Overview of Week Four

Overview of This Week’s Assignments

This week you will compose a formal email and a traditional business letter related to your Final Project Business Report. You will also compose a formal memo in response to a Case Study.

Overview of This Week’s Content

Online communication has dramatically changed business communications. Social customs that exist in traditional, live, human interaction also influence the rules and customs by which we interact with each other in the online environment. A text message is a brief written message sent and received using a digital device. It is useful for informal, brief, time-sensitive communication. Email is useful for both internal and external business communications. The content and formatting of an e-mail message should reflect professionalism and follow the rules of appropriate etiquette in the online context.

Traditional forms of business communications are still common. Memos are brief business documents usually used internally to inform or persuade employees concerning business decisions on policy, procedure, or actions. A sales message combines emotion and reason, and reinforces credibility, to create interest in a product or service that leads to a sale. Letters are brief, print messages often used externally to inform or persuade customers, vendors, or the public. An effective business letter has fifteen parts, each fulfilling a specific function.