How to Format and Write a Simple Business Letter

People write business letters and emails for a variety of reasons such as requesting information, to conduct transactions, to secure employment, and so on. Effective business correspondence should be clear and concise, respectful in tone, and formatted properly. By breaking down a business letter into its basic components, you can learn how to communicate effectively and improve your skills as a writer. The Basics A typical business letter contains three sections, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.   The Introduction:  The introduction indicates who the writer is addressing. If youre writing to someone you dont know or have met only briefly, the introduction may also a brief reason of why youre writing. Typically, the introduction is only a sentence or two in length.The Body: The letters body is where you state your business. This section may be as short as a few sentences or several paragraphs in length. It all depends on the degree of detail necessary to describe the subject at hand.The Conclusion: The conclusion is the final section where youll  call for future action. This can be a chance to talk in person, to request additional information, or to conduct a transaction. Like the introduction, this section should be no more than a sentence or two and must make clear what you would like from the person reading your letter. The Introduction The tone of the introduction depends on your relationship to the letter recipient. If youre addressing a close friend or a business colleague, using their first name is acceptable. But if youre writing to someone you do not know, its best to address them formally in the greeting. If you do not know the name of the person youre writing to, use their title or a general form of address. Some examples: Dear personnel directorDear sir or madamDear Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms. (Last name)Dear Frank (use this if the person is a close business contact or friend) Writing to a specific person is always preferred. Generally speaking, use Mr. when addressing men and Ms. for women in the greeting. Only use the title of Doctor for those in the medical profession. While you should always begin a business letter with the word Dear, doing so is an option for business emails, which are less formal. If youre writing to someone you dont know or have met only in passing, you may want to follow the greeting by providing some context for why youre contacting that person. Some examples: With reference to your advertisement in the Times...Im am following up on our phone call yesterday.Thank you for your letter of March 5. The Body The majority of a business letter is contained in the body. This is where the writer states his or her reason for corresponding. For example:   I am writing to inquire about the position posted in The Daily Mail.I am writing to confirm the shipment details on order # 2346.I am writing to apologize for the difficulties you experienced last week at our branch. Once you have stated the general reason for writing your business letter, use the body to provide additional details. For example, you may be sending a client important documents to sign, apologizing to a customer for poor service, requesting information from a source, or some other reason. Whatever the reason, remember to use language that is courteous and polite. For instance: I would be grateful to meet with you next week.Would you possibly have time for a meeting next week?I would be delighted to give you a tour of our facility this coming month.Unfortunately, we will have to postpone the meeting until June 1.Enclosed you will find a copy of the contract. Please sign where indicated. It is customary to include some closing remarks after youve stated your business in the body of the letter. This is your opportunity to reinforce your relationship with the recipient, and it should just be a sentence. Please contact us again if we can help in any way.If you have any questions, feel free to call me.You can also use the closing to request or offer future contact with the reader.I look forward to hearing from you soon.Please contact my assistant to schedule an appointment. The Finish The final thing all business letters need is a salutation, where you say your goodbyes to the reader. As with the introduction, how you write the salutation will depend on your relationship to the recipient. For clients that youre not on a first-name basis with, use: Yours faithfully (if you dont know the name of the person youre writing to)Yours sincerely, (if you do know the name of the person youre writing to. If you are on a first-name basis, use: Best wishes, (if youre acquaintances)Best regards or Regards (if the person is a close friend or contact) Sample Business Letter Kens Cheese House34 Chatley AvenueSeattle, WA 98765October 23, 2017Fred FlintstoneSales ManagerCheese Specialists Inc.456 Rubble RoadRockville, IL 78777Dear Mr. Flintstone,With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for: 120 x Cheddar Deluxe Ref. No. 856.The order will be shipped within three days via UPS and should arrive at your store in about 10 days.Please contact us again if we can help in any way.Yours sincerely,Kenneth BeareDirector of Kens Cheese House

An Overview of the Argentine Financial Crisis Essay

