsmyr et al. 1995). In contrast to this static/averse cultural perception, research indicates that cultures with a less competitive
/ individualistic, problem solving orientation are more predisposed to synergistic negotiating (Schultz & Pruitt 1978).
This role of competitiveness as an issue in the pursuit of integrative outcomes is further supported by some of Pruitt's
(1990) more recent work on competitive orientation as an obstacle to integrative solutions.
Many of the issues addressed in this research attempt to elicit culturally specific characteristics as they relate to international business negotiations. It is recognised that these characteristics are generalisations that are not applicable to all members of these communities. This issue was addressed by
Mahoney et al (1998), who encountered a similar dilemma when dealing with Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions. As they put it:
'Note that these dimensions do not represent absolutes, but instead reflect tendencies within cultures. Within any given culture, there are likely to be people at every point on each dimension'
(Mahoney et al 1998, p. 538). As such, readers of this paper should bear in mind that it is the tendencies within cultures that are being referred to when culturally specific issues are raised, not behaviour universally applicable within that culture.
The culturally different responses would fall on a point on a continuum between two polar extremes. The ten factors and associated continuum are shown in Table no. 6.
Table no. 6
The Impact of Culture on Negotiation
Negotiation Factors

Range of Cultural Responses

Goal

Contract < - > Relationship

Attitudes

Win/Lose < - > Win/Win
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Personal Styles

