Difficulties of the staff in writing business correspondence in IQL Joint Stock Company

DECLARATION
I, Duong Thi Han, K52N3, hereby certify that this minor thesis with the tittle
'Difficulties of the staff in writing business correspondence in IQL Joint Stock
Company' is the result of my own research in the fulfillment of the requirement
for the Graduation Paper at English Faculty of Thuongmai University and the
substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree to any other
university or institution.
Signature
Duong Thi Han

1


ABSTRACT
Writing is considered as one of the most challenging skill among four
language skills, it always requires meticulousness and elaborateness, therefore
this is not a simple skill to be proficient. Writing skills, especially business
correspondence writing skills are becoming increasingly essential in the field of
business, especially in the companies cooperating with foreign countries. Thanks
to the great development of technology, entrepreneurs can save time, travel costs,
shorten geographical distances by exchanging work via emails and social
networks. This is a big reason to emphasize the important role of commercial
correspondence. Obviously, to get the best work efficiency, every employee needs
to master the skills of writing business correspondence. There has been a great
deal of researches in the field of business correspondence, but there are still gaps
in the topic of business employees’ difficulties in using this skill at work. As a
result, this study was conducted to fill those gaps. This research is aimed at the
staff in IQL Joint Stock Company, focusing on studying their difficulties and
mistakes when dealing with business letters, then find out the possible solutions
for both the staff and the company. In order to achieve those aims, the researcher
applied qualitative and quantitative methods to conduct the research. The

researcher used a questionnaire and interview as the data gathering instruments.
The author also used technique of analyzing to delve deeper into the issue. The
results from the study show that the employees were aware of the significance of
business correspondence writing skills as well as the necessity to self-study this
skill. However, their attitude did not seem to get on well with their actual practice
very much as they had to spend quite a lot of time for working and some other
essential activities. The findings from this research are hopefully to be useful not
only for the IQL employees but also for all employees in general.

2


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On completing this graduate paper, I would like to send my deepest and most
sincere gratitude to many people who have gave me a lot of precious assistance
and timely encouragement during the conduction process of the study.
First and foremost, I would like to express my profound respect and heartfelt
gratitude to my supervisor Mrs. Le Thi Phuong Mai for her valuable supports,
timely guidance and constructive feedbacks during my study. This research could
not been completed without her constant and unfailing helps which were decisive
factors to the completion of the study.
My sincere thanks also go to all the teachers at English Faculty of Thuongmai
University for their enthusiasm in teaching me useful lessons, bringing valuable
knowledge so that I can fulfill this graduation paper.
I also would like to take this opportunity to send my sincere gratitude to all
the staff in IQL Company for their cooperation and enthusiastic participation in
the survey as well as their provision of documents and information needed for the
research.
I would like to acknowledge my thanks to all the authors of the books,
magazines, and other materials listed in the reference part for their commendable

ideas.
Last but not least, I would love to express my truly gratitude to my family, my
husband, my daughter for their endless love, they have emotionally and spiritually
comforted me through the challenging time. I also deeply thank my best friends
who gave me honest advices and enthusiastic supports at any time I asked for.
This study could not have been completed without their continual
encouragement.

3


TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
No.
Name
Content
1.
Chart 3.1 Participants’ years of learning English
2.
3.
4.
5.

Chart 3.2 Participants’ years of working
Chart
3.3
Chart
3.4
Chart

3.5

Table
3.5
Chart
7.
3.6
Chart
8.
3.7
Chart
9.
3.8
Table
10.
3.6
Table
11.
3.7
6.

21

The importance of business correspondence at work

27

Self-assessment of the staff on their writing skills

28

The frequency of making mistakes in writing business
correspondence

29

Common mistakes in writing business letter

30

Employees’ level of interest in writing business
correspondence

31

The importance of self-study in improving writing skills

32

Participants’ frequency of self-practice with writing
business correspondence
Employees’ strategies to handle with difficulties in
business correspondence writing
Types of error category

Numbe
r

Abbreviations

33
33
34

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

4

Page
21

English meaning

1

JSC

Joint Stock Company

2

S&M

Sale and Marketing

3

etc.

