Objective of the Topic
Objective of the topic is the professional
development of the learners by giving a
perfect command over error free memo
writing.
DEFINITION
Memorandum are the letters written inside the
organization although a few companies use
them for external communication.
SAMPLE EMPLOYEE MEMORANDUM
To:
From:
Subject:
Date:
All Managers
CEO or senior management official
Computer Software and Pakistan Copyright Law
12th April 2013
The purpose of this memorandum is to remind you of Soft Solution's policy concerning the illegal copying and
use of commercial software. Unlicensed duplication or unauthorized use of any software program is illegal and
can expose you and the company to civil and criminal liability under the copyright law.
To ensure that you do not violate the software publisher's copyright, you should not copy any program installed
on your computer for any purpose without permission from Mr. Nadeem Manager of MIS Department.
Likewise, you should not install any program onto your computer without such permission or clear verification
that the company owns a license to cover that installation. Finally, you should not download unauthorized
software from the Internet.
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–
–
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The company will not tolerate any employee making unauthorized copies of software.
The company will not tolerate any employee downloading or uploading unauthorized software from the Internet.
Any employee found copying software illegally is subject to termination from the company.
Any employee illegally copying software to give to any third party, including clients and customers, is also subject to
termination.
If you want to use software licensed by the company at home, you must consult with Mr. Nadeem Manager of MIS
Department in order to make sure such use is permitted by the publisher’s license.
This policy will be strictly enforced to make sure that you and the company are not exposed to serious legal
consequences.
Mr. Nadeem Manager of MIS Department will be visiting your department over the next week to inventory the
software installations on your computers and to ascertain that the company owns licenses for each copy of a
software product. If unlicensed copies are found, they will be deleted, and if necessary, replaced with licensed
copies. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
What is memo
• Memorandums are written messages exchanged
by employs in their day to day activities.
• It may be addressed to a specific individuals or
group of persons for the purpose of commanding
or calling the attention to a work done.
• Memos have two fold purpose; they bring
attention to the problems and they solve
problems
– Memos are normally used for non sensitive
communication
– Memo is short and to the point
– Memo has a direct style
– Memo does not have a salutation
– Memo has complementary closing
Difference between Memos and Business Letters
– The principles in writing memorandums and in
writing business letters are same because they are
based on the same reasons for writing.
– Nevertheless, the two differ on the bases of
format and content organization
– Memorandums are slightly informal
Characteristics
Memo
Letter
Destination
Internal: Correspondence written to colleagues within a
company .
External correspondence written outside
the business.
Format
Identification lines includes “To” “From” ‘’Date.”
Includes letter head address, date,
reader’s address, salutation, text,
complimentary close and signatures.
Audience
Generally high tech or low tech mostly business
colleagues.
Generally low tech and lay readers such
as vendors and client s.
Tone
Informal (peer audience )
More formal
Structure
Typically 8.5 x 11 with 1 inch margins, 80 characters per
line and about 55 lines per page.
Typically 8.5 x 11 with 1 inch margins, 80
characters per line and about 55 lines
per page.
Delivery time
Determined by a company’s in house mail procedure.
Memos could be delivered within 3 days
Determined by the destination the city
state or country . Letters could be
delivered within 3 days but may take
more than a week
Security
If a company’s mail delivery system is reliable, the memo
will be placed in the reader’s mail box. Then what the
reader sees on the hard copy page will be exactly what
the writer wrote. Security depends on the ethics of co
workers and whether the memo was sent with in an
envelope
Depends upon privacy laws of company
Steps of Writing Memo
Step One:
Prewriting
Step Two:
Writing
Step Three:
Revising and
proofreading
Step one: Pre Writing
– Identify your purpose
– Determine your audience
– Understand the situation
– Gather all references and data
– Decided what reader need to know from all the
information you have gathered
– What you want to accomplish?
Step Two: Writing
• There are three guidelines for writing the text of the
memo.
• Tell readers only what they need to know. Memos are
concise packets of information , Elaborate details will
obscure your point
• Tell them what the information means. You are not
simply supplying information but interpreting it for the
reader. Give complete information.
• Tell reader what action is needed and when it should
be taken. Should failed division be closed down or sold
? When ? Discuss the desire action but keep it brief.
Language of Memo
Active Verbs: memos are used to urge to take some action. Active verbs can highlight
the fact that your message is important and needs immediate response.
An decision must be reached by Tuesday does not carry the same impact as “we
must decide this matter by Tuesday” this active voice directly involves the reader
directly
Descriptive words and phrases. Ask yourself question about the subject. What makes
it important ? What does the reader need to know about it?
Use your words to create a vivid picture of what you are describing and why it is
important . But it should be brief.
Conversational positive tone . The style of most memos should be natural
conversation. Write as the reader is with you and the tone should be positive try to
preface your remarks with favorable comments .for example
Poor: The new adhesive you recommended does not work you must not have
researched our product at all
Better : although the new adhesive works well in most fabrication plant, we have
found that it does not hold up under the test we give our product.
Language of Memo
Technical language. In memo you can use technical language more then a general
business language but it depends on the types audience.
Memos are mostly written by professionals to another. For example
Instead of saying to fallow computer analyst,” the new model have expandable
memory ” you would more likely say ”the new model’s 20GB memory can be
expended to 200 GB ”
Accuracy. Double check the fact , figures, event, relationships, dates and other
information sectional to the decision. Check your grammar, punctuation, spelling and
format.
Format of MEMO
To:
From:
Date :
Subject :
Focus + Topic
Introduction: overview stating why you are
writing and what you are writing about
Discussion : detailed Development made
accessible through highlighting techniques,
explaining exactly what you want to say
Conclusion : a summation stating what’s the next
when this will occur and why date is important
Class Activity
Setting: you are running a software house and
your employees are not properly shutting
down the office computers . This act is causing
damage to organization’s property.
Instruction: Being CEO of your company. Write
a memo to the staff, instructing them to
properly shut down the computers for the
increasing life of the windows software.