The financial crisis in Argentina during the late 1990s and early 2000s resulted in severe issues with foreign debt, inflation, unemployment, and political turmoil for the country. Argentina not only suffered a currency crisis, but also suffered a political crisis. Fallout from the economic collapse was so severe the Argentinean population resorted to civil unrest and protest, which in turn exacerbated Argentina’s problems at the turn of the century. While other issues related to this financial crisis such as the impact on the lives of the Argentinean population or the political turmoil and corruption are certainly worthy of discussion, this paper will focus on the currency crisis and the Argentinean government’s role in this economic†¦show more content†¦In an effort to move Argentina from an internationally isolated and state-dominated economy to one that encouraged international trade and foreign investments, Carlos Menem, in the early 1990s, initiated a wave of privatization, which included state-owned industries such as utilities (Feldstein, 2002). Following the examples of Chile and the emerging economies of Southeast Asian nations, Menem hoped this liberalization would foster growth in productivity and economic growth. On April 1, 1991, Argentina’s Congress, with Domingo Cavallo as Minister of Economy, enacted the Convertibility Law (or Ley de Convertibilidad) legally adopting the currency board (Hornbeck, 2002). This legislation essentially pegged the Argentinean peso to the U.S. dollar. The government guaranteed the convertibility of the peso to U.S. dollar at a one-to-one exchange rate, limiting the printing of pesos to only those necessary to purchase dollars in the foreign exchange market. Thus, the central bank was required by law to hold foreign reserves to cover its peso liabilities (Hanke and Schuler, 2002). With this fixed exchange rate, the Argentinean government was hoping to preserve the value of their currency and stabilize inflation. The peg was initially successful, as it cured hyperinflation that occurred at the end of the 1980s and provided price stability needed for economic growth in the early 1990s. 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Moral and Social Responsibility in Supply Chains

Question: Discuss about the Moral and Social Responsibility in Supply Chains. Answer: Introduction: Every business comprises of human resources. Human resources refer to the employees, workers and other organizational people needed for business. It has been said that human resources are the most important and valuable asset of a company as the success of a business depends on them. Employee Engagement refers to the enthusiasm and dedication of the employees towards the business works. It means how much the employees are passionate about their jobs and how much they are committed to their jobs. This study is about the analysis of employee engagement regarding various aspects of the business. The primary aim of this essay is to discuss the factors which contribute towards the employee engagement and also to identify the reasons behind the decreased level of employee engagement throughout the world. Moreover, the strategies adopted by the human resource managers to overcome employee engagement issues have been discussed. Lastly, a conclusion has been drawn based on the entire essay. The definition of employee engagement can be given in various manners. The term Employee Engagement is not a small pair of words, but these words have a lot of inner meaning. The definition of Employee Engagement can be given relating to several topics. The definitions are given below: In general, Employee Engagement can be described as the relationship between the employees with their organizations. Employee engagement can be understood as the absorption of the employees with their organizations i.e. employees should be absorbed with the ambiance, culture, rules and regulations of the company. The employees will be enthusiastic enough to work with the organization if they are successfully absorbed with the above factors of the organization. Employee engagement increases the dedication and commitment level of the employees towards their organization. A fully engaged employee gives his/her best to the organization each and every day. Employee engagement consists of three parts; they are Motivation, Satisfaction and Effectiveness. There is a difference exists between employee engagement and employee satisfaction. It can be said that a satisfied employee is not an engaged employee. There are reasons behind this say. A satisfied employee can be happy with his/her limited work and limited pay. However, their satisfaction does not help the organization to increase the productivity. On the other hand an engaged employee is someone who always wants to do more for the organization and this process helps to develop his/her career as well as increase the productivity of the company. Hence, it can be said that a satisfied employee can be an engaged employee but not always. Employee engagement and employee motivation are always interrelated. A motivated employee is the one who is an engaged employee. Motivation forces a person to do his/her job sincerely and one who does his/her job sincerely is the happiest person irrespective of the result of the work. Thus, employers need to motivate the employees so that they can be fully engaged with their job. On the other hand, employee engagement can also be defined by effectiveness. Effectiveness refers to the impact of the work done by the employees of the organization. An engaged employee is always dedicated and committed toward the organizational goals and this process leads to maximum employee engagement. There are certain factors in the organization which contributes to reduce the level of employee engagement. These factors are discussed below: The first factor is that the employees dont know the goals, mission, vision, strategies