Monday, November 23, 2009

The Importance of Using Memos in the Workplace By Daryl D. Scopino

Hey everyone! This week's blog is a discussion on using memos in the work place. A memo is a document that brings attention to problems and also solves problems. For example, a memo can address a new information such as policy changes, price increases or it can persuade readers to attend a meeting or change a certain procedure. Today, we have the capability to use e-mails. We choose to send emails over distributing memos because it is easier to use, cheaper, faster to distribute, and easier to store. However, there are some cases in the work place where a memo is needed.

  • Examples of when to use a memo over an e-mail in the work place:
  1. When the message is longer than a page on the computer.
  2. When the message requires careful formatting.
  3. The message requires detailed graphs and visuals.
  4. The message contains highly important information
  5. The message contains sensitive information
There are also many times where people find themselves in situations where they are required to use memos in the work place over e-mails to get information out. Here are forms of memos that you can use for specific situations:
  • Directive memos: Provides information about policy changes or tasks the readers should perform.
  • Field reports: Provides details about a field visit to an outside location.
  • Lab reports: Describes the results of an experiment, procedure, or study.
  • Minutes of a meeting: contains a written record of the participants and discussion in a meeting.
  • Progress/status memo: Supplies information about the status of a project or assignment (usually written by supervisors).
  • Response memo: Gives answers to questions asked in the past.
  • Trip reports: Includes details about the events and expenditures of a business trip.
Here are some samples of the different types of memos:

Work Cited:
  • Dobrin, Sidney I., Christian R. Weisser, and Christopher J. Keller. Technical Communication in the 21st Century. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. (pg. 334-341)
  • "Online Technical Writing: Example Progress Report 3." PrismNet : Austin TX VOIP, Broadband Colocation, Web Hosting. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .
  • "Types of Memos." Welcome to Writing@CSU. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

1 comment:

  1. Great post! I think most people in general tend to think a memo is a little note, or reminder these days. I like the way you explained the significance of it! Thanks!

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