Memorandum is a Latin word to refer
to a short note. the plural from is Memoranda. today, these words are hardly
uses; Memo and Memos have taken their place. Memos are use for internal office
correspondence. That is a note from one person or office to another within the
same firm or organization. This is called Memo
A memo is:
- a hard-copy (sent on paper) document
- used for communicating inside an organization
- usually short
- contains To, From, Date, Subject Headings and Message sections
- does not need to be signed, but sometimes has the sender's name at the bottom to be more friendly, or the sender's full name to be more formal. If in doubt, follow your company style.
Memos are useful in situations where
e-mails or text messages are not suitable. For example, if you are sending an
object, such as a book or a paper that needs to be signed, through internal
office mail, you can use a memo as a covering note to explain what the receiver
should do.
Memos should have the following
sections and content:
1.
A 'To' section containing the name
of the receiver. For informal memos, the receiver's given name; e.g. 'To: Andy'
is enough. For more formal memos, use the receiver's full name. If the receiver
is in another department, use the full name and the department name. It
is usually not necessary to use Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms unless the memo is very
formal.
2.
A 'From' section containing the name
of the sender. For informal memos, the sender's other name; e.g. 'From: Bill'
is enough. For more formal memos, use the sender's full name. If the receiver
is in another department, use the full name and the department name. It is
usually not necessary to use Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms unless the memo is very
formal.
3.
A 'Date' section. To avoid confusion
between the British and American date systems, write the month as a word or an
abbreviation; e.g. 'January' or 'Jan'.
4.
A Subject Heading.
5.
The message.
Unless the memo is a brief note, a well-organized memo message should contain the following sections:
Unless the memo is a brief note, a well-organized memo message should contain the following sections:
a.
Situation - an Introduction or the purpose of the memo
b.
Problem (optional) - for example:
"Since the move to the new office in Kowloon Bay, staff have difficulty in
finding a nearby place to buy lunch."
c.
Solution (optional) - for example:
"Providing a microwave oven in the pantry would enable staff to bring in
their own lunchboxes and reheat their food."
d.
Action - this may be the same as the
solution, or be the part of the solution that the receiver needs to carry out;
e.g. "we would appreciate it if you could authorize up to $3,000"
e.
Politeness - to avoid the receiver
refusing to take the action you want, it is important to end with a polite
expression; e.g. "Once again, thank you for your support.", or more
informally "Thanks".
6.
Signature
This is optional..
This is optional..
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