Difficulties of business writing in the internship environment of huflit seniors majoring in business english in department of foreign languages graduation paper

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY -o0o DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION PAPER DIFFICULTIES OF BUSINESS WRITING IN THE INTERNSHIP ENVIRONMENT OF HUFLIT SENIORS MAJORING IN BUSINESS ENGLISH IN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES Instructor: M.A Vo Xuan Dieu Student: Nguyen Thi Yen Kieu School ID No.: 15DH710284 Class: TA1503 June, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENT Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i ABSTRACT ii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background information 1-3 1.1.1 Business writing style differs significantly from academic writing style 1.1.2 Some difficulties in business writing 4-6 1.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Scopes of the study 7-8 1.4 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 English and the importance of English with the development of the global business world 9-10 2.2 The difficulties in business writing 10-12 2.3 The comparison between business writing and informal writing 12-14 2.4 The definition and the role of business writing at the workplace 14-17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Research questions 18-19 3.2 Research participant 19 3.3 Research instrument 20-22 3.4 Research procedure 22 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 23-35 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 36 5.1 Summary of the findings 36-37 5.2 Discussion 37 5.3 Limitation 38 5.4 Recommendation 38-39 REFERENCES APPENDIX (QUESTIONNAIRE) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my warmest thank to the Foreign Languages Department which gave me the golden opportunity to this wonderful project on the topic “Difficulties of Business writing in the Internship environment of HUFLIT seniors majoring in Business English in Department of Foreign Languages” and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks of gratitude to my instructor Ms Vo Xuan Dieu (M.A.) who spent most of her time on correcting my research and suggested me many beneficial ideas to have a complete study Without her assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this paper would have never been accomplished I would like to thank her very much for her support and understanding over these past four years Second, I take this opportunity to express gratitude to all of 50 HUFLIT seniors who majoring in Business English for their help and support to complete the survey And last but not least, I also thank my parents for the unceasing encouragement, support and attention during my research process both spiritual and financial aspects Besides, I would like to say thank to my closest friends who friendly gave me the ideas and advised me to carry out this paper I am also grateful to my roommate partner who supported me throughout this venture ABSTRACT Being aware of the importance of writing in general and business writing in particular as well as some difficulties students may have in their study and the application of business writing at the workplace, the writer tried to carry out this research with the hope to investigate the attitudes of the Business English major seniors at HUFLIT towards business writing and some specific benefits of business writing with students throughout their internship period to support them work more effectively In order to achieve these objectives, some instruments, namely document analysis and questionnaire were used for collecting the response from students at HUFLIT University A questionnaire was given to 50 HUFLIT seniors majoring in Business English The purpose was to find out the common mistakes they usually have in their business writing The questionnaire consisted of parts: personal information and main questions The main content was presented with questions The result showed that students always pay attention to learn how to write business writing effectively But they also had difficulty in using business writing with three main common problems as follows: the incorrect grammar structure, the lack of vocabulary, and the memorization of the format of each business writing type However, they can apply it effectively in their internship period with some popular types of business writing, namely emails, memos and business letters The conclusion showed that learning to improve writing skill and business writing skill plays an vital role with students who studying at school and working at the workplace Students will have an opportunity to enhance their business writing if they are familiar with some practical situations at the working environment For the next study, the author will exploit more aspects of the difficulties in business writing to have pragmatic results CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter will give the background information about the study It establishes the scope, context, and objective of the research being conducted by summarizing the main purposes and main ideas of this study 1.1 Background information English is nowadays of paramount importance in global business world Moreover, it becomes a foremost international language for communication universally, it necessitates the needs for explicit norms for the corresponding professional working in worldwide business environment With the increasing of the trade world, it requires