Title: Describe the purposes and types of business communication.
Course: Entrepreneurship (12053-I) > Section: Understanding Entrepreneurship

Description should include typical audiences and purposes of internal and external written communication:

Audiences

- Investors
- Customers
- Media outlets
- Vendors
- Employees
- Government agencies
- Fellow entrepreneurs or strategic partners

Purposes

- To provide information
- To address acquisition and retention of customers
- To persuade others to an action or point of view
- To make inquiries

Description should also include typical types of business communication, such as

- business letters
- memoranda
- email messages
- reports
- press releases
- financial statements or summaries
- electronic slide presentations
- websites
- text messages
- blogs and social media
- video and web-based communication (e.g., YouTube, Skype).

Process/Skill Questions:

- For what purposes are business documents written? For what audiences?
- What are the parts of a business letter? Why is each important?
- What is the importance of properly addressing an envelope or package?
- What is meant by netiquette? Why is it important to a business?
- In what entrepreneurial situations would a memorandum be appropriate? A letter? An e-mail message? A report? A blog or other form of electronic networking?
- How does one decide what is appropriate to put in written form?
- How can business documents be used to enhance company image?
- How can business documents be used as a sales tool?
- What are the possible consequences of incorrect information and/or errors in a written document?
- Why is it important for writers to have strong word-processing skills?
- How is social media used for business communication?
- Why is formality a critical element of business writing?
- Why does each document need to be considered a legal document?