ASSIGNMENT II

Inquiry Letter

           Inquiry Letter is a letter written to request information and/or ascertain its authenticity. A letter of inquiry deals with various matters like job vacancies, funding, grants, scholarships, projects, sales, pre-proposals and others. The term is common in various business setups as it implies fund request or pre-proposal information. Owing to this usage, the term may be considered exclusive to these setups alone. But that is not the case, to this effect the below definition offers a justified meaning. 

Inquiry Letter Definition

       A document requesting information sent on behalf of an individual or an organisation for their own respective purposes, which can be mutually beneficial to the recipient and the sender.

The term ‘Inquiry’ is same as ‘Enquiry’. The former is more commonly used in U.S. and the latter one is more common in U.K. There are some other terms which represent the letters; these are Letter of Intent, Letter of Interest, Query letter, Prospecting Letter, Pre-proposal Letter and Concept Paper. The term ‘Cover Letter’, ‘Business Letter’, ‘Request Letter’ and ‘Sales Letter’ is also applied to an inquiry letter especially when the objective is same as that of letter for inquiry.

       A letter of inquiry serves to facilitate business operations and satisfaction of the sender. Inquiry letters remove any misunderstanding and are time savers, especially when two parties want to reach an understanding. The communication towards this effect resolves the issue without any delay. With relation to it being a ‘Pre-proposal letter’, the inquiry letter is also termed as a ‘Condensed Version of a Proposal’. It is the outcome of the purpose of the letter which highlights the points of a proposal instead of a full-fledged proposal.

       On an individual’s basis, these letters are sent to companies that are willing to hire but haven't advertised job openings. It can also be a letter addressed to editor in-charge of a publication proposing certain literary work. It can be a letter from a student who is vying for a seat in a college or a business that provides an internship. So, the objective of an enquiry letter is same but its projections and audiences are different. Same goes for its method of delivery, it can be sent via paper mail or electronic mail.

Example Of Inquiry Letter

July 2, 2013
Mr.  Rodrigo Rivera
Personnel Director
Technote Corporation
3152 Bridge Avenue
Boston, MA 02154

Dear Mr. Rivera:

May I ask a favor of you?  Randy del Rosario, a representative of the Leverage Company, recently told me of your success in managing Technote’s training program for the hardcore unemployed.  Our firm is presently planning such a program, and we would appreciate information about the mind-set section of your program.

We expect to begin our training sessions on approximately August 1.  I believe we are prepared for the remedial-education and job-skills portion of the program, but we need help with mind-set section.  Specifically, we would appreciate knowing who you employed to teach that section, the major emphasis in the section, and the length of the section in relation to the entire programs.

I congratulate you on your success in managing Technote’s program, and I believe your ideas would help us solve this long-neglected problem, also.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Francisco Fortaleza
Managing Director

 Order Letter

      a letter of order is a document that confirms the details of a purchase of goods or services from one party to another. It usually includes more information about what you are ordering, like quantity, model number, or color, the payment terms, and the matter in which the products are to be shipped. When the recipient receives this letter, they will process the order and send the merchandise.

Order Letter Definition

       An “Order” is an expense for the person placing the order and an income for the one getting it. But this is not all. The company that bags the order has to fulfill lot of commitments to ensure that it has a satisfied customer, which can be an individual or another company. Timely delivery of the order, quality of delivery and after sale service – are all part and parcel of getting an order.

      An Order Letter is the one that is written by the person/company placing the request of purchase from another company. This letter comes into action only when a detailed study of the desired product has been done in the market and based on promised service, quality and price of the product, a decision for a purchase has been made.

     An Order Letter should be drafted very carefully as it needs to pen down all the terms and conditions of the purchase for the benefit of both involved parties. It should have details such as product specifications, quantities, price agreed upon, delivery date, late delivery clauses, etc. It should be addressed to the person responsible for the execution of the order with a copy to the head of department. Since it is totally an official letter it should be typed.