Et cetera

5


CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1.

Rationale of the study
We all know that English is supposed to be the dominant language all over
the world, and perhaps the last decade is the period in which English has grown
most intensely. As in our country, everyone is rushing to learn English, English
centers are mushrooming, the number of students choosing English as their
major is also increasing, ... Therefore, we can say that the importance of this
language has never diminished but only increased. So, what do they learn English
for? In my opinion, the most plausible reason is to have a good job.
To use English fluently, we need to master 4 skills, which are listening,
speaking, reading and writing. Of these four skills, writing is thought to be an
important factor, playing an extremely essential role in mastering the language.
Writing is considered an act of coding an idea, a thought, a reflection, a process of
putting one's thoughts into words. If the writer wants to convey his thought well,
he needs to select and organize appropriate words. Written text requires the
writer to have a rich vocabulary, and to know how to build sentences coherently
and then continue to use good grammar, syntax, morphology of words to create a
standard language product.
Specifically, in this study, the researcher focuses on writing business
correspondence, which is a specific area of English writing skills. Therefore, it
needs specific requirements, professional knowledge and skills related to
commercial English.
Nowadays, companies always make many standard requirements for

recruitment, they usually ask the candidates to prove their English ability not only
in the interview but also during the time when they work at the company. IQL
Joint Stock Company, where I interned, is not an exception. IQL is a company
specializing kitchen equipment, it has developed for many years and is currently
cooperating with a lot of foreign partners. Therefore, the company always
requires the staff to use English fluently. Especially, Sale and Marketing
department is a hub for connecting with foreign partners and customers, the
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employees have to exchange jobs by phone and social network, they are also
responsible for processing a large amount of English document, contracts and
emails from foreign partners. As a result, the skill of writing business
correspondence is extremely important and necessary for them. However, during
my internship, I realized that the staff still had many shortcomings, so the
documents were not handled correctly, which caused lots of inconveniences to
customers.
Wishing to help all employees in the company improve this problem, as well
as help myself build a solid foundation of writing business correspondence skills
to develop my career in the future, I decide to conduct this research with the title
"Difficulties of the staff in writing business correspondence in IQL Joint Stock
Company".
1.2.

Previous studies
There have been many studies on writing business correspondence both in
our country and over the world, they provide a broad foundation of knowledge
about business correspondence, from the basic to the intensive knowledge. These
backgrounds will assist readers to have understanding of some leading experts in
the field of using English as the second language based on using English business

correspondence at workplace. The review of previous studies will show
remarkable data on staff's performance as using correspondence to finish their
assignments.
Vu Thi Huong Giang (2010) has studied this area before and concluded that
the essential techniques in writing English letters are your attitude, positive
emphasis, tone and language. To reach this conclusion, she laid out the theoretical
background for definition, importance, purpose, format and some types of
business letters. Besides, she also pointed out some common mistakes in writing
letters from English.
Shafa Firda Nila (2017) conducted another study focusing on common
mistakes in writing business letters, saying that there were four categories of
errors: morphological, lexical, syntactic, and mechanical errors. These four errors
are divided into eight types: verbs, nouns, articles, word choice, sentence
7


structure, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. In addition, there are three
main factors that cause these errors: language transfer, overgeneralization, and
context of learning.
Aggoune Amina (2015) showed a case study of Internet Company. The
author used a business letter test to research the employee's status of written
communication, he also described the difficulties of employees when they
communicate and interact with non-English speaking colleagues around the
world. This research has helped to build effective business writing principles.
Most above studies have demonstrated the useful performance of business
letters in the workplace and the way to improve writing skills. However, in order
for the staff can develop their ability to write letters of business correspondence
in English, they need to understand the difficulties they have to face at first.
Therefore, this thesis will focus on the difficulties of writing commercial
correspondence with the research subjects are the employees of IQL Company.

Aims of the study

1.3.