students to master in all skills of business, especially the skill of the business writing What is business writing? Business writing involves in memorandums, reports, proposals, emails, and other forms of writing used in organizations to exchange information with internal or external circumstances Business writing is a type of professional communication and professional writing is an elemental aspect bringing out the success for your future career Well business writing is an opportunity to showcase your communication skills, your professionalism, and an image of who you are Davies & Birbili (2000) stated that “Writing is becoming ever more central and crucial to the world of work, with computers on every desk, email and the internet adding to the world’s written words in almost epidemic proportions.” It is true that nowadays writing is used regularly in working environment as oral communication and it becomes an indispensable tool contributing to the success of communication during working period Moreover, writing is one of the skills making up most of the time in your work, for example, writing proposals for customers, noting the issue of immediate feedback or the email of colleagues But, you ensure that your writing is clear and impressive? How you highlight the message that you want to send? That what the recruitment are finding from their employees According to Gil Amelio, he claimed that “Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter.” Therefore, writing in general and business writing in specific also play a pivotal role in commercial world that contributing to the success of leadership and the development of enterprises The function of business writing is various as follows: Asking for inquiries/ giving information/ negotiating prices to customers, suppliers Replying to enquiries and requesting information from customers, suppliers Complaining about products or services Sending reports/ memos/ documents, project updates and coordinating activities Selling new products/ packages/ promotion However, a complete product of business writing requires many primary following elements: Use shorter sentences Use useful vocabulary Use active voice Write from the point of view of the company Recommend action rather than refer to individual mental states Avoid writing word in abbreviation Avoid self reference and references to individual states of mind 1.1.1 Business writing style differs significantly from academic writing style Using full words and avoid using abbreviations in formal writing is advisable For instance, word likes “television” which is used in full form in formal writing instead of using abbreviation form of “TV” in informal writing Longer sentences are used in formal writing The information should be in details and as arranged as possible in formal style of writing Every point should have an introduction, explanation, and conclusion Informal writing is closely to shorter sentences Information showed is brief and in a respectful tone (Nounlus Blog, 2016, para 9) Formal writing is preferred in academic, business or official communications, and informal is required for communication with friends, family and close ones Business letters, formal writing is usually in third person The writer can use their point of view i.e I, we Whereas, informal writing requires the personal pronoun depending upon the context 1.1.2 Some difficulties in business writing To give a complete form of business writing, the writer needs to experience some difficulties That can be easily seen that some of them who not familiar with how to use business writing easily getting trouble and taking much time to write According to some researches, the problem that writers are facing is not obtaining the useful vocabulary and academic grammar (Thandarin Decharotchanawirun, 2015) Creating the appropriate subject or headline is other difficulty in business writing The problems were the inability to write with correct grammar and the inability to use a variety of words without checking in the dictionary is very common They also have to resole problems in choosing appropriate words in writing and using grammar in English writing Furthermore, with the development of information technology, managers at all levels of an organization need to be excellent in business writing Therefore, they are looking for some potential candidates who can write and resolve the business problem professionally Besides, majoring vocabulary is also one of the most popular problems in business writing Students cannot avoid using jargons and ordinary phrases when writing in their business letters They can write a long essay or describe a beautiful place, but it needs to be easy to understand “Write to express not to impress, it’s key to longevity as a writer.” (Jeff Crume) Creating an email/ letter/ memo subject line is also one of the popular problems Subject line shows the main ideas and specific information that the business writing is aiming to There are still more problems that students confront in business writing and I will discuss more in my research Nowadays, some companies put the importance of written communication and oral communication as equal Therefore, it is necessary and effective for students to practice using some types of business writing in their internship period By this way they can face with some practical situations, apply their writing skill learned in the class and then improvise at the workplace effectively There is a variety types of business writing