Professional Communication: The Corporate Insider’s Approach Chapter Eleven Memos: Relaying the Voice of Management

Genres of Communication Genres of organizational communication are characterized by Substance—social motives, themes, and topics Form—observable physical and linguistic features

History of the Memo Memos established a place in American industry due to an increasing need for Control Documentation Less expensive, streamlined communication

Commission on Economy and Efficiency President Taft’s 1912 Commission on Economy and Efficiency declared that the essential elements of a memo are Date Person or office originating the communication Person to whom letter is sent Body of the communication Signature

Problems with Memos Incompatibility—mistaking memos for e-mail Not acting one’s age—giving in to basic faults of professional communication Generally misbehaving—making memos try to do the work of other forms of communication Staying out late—confusing retrievability with permanence

Challenges of Memos Ensuring correct placement of emphasis; using the memo in support of management direction Maintaining proper voice to reinforce the one-directional nature of memos Setting a final stamp on a question or problem; not opening an avenue for discussion or debate

Key Questions for Memos Is the memo doing the work of a memo? Is the memo stating or reinforcing policy, practices, or behaviors? Is the memo doing the right job? Is the memo stating a fixed position? Is the memo providing a short-term remedy to a problem?

Essence of Memo Style Purpose Directions—Primarily downward Reinforce corporate expectations Provide reminders of rules and protocols Ensure managerial context Directions—Primarily downward Tone—Managerial, authoritative Style—Terse, businesslike

Memos, at their most fundamental heart, are a narrative translation of a policy statement.

Elements of a Policy Statement Requirements Responsibilities References The same structure, tone, and style are the fundamentals of all effective memos.

Memos—The Lessons Primary Uses—Request compliance, remind, provide critical information with management perspective Expectations—Adherence to request, follow-up for clarification only Audience—Internal, generally downward Style—Terse, businesslike

Memos—The Lessons Length—One to two pages Breadth—Single topic Accountability—Author has authority to propose and enforce Format—Standard internal correspondence format Retrievability—Represents an official corporate document

Memos—The Lessons Potential Problems: Incompatibility of purpose Stylistic problems Use of memos to the work of other document types Hiding behind a memo when direction interaction is needed Issuing a memo when a document with greater permanence is needed