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Differences between O cial Memos and

Circulars – A Managerial Perspective
Written By: Claudia Jeffrey

There are numerous types of business communication varying on their purpose, whether
it’s internal or external communication. It in uences the ways businesses communicate
within and also with other channels to share information. There are various forms of it
such as memos, circulars, annual reports, news release etc. all of these have their
importance and play an essential role in the stability of a business.

What is a memo?
A memorandum, generally known as a memo, can be de ned as a brief message or record
used for internal communication in any organization. They can be used to easily and
quickly communicate a targeted number of audiences about an important announcement
or change in policy. It may also communicate procedure amendments, price increase,
reminders for teams, summaries of agreement terms, etc.
They serve their purpose by notifying the audience about the information or asserting them
on call to action such as attending a meeting or applying a change in the manufacturing
process. Apart from the purpose they serve, they are highly effective in connecting the
writer with reader.

What is a circular?
Circulars can be termed as those letters which are circulated to a larger group of people at
the same time. It conveys a speci c message or a guideline to be observed in the future. It
is a direct and lucrative approach of delivering information which assurance that it will be
received by every recipient simultaneously. The main objectives of these circulars are
business issues and emphasize more attention to be sought by the management of a
business.
The use of a circular always in a business aspect is considered to convey information
among organization such as an intra-department conversation. It is regarded as an
effective tool of business communication as it disperses a message to a large group
concurrently.

Difference between O cial Memos and Circulars

In every organization, the managerial perspective is given signi cant importance as it
re ects a comprehensive viewpoint. It assures effective communication in the workplace,
which helps employees and departments in exchanging information.
In general, lots of people consider memos and circulars as same and interchange them
without understanding the difference between them. Despite, these terms are quite
different in terms of subject matter and the approach of distributing it among the audience.
To elaborate this difference, a managerial perspective is required. It will provide in-depth
approach which de nes and differentiates between these two types of business
communication.
Here, the difference between memos and circular are brief discussed.

Difference in subject and content

A memo has content or subject that is limited to some extent. Therefore o cial memos
are used as more exclusive aspect in nature. They serve as a reminder to someone or a
speci c group of people in an organization to perform a task or action and can vary in word
count as per need. The sender can deliver any idea or scheme by simply releasing a memo
importance of word countto the intended recipients keeping in perspective the .
On the other side, in contrary to the memo, a circular consists of multiple topics and affairs
which are discussed either to highlight their importance or suggestions to overcome a
drawback. Apart from that, a circular extends its purpose to general subjects which are of
daily business routine.

Difference in terms of distribution

The business communication occurs between a sender who needs to deliver a message
and recipient which receives the message. These conversations can happen at a large
scale, not only within the department but also occur at an intradepartmental level.
In respect to distribution, a memo is not broadly shared in comparison to a circular. It may
occur that a memo within an organization or department is sent to only a person or group
working on a speci c task. It is shared as per the requirement limited to only those who are
associated with it to any extent such as the issuance of a typical notice.
Regarding the distribution of circular, it has a much wider spectrum and covers a large
group of people. It delivers a comparatively general information or announcement. For this
reason, it is more commonly used for advertising purpose by a business, company or an
agency as a formal public statement. The information or announcement can be printed on
large banners or distributed as handouts on simple paper in the form of lea ets or yers.
The main idea is to circulate the message for the public in general or to a massive group of
people as much as possible.

Nature of content in Memo

Last but not least, at times memo (short term of the memorandum) may also refer to any
legal aspect or statutory documentation such as MOA (memorandum of association),
MOU (memorandum of understanding), etc.
Circulars are more related to business-oriented issues and do not cover the legal aspect at
any extent. It often contains various topics, but all are related to subject matters of an
organization’s internal procedures, such as annual stock clearance, an invitation to a
ceremony, admission of a new partner, etc.

In a nutshell
These two modes of business communication somewhat differ in terms of the subject
matter involved and the way these messages are distributed to its intended audience. The
difference between o cial memos and circular in regards to a managerial perspective
clearly de nes the style, purpose and target audience of both. It can be summarized as
below:

Sample of circular instructing employees to report on time

Here is a sample of circular which gives a general idea about its in business. This
ctitious circular is from HR department instructing the employees of the production
department to be punctual as the number of late reporting gets high.
Date: September 18, 2019
To: Production department
From: HR department
Subject: instructions about reporting on time
It is noticed in the past month that the number of employees of production department
reporting late at work has signi cantly increased. Hence, it is intimated to the entire
department to be on time. The entry time at the factory must be sharp 8 am, a grace time
of 5 minutes is allowed. We hope that the entire department will follow the punctuality of
time.
Regards,

Sample of an o cial memo about a meeting

To better understand the concept of an o cial memo, below is a sample regarding a call
of meeting by a department manager to the respective team.

To: Inbound Marketing Team

From: S.K. Mathew, Head of Marketing Department
Date: September 18, 2019
Subject: Monthly Performance Report
As the month of August has ended, let’s plan a team meeting about the monthly
performance report regarding the targets achieved and areas to work on. Please be
prepared with the sales gures, feedback of customers and new customers lead.
Looking forward to a constructive outcome from this meeting,
Regards

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