used in the workplace, but three common types, namely emails, business letters, memos which employers require students to obtain at the first start of their beginning profession Email is transactional business writing It is articles used to quickly exchange information between staff or clients in business activities Although emails are often seen as less formal than business letters, they still different from the normal messages you send to friends or family Email format consists of four basic parts as follows: Subject Salutation (usually begin with Dear Mr/ Mrs, Dear Sir/ Madam) Body Signature (Yours truly, Sincerely) Memo is instructional business writing Memo format is presented as follows: Headings with the same basic format: From: (the sender’s name) To: (the recipient’s name) Date: (the date memo written) Subject: (brief content of the memo) Opening, summary, discussion, closing and attachment are then followed Specifically, memo also is considered as a short notification of new information which is shared within a large group staff in an organization also in business working environment Memos are “brief reminders” about an upcoming meeting, new Figure 4.5 Types of Business English writing students use the most in the internship period Figure 4.5 refers to some common business writing used in the internship period of HUFLIT seniors Email is the most popular business writing which accounts for the highest percentage in this question (90%) Email is a virtually compulsive vehicle in this era of technology, which is the reason why the whole world is connecting to each other is basically the only chance to find businesses from international business The following types of business writing are considered as the types of business writing used frequently in the internship time, namely reports, memos, meeting agendas, business letters, reposes to the customer complaint letters which make up 60%, 38%, 34%, 30%, 24% respectively No respondent uses Newsletter in their internship period and within their team working environment There are only 6% of respondent suggest that there are still more types of business writing applied in the internship time frame but they not suggest any type of business writing Figure 4.6 Types of business writing students feel confident in the internship period Figure 4.6 shows the confidence of HUFLIT seniors in Business English major when applied business writing in their internship period They asked to choose which type of business writing they use proficiently The highest category, namely Emails, occupying 94% of the total Following is the category of Memos, Business Letters, Reports which are about 46%, 40%, 32% respectively out of the total Others think that they are also confident in Meeting Agendas with 10% out of the total Because most of students had studied how to write emails a lot form their first year at the university and emails also is an easiest way to exchange information at the workplace, they feel more confident in using emails than another type of business writing Besides, the remaining type of business writing also used very often in the working environment of any fields like bank, tourism, public relation, education, medical treatment Figure 4.7 Self- evaluate the measurement in using business writing Figure 4.7 reveals the measurement in using business writing of HUFLIT seniors majoring in Business English They tend to use business writing basically which constituted 72% and it is become the highest percentage in this question Using business writing fluently accounted for the surprising proportion with 22% and it is still have someone who does not feel confident when using business writing with 6% for that comment The respondents who were not proficient in business writing need to improve their writing skill and get acquainted with some practical situation of business writing because it will be beneficial for their future career The measurement just was a small self-test for encouraging students to recognize their writing skill and to learn and practice more in business writing Master in business writing means that students have an opportunity to how their ability of writing with their manager and integrate with the global business world If they want to have their own business, they will be ready to attain the career success because they have the experience and get knowledge through lessons at the classroom The next chapter will discuss more about some main points from the result and give some limitations and recommendations for the next study CHAPTER CONCLUSION This chapter will summarize the main points that the author made in the introduction and review of the literature It concludes the opinions, suggestions, recommendations established for the next study by clarifying and reviewing very briefly some findings of the research methods The researcher also mentions some limitations when conducting this research 5.1 Summary of the findings After studying the subject of business writing and aware of the importance of business writing in the study and work, but HUFLIT’s students are still not very good at it Specifically, 50 seniors majoring in Business English at HUFLIT agreed that business writing plays a crucial role in the modern life and at the workplace with some common types used widely and frequently, namely Emails, Memos, Reports, Business Letters The result also showed some popular obstacles students may have in their business writing The difficulties in business writing such as