Various software programs are used to design and produce business documents

But the basic Microsoft products are?

Various software programs are used to design and produce business documents

Other than Microsoft products there are specialist programs such as?

•Image editing software 

Typical business documents include

Typical business documents include:

Examples of business technology include:

Layout and Design 1

The layout, format and design should be appropriate for the purpose of the document and the business situation the document will be used in.

The general principles include:

The format should be clear and clean

Important information highlighted by the use of

headings, areas and sections.

          •Should contain basic details like dates, names, titles,

version numbers, authors name and subjects.

•Use an appropriate font and avoid fancy script fonts

•Get the name, addresses, titles and business details correct

Layout and Design 2

The layout, format and design should be appropriate for the purpose of the document and the business situation the document will be used in.

The general principles include:

Include all the information that is

generally accepted in that type of document

•Correct spelling and grammar

•Appropriate use of bullet points to highlight information in lists

•Appropriate use of colour, photos, images and presentations

•Respectful and abiding by copyright laws.

Your own work and no plagiarism.  

Letter Formatting 1

The key elements would be?

•       Company letterhead

•       Company logo

•       Date of the letter

•       Reference number

•       Subject title

•       Address of company to receive the letter

•       Attention line

•       Greeting

Letter Formatting 2

The key elements would be?

•       Main body of the letter

•       Closure

•       Handwritten signature

•       Typed name, position of the person who signed

•       Identify enclosures

•       Copies

A memo (memorandum) is 

• a short document designed to convey a message or information to a group of people usually within the same business, team or group.

• They are informal and straight to the point.

• They are also designed to be used in a public manner so are generally not used for private communications.

Email design has a standard format that you like to use and save that as the default template.

But you can make what kind of changes to the format?

options to adjust the

• font, size of font, colour of the font and

• to add bullet points, numbered lists, Bold, Italic, Underline and

• other text formatting options including different backgrounds. 

Codes and IDs

Their purpose is to?

numbers relating to the

customer

transaction

project.

Makes it easier to locate the files

Typical Codes and IDs include

•       Customer number or ID

•       Job reference number

•       Post codes and addresses

•       Terms and conditions

•       Special notes

•       Business logo

•       Business slogan

1 Minutes of meetings are 

AND

2 What is the secretary's role?

AND

3. Why have them?

1 formal record of what happened in a business or group meeting. 

2. One person attending the meeting is nominated the task of taking notes on what was said and discussed during the meeting (the secretary)

3. useful reminders of what was agreed to and are a record of any decisions that were made. 

Reports

They are designed to fully brief the reader about the subject

BUT

are produced in such a way that

you can quickly find the information that is needed and

use that information to make decisions

so the report must be:

•       Very clear and concise

•       Follow a standard business format

•       Quick and easy to interpret

•       Contain accurate data so that it can be used as the basis for making decisions 

Page numbers, version numbers and dates are found in which part of the document?

These are often included in the footer of the document found at the bottom of a document.

When should a cover page to a document be used?

if you are presenting a report to your boss or a customer then a cover page of the document looks smart and professional

Why does a business have a style guide that gives instructions on how documents should be prepared?

• Consistent presentation
• Saves time
• gives clear instructions to those producing documents
• Professional approach
• Recognisable brand

Appropriate language is extremely important when preparing any document.

Some things you need to remember include:

•       Use language that the person receiving can understand.

•       The level of formality or familiarity with the text and format

•       Be considerate of the reader.

•       Appropriate sentence length.

•       Appropriate paragraph length.

•       Use simple words.

•       Be polite.

•       Avoid jargon unless you bare sure the reader is familiar with the jargon.

•       Use only one key point in a sentence.

•       Re read the document or message

There is a range of font options

• The word font means? and what are some of these options?

 how you want the text to look including:

Line spacing

Most of the text in this document is written is ‘single line spacing’.

However in some cases documents will need to be in what other line spacing 

In most business situations you will find single line, but also 1.15 or 1.5 line spacing.

However, in some industries and situations you may be required to submit a document in double line spacing.

Other ways of changing the design and layout is by using a range of options from the menu bar

These include:

Margins

Colour

Tables and graphs

Columns

Bullet points

Numbering

Headers and footers

Headings and subheadings

Paragraphs

Describe the process of inserting a picture

Go to the insert tab on the menu and choose ‘insert picture’ from the ribbon.

Then choose the picture you want to insert

Most businesses would use a combination of two systems for managing and storing files.

What are the two systems?

some systems will be electronic and

other systems will be paper based

When looking for a file it helps to have some sort of system in place

The name of the file and the location should tell you what ?

The contents of the document

Avoid vague names like ‘sales’

it’s better to use

‘July 2012 t shirt sales’ 

Most documents will need to be filed or recorded away for later use

Why? 

possibly for legal reasons as well as convenience to find within the future to verify things like

Delivery

Price charged

PAyment made

Evidence of what was said or agreed to 

Reference or Index systems file documents generally in two ways

Alphabetically and/or in a category

What does this mean?