of the organization. The employees should know all these above mentioned aspects of the organization or they will not be excited about their jobs. Knowing all these things will give them the motivation to do the work effectively. The second factor is that the employees should know how their little contribution will help to gain the big goal of the company. Most of the employees do not know how their contribution helps to achieve the goals and this factor leads to the employee disengagement. The third factor is the disability of the managers to create an environment of dedication, commitment and passion. It is the fault of the managers to misread the human nature of the workforce. As a result, they fail to motivate the employees to do the work. This process results to employee disengagement. The fourth factor is that the employees dont get the desired appreciation. The employees need to be appreciated for their good job. If the employees dont get the desired application and are always treated badly for their poor job, they will become disengaged from their part of the job. The fifth factor is the lack of correction from the management end. It is obvious to have poor performance by the employees and there will be bad behavior from the employees. These incidents need to be corrected at an utmost priority. If these matters are spared by the managers even after taken them into their notice, the ethic will be lost from the employees. This process will lead to employee disengagement. The sixth factor is the lack of training. In the absence of a sufficient training system the newly recruited employees could face difficulties while performing their job. Moreover this could also instill a sense of frustration and lead to unengaged employees. The seventh and one of the most important factors is a lack of motivation. Motivation is a factor which drives a work force to work effectively. It is the responsibility of the human resource managers to create a motivated atmosphere. Due to lack of motivation, the employees lose the enthusiasm to work better and that leads to employee dissatisfaction. From the above discussion, it is clear that there should be some effective strategies to address the above-discussed employee disengagement issues. By implementing those strategies, the employees become more sincere and attentive to their jobs. Some of the strategies taken by human resource managers are discussed below: The employees should know about the goals, mission and vision of the companies. The human resource manger should clearly communicate about these strategies to the employees. These strategies will work as guiding principles to the employees. On the other hand, the employees will feel themselves as the greater part of the organization. The human resource manager should be a good leader. He should be able to create an atmosphere of trust, inspiration, high morale, values at the workplace. All these aspects together work as a motivational tool to the employees of the companies. There should be mutual respect in the workforce. The manager should create some core ethical values that will drive the employees to the success. The employees should be allowed to take participation in the managerial decision making process. Though it is the top level manager's work to make the decisions for the company, they should invite the views of the employees on critical matters. This process will make the employees feel important for the organization. On the other hand, this process will engage the employees in the workforce better than before. Appreciation, rewarding and recognition are some of the best ways to keep the employees engaged in the work. The employees must be appreciated and awarded for the good work they do. An award in front of everyone or a round of applause works like a wonder for the employees. On the other hand, there should be enough scope for their career development. Career oriented people are the most engaged employees. The employees should be accountable for the jobs they do i.e. the responsibility of the work must be on them. The responsibility will make the employees responsible towards their job; they will be accountable for the work. Sincere employees like to take responsibility. This responsibility will make them aware of flaws in the work and the will be totally engaged in the jobs. The companies must have policies which ensure the well-being of the employees. There should be policies regarding the health of the employees, pension schemes, provident fund schemes and other that will be the beneficiary of the employees. These factors work as motivation to the employees. From the above essay, it can be said that employees are the most valuable assets to a company as the success of the organization totally depends on them. Thus, it is desired that the employees give their hundred percent to the company. This process is called Employee Engagement. Employees should be totally dedicated and committed to the organizational works. However there are some factors which affect the employee engagement process and make them disengage from their works. The factors can be either from the management end or can be from the employee end. These issues are serious issues which need to be addressed by the human resource managers. It has been seen that the presence of effective human resource strategies addresses the issues properly and help the employees become fully engaged with the organization and the organizational works. Hence, it can be concluded that by adopting proper strategies, the employee engagement issues can be solved. 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