Memorandum

To: MBA5280 Students

From: XYZ
Date: 9 May 2016
Re: Memo Guidelines
Problem
This section contains a short (3-10 sentences) summary oftheproblemorissuebeing
addressed by the memo. Be specific but provide minimal details. If you do not intend to
address all of the major problems in your recommendations, then indicate which one(s)
you do intend to address. Use caution in your selection. Typically you will want to
identify both an obvious problem and a root problem. You should also indicate that you
understand the context.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Thissectionshouldoutlinetherecommendedcourseofaction insufficientdetailfora reasonably
well informed person (i.e., your target reader) to understand what you are recommending,
and why.
Youshouldprovidesufficientdetailsforthereadertoknow
whyyouhaveselectedthis
courseofactioneveniftheydontyetknowwhatthealternativeswere. Take a stand for
action.Donotmerelysuggest"morestudy"
or"callinaconsultant."Directyour
recommendations to eliminating the underlyingcauses,notmerelyminimizingor eliminating
the symptoms.
Theargumentinfavourofthischoiceshould
bemeasuredrelativetotheEvaluation
Criteria(orwhatevertakesthat
roleinthismemo).
Yourargumentsshouldbebasedon
factandreasoningnotonyouropinionsorfeelings.Indicatepreciselyhowthesewill
helptoalleviatetheproblem.
Includethemostsignificantandrelevantfacts,assumptions
andprinciples.Highlightinginformationfrom
yourextendedanalysissuchas
profits,marketshare,costreductionetc.can
behelpful.
Inallcases,linkthosenumbers
totherelevantsources(e.g.seeappendixA).
Avoidqualitativeassessmentsofthe
impactofthesethingsif
quantifiableaspects
areavailable(e.g.,thischoicewillsave$10
million not a significant amount of moneysince numbers take less space and provide
better information.)
Bytheendofthissection,thereadershouldknowwhatyourecommend
and
why.
Many
peoplewillstopreading atthispoint. Therestbelongstothenextlevelofinformation: proving
your point.
Evaluation Criteria (or whatever)
IdentifyCriteria:Thecontentsofthissectionwillchangefrommemotomemo.
One
standardapproachistoidentifyaseriesofcriteria,suggestwhethertheyaremust-haves or niceto-haves and identify why they are there and their relative importance.

Thecriteriashouldbeimportantrelativetotheproblem
statementandcontext.
Many
criteriahavethresholdlevelsassociatedwiththem(e.g.,itmustcostless than$3million dollars)
-avoidarbitrarilysettingtheselevels.
Inmanycasestherearelogicalarguments
astowhyonelevelisbetterthananother(e.g.,borrowingcapacity) -linkingacriteriato one of
these makes a stronger case than picking a number out of the air (why must it cost less
than $3 mil, why not$3.5mil).Ifnoobviousthresholdexistsperhapsthere shouldnt be a
threshold at all (we value a low cost solution).
If
space
constrained,focusoncriteriathatareimportantandmaytendto
differentiateyouroptions. Trytokeepthemonthesamelevelofimportanceandkeep the number
manageably small, and avoid overlap (e.g.,profit may subsume cost of labour).
Insomecases,thecriteriamaytakeadifferentform
suchastheissuesortheoreticlenses
inwhichyouwillconsideranissue.
Forexample,youmayhavetov i e w
theproblemfrom
differentperspectives suchasmanagingthemedia,establishingacrediblebrand,making the
issue go away. The thing to keep in mind is that the memois about communicating
somesortofrecommendation. Thissectionisgoingtoexplainwhatwasimportantin reaching the
conclusion for which you are arguing.
Comparison withAlternatives
Ifyouhavespaceleftover,youcandetailtheoptionsthenevaluatethem.
Aslongas,bytheendofthesection,thereaderknowswhatthe options are and how they
compare
with
the
chosen
alternative,
you
have
done
the
job.
Howyouorganizethealternativeswilldeterminethespacerequiredtorationalize
and
comparethem.
Lookforcommonelementsthatlogicallyworktogether(e.g.,costofrelocatinginvolvesa
numberofthingsirrespectiveofwhichlocationyoumoveto).
Thisway,commentingona
criterias impact may cover multiple alternatives.
Implementation Plan
Again,thisonemayvaryfrom memotomemo. Animplementationplanisonecommon feature.
Attheminimum,itshouldidentifywhodoeswhatandwhen. Otheroptions include: assessments
of risk, resources required, next steps, an action plan etc.
If
animplementationplanisincluded
in
the
memo,itshouldonlyhighlightmajorelements,adetailed planshouldbeincludedasanappendix.
Thinkwhatwouldthereadercareaboutifit were going to be implemented and include only
that.
AdditionalRecommendations(optional)
You probably wont have space left for this. Here you can include items that are not
directlyrelatedbutareofsecondaryinterest. Indoingthis, becarefulnottoobscureyour main
point.

Appendix A: Notes
1.

Businesscommunicationingeneralandwritingmemosinparticularisanartnota science.
Ithinktheseideasarea goodstartingpoint,buttheymaynotbe appropriate in all cases.

2. Thenamingofsectionsdoesnotfollowahard-and-fastrule;rathertheyshouldbe constructed to
express what the sections contain. The headingsinthissamplewill not be appropriate in all
cases.
3.
Therearefrequentlyanumberofdifferenttakesonwhattherootandproximal problems.
Youshouldpickthemostappropriate,whichisobviously
a
judgment
callthatcontainssomearbitrariness.
Whateverit
isthatyoudecideupon,you
shouldfocusonthatforthebalanceofthememosincethatiswhatyouclaimto
beaddressing.
Otherpointsmaybeinterestingbuttheymusttakeasecondary importance.
4.
Highlightingthecontextintheproblemsectionwillhelpconvincethereaderthat you are
sensitive to the situation. It will also help frame which issues you wish to
discussandwhyyoumaketherecommendationsyoudo. Whateveryoupickit should be relevant to
yoursubsequent discussion.
5. Theobjectiveofamemoistobeclearandconcise. Tobeclearimpliesthatno reasonable person
can, in good faith, misunderstand your intention. To be concise means that the
communication
requires
the
smallest
amount
of
your
audiences
time.Youwillbeamazedathowlittletimeyourworkreceivesandhowmuch time it takes you to
produce.
6. Avoidplayinggamestofitmoretextthanbelongs. Itisfarbettertopractice writing with greater
care.