Written Communications in Business

Writing is the single most widespread activity in business today. The advent of computers, fax machines, e-mail, and all the other paraphernalia of the so-called paperless office has not reduced the need for effective business writing whatsoever. Modern professionals now spend more time than ever wordsmithing on their Powerbooks, PC laptops, and Pentium PCs - up to 70% of their day according to Fortune magazine. Writing is also one of the most expensive business activities. (p. 34)

The consequences of poorly written communications are profound. These consequences can include: rejection of organizational proposals sent to funding organizations such as the state or federal government; increases in company costs due to employees spending more time on the job solely to decipher poorly written communication; failure of employees with poor written communication skills to earn larger salaries and/or to be promoted to higher organization levels; and accidents occurring as a result of misunderstood written communications (Egan, 1995). The consequences of poorly written communications in businesses and organizations highlight the need for colleges and universities to maximize students' business writing skills. One way of improving these skills is through thorough assessments of students' present skill levels and any resulting increases in these skill levels following instruc

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ared the quality of policy and procedure documents written by groups in three conditions: (1) Groups using the EMS Groupwriter tool with a planning guide; (2) Groups using pen and paper with a planning guide, and (3) Groups using only pen and paper. However, what is of primary interest with respect to the review of literature presented in this paper is how they went about assessing the groups' written business documents. With respect to the foregoing, it can be noted that the authors' assessment measures included both the outcomes and the processes of the group session. The group task outcomes measured were planning quality, document length, and member satisfaction with document quality. The group process outcome measured was planning quality. Document length was determined by the total number of words in the final text. Planning quality was measured using judges' scores of planning based on the clarity of purpose, organization, and coherence. Document quality was measured by an overall score combining the planning, development, and mechanics of the document and assigned independently by two judges. This procedure resulted in two document quality scores for each group document. Member satisfaction with the documen
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2927
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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