Informal < - > Formal

Communications

Direct < - > Indirect

Time Sensitivity

High < - > Low

Emotionalism

High < - > Low

Agreement Form

Specific < - > General

Agreement Building

Bottom Up < - > Top Down

Team Organization

One Leader < - > Consensus

Risk Taking

High < - > Low
Source: Salacuse 1998, p. 223

The first factor, Negotiating Goals: Contract or
Relationship, relates to the purpose or intent of the parties to the negotiation. According to a number of authors (Chen 1993;
Martin et al 1999; Phatak & Habib 1996; Salacuse 1998; Stone
1996a) American business negotiators, in general, have as their primary negotiating aim, the signing of a contract between the parties. They consider such a contract a binding agreement that outlines the roles, rights and obligations of each party. In contrast to this, negotiators from Asian cultures are believed to have a more fluid (as opposed to watertight) view of contracts and, therefore, place more emphasis on establishing a sustainable business relationship rather than a contract (Chen 1993; Martin et al 1999; Paik & Tung 1999; Stone 1996a).
This cultural difference also affects the type of contract desired by negotiators from many non-Western cultures.
Buszynski (1993), for instance, notes that many Asian cultures eschew the 'Western tradition of legalism' and 'prefer to leave things vague' (p. 20), which is reflected in a preference for general, less detailed, contracts. Additionally, people from these cultures are said to have a cultural expectation that the
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renegotiation of an existing contract is reasonable if conditions change or unforseen events affect the perceived profitability of the venture. These characteristics are associated with both Chinese
(Chen 1993; Kirkbride et al 1991; Melvin 1995; Pye 1992; Stone
1996a) and Japanese (Kotler et al 1996; March 1995; Mead 1998;
Pechter 1992; Phatak & Habib 1996) negotiators, as well as other cultural groups in Asia (Salacuse 1998).
The importance of relationships when negotiating with most cultural groups in Asia is also outlined by numerous authors
(Coll 1996; Kotler et al 1996; Martin et al 1999; Mead 1998; Paik
& Tung 1999; Pechter 1992; Slamet 1995). However, the nature of the relationship receives scant attention. In relation to the
People's Republic of China (PRC), Mead (1998) outlines the conflicting conclusions of previous scholars. Pye (1992), for instance, proposes that the Chinese use notions of friendship developed during the early stages of the negotiation to gain better terms later on, while Child (1994) concluded their attempts at friendship may be genuine. In contrast, McGuinness et al (1991)
'conclude that the Chinese most frequently evaluate relationships in a utilitarian manner that reflects the value of the package'
(Mead 1998, p.243). In relation to the Japanese, Martin et al
(1999) outline the various relationship-building functions 'where the Japanese executives are making judgements about the others' integrity, reliability, commitment and humility' (p. 67). This also tends to emphasise utility over friendship as the aim of the relationship building process.
Dealing more broadly with East-West business relationships, we can outline two possible types of relationships in the region. The first is characterised by formality, politeness and a need-to-know level of transparency.
The second factor, Win/Lose or Win/Win, is also known as distributive or integrative bargaining respectively. In the former, the parties to the negotiation see each other's goals as incompatible and, therefore, believe one party can only gain at the expense of the other, thus, putting each party in competition with the other. In the latter case, however, the parties to the negotiation
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consider themselves to have compatible goals and, therefore, assume both parties should stand to gain from the final agreement.
They, therefore, cooperate with each other to devise a mutually beneficial solution.
The latter win/win negotiating attitude is the hallmark of
Fisher and Ury's (1981) principled negotiation, mentioned earlier, and has become a prominent feature of much of the negotiation literature derived from the West, even when dealing with negotiators from other cultures. So much so, that, according to
Pechter (1992), 'the low-key, non-adversarial, win/win negotiating style'…is…'now regarded as the most effective way for
Americans to do business with people from other cultures' (p. 46).
However, Li and Labig (1996) disagree with this assertion and argue that, in reality, parties to international business negotiations, in particular, often 'have both cooperative and competitive interests that mandate a mix of both distributive and integrative tactics' (p. 100). They further argue that the win-win/win-lose dichotomy should be replaced by a relationship orientation that recognises and caters for the reality of mixed motives in international business negotiations.
From a culturally specific perspective, the Chinese are most commonly characterised as bringing a win/lose attitude to international business negotiations (Dunung 1995; Kirkbride et al
1991; Stone 1996b). However, Engholm (1992) and English
(1996) broaden this to include most of the business people of Asia who are familiar with the military tactics of Sun-Tzu's Art of War and similar works.
The third factor, Personal Style: Formal or Informal, relates to how negotiators interact with counterparts at the table.
'Formal negotiators insist on addressing counterparts by their titles, avoid personal anecdotes, and refrain from asking questions that relate to the private life of the other negotiating team's members. Informal negotiators, on the other hand, may start discussions on a first name basis, quickly seek to develop a personal, friendly relationship with the other team, and (if male)
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may take off his jacket and roll up his sleeves when deal making begins in earnest' (Salacuse 1998, p. 228).
In this regard, negotiators from Germany, Japan, China and Java are considered to have a formal style of interaction relative to
Americans (Kirkbride et al 1991; Kotler et al 1996; Martin et al
1999; Salacuse 1998; Slamet 1994; Stone 1996a) while Buszynski
(1993) generalises this characteristic to most Asian cultures.
The fourth factor, Communications: Direct or Indirect, relates to the literature's claims that people from certain cultures tend to adopt direct and simple methods of communication (eg,
Germans and Americans), while people from other cultures tend to rely on indirect, more complex, methods (eg, the French and
Japanese). 'In cultures that rely on indirect communication, such as the Japanese, reaction to proposals may be gained by interpreting seemingly indefinite comments, gestures, and other signs' (Salacuse 1998, p. 230). One of the oft mentioned expressions of indirect communications is the reluctance of most
Asians to say 'no' directly, particularly the Japanese, Thais, and
Javanese. The notable exception in this regard being the Koreans, who according to one study, were three times more likely to say
'no' as the Japanese (Kotler et al 1996, p. 902).
The fifth factor, Time Sensitivity: High or Low, relates to cultural differences in attitudes towards time and the length of time devoted to the negotiation itself. According to Paik & Tung
(1999), based on work carried out by Kirkbride et al (1991) and
Redding (1980), East Asians view time 'as polychronic, nonlinear, repetitive and associated with events; Americans, on the other hand, view time as monochronic, sequential, absolute and prompt' (p. 111). This view of Americans is supported by Phatak
& Habib (1996) and extended to the Germans by Salacuse (1998).
Most Asian cultures, particularly the Japanese, are renowned for the length of their negotiations. As one interviewer responded in a recent study - 'A meeting that might take three days to conclude in the US will probably take two weeks in Japan'
(Paik & Tung 1999, p. 111). The reason for this is indirectly culturally based, in that, most Asian negotiators have a cultural
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preference to establish a relationship before they begin the negotiations proper (Buszynski 1993; Kotler et al 1996; Martin et al 1999; Mead 1998; Slamet 1995). That is, they do not have a cultural preference for long negotiations, only for developing a relationship. The resulting effect is exacerbated by the business culture existing in some countries. The Japanese consensus based decision-making process (ring-seido) and the Chinese negotiator's need to report results at each stage to higher (decision-making) authorities, are cases in point (Paik & Tung 1999, pp. 111-112).
The sixth factor, Emotionalism: High or Low, relates to the differing views between cultures as to the appropriateness of displaying emotions, as these differing cultural norms may be brought to the negotiating table. According to Salacuse (1998),
'Latin Americans show their emotions at the negotiating table, while Japanese and many other Asians hide their feelings' (p.
231). This is supported by Pechter (1992) who outlines an example of a negotiation where the Japanese party was offended by the other party and reacted by simply obfuscating and delaying a response, giving no physical indication that they were upset.
Similarly, Chen (1993) explains that the 'public expression of anger are considered bad manners in China' (p. 14), but also outlines how the Chinese may feign anger to gain concessions.
This perhaps explains the 'emotional, dictatorial style' encountered by a number of Australian executives operating in China
(Blackman 1996, p. 27) that appears contrary to the Chinese negotiation behaviour and conflict handling preferences expounded by Kirkbride et al (1991, p. 376).
The seventh factor, Form of Agreement: General or
Specific, relates to the culturally specific preference for the form of written agreement the contract takes. For instance, Americans are said to 'prefer detailed contracts that attempt to anticipate all possible circumstances' (Salacuse 1998, p. 232), while the
Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and other Asian peoples, such as the
Overseas Chinese, prefer a contract in the form of general principles rather than detailed rules (Chen 1993; March 1995;
Martin et al 1999; Mead 1998; Paik & Tung 1999; Stone 1996a).
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The latter group's preference, in large part, is the result of their different view of what a contract is. To them the signing of a contract is said to signify the beginning of a relationship, the details of which can be further negotiated post contract.
The eighth factor, Building an Agreement: Bottom Up or Top Down, relates to the culturally different processes for developing agreements. Negotiators from some cultures are said to prefer to begin negotiations by establishing general principles that are used as the framework upon which the contract is built.
That is, they prefer a deductive or top down process. On the other hand, negotiators from other cultures are said to prefer to begin negotiations by first dealing with specifics, such as price, quality, and delivery dates; the sum total of which becomes the contract.
That is, they prefer an inductive or bottom up process. According to the literature, the French, Chinese, Koreans and, to some extent, the Japanese, prefer a top down process while Americans prefer a bottom up process (Chen 1993; Kirkbride et al 1991; Paik & Tung
1999; Salacuse 1998).
The ninth factor, Team Organisation: One Leader or
Group Consensus, relates to the culturally specific ways different groups organise themselves and how decisions are made within the group. At one end of the spectrum a negotiating team may have a supreme leader who has complete authority to decide all matters, while at the other end, authority rests with the group and decision-making occurs through consensus. In the latter case, the negotiating teams tend to be relatively larger than in the former case because of the greater number of personnel involved in the decision-making process.
Americans have a cultural preference for the one leader/small group combination, while the Japanese and Mainland
Chinese prefer the consensus decision-making/large team combination. For the Japanese, the decision-making is a more pure consensus based process than the Mainland Chinese because it revolves around the concept of nemawashi or group commitment and ring-seido or group consultation within the firm.
In Mainland China, however, a consensus-based process is
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necessary because of the number of interested parties, many external to the firm, who are involved in the final outcome. These may be Provincial and Federal bureaucrats from a range of different departments, who are often competing with each other or hold varying levels of power and authority relative to the deal being negotiated (Blackman 1996; Chen 1993; Kotler et al 1996;
March 1995; Marten et al 1999; Mead 1998; Paik & Tung 1999;
Salacuse 1998).
The tenth factor, Risk Taking: High or Low, relates to research indicating certain cultures are more risk averse than others (Hofstede 1980). According to Salacuse (1998), in this regard, 'the culture of the negotiators can affect the willingness of one side to take "risks" in a negotiation - to divulge information, try new approaches, or tolerate uncertainties in a proposed course of action' and 'the Japanese are said to be highly risk-averse in negotiations' (p. 236). Although inherently logical, this characteristic does not appear to be widely reported in the literature. The way concessions are used by different international business negotiators appears to be another cultural factor that will impact on the negotiation process. According to Mead (1998),
'cultures vary in terms of what concessions they might offer, and of what value' (p. 247). There also appears to be a cultural variance as to when, during the negotiations, the concessions are offered. For instance, the literature indicates that while American negotiators tend 'to make small concessions early to establish a relationship and to keep the negotiation process moving forward smoothly' (Phatak & Habib 1996, p. 34), 'East Asians prefer to make concessions towards the middle or at the end of the negotiations' (Paik & Tung 1999, p. 113). These stereotypes are supported by Blackman (1997), Chen (1993) and Mead (1998) who all apply this characteristic to the Chinese, while Phatak and
Habib (1996) and Martin et al (1999) outline its use by the
Japanese.
Another, apparently culturally specific area related to concessions is the initial starting price put forward by
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negotiators. Within the literature, the Chinese are characterised as setting much higher initial starting prices and positions, than negotiators from other cultures. Blackman (1997) sees this as part of China's 'haggling tradition'. As she explains, 'the haggling formula followed is fairly standard. It begins with broad principles and unrealistic demands, and proceeds with exaggeration of
Chinese compromises and minimisation of those yielded by the opposition…' (p. 194). In recognition of this, a number of authors recommend this tactic be reciprocated when negotiating with the
Chinese. That is, 'play the game'. For instance, Kirkbride et al
(1991) 'suggest that parties who expect to reach compromise solutions in the bargaining process will correspondingly give themselves greater room for manoeuvre and movement by setting higher and more extreme initial demands and offers' (p. 376).
The apparent Japanese belief that buyers are of much greater importance than sellers is another cultural factor that will affect negotiations. According to Graham (1993) 'Americans have little understanding of the Japanese practice of giving complete deference to the needs and wishes of buyers' (p. 128).
Mead (1998) outlines how this deference is expressed in the language used between buyer and seller in Japan, while Martin et al (1999) explain that the nature of the relationship is similar to that existing between father and son; with the son equating to the seller and the father equating to the buyer. Kotler et al (1996) relate the importance of the buyer to the inordinate amount of time salespeople spend servicing customers in Japan. However, more relevant for international business negotiations, is March's (1995) list of distinctive features that affect negotiations as a consequence of the notion that the buyer or customer is 'king' in Japan. These are: 



