Examines the content of president's letters of high and low performing firms to discover patterns in communication strategy. Finds six recurring themes: environment; growth; operating philosophy; markets and products; unfavorable financial reference; and favorable financial reference. Finds that high- and low performing firms can be correctly…

Compares 214 letters of inquiry written by native and nonnative speakers of English to test the assumption that cultural factors beyond language such as the knowledge of the business communication practices and cultural expectations greatly affect communication. Finds that native speakers' letters deviated less from U.S. business communication…

Combines the ideas of Erasmus, the Renaissance humanist, and Bakhtin, the twentieth-century Russian philosopher, into a unified theory of business correspondence. Presents both a set of guidelines and a model for the practice of dialogical correspondence. (SR)

Examines the types of documents written by 23 executives/managers in 2 different companies, finding that the most frequently written documents are memorandums and letters. Notes implications for business writing courses. Suggests that students be required to prepare a wide variety of documents in business writing courses. (SR)

Surveyed the following aspects of managers' written communication: volume, medium (secretary, word processor, dictation unit), delegation, and kind (memos, letters, reports, forms). Found, among other conclusions, that managers expect a marked increase in the use of modern technology. Discusses implications for business education. (PD)

Shows how compliance-gaining theory (more accurately than the "bad news formula") can help to explain the content and style of two kinds of memos that deliver bad news from managers to subordinates. Finds that features of compliance gaining governing message production explicate the power base, verbal strategies and tactics, and…

Analyzes an annual executive letter written by the director of a small New Zealand business which focuses on problems. Shows how these problems serve three functions: to distract attention from more serious issues, to undermine the credibility of potential challengers, and to provide a context in which the writer can present himself and company…

Because of dramatic changes in the technology of written communication, college graduates are now producing letters, memos, and reports by dictating for word processing systems. Case studies from structured interviews with 28 people in business, industry, government, and the professions show that the composing process of writers who use the new…

Offers data in support of providing business administration students with dictation training. (RL)

Compares the language of business writing students communicating face to face and on a real-time computer network. Finds that during network meetings, participation was more equal, responses more substantive and text specific, and students more willing to offer direction than during face-to-face meetings. Notes more positive evaluations by…

Describes an experiment designed to determine the reaction of employment interviewers to local lexical and syntactic errors in business and technical writing of non-native speakers of English. Reports that these judges find local syntactic errors more serious than local lexical errors. (MM)

Calls for less repetition in the opening parts of business or technical reports, i.e., in cover letters, prefaces, abstracts, and introductions. Examines theoretical and empirical work on repetition in discourse and on designing effective unrepetitive openings for business and technical reports. (PD)

Because written communication has nearly always been the medium for transmitting information in the business world, these essays are a step toward providing a seminal statement on the history and practice of business writing. The essays in this volume are: "Business Writing and the Spread of Literacy in Late Medieval England" (Malcolm Richardson);…

Questionnaires were completed by 169 accountants and 146 bankers in a study conducted to ascertain what communication tasks are performed frequently in accounting and banking and what competencies are needed for success in performing these tasks. The results indicated that all communication tasks were performed on an almost daily to almost weekly…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the perceived effectiveness of written communication from central office administrators to building level administrators in a metropolitan school district, (2) upward communication in…