Initially, this thesis aims at studying the difficulties of the IQL employees in
writing business correspondence, so I will delve into the difficulties in practicing
writing skills and the common writing mistakes, along with their attitude in selfstudy. More specifically, the study is an attempt to answer the following 3
questions:
•

What are the difficulties of the staff in practicing writing business

correspondence?
• What are the common mistakes do the staff often encounter when writing
•
1.4.

business correspondence?
How is their attitude in self-study to improve business correspondence writing
skills?
Research subjects
Business correspondence writing skills is one of the most essential skills at
work because it plays a key role in processing transaction documents, contracts
or building relationships with customers. But even long-term employees are not
immune to familiar mistakes while writing English, which is a problem worth

8


concerning. There doesn't seem to be much research on this specific field. Most

studies only focus on general English writing skills.
I conduct this study on difficulties of the staff in writing business
correspondence in IQL Joint Stock Company. That is the company where I
interned and the employees will be the direct research objects to help me carry
out my work. The results of the study will directly serve the company, it will
contribute to help the company have an effective orientation to improve the
writing ability of all employees.
1.5.

Scope of the study
This thesis is about to study the employees' reality of business
correspondence writing ability in IQL Company. Because the ultimate purpose of
this research is to find out a better method to develop English letters writing
skills for the employees in the company, the study focuses only on surveying the
staff of IQL.,JSC, then we can draw lessons for all office workers in general. In
addition, the research is going to specifically focus on the employees of Sale and
Marketing department, because these people have to deal with a range of English
letters every day, they have a better English level than the rest of the company.
Moreover, they are accustomed to a high-pressure environment and always have
to try their best to improve their English skills to achieve high working efficiency.
At the same time, due to time and references materials constraints, this
study could not delve into all aspects of business correspondence, it only focuses
on clarifying the difficulties that employees often face with and the way they selfstudy. Discussions about the disadvantage of poor writing skills or other areas
would not be found in this study.
In order to get the most accurate answer to the question ‘What mistakes do
the staff often make when writing business correspondence?’, the research data
will be taken from the Sale and Marketing (emails, drafts of contracts written by
the staff in the room). Additionally, the study is also based on references materials
related to subject Business Correspondence of Thuongmai University.

1.6.

Research methodology

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Firstly, the design of this research was survey quantitative. According to
Creswell (2005), survey designs are procedures in quantitative research in which
investigators administer a survey, a sample to the entire population of people in
order to describe the attitudes, opinion, behaviors, or characteristics of the
population. The survey design has two kinds, the first is “at one point in time”
(Cross sectional), and the second is “Study over time” (longitudinal). In this case,
researcher conducted one point in time (Cross-sectional).
The second point is about the instrument of the research, it was the tool use
to collect the data from the respondent of the research. In this research, the first
instrument that the researcher used is questionnaire. The questionnaire was
about the difficulties, the common errors as well as the way of self-study, and it
was distributed to all the staff in the IQL Company. Technique of Collecting Data
was applied. To collect the data, the researcher asked the students for giving their
response by filling the questionnaire. The answers in the questionnaire were the
multiple choices. It is refracted into A, B, C, D and E, the design of the answer is
drawn as Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.
Thirdly, another data gathering instrument which was used in this study was
interview. The purpose of the interview was to consolidate the information
gathered through the questionnaire, so that the researcher could delve into the
causes behind the difficulties in practicing writing at workplace as well as selfstudy at home. Besides, the interview also expected to learn about the strategies
that employees wanted to implement to enhance their writing skills. Additionally,
by giving the staff opportunity to report with their own words, the researcher
could gain some insights of their understanding and attitudes toward writing

skills.
Finally, the researcher used Technique of Analyzing the Data for data
processing.

After the data was collected from the participants by using

questionnaire, the data was analyzed and become a percentage. Based on these
figures, the researcher can make specific and accurate assessments of the
problem.
1.7.

