Written Communication-Objectives, Forms, Merits, Limitations and Essentials/Principles.

Meanings of Written Communication:

Written communication has great significance in todays business world. It is an innovative activity of the mind. Effective written communication is essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for business development. Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than speech. Effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition of sentences. Also, writing is more valid and reliable than speech. But while speech is spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not immediate.

Objectives of Written Communication:

The overall objective is to develop students written expression of thought and provide learners opportunities to explore ideas and to build connections between content areas. Written communication objectives for students completing the general education program are: *) Demonstrate the capacity to use various writing forms, (for example, in-class responses, journals, notebooks, reports, argumentative essays, research papers, and others) to achieve the specific purposes of the course. *) Exemplify ethical writing practices (i.e., avoid plagiarism, use of an appropriate citation style) in all forms of written communication. *) Demonstrate the capacity to effectively integrate multiple sources (primary and secondary, electronic and print) into the writing assignments of the course. *) Demonstrate improvements in written expression of thought by utilizing various techniques (such as peer review, multiple drafts or revisions of assignments after receiving feedback).

Forms of Written Communication:

Written Communication is the most common form of communication being used in business. So, it is considered core among business skills. *) Memos, reports, bulletins, job descriptions, employee manuals, and electronic mail are the types of written communication used for internal communication. *) For communicating with external environment in writing, electronic mail, Internet Web sites, letters, proposals, telegrams, faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements, brochures, and news releases are used

Merits of Written Communication:

*) Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running of an organization. *) It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is required. *) It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. While in case of oral communication, it is impossible to fix and delegate responsibilities on the grounds of speech as it can be taken back by the speaker or he may refuse to acknowledge. *) Written communication is more precise and explicit. *) Effective written communication develops and enhances an organizations image. *) It provides ready records and references. *) Legal defenses can depend upon written communication as it provides valid records.

Limitations of Written Communication:

*) Written communication does not save upon the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery and the manpower employed in writing/typing and delivering letters. *) Also, if the receivers of the written message are separated by distance and if they need to clear their doubts, the response is not spontaneous. *) Written communication is time-consuming as the feedback is not immediate. The encoding and sending of message takes time. *) Effective written communication requires great skills and competencies in language and vocabulary use. Poor writing skills and quality have a negative impact on organizations reputation. *) Too much paper work and e-mails burden is involved.

Principles of Written Communications:

Winston Churchill said, Little men use big words, and big men use little words. In case of writing we should follow the instruction of this big man. Generally short and clear words communicate better. For effective writing we should not only use familiar words but also need to realize the understanding level of the reader. There are different principles of effective writing but communication experts think that in any types of writing readers interests should be emphasized by the writer. There are 5 Cs of effective writing

1. Clear: The basic principles of effective writing are the message should be presented clearly.Message should be easily understandable by the reader. 2. Concise: Irrelevant and unnecessary words should be eliminated. The message should be short and complete. Unnecessary words and long sentences interrupt readers attention and failed to achieve the goal. 3. Complete: The message should be short, but in the same time it should be complete. That is, all the required information must be provided by the writer. 4. Correct: A concise and complete but wrong message is meaningless. Thus the given message must be authentic and grammatically, correct. Wrong information not only disturbs the effectiveness of writing but also adversely affect the goodwill of the firm. 5. Courteous: Last but not the least tool for effective writing is courtesy. By emphasizing readers interest and selecting right words creates courtesy. Courteous tone in the writing not only serves the specific purpose but also boost up the image of the organization.