4. Structural Errors in Business Writing-Aruna Arputhamalar

STRUCTURAL ERRORS IN BUSINESS WRITING

Aruna Arputhamalar

Research Scholar,

Dr. M.G.R Educational and Research Institute,

University, Chennai

Email – singhlar75@gmail.com

Introduction

Business communication is a process where both the employer and the employees in a company share and exchange information. Be it the corporate world or the education arena, priority is given to ‘speaking’ correct English. People in these fields have understood that communication skills mean speaking skills. Most people think that writing skills are not essential for effective communication. But that is not the truth. Writing skill is also an important part of communication.

Business Writing

Business writing is the transmission of ideas and information through the written mode. Big and small companies exchange information with suppliers, customers, government departments etc. Documents like enquiries, acknowledgement, orders, requisition and complaints are communicated internally and externally in an organisation.

Business writing is vital to a company because it is an inexpensive and convenient means of communication. It provides information that can furnish the evidence for transactions and record for further reference. The written word is uncompromising: we have to get it right, says Fiona Talbot, in the book Executive Writing Skills for Managers.

Professional Writing

Professional writing should be appropriate to the situation and build corporate relations. When the writing is bad, it slows down the process of communication, causes confusion between the sender and receiver and damages the image of the company. When the business documents are long, it leads to more mistakes and poor organisation. But good business writing in itself is a business product. Be it a letter, email, company’s product brochure or newsletter, they all represent the company’s product just like how the manufactured products do. Good writing is also a means to ‘evaluate’ the employee. It plays an important role in taking decisions concerning promotions and salary hike.

Communication triangle

Subject

Writer Reader

In the above triangle we find the ‘message’ in the middle. It is the information or the idea that is exchanged internally or externally in a company. Communication is determined by the factors that surrounds the ‘message’. The ‘writer’ has some purpose or cause to send the message to the receiver or audience. The receiver also has some reason to read the message. He becomes the ‘reader’. Third, we have the ‘subject’. The subject is the key factor in determining the message. Here we find that the writer, reader and subject are closely connected by the three corners of the triangle. This diagram represents the relation between the sender, receiver and the subject. Communication would be effective only when there is coordination amongst the three corners.

Corporate communication

Corporate communication is the operation that coordinates all internal and external correspondence. Business writing is a part of corporate communication. In the article Bad Business Writing Cost Money, Cheryl Kuch says that “According to the National Commission on Writing’s survey of 120 major American corporations that employ eight million people, business writing skills weigh heavily in decisions to hire or promote salaried/professional staff. Poor writing and communication skills, particularly in the job application process, were key factors in deciding not to hire applicants. And if they were hired, they were denied promotion opportunities due to the same factors. Employers spend billions of dollars every year to correct writing skill deficiencies.”

The corporate world deals with various types of written communication. It could be emails, manual writing, proposals, reports etc. Of all these, emails are the predominant form of business correspondence. Organisational communication has largely improved with the help of emails. Email incorporates similar qualities of honesty, expressiveness, and impersonality as letters, and has a similar level of formality as face-to-face communication; say Rana Vassabehji and Maria Vakola in their article Business Email: The Killer Impact.

Emails have to capture the reader’s attention and encourage them positively to accept the sender’s ideas. They act as the backbone in communicating information through the written mode.

We have seen the various aspects involved in business writing in an organisation. We also have to focus on the student community’s needs on improving their business writing skills. Students should know what business writing is and how to write business documents without errors. They must have the knowledge that business letters, emails, reports etc., should be formal and without errors. When we say errors, it includes errors in grammar, style, vocabulary, sentence structure and avoiding redundancy, clichés, abbreviation and jargon. Students should know email etiquettes.

Today training in business writing is given in the undergraduate level itself. Students are administered with pre tests and post tests. These tests are on writing letters, memos and reports and to do effective presentation.

Bearing this in mind a study was conducted in an arts and science college, with two groups of students.

