MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Study Material Notes chapter wise unit Wise Study Notes 3 Mock Papers for self-assessment Solved case studies Practise Notes
Section C
Long Answer Questions
MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Page.1
MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Page.2
MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Page.3
MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Page.4
MBA 1st Year Business Letters And Reports Long Question Answers Notes Page.5
Q.1. How the business correspondence can be made more effective? Also mention the principles of effective business correspondence.
Ans. Business communication Is a process of transmitting information and thoughts between various parts of organization and also to the people outside the organization. In it, the reciever of the message should be able to understand the message immediately and this can be possible only when the message is written in simple and familiar words. So, any business correspondence can be made effective using the following.
1. Use of familiar words is the most important rule of word selection in business correspondence
2. Use of concrete words instead of abstract words form clear and sharp images in mind.
3. Avoid use of more words than required in sentence or circumlocation to express the purpose.
4. Avoid use of long sentences having many clauses and unnecessary words.
5. Every profession has its own special vocabulary and technical words. So, technical words must be used.
6. Use English words that are easy to use and understand instead of difficult and useless words. Avoid any possibility of misinterpretation of your words by the reader.
7. Use of strong words or power words makes the business correspondence more forceful.
Strong words not only drive the sentences forward but develops the interest of the reader also.
8. Active verbs make the business correspondence direct, clearer, more informative and easier to understand.
Principles of Effective Business Corres pondence
Effective business correspondence must follow the following principles:
1. It should be brief, i.e. it cuts right through to the point.
2. A good business correspondence should round friendly. Use comfortable language but do not detailed encounters.
3. Ensure you give sufficient information about yourself that the receiver may need or find relevant.
4. Make sure you give a correct address both on the envelope and in the letter of correspondence.
5. Let the correct format run throughout. Failure to observe this is a sign of ignorance.
6. Use correct tenses, punctuations and verbs.
Q.2. List and explain the essentials of a good business letter.
(2010-11)
Or State the various essential qualities of a good business letter.(2011-12)
Or What do you understand by business letter? Explain the essential characteristics of a good business letter.
Ans. Business Letter: Business letters are those letters which are used to convey the required message or information between business house. They also include the letters written by the business houses to the government departments on various subjects, such as making representation, making complaints, requesting for licence, etc.
In other words, business letters refer to those letters which facilitate business transactions. A modern businessman has to write large number of letters and larger the business, the greater is the volume of correspondence. Letters may be when goods are purchased and sold, when they are shipped and insured, or when the complaints are received or adjusted, or when accounts are opened and settled.
Essential Characteristics of a Good Business Letter: A good business letter should possess the following essential characteristics:
1. Clarity: Every sentence of a business letter should be clear and unambiguous. Everything must be said in an easy, simple and direct manner. Use of difficult words should be ignored. It should say what it wants to convey.
2. Coherence: Clearness of a letter depends to a great extent on its unity or coherence. One thought should naturally follow another and each sentence must show proper sequence. The writer must show proper respect to logic. He should know what he wants to accomplish in the letter. He must be in possession of all the facts.
3. Simplicity: The business letter should be writt when it is simple and natural. It must not contain quotations, verses, poetic phrases or rhetoric clauses.
4. Correctness: Facts and figures mentioned in a busines practise to distort facts or to misrepresent them or to give wrong ones.
5. Completeness: The business letter should be complet
ness: The business letter should be complete in all respects. It must contain all essential points and should not be wanting in some informatio, hould not be wanting in some information which the addressee requires.
6.conciseness or Brevity: A business letter should be as short as possible. Roundabom expressions and unnecessary discussions should be avoided. However, cocciseness
or brevity should not be achieved at the cost of completeness or courtesy.
7. Convincing: The letter written should convince the other party that the correct, in order to convince the letter should contain the correct facts supported by the convincine language.
8. Courtesy: The tone of a business letter should be polite. The language of the letter should not hurt the reader. They are people who seem to regard bluntness as a sign of strength, in reality, it is a sign of bad breeding
9. Originality: Nothing appeals so much as originality. The writer of business letter should not try to copy age-long phrases and sentences but be original in his letter so that he may be able to assert his individuality.
10. Appearance: A business letter should have good, neat and tidy appearance. It must be written on proper letter paper, should be neatly written or typed, carefully folded and put in the right sized envelope.
Q.3. Draw a proper format of a business letter with all essential components.(2011-12)
Or Briefly discuss the structure of a business letter.
Ans. To be effective, a business letter must be written in a proper form and style. A set structure of writing business letters has evolved over the years out of customs, experiences and exigencies. It contains the following essential parts:
1. Heading: Most of the business firms use printed letter heads these days. The heading consist of the following information:
(a) The name of the sender
(b) The address of the sender.
(c) The nature of the business of the sender (i.e. educational institute, exporter, etc).
(d) The name of the department writing the letter.
(e) The telephone numbers, mobile numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.
(f) ( The reference number of the letter. It will give clues of the identity of the writer of letter.
(g) The date of writing the letter.
2. Inside Name and Address: This part of the letter shows the name and the address of the person or party an individual courte
party an individual courtesy titles should be prefixed before his or her name. Mr./Mrs./Ms./Shrul Smt./Kumari, etc. are ordinary courtesy titles used for addressing correspondence.
For example:
Dr. J.V. Gupta, Mr. Rajan Mathur,
37, Doctor’s Colony, 29, Nehru Palace,
Meerut-250003. New Delhi-110019.