Organization of the study
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The study consists of four chapters as below:
Chapter 1: Overview of the study
This chapter provides a general overview of the study and is divided into 7
sections, namely the rationale, the previous studies, the aims of the study, the
research subjects, the scope of the study, the research methodology and the
organization of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature review
In the second chapter, all the relevant theoretical background of the research
is presented. The chapter provides the most complete knowledge base of business
correspondence.
Chapter 3: Research findings
This chapter presents the results of the research. In other words, after the
questionnaire was given to the participants, the figures which were collected form
the survey would be shown and analyzed in this chapter. This is an important part
of all the study.

Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions
Form analyzing in previous chapters, the fourth one presents the summary,
the limitations of the study, along with the suggestion for further studies. The
recommendations and some suggestions for improving the skills of writing
business correspondence for IQL Company’ employees would be also given.
The study also consists of some other parts. They are abstract,
acknowledgements, table of contents, list of abbreviations, list of tables and charts, the
conclusion and references and appendices as well.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Overview about business correspondence
2.1.1. Definition of business correspondence
In order to understand what the employees in IQL Company have to face
with when writing business correspondence, it is necessary to consider the
definition given by its creator and developer. Vu Thi Huong Giang (2010) has
given many definitions of business letters, including many famous authors’ and
her subjective opinion. In my opinion, we should learn in turn about each specific
part of the research topic, they are Business English, writing skills,
correspondence and business correspondence.
First of all, we need to find out the answer for the question “What is
Business English?”. According to Johan (2014), Business English is a variant of
international English and it is especially related to international trade. It is a part
of English for specific purposes and can be consider a specialism within English
language learning and teaching. It may focus on language and skills needed for
typical business communication, such as presentations, negotiations, meetings,
small talks, socializing correspondence, report writing and a systematic approach.
Secondly, about writing skills, we can simply understand that writing skills

means the ability to convert thoughts into words, with proper standards and
punctuations, grammar and other important aspects of writing. In other words,
Frendo (2012) said that ‘Writing is a key part of day-to-day activities of business
and, like speaking, is used in a vast range of different situations. It allows
communication across time and space, and provides an invaluable medium for
storing records and other information’. One of the subjects in Business English
course is Writing Business Letters. Business letters are always formal. Business
writing takes many forms, each form suits to a specific purpose. Gilling (2013)
said ‘All the business writing must be clear and concise with simple
straightforward language. It should be noted that in writing business emails
should be clear, concise, and avoid of slang and jargon’.
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Thirdly, we go into clarify what correspondence is. A correspondence is a
written form of communication between two parties. In other words, it is way to
pass on ideas in writing. So, what does correspondence mean in Business?
Correspondence is a commonly used form of communication in business. In the
past, correspondence was mostly exchanged through written physical letters or
telegraphs. In today’s world, the definition of correspondence has expanded by
the inclusion of digital media. Correspondences may come in the form of letters,
emails,

text

messages,

documents,

voicemails,

notes,

or

postcards.

Correspondences are important for most businesses because they serve as a
paper trail of events from point A to point B. Therefore, the law firm may require
all employees to archive their correspondences so that they could be retrieved as
a reference point for pending cases.
The final point is Business correspondence. We can understand that
Business correspondence means the exchange of information in a written format
for the process of business activities. Business correspondence can take place
between organizations, within organizations or between the customers and the
organization. The correspondence refers to the written communication between
persons. Hence oral communication or face to face communication is not a
business correspondence.
2.1.2. Parts of a business letter
In order to write a business letter well, it is extremely essential to know the
structure of a letter, in other words, which parts are included in a business letter.
We know that there are many types of business correspondence, but all of them
follow a certain structure, including twelve following basic parts.
•

Heading: This is the information of the sender, containing the name and the postal
address of the business, E-mail address, Web-site address, Telephone number, Fax
number, Trade mark or logo of the business.

13

•

Date: It is the time (day, month, year) when the letter is written. It normally lies
on the right hand side corner after the heading. There are two ways of writing the
date, the first is in the order of day-month-year, for example, 3 rd April, 2020; the
second is in the order of month-day-year, for instance, April 3 rd, 2020.