Order Letter Sample

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 Mancini Kitchen Equipment

Troy D. Mancini

4220 Straford Park
Harold, KY 41635



Dear Mr. Mancini,

We would like to purchase twenty two (22) individual stand mixers (Model #43423), all in the color red.

 We would like you to charge this purchase to the preexisting account that we have with you, business account #543234.

We hope to receive this order no later than Friday, November 11th, 2009. Attached to this letter please find our preferred shipping method and receiving address.

Please confirm that you received this order by calling us at 232-231-4563 anytime during business hours, Monday to Friday.

Thank you for your cooperation

Keller Kitchen Co.

 Complaint Letter Definition

A letter of complaint, or complaint letter, is normally written to deal with a problem situation when other attempts (i.e. phone contacts, e-mails, etc.) have failed to rectify the situation. The complaint letter formalizes a problem situation by putting it into writing and is usually the last resort to try to get a situation resolved.

Complaint Letter Sample

4739 French St.
Tampa FL 33660

July 18, 20xx

Mr. Kevin McManus
National Manager, Customer Service
Energy Corporation Inc.
Heritage Building, Suite 200
795 Foundation Dr.
New York, NY 10014
RE: EnerCorp Credit Card: 263 181 869 3 900XX
I had been an EnerCorp credit card holder for the previous ten years. Before that, I was a Texacana card-holder for over 20 years. I seem to recall that when EnerCorp took over/bought out Texacana ten years ago, the switch of companies/credit cards was handled smoothly and seamlessly. I wish the same was the case ten years later when EnerCorp recently transferred its credit card operations to NYBank.

I was well aware of the impending changeover to NYBank a couple of months before it happened. I had received a notice of the planned change in the mail, and it was discussed often at my local EnerCorp station when I paid for my gas (with my EnerCorp credit card). More than once, I inquired, and was assured that I would receive a new credit card in the mail before the April 27th deadline. Unfortunately, that did not happen. April 27th came and went, without me receiving a replacement card, or even an application for a new one. Apparently, I am not the only one that this happened to.

After realizing that I was suddenly without a gasoline credit card, after 30 years with one, I called a couple of your 1-800 numbers and I was advised that I would have to re-apply for a credit card with EnerCorp via the NYBank. Incredible as this seemed, I requested an application and one was sent. It appears to be the same kind of application that one fills in after walking in off the street. The fact that I had been a credit card-holder with EnerCorp (and its predecessor Texacana before that) for some 30 years in total, did not seem to cut any mustard with you people, or your friends at the NYBank.

It is hard to believe that companies are still doing business this way in the year 20xx. Have you people (or your colleagues at NYBank) ever heard of the concept of MVC (Most Valuable Customer). Just in case you aren't familiar with this approach, the MVC is the customer that you already have (i.e. me). Normally, these are the customers you don't want to lose. After all, research has revealed that it will cost you seven times as much to find a new customer as it does to keep an existing one (i.e. me). What about current "customer-centric" concepts such as One-to-One marketing? Or, have you ever heard of customer relationships management (CRM)?

For your information, about two years ago American Hardware transferred its credit card management program to Master Card and it was absolutely transparent to American Hardware card-holders who simply received a replacement Master Card before the American card expired. Maybe you should have consulted those companies.

In closing, would you please advise me as soon as possible if EnerCorp (now via NYBank) is still interested in doing business with me, or if what has happened here is your not so subtle way of telling me to do my gasoline business elsewhere.

Sincerely,


John Swetnam, M.B.A.

Memo Definition

A short message or record used for internal communication in a business.Once the primary form of internal written communication, memorandums (or memos) have declined in use since the introduction of email and other forms of electronic messaging. 

How to Organize a Memo
 
"The following guidelines will help you structure a memo:

- Use a clear subject line.
- State your purpose in the first paragraph.
- Summarize any potential objections.
- Keep the paragraphs short.
- Use subheads between paragraph groups.
- Use bulleted and numbered lists.
- Request action."

Sample Memo

To : John O Sea, Head Of Departement
From : Alesia Keysa, Secretary
Date : 19th May 2014
Subject : Meeting

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