lack of vocabulary and useful phrase; inappropriate grammar; the ability to understand reader’s feeling; time management for business writing properly; clear and easy- understand business writing leads students to the fact that they have many troubles in business writing which are mentioned a lot in this study with a huge agreement from the respondents Basing on this matter, survey partly has found out the reasons which cause the difficulties in business writing With HUFLIT seniors who are attending in the internship period, it is an opportunity for them put into practice with some type of business writing at the workplace The results showed that Emails, Reports, Memos are used very often as some common means of exchange information at the workplace They also feel confident to resolve any problem with customer from the above business writing Although students indicates that they can use business writing basically with highest proportion but I think that they will improve everyday by practice as much as possible and get acquainted with it 5.2 Discussion At work, the staffs often have to write to each other from many different countries The message must be apparent, effective, professional and straightforward for everyone all around the world to understand There are many kinds of writing and many reasons for learning to write because writing is one of the familiar and most important means of communication in the business world Basically, there are two main kinds of writing used frequently, namely academic writing and business writing or professional writing Interpersonal skills, including writing, are one of the most significant transmissible skills that workers retain Most in business fields, such as marketing, finance, and tourism, the staffs need to have excellent writing skills to suitably transfer ideas and expressions Therefore, business writing skill serves as a key element to prepare for developing the professionalism in business environment Learning to write and cultivate business writing is very fundamental when studying at school and working in the professional environment The theory at school just is the beginning for the future working environment and the knowledge about business writing when studying at school help students to get ready for resolving problems at workplace 5.3 Limitation Because of the time limitation and also it is the first time the researcher does this graduation paper, so there are obviously many limitations The lack of reference materials also is listed as a problem in doing this research to put together ideas and point of view to have complete study The experience of creating the survey to exploit different aspects of the topic of this paper is mentioned in this paper It may not be completely satisfactory because it just focuses on some of many aspects Further research on the same subject will be carried out and enhanced on a larger scale The author just focused on three type of business writing, namely emails, memos, business letters In the next study, there will be more type of business writing are analyzed more clearly and specifically 5.4 Recommendation for further researches For the next study, the researcher will collect the response rom more participants There will be approximately 100-200 respondents participating in completing the survey so that the results will be more convincing If there are more study on the same topic, the researcher need to design a questionnaire or face-to-face interview to exploit all the aspects of the problem in business writing and also if it is possible to suggest some method to enhance students’ writing skill in general and students’ business writing in particular Moreover, in the further research with the same topic, the ideas in the measurement HUFLIT seniors applying business writing at the workplace and in their internship period will be given exploit more aspects about this study To evaluate the measurement in using business writing, a small task will be designed as a practical exercise For example, a task to write a new memo or email with the specific required information or write a reply to an email of customer about the product quality or response to the customer complaint The author will be clarified more type of business writing specifically if it is allowed by the time Furthermore, understanding about the difficulties student may have in business writing and lacking time more survey, researcher will clarify and investigate about the solutions for some common difficulties in business writing It can be some tips to overcome the obstacles during the business writing production If possible, some solutions will be the way to resolve these problems in business writing will be the topic of the researcher’s study REFERENCES Business Writing Errors That Cause Big Problems (n.d.) 