•

Reference: This part is written on the left hand corner of the letter, after the
heading. It shows the information of letter number and the department from
where the letter is being sent and the year, all of them are helpful for future
reference. We can write reference number as AB/HRDept./2020/13.

•

Inside address: It shows the information of the recipient, it includes the name and
full address of the person or the firm. Letters should be addressed to the
responsible head like the Manager, the Principal, The Secretary, the Chairman,…
The proper position for this part is on the left hand side of the sheet below the
reference number.

•

Subject: It is a brief statement mentioning the matter to which the letter relates. It
should be clear, eye catching, short, simple, and easily understandable. Thanks to
the subject, the receiver can quickly know what the letter is about. Some
examples are:

Subject: Complaint about the Sharp washing machine.
Subject: Your order No. A123/4 dated 15th March, 2020.
Salutation: It contains the words to greet the recipient. It is also known as
the greeting. The salutation generally includes words like Dear, Respected, or just
Sir/Madam. It is usually followed by a comma (,).The suitable position for this
part is below the inside address. There are various forms of salutation. The type
of salutation depends on the relationship with the recipient. Take these below
examples to make it clear:
Sir/Madam: For official and formal correspondence

14


Dear Sir/Madam: For addressing an individual
Dear Sirs/Dear Madams: For addressing a firm or a company.
•

Body of the letter: This is the main part of the letter as it conveys the actual
message of the sender. It is placed below the salutation. The body of the letter
should be clear and simple to understand and it is basically divided into three
main categories:

-

Opening part: The first paragraph of the letter must state the introduction of the
writer, it also contains the previous correspondence, if any.

-

Main part: This paragraph states the main idea of the reason for writing, so it

must be clear, concise, complete, and straight to the point.

-

Concluding part: It is the conclusion of the business letter. It shows the
suggestions or the need of the action. The closing of the letter also shows the
expectations of the sender from the recipient, the sender often shows that he is
looking forward to getting a positive response. The writer always ends his mail by
courteous words like thank you, warm regards, look forward to hearing from your
side, etc.

•

Complimentary close: It is a humble way of ending a letter and is typed two
spaces below the last line of the body of the letter. It is written in accordance with
the salutation. Namely, the table below will show the right way of writing the
complimentary close:
Salutation
Dear Sir/Dear Madam
Dear Mr. Smith
My Dear Sarah

•

Complimentary Close
Yours faithfully
Yours sincerely
Your very sincerely (express
very informal relations)

Signature: It places right below the complimentary close. It includes the
signature, name, and the designation of the sender. It can also consists of some
other details like contact number, address, etc. The signature is handwritten just
15


above the name of the sender, it should be legible too. Sometimes, the name of the
company could be included below the designation of the writer if there is no
letterhead is in use.
• Enclosures: Enclosures shows the document attached to the letter. The document
can be anything like cheque, draft, bills, receipts, invoices, lists, etc. They are listed
one by one in serial number. Enclosure is generally written in the abbreviated
form. For instance:
Encl: (i) Bill of the order AB124/3
(ii) The list of goods coming in the next month.
•

Copy Circulation: It is needed when the copies of the letter are sent to other

people who are involved in the matter. It is denoted as C.C. For example:
C.C.
(i) The Director, IQL Company
(ii) The S&M Manager, IQL Company
(iii) The Secretary, IQL Company
• Postscript: The sender can mention it when he wants to add something other than
the message in the body of the letter. It is written as P.S. For example:
P.S. – Early payment will be discounted 10%.
2.1.3. Essential qualities of a good business correspondence
Everyone should always maintain the quality of the business letter. The qualities
of a business letter make it presentable. It becomes easy for a person or an

organization to imprint an impression onto the others. The qualities of a business
letter can be classified as:
Inner Quality
Outer Quality

•
•

Let us discuss each of them in detail.
2.1.3.1. Inner Quality
Inner quality refers to the quality of language used and the presentation of a
business letter which facilitate quick processing of the request and that leads to
prompt action. Namely, the following factors determine inner quality of a business
letter.
•

Simplicity: The language used in the business letter must be simple and easy.
People should not write a business letter in difficult and fancy words, as a result, it
will not take the reader too much time to understand the letter.
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Clarity: It is obvious that any ambiguity will lead to the misinterpretation of

•

the message stated. Therefore, the language used in the business letter must be clear.
•

It helps the receiver to understand the message immediately, easily, and exactly.