She expects service and even servility as her right
In major industries, buyers expect to be feted often
The buyer views buying proposals with a cold eye.
Enthusiasm on the part of a professional buyer is virtually un-Japanese behaviour
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As a matter of policy, he distrusts salesmanship and is suspicious of sales claims
 When overseas, the Japanese buyer is most likely to trust information from other Japanese, rather than from local peoples he doesn't know
(March 1995, p. 4)
The issue of 'face' also appears to be an important cultural factor for international business negotiations, especially in Asia and particularly in China. In fact, in recent research on commercial negotiations in the PRC 'the importance of 'face' was constantly mentioned' (Stone 1996a, p. 137) by the experienced
China trade negotiators under interview. 'To an American, losing face is embarrassing; to a Chinese losing face is devastating, the ultimate disgrace. A Chinese will go to almost any length to avoid a loss of face' (Coll 1996, p. 480). According to Blackman (1997),
'face refers to a person's reputation, the respect in which he is held by others' (p. 17) and can impact on business negotiations in a number of ways.
'If the Chinese team has lost interest in the deal, for instance, it will not come out and say so, but will be so inflexible that the foreign side is forced to withdraw from the negotiations, thereby enabling the Chinese team to have saved "face"' (Chen
1993, p. 16). If a foreign negotiator loses his/her temper or contradicts or criticises someone from the Chinese negotiating team in public, this negotiator will have offended against Chinese
'face' and will almost certainly lose the deal. He/she may even find that other potential prospects also suddenly lose interest in doing business. 'Face may also become an issue in negotiations when the
Chinese avoid speaking openly about a sensitive problem. They deflect the burning issue onto something else' (Blackman 1997, p.
20). The resulting indirect communications has the potential to create significant, if not terminal, misunderstandings.
'Face' has a complexity that goes beyond these simple descriptions, however, and as the following example shows, needs to be understood within the context of the environment in which the Chinese or Asian parties operate.