Uncontrolled group - A group of 20 students (uncontrolled group) were given a test to write business letter. The students had committed errors in salutation, spelling, grammar and sentence structure. Nearly sixty percent of the letters had errors in sentence structure, twenty percent of the letters had spelling errors and ten percent of the letters had errors in salutation.

Ten percent of the letters were good. Structural errors would mean subject concord agreement, modifier and pronoun errors. Errors in salutation included using words like “Hi” instead of “Sir” or “Dear Sir”. Errors in spelling included writing words like “customor” instead of “customer”. Having these errors, sentences lacked meaning. So the information was not fully conveyed. Thus, the very purpose of writing a business letter has been questionable.

Structural errors cause errors in collocation, grammar, redundancy, grammar etc. If a student is not trained to write error-free business letters, it would deeply affect his career growth.

Controlled Group – Another group of twenty students (controlled group) were also administered with a test on letter writing. This group was taught the nuances of business writing. They too made errors in spelling, sentence structure and salutation. Some letters were error free.

Forty five percent of the letters were good. Spelling errors were twenty-five percent and salutation errors were fifteen percent. Errors in sentence structure were only twenty-five percent. There was a marked difference in the results between both the groups. Spelling and salutation errors were ten percent. Structural errors were twenty five percent.

Structural errors have been comparatively less with the controlled group. The controlled group had received training in writing business letters. The percentage of ‘good’ in the controlled group was higher than the uncontrolled group. Structural errors are lesser in the controlled group.

There are many ways to avoid structural errors.

1) Active sentences should be used. Instead of writing

The implement of new procedures led to increased production

we can write,

Production increased when new procedures were implemented.

ii) Active verbs can reduce structural errors. Instead of writing

This policy is for the benefit of all employees

we can write

This policy will benefit all employees

Formality is a crucial element in written communication. Both the controlled and uncontrolled group wrote letters that lacked ‘formalism’. To be ‘formal’ is a top priority in business writing. Business letters must have the ‘you’ attitude and not the ‘we’ view. Words like ‘you, yours, your etc., builds good public relations. Business documents should enhance goodwill and friendship.

Students can be given certain activities to enhance their business writing skills.

Task 1-Fill in the blanks

The activity would be a dialogue or conversation that happens in an office setup. While doing this exercise, the student becomes aware of the corporate culture, business words, etiquettes etc. This exercise helps the students to identify correct sentence structure and also kindles their creativity.

Task 2- Error Identification

This would be an activity wherein a business letter with sentence structure errors is given. The students are asked to identify the errors and rewrite the letter. This method gives them a better understanding about sentence structure.

These tasks allow the active participation of students in learning to write error free business documents.

Conclusion

The corporate world demands its employees to be quick, smart and productive. So in order to complete with the peers, an employees must be well equipped not only in speaking skills, but also in writing skills. Good business writing is a part of professionalism.

The students should be educated about the importance of good business writing and the benefits it would bring. Training in good business writing is essential, which would boost the morale of the students and improve their job perspectives.

Works Cited

1. Talbot, Fiona. Executive Writing Skills for Managers, Kogan Page Limited, 2009 United Kingdom

2. Angell, Pamella. Business Communication Design-Creativity, Strategies and Solutions-Second Ed., Mc Graw-Hill Irwin, 2007New York

3. Smith L. Edward and Stephen A. Bernhardt. Writing at Work Professional Writing Skills for People on the Job, The Mc Graw-Hill Companies Inc., 1997 New York

4. O’Roure IV S. James and Jaba Mukherjee Gupta. Management Communication-A Case-Analysis Approach Fourth Ed., Pearson Education Inc., 2010

5. Cheryl Kuch, in the article, Bad Business Writing Costs Money. Retrieved June 5, 2013,from https://www.aseonline.org/ArticleDetailsPage/tabid/7442/ArticleID/598/.biz/EventsbrnbspSeminars/PeopleProfitConference.aspx