Accuracy: The writer must always check for the accuracy of the business
letter because an accurate letter is always appreciated and it shows the writer’s
good knowledge as well. Accuracy generally means no error in grammar, spelling,

•

punctuations etc. Correct personnel should be targeted for communication.
Completeness: Everybody should write a complete message. It helps the
reader to know about the whole issue and the solution to be taken. The letter should
provide all the necessary information. The writer must also keep in mind that the

•

message should be concise and short along with the complete details.
Relevance: The letter should only contain important information. Mentioning
something not involved in the main matter just wastes time of both the writer and
the reader. So, irrelevant information should not be included and avoided in any

•

business communication.
Courtesy: The language used in the business letter must be courteous. A
writer should always use open, friendly, and honest wording in his letter, which must
win the heart of the reader. It does not mean that he should use slang and abusive

•

words, he just needs to add the words like please, thank you etc.
Neatness: A business letter must be neat even if it is typed or handwritten.
Overwriting and cuttings should be avoided while proper spacing, indention, and use

of paragraph should be used.
2.1.3.2. Outer Quality
We can understand that the outer quality of a business letter means the quality
of its outer appearance. The outer look of the letter must be catchy and impressive.
To get a good-look appearance, the writer needs to ensure the quality of paper used,
paper color, paper size, etc. When the receiver looks at a good quality paper, he
obviously has a good impression of the sender. Some of the outer qualities are:
Quality of paper: The paper which is used should be in accordance with the

•

economic status of the firm but it must be kind of good. Since the original copy is
much more important, it should be printed with good quality paper, while the
duplicate copy can be printed with ordinary paper.

17


Color of the paper: To make the receiver quickly and clearly understand the

•

intention and the purpose of the letter, the writer better uses the different color of
•

paper for different types of business letter. This will help enhance work productivity.
Size of the paper: The standard size paper should be used. The most used

•

paper for writing a business letter is A4 paper.
Folding of letter: Everyone should be careful when folding a letter. It should be
done with minimum number of folds and the letter should not look bulky when
placed in a cover. The folds should be well pressed down. When a letter is placed in a

•

cover it must give a smart look.
Envelop: The envelope used must be of good quality. The sender needs to pay
attention to the size of the envelope which should be fit the size of the letter. for
fitting the letter. There are various types of envelopes such as ordinary envelope,
window envelope, laminated envelope, etc.
2.1.4. Several types of business correspondence
Business letters are the most formal method of communication following
specific formats. The different types of business letters used based on their
different contexts. It is written the book Business Correspondence that there are
common five main types of business correspondence. They are:

-

Business inquiry letter
Quotation letter
Order letter
Complaint letter
Recovery letter
Let us go into details of each types of business correspondence.
Business inquiry letter: These letters are used when sometimes the buyer

•

wants to know the details of the goods such as quality, quantity, price, mode of
delivery and payment, etc. which they want to buy. Inquiry letters ask a question or
request for something from the recipient. The purpose of the letter is to obtain the
information or object requested. When writing this type of letter, sender should
keep it clear and succinct and list exactly what information you need, which may be
asking for a price list or a sample. Moreover, the design, size, quantity, quality, etc.
about the product or service in which the buyer is interested also should be written
specifically. The period or the date, till which information is required may also be
18


mentioned. Be sure to include the contact information so that it is easy for the
reader to respond.
Quotation letter: Quotation letters are written to reply to letters of enquiry

•

from a prospective buyer, in which relevant information is involved. These letters
allow individuals, companies, and organizations to inquire the price list, mode of
payment, discount of materials and services offered by certain businesses.
Order letters: Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to a