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A final dimension on 'face' is the public context associated with it. Blackman (1997 & 1996) and Buszynski (1993), for instance, talk of preventing the loss of face and of saving and giving face in public, indicating that different rules may apply in a private setting. That is, the loss of face or gain of face may only be realised in a public context and content that may be inappropriate (offends against face) in public may be less so in private. This contention is consistent with the concept of 'shame' orientated cultures associated with Chinese and other Asian societies. In such societies 'shame refers to an interpersonal frame in which behaviour is compared to social norms rather than to internalized personal standards (as in "guilt" cultures)' (Kirkbride et al. 1991, p. 369).
Another factor, outlined in the literature, affecting international business negotiations, is difficulties in identifying the true decision-maker of the other party, especially in Asia.
In some instances, it has been reported that the decision-maker may be concealed within the team or was subsequently found to be remote from the negotiations (Mead 1998, p. 241; Martin et al
1999, p.68). Engholm (1992), provides an example from a SinoCanadian negotiation, where a local Chinese who presented himself as the Canadian's interpreter for the day, turned out to be the city's 'leading official from the Ministry of Foreign Economic
Relations and Trade'.
A more instructive passage, that not only indicates the difficulties identifying decision-makers, but also the complexity of the process in China, comes from Li's (1988) Handbook for
Chinese Negotiations.
As chief negotiator you must bear the pressure and objectives of the leading group. This is more troublesome than the pressure of the opposite negotiator. You must not follow the line of least resistance simply because the leading group has a particular agenda. When there is a difference of opinion between the negotiating team and the leadership, it is most important to gain the support of the intermediate leading group. Once that is

