1. Handout 2: Producing documents
PowerPoint presentation
Principles of business document production and information management
Handout 2: Producing documents

2. Types of document
letters
memos/ s
faxes
reports
minutes/agendas
newsletters
flyers/posters
forms and invoices.

3. clearly structured and well presented – reflect image of organisation
Letters
clearly structured and well presented – reflect image of organisation
standard conventions exist
must be accurate
house styles may be required.
Formal method communicating information
An important business method of formally communicating information, normally externally.
Clearly structured and well presented – reflect image of organisation
They should be clearly structured with the detail of whom it is for, the date and the content well presented.
Standard conventions exist
eg the use of Dear Sir at the beginning and the use of yours faithfully or the use of Dear Mr ? and yours sincerely at the end.
Standard layouts such as blocked, semi blocked, indented.
Also house style for organisation regarding fonts, formatting, etc.
Must be accurate
Care must be taken to ensure accuracy with spelling and grammar.
House styles
A set format for documents used by an organisation. 3

4. Example letter

5. Memos
Internal documents which are sent to one or more members of staff. Some staff are direct recipients while some are copied in. Short memos have been replaced by . Government departments use memos for formal inter-departmental correspondence.

6.
Your organisations may also have a house style for . Check the person you are sending the to is the correct person. Never use capital letters throughout the as this is seen as being aggressive and is almost like SCREAMING at the recipient. Always put the subject or topic in the subject box.

7. researched information
Reports
researched information
clear structure – introduction, main body, summary
main body contains the findings supported by the evidence
summary of recommendation
references and sources of information.
Researched information
Used to formally present information to others on a particular subject and the content will require to be researched thoroughly.
Clear structure
A report requires clear structuring with the purpose and summary of the content at the beginning.
The main body of the report contains the findings supported by the evidence
The findings need to be logical and clear, laid out in a concise and easy-to-follow way.
Summary of recommendations
The report should end with a summary of recommendations.
Reports must be accurate and written with its audience in mind. 7

8. Report structure Title page
The title of the report with the name of the person who wrote it and the date.
Contents page
Not necessary if the report is short; useful to list the paragraph headings and the pages on which they appear if report is long.
Terms of Reference
Gives the background to the report – why it was written and what it is about, eg To report on filing equipment as requested by S Jones, Manager on (date).
Procedures
Explanation of the steps taken to gather the information.
Findings
Make sure your report progresses logically from one point to the next, with headings for each section.
Conclusion
Sum up the findings of the report.
Recommend- ation
On the basis of the information in Findings and Conclusions,
make recommendations for action (or perhaps for no action).

9. Report layout

10. Agenda and Minutes
Formal meetings require an agenda and minutes. A formal meeting with an agenda will be recorded in minutes. Minutes outline what was discussed and act as a record of the meeting. They record action points relating to work to be carried out.
An agenda is a list of the items to be discussed at the meeting. It gives those attending information to allow them to prepare for the meeting and gives a structure to the meeting.
Both minutes and agenda must detail the name, date, time and venue of the meeting as a heading.

11. Forms
Tables can be used in word processing to make effective forms.
Most word processing software has the facility to add check boxes and drop-down boxes for completing online.

12. style and position of headings spacing justification of the text
House style factors
font style and colour
size of font
style and position of headings
spacing
justification of the text
size of the margins
position of date, references and addressee’s details on letters.
A house style means any documents from the organisation are instantly recognisable as being from that organisation and means that everyone in the organisation knows what any letter, invoice, internal report etc should look like and presents a unified, professional image.

13. Organisations use templates because
Many of the standard documents an organisation uses will be held as templates.
A blank copy of the document which is saved for future use over and over again.
Organisations use templates because
documents are produced according to the house style
it saves time.
If for example you knew you had to produce a menu for each day of a week you would not start each menu with a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen and repeat all the same basic information again and again.
It is likely that within your organisation would have a template you would use.
The template would be a basic outline of the menu eg a basic design that would show the restaurant name, address and other details that do not change and then there would be a space for the actual menu content that would be the only information that would require to be changed on a daily basis.
Every time you wanted to produce a new menu a template (an outline of the basic menu) would be available or you to add the daily dishes to.
If you had to produce the same document over and over again, and you started from a blank page every time, you would waste a lot of time.

14. Ensuring that any document is readable in terms of the language used
Fit for purpose
Ensuring that any document
is readable in terms of the language used
is accurate in detail
is easy of use in terms of its layout
has the impact required in terms of formality and message
maintains or enhances the organisation’s reputation.
Whichever document is being produced, you must ensure that it is the most appropriate for its intended use and that it is fit for purpose.
You will also need to find out all details regarding its content, layout and deadline before beginning, in order to avoid wasting your own and others´ time and having to repeat the task.

15. Accuracy
Carefully check all documents for sense and accuracy before sending them. Use the spell and grammar check on your word processor, but beware also of homophones where mistakes can often occur – their/there; site/sight; to/too/two; etc. Watch out for keying errors like out/our or form/from. No spell checker will identify homophonic or keying errors. The secret lies in careful proofreading.
Whatever the written method of communication, it is important that the product is accurate and readable.

16. Version control
Where documents undergo edits and revisions, it is sensible to use a version control system from the beginning. Document should be given a name and number, eg Report V1.docx. Revisions to the document should be saved with the number incremented, eg Report V1.docx. Date and version number should appear on the first page and, when possible, is incorporated into the header or footer of the document. A table should list the dates and version numbers and the changes made.
The author of the document should ensure the date the document is created or revised is identified on the first page and, when possible, is incorporated into the header or footer of the document.
Some organisations use a draft/final version numbering system, allocating eg version 0.1, incrementing to 0.2, 0.3, etc, for draft documents; final documents using version 1.0, incrementing to 1.1 for any subsequent changes.