Inside address should be written on the left hand side of the page just after the printed portion a letter paper.
Opening Salutation: Salutation is a form of greeting to the addressee. It is written just below inside address, leaving a little space and ending it with comma. The words to
Words to be used for the open salutation will depend upon the writer’s relation with the correspondent.
The Oldest form of salutation is sir /Madam. It is only when an applicant writes an application to a firm that this form of salutation is used. The common form of salutation in the case of and an individual is dear Sir and if she is a female, Dear madem.
4. Subject: It is custormary to mention the subject to which the letter relates in between the inside address and the salutation or in between the salutation and the body of the letter. The purpose of writing subject heading is to tell the message to the reader in brief. Subject heading is prefixed with the dword “subject’ or ‘sub’ and duly underlined to make it prominent. Subject heading not only helps thfe receiver to connect the letter with the previous correspondence but also to pass it quickly to the concerned person for necessary actions.
For example:
Subject: Return of Empties.
5. Body of Letter: This is the most important part of the letter and is most difficult to write. This part is divided into several paragraphs, the first being known as the introductory para, the last as th concluding para and the middle ones which constitutes the main body and contain the rest of the letter. The first para could also refer to the previous correspondence, if any. It is conventional to close the last paragraph with some complimentary words like ‘I hope to near from you soon’, etc.
6. Complimentary Close or Subscription: It refers to the regards or respect which we wants to convey to the reader. It must agree with the salutation. The common form of salutation is ‘Yours faithfully’. ‘Yours truely’ could also be used but it shows intimacy and is also not very common.
7. Signature: The signature is written in handwriting below the complimentary close. As the signatures are mostly illegible, it is customary to type the name of the signatory below his signature. The signature must be accompanied with the name of the concern for whom the letter is being written and the designation of the person signing the letter.
The rules regarding signatures are as follows:
(a) If a letter is written by an individual, he should sign himself.
(b) If the letter is written by a partnership firm, any partner is entitled to sign in the name of the firm in his own handwriting.
(C) An employee of the firm, e.g. manager cannot sign the name of firm himself unless he is authorised0 to do so.”
8. Enclosures: Very often some documents are sent along with a letter. In such a case the fact that some documents are enclosed with the letter should be indicated on the left hand bottom corner of the letter paper by writing the word ‘Enclosures’ and duly underlined. The dispatch clerk must carefully see that the enclosures have been enclosed along with the letter.
9. Post Script: If the writer wants to write something after the completion of the letter, he puts down P.S. (Post Script) and after that writes whatever he likes.
10. Identification Mark: At the bottom of the letter may also be found initials of the clerk, who types the letter. These are put down with a view to hold the typist responsibility for its typing out.
Q.4. Discuss the significance of effective business letter. Explain the various kinds of layout of business letter.(2013-14)
Or State full block form of layout of business letter.(2015-16)
Ans. Importance or Significance of an Effective Business Letter
The significance of business letter was felt widely everywhere and it is regarded as a backbone of a successful business house. The first important function of commercial correspondence is to establish contact between two parties separated by long distances who might never meet each other or might not recognise each other when they meet. The letter works as a messenger and does all the communications for the businessman. The second function of a commercial letter is that it provides a written evidence of what passes between two parties. Even when conversation is done over the telephone or a message
is sent by a telegram, it is usually confirmed by means of letter. Thirdly, business letters are supersedin personal contacts or interviews to a certain extent. Personal interviews have certain advantages in securing business, but in many cases the cheaper and safer method of correspondence is adopted to do this work. Besides, the primary fact that a letter is cheap and saves time its great advantage is that we need to say no more in its than what we wish whereas an interview might possibly leave us regrettine a hasty work or a rash promise.
How to Write an Effective Business Letter: These are some of the important advantages of business letters which have made the art of good letter writing an indispensable essential of a business success. This has now become an invariable prerequisite to a business carrier. A good letter is able to achieve the purpose for which it is written. A letter accompanying a catalogue should succeed in persuading the addressee to make some purchases.
Business letters are not much different from personal letters. But since a business letter is written to achieve a definite purpose and often gives to legal obligation, we have to be more accurate, clear, correct, precise, courteous and reasonable in our approach.
Essentials of an Effective Business Letter: Refer to Section-C, Q.2.
Layout of Business Letter
Business letter has various layouts:
1. Full or Complete Block Form: All the parts of the letter begin with margin. Different parts are differentiated by leaving space between each part.
2. Indented Form: It is a traditional form where lines of the address and the body of letter are indented 5 spaces from the previous lines. Every line has a comma at the end and last line ends with a fullstop.
3. Semi-block Form: This is a compromise between block and indented forms. In it, the address is written in block form with open punctuation but in the body, the first line of every paragraph is indented 5 spaces with complimentary close and signature comes at the right corner below the body of the letter.
4. Modified Block Form: It is commonly used form and is somewhat similar to the full block form The sender’s address and date are given in the block form in the right hand corner as the complimentary close and signature or other parts begin from the left margin fully like the block form.
5. Hanging Indented Form: It is mainly used for sales letters. The address comes at the top centre if the letter head is printed but it is found at top right if letter head is typed. Both addresses are in block form with open punctuation. The first line of every paragraph begins from the margin and other lines are written 5 spaces away from the margin. Signature and complimentary close can be placed at the left or right.
6. Simplified Form: This form is a protest against the formalities involved in the other forms of letter salutation and complimentary close are redundant and are done away with and other forms are written to the left margin. This form is more impressive.