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English - Lingua Franca For International Business B Schneider & J Andre (2005) University preparation for workplace writing Journal of Business Communication , 195–218 Brock, L (2017, October 3) Importance Of Email Communication Retrieved from Robotics Meetings: http://www.robotics-meetings.com/importance-of-emailcommunication/ Butt, S (2016, August 4) Acknowledge the Importance of Business Letters in the Business World Retrieved from Mars Translation Blog: https://www.marstranslation.com/blog/acknowledge-the-importance-ofbusiness-letters-in-the-business-world C Caldwell, R Karri, & T Matula (2005) Practicing What We Teach – Ethical Considerations for Business Schools Journal of Academic Ethics, 1-25 Chris Davies and Maria Birbili (December, 2000) British Journal of Educational Studies 429-445 Crume, J (2016, September 26) Write to Express Not Impress Retrieved from Medium- The Writng Cooperation: https://writingcooperative.com/write-toexpress-not-impress-f5c375657001 Decharotchanawirun, T (2015) A study of problems in the business English writing skills of Thai employees at the classic chairs company Thammasat University Edward P BaileyBailey, E (2008) Writing and speaking New York: NY: McGrawHill Email (n.d.) Retrieved from Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/email_1?q=email Emig, W D (2015) Business Writing: What Works, What Won’t (3rd Ed.) New York : St Martins Griffin Garner, B A (2013) HBR Guide to Better Business Writing: Engage Readers, Tighten and Brighten, Make Your Case Boston: MA: Harvard Business Review Press Gil Amelio Nhungcau noi hay nhat cua"Gil Amelio" - Trang (n.d.) Retrieved from Nhung Cau Noi Hay: http://www.nhungcaunoihay.club/author/4662-gil-amelio Griffin, F (2001) The Business of the Business Writing Center Business Communication Quarterly, 64(3), 70-79 Inurture (2016, July 13) The Importance of English Language in International Business Retrieved from Inurture Blog: https://inurture.co.in/blog/theimportance-of-english-language-in-international-business Lee Iacocca quote (n.d.) Retrieved from Brainy Quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lee_iacocca_130616 Leo Burnett quote (n.d.) 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Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/practice+makes+perfect PMP, B W (February 3, 2010) A Project Manager's Guide to Passing the Project Management Exam Sturgeon Prapawuttikul, J (2004) English writing and speaking needs analysis of MIT support staff Bangkok: The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Rachelkelly (n.d.) The Importance of English: Ways the Language Can Change Your Life Retrieved from FluentU: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/importance-of-english-language/ The Importance of Email (2012, April 9) Retrieved from Contactually Blog: https://www.contactually.com/blog/the-importance-of-email What is the basic Difference between formal and informal writing? (2016, August 24) Retrieved from Nounplus Blog: https://www.nounplus.net/blog/what-is-thebasic-difference-between-formal-and-informal-writing/ What is the importance of memorandum? 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Retrieved from Learn English Today: https://www.learn-english-today.com/business-english/business-letters.html APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Instruction: This survey is aimed on the subject of my graduation paper I hope you spend a little time to complete my survey form It just takes 5-7 minutes to finish Your suggestion is my honor Your time spending on fulfilling this questionnaire is contributing to the research successfully I commit that your information will be kept confidential If the information is revealed I will be fully responsible I Personal Information Age: Gender: Class: I Main Questions Do you think writing is a difficult skill to acquire?  Yes  No According to you, does business writing play an essential role in the business environment?  Very essential  Essential  Neutral  Not essential What kinds of business writing have you learned about? (You can choose more than one answer)  Memos  Emails  Letters  Reports  Meeting Agendas  Newsletters  Resumes and cover letter  Responses to customer complaint letters  Press Releases  Handbooks Reasons for using business English writing (You can give more than one answer)  Asking for inquiries/ giving information / negotiating prices to customers, suppliers, shipping, forwarders etc  Replying to enquiries and requesting information from customers, suppliers, shipping, forwarders etc  Selling new products/packages/promotion  Complaining about products or services  Sending reports/memos/documents, project updates and coordinating activities  Sharing or providing new information/activities  Dealing within organization such as manager, colleagues, subordinate  Others: ……………………………………………………………… Difficulties you faced to business writing: Range Item No Description (Strongly agree) I can use effective headings and subheadings of my business report I can manage time for writing my business properly I can write my business letters with clear and short It is difficult to remember the format of each type of business writing It is difficult to create email/letter/memo subject line I can use a wide range of vocabulary in my business English email I forgot to check the grammar before sending email I usually use complicated sentences I write the salutation and closing inappropriately (Agree) (Neutral) (Disagree) (Strongly disagree) Do you often use business writing in your internship period?  Yes  No Which type of Business English writing you use the most in your internship period? (You can give more than one answer)  E-mail  Report  Letter  Memos  Meeting Agendas  Newsletters  Responses to customer complaint letters  Others: …………………………………… Which types of business writing you feel confident in your internship period? (You can give more than one answer)  Memos  Emails  Letters  Reports  Meeting Agendas Self- evaluate your measurement in using business writing :(choose the most appropriate to you)  Fluent  Basic  Not proficient Thank you a lot for your time and your support!!