Firstly in order of the first letter of a word in the order of the alphabet (A throgh to Z)

Then in sections based on the type of area or department

(Seperate section for stock, Employees etc..)

When you first create a document and want to save it

Would you use "save" or "save as"

Save as or save - does not really matter but for the first time

BUT

If you need to keep the original document as well a file with changes made separately then "save as"with a distinct file name for the new changed document.

The letters PDF stand for

AND what is special about a PDF file

Portable Document Format

• The document is locked and cannot be changed
• In a format that everybody can access

To "Back up" data means

AND where might this be held?

Duplicate copies are kept and stored in a safe place such as:

•       Upload data to an internet based backup storage area (cloud)

•       Make a CD copy of the data

•       Copy data to a USB memory stick

•       Back up to the company or business server

•       Some software programs such as accounting software have their own built in backup system 

What is a template?

An existing document that has standard formats and writing that can be used to produce docunents such as:

newsletters, flyers, invoices, business letters, memos, announcements and reports.

PowerPoints are used in what situations?

What are some good guides to follow when creating a Powerpoint?

To ais an oral presentation at a meeting or seminar etc....

•       Don’t put too much information or writing on each slide

•       Don’t use long strings of text

•       Use bullet points

•       Use graphs and charts

•       Don’t use fly in type animations – they become distracting

•       Use a small number of slides

•       You give the detail of the information not the slide

•       Keep the look simple – it’s the information that’s important

•       Avoid reading from the slide 

Excell is especially useful in order to:

manipulate and sort data, that data can then be used to create tables, graphs and charts that can be inserted into other documents like a report that is being created in Microsoft Word. 

How do we learn software programs and where do we get help?

•       Ask an experienced office colleague

•       Use the help button of the program

•       Use a reference book such as ‘Excel for dummies’

•       Online help forums

•       Attend a short training course

•       Play and experiment with the program 

When writing an "active" voice is used rather than a "passive" voice

What is meant by an active voice?

A more direct and specific method/type of writing

Sentences written in an active voice flow better and are easier to understand. It is usually the subject of the sentence which is performing the action. Examples are: “I really love Peter's ice cream.” and “The photocopier paper is in the cupboard.” 

Grammar and spelling and so important

They can include:

•       Full stop - .

•       Comma - ,

•       Question mark- ?

•       Explanation mark - !

Why is this so important 

When communication with yoy boss and customers it is absolutely necessary to appear professional and competent in what you are doing.

The last thing you want to happen is to lose a promotion (or a job) or customers simply because you were unprepared or not willng to develop good spelling and grammar skills

Typical communication methods include

•       Computer software

•       Email

•       Australia post

•       Printed documents

•       Notice boards

•       Marketing materials 

Why is it standard procedure to first ‘Draft’ a document and then check the contents before sending or releasing a document?

Business documents are a permanent record of the actions of the business great care must be taken to ensure they are accurate, clear and abide by industry and society's cultural norms. 

What are the main causes of errors in documents?

•      

Spelling and grammar

•       Accurate names and titles

•       Inaccurate data

•        Poor wording

•       Insulting or offensive wording

•       Out of date text or data

•       Calculation errors of maths

•       Inappropriate material

•       Confidential material that should not be included 

In the ribbon of the microsoft program there is a useful button to assist in reducing errrors

What is it and where can you find it?

Review spell check button under the review tab

There is a difference between American English and British English.

Words not recognised in the dictionary will be shown in red.

From the following list of American words change the spelling to Enlish/ Australian spelling

Recognize,  Color,  Flavor,  Center,  Aging

Recognise,  Colour,  Flavour,  Centre,  Ageing

A thesaurus is a list of words with similar meanings. Why might you need to use a thesaurus in preparing documents?

When writing a document or report often you want you to avoid repeating the same word or need a slightly different word to describe a situation. Generally makes documents easier to read and understand and gives a more professional outlook to the business.

Distinguish betweena brand and a trademark

A brand stands for certain benefits and value attached to a business product or service. Legal name for a brand is trademark and, when it identifies or represents a firm, it is called a brand name

Once you have done all the checking you are ready to finalise the document – What should you do next?

•       Remove the ‘Draft’ label on the document

•       Label the document as final if appropriate

•       Send the document for approval if appropriate

•       Put the appropriate date and version numbers on the document

•       Print the document and give it one final look over before you send the document

Why is it standard practice to retain a copy of all important business documents for later verification and records? 

Some documents will need to be stored for a number of years in case they are requested by the Tax Office, Stock Exchange or Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) or other compliance area.

What are some of the common printing options available when it comes to printing a document?

•       Print the current page or a range of pages

•       Double sided printing

•       Number of copies

•       Stapling

•       Colour or black and white

•       Draft mode (to save ink)

•       Watermark

•       Collate pages  (1,1 ,1 , 2, 2, 2, 3,3, 3) or ( 1, 2, 3, 1,2 ,3 1, 2, 3 )