219

obtained, write a report for the leadership which analyses and weighs all factors and ask the leadership to write comments on it. When the leadership sees that your opinion is based on thorough and balanced analysis, it will, in most circumstances, take it into account.

The above passage may, in part, explain Blackman's
(1997) recommendation in a later work to not bother identifying the decision-maker. As she explains, 'most of the power brokers will not be present at the negotiations. Trying to identify who in the group is important and influential and who is not, is not a useful exercise as it is peripheral to the Chinese decision-making process'. A large percentage of international negotiation literature is devoted to outlining the cultural mores and values of the people who live in various non-Western countries. The implicit message is that Western negotiators should adapt to these countries' cultural values. Buszynski (1993), for instance, claims that negotiators 'should try to identify the ethnic background of the people one is dealing with and adjust one's behaviour accordingly'. Similarly, Blackman's (1996) research indicates that
'successful Australian negotiators acknowledge the Chinese bargaining process and adjust their behaviour accordingly'.
However, very little work has been put forward on how far a negotiator should try to adapt to the other person's cultural values when carrying out international negotiations, even though this would appear to be a question of crucial importance.
Mead (1998) asks exactly this question and refers to the experimental work carried out by Francis (1991) that indicated moderate adaptation by Asians in the United States was more effective than substantial adaptation. He also refers to an example of a culturally literate American who does not disclose or utilise this (ie, no adaptation) to the Southeast Asians he is dealing with in order to gain strategic advantage. As such, although the question is asked, it is not really answered. The experiment, although useful, cannot be extrapolated to all negotiations, just as
220

the example cannot be generalised. English (1996) partly addresses this question by arguing against complete adaptation when negotiating with people from other cultures. As he explains,
'Asian people do not expect or want Australians to perform a pseudo-Asian role play - it results in caricature, and therefore tends to affront and embarrass. The best approach is to know and meet the standards of politeness required in the particular Asian setting'. However, a more sophisticated approach to the appropriate level of adaptation is presented by Weiss (1994a) who contends that the old adage 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' is no longer appropriate to international negotiators operating in today's global economy. Instead he proposes eight possible culturally responsive strategies, the choice of which depends on the degree of familiarity the negotiator has with his counterpart's culture, and conversely, the degree of familiarity the counterpart has with the negotiator's culture.

Figure no.4
Culturally Responsive Strategies and their Feasibility

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As such, the appropriate level of adaptation, prima facie, becomes a function of two variables. This is shown in Figure no.4.
However, Weiss (1994b) recognised that this framework is essentially one-dimensional in that it only relates to 'the negotiator's and counterpart's familiarity with each other's cultures' (Weiss 1994). This is what Weiss (1994) calls feasibility.
To be appropriate, the feasible strategy needs to be considered in relation to 'its fit with the counterpart's likely approach and therefore its capacity to lead to coherent interaction, its appropriateness to the relationship and circumstances at hand, and its acceptability in light of the manager's values' (Weiss 1994). In light of this added complexity, Weiss (1994) presents the following five steps for selecting a culturally responsive strategy
(which impacts on the appropriate level of adaptation).
1. Reflect on your culture's negotiation script.
2. Learn the negotiation script of the counterpart's culture.
3. Consider the relationship and circumstances.
4. Predict and influence the counterpart's approach.
5. Choose your strategy.
Weiss (1994b) goes on to outline these steps in considerable detail, even providing a matrix to determine the degree of complementarity between each party's strategy. However, for the purposes of this paper it is sufficient to note that Step 3 brings a number of other contextual issues into the degree of adaptation appropriate. For instance, buyers and sellers act differently in the same market, prior relationships will influence a negotiation and the appropriate level of adaptation, as will the balance of power between parties. Following the culturally responsive strategies proposal then, means that the appropriate level of adaptation is a function of the negotiation strategy adopted, which in turn is a function of the cultural understandings of the negotiators involved and a number of contextual factors surrounding the negotiation.

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