•

manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler to order goods or services. Specific information
such as model number, name of the product, the quantity desired and expected
price must be included with these letters. Payment is sometimes contained in the
letter.
Complaint letters: Complaint letters are written to deal with a problem

•

situation when other attempts such as phone contacts and email have failed to
improve the situation. These letters should be written promptly after receiving the
defective goods. The words and tone the sender uses in the letter may be the
deciding factor on whether your complaint draws the attention of the supplier or
any other party. Be direct but tactful and always use a professional tone if you want
the company to listen to you.
Recovery letter: Recovery letter is a type of letter written by suppliers to

•

customers in order to remind and collect money without annoying the customers.
Information such as the rest of money, argument for payment and specific date for
payment should be mentioned in the letter.
2.1.5. Some samples of business correspondence.
Business inquiry letter

•

John Smith
221 C Cake Street
London
18 July, 2019
Johnson Brothers
5468 54th Street
New York

19

Dear Sir/ Madam,
I am writing you in reference to your advertisement on The Daily Bugle, I would like
to receive a catalog about for product F8X car.
I would also like to know about some more details about the product.
Yours faithfully,
John Smith (Signature)
Logistics Head
Shelby Company Limited
•

Quotation letter:
Helpline

communication

2nd line road, Bijoy Nagar, Dhaka-1100
1st August, 04
Sales Manager
Tele-Communication Ltd.
25, Gulshan, Dhaka-1212
Ref; An inquiry for the price of Mobile sets
Dear Sir,
Would you kindly give us detailed information about the “Nokia 2100” mobile sets
recently advertised by you in the “Daily Star.” we are impressed by the description
of the respective mobile set as advertised by you and expected to purchase if
terms and conditions are found to be suitable. Our annual requirement of such a
set is around twenty-five thousand (25,000) pieces.
As we handle a lot of mobile sets each year, we hope and trust you will quote the
most favorable prices and terms.

Yours faithfully,
M. A. Karim
Purchase Manager,
Helpline Communication
•

Order letter
June 16, 2013
20


Ms. Fely S. Herrera
Purchasing Manager
CesFe Marketing Corporation
Dear Ms. Herrera,
I am writing to formally place an order for 550 pcs of assorted sling bag as
advertised to Daily Fashion Magazine issued this month. The catalog number is
8364-83748-JC. Also, include your latest catalog with the order.
According to your advertisement, The 550 pcs of assorted sling bag is only
Php15,000.00 with free shipping delivery charge. A check in this amount is
enclosed and send the confirmation of receipt of this check at my email address at
Please ship my order to our receiving center at:
JCMER Building
St. John Subd.
Pilar City
If there are any additional fees, please let me know and I will work out the

•

payment details with you.

Thank you very much and more power!
Sincerely,
Jcmer Navarro
Complaint letter
22/c Main Road
Darya Ganj, New Delhi-2
July 17, 2019
Customer Service Manager
LightUp Company
Havmart 601
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing today to complain of the poor service I received from your company on
July 15, 2019. I was visited by a representative of LightUp Company, Mr. Johan, at my
home on that day.
Mr. Johan was one hour late for his appointment and offered nothing by way of
apology when he arrived at noon. Mr. Johan then proceeded to present a range of
products to me that I had specifically told his assistant by telephone I was not
interested in. I repeatedly tried to ask your representative about the products that

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were of interest to me, but he refused to deal with my questions. We ended our
meeting after 25 minutes without either of us having accomplished anything.
I am most annoyed that I wasted a morning (and half a day's vacation) waiting for
Mr. Madman to show up.
I trust this is not the way LightUp Company wishes to conduct business with valued
customers. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn
of how you propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring. I look forward to
hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,
Sarah Smith
•

Recovery letter
Joan Lau
Financial Manager
Big Bang Company
123 Main Street
Anytown, CA 12345
555-555-5555

3rd April, 2020
Steven Kramer
Manager, Finance Department
Acme Company
123 Business Rd.
Business City, NY 54321
Dear Mr. Kramer
It has come to our attention that your account is overdue for payment.
We are not aware of any disputes or reason for non-payment, therefore we
would respectfully remind you that you have exceeded the trading terms for
these outstanding amounts and we would be grateful to receive your remittance
as soon as possible.
The details of the outstanding invoices are as follows:
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Invoice No
00001

00002

Invoice Date
02/11/2019
09/01/2020

Due date
15/02/2020
25/03/2020

Amount
£999.990
£999.99

We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Joan Lau
On behalf of Big Bang Company

2.2. The appliance of business correspondence
2.2.1. The purposes of business correspondence
Along with the development of the world, the business is also becoming
more modern and faster thanks to a series of support tools. Business
correspondence is one of them, Business letters are written for the fulfillment of
several purposes, and according to a wealth of analysis, business letters are used
for these following aims:
•

For conveying information: The main purpose of any business letter is to convey
information regarding business activities. Information can be transmitted through

business letter to customers, suppliers, debtors, government authorities, financial
institutions, bank and insurance companies and to any other parties related with
the business. Through it, business organizations collect and exchange businessrelated information. It is a handy tool if you need to inform all employees of a new
office policy or to inform the partner of the changes of the coming launching
program. No one can deny that business letter is such a quick and effective means
of communication.

•

For negotiations: Business correspondence is a useful method of communication
for stating facts, sharing figures and negotiating with another party. It is quicker
than regular direct way and provides an easy way to keep a record of the
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proceedings. It you want to see exactly what is included in a quote, it is easy to
sort through your email archives to find the information you need and you know
that both parties have a copy of the same information. All these things can be
done without wasting any time of moving from here to there.
•

For marketing and advertising: Business correspondence, especially, commercial
email often beats out print media marketing and advertising. You can easily reach
your target customers, personalize the email message with the recipient’s name
and including a link to your organization’s web presence. So, you can completely
use business letter to introduce customers a new product. In direct mail, a form of
advertising, these letters are called sales letters. Through writing various
business letters like inquiry letter and circular letter, business organizations can
create new market for their products.
2.2.2. The importance of business correspondence

Today, it is too hard to imagine how to run a business without the support of
commercial correspondence. Company operation activities or communication
with customers seem to take days or even weeks to complete. Thus, it is obvious
that business correspondence plays an extremely important role in our work and
daily life. There are mainly five factors which create the importance of business
letters. They are:

•

Inexpensive and convenient mode: It is such a cheap and convenient form of business
communication because information can be provided and obtained much more
economically and conveniently through business letters than through telephone or fax.

•

Maintain a proper relationship: Business is nowadays not restricted to any
locality, state or nation. Today, production takes place in one area but
consumption takes place everywhere. Since the businessmen as well as the
customers live far off places, they do not have sufficient time to personally contact
each other. Thus, there arises the need for writing business emails. It helps in
maintaining the proper relationships between the parties, strengthening the
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business. It also helps in the internal communication and makes communication
within the organization more clear and precise. The importance has increased
because of vast expansion of business, increase in demand and supply of goods as
well.
•

Create and maintain goodwill: Business letters are sometimes used for creating
and enhancing goodwill between the company and the customers. The
businessmen often send letters to inform the clients of the new products or
incentive program. Any letter to enquire, complaint, suggestion or feedbacks also helps
a company to grow goodwill and create a cordial relationship with the customers.

•

Help in expansion of business: Business correspondence ensures the expansion of
a business with just no waste of time and proper utilization of manpower and
resources. Any information regarding some products or market can be easily done
and spread by it, so a business can expand. In details, through business emails, the
trader can make all enquiries about the products and the market or receive
orders from different countries. The trader can also perform other actions related
to product competition, price adjustment, promotion, and all other market
activities to fulfill the aim of enhancing sales.

•

Serve as evidence: Any written form of communication serves as evidence. A business
correspondence is not an exception. It helps the person in a business to keep a record of all
the facts because it is almost impossible to expect a businessman to memorize every detail
of facts and figures in a conversation. These written records will serve as evidence in case
of disputes between two parties.

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