Office Communication: It comprises

• Official Correspondence and Drafting
• Types of Office Corresponding
• Managing a Meeting

2.1     Official Correspondence

Correspondence is part of communication. Basically, communication is either verbal or written. The prevalent types of official correspondence are as under:

2.1.1   Letter: An official letter purporting to convey the views or orders of the Government must specifically be expressed to have been written under the direction of the Government. It shall be used for all formal sanctions and communications to Provincial Government public bodies and individuals. This form may also be used for communicating formal sanctions of Government to Attached Departments and Subordinate Offices, but shall not be used for correspondence between different Divisions of the Government of Pakistan.

A letter should be composed of the following:-

• Letterhead bearing the words Government of Pakistan and the name of the Division;
• Number and date;
• Name (with titles if any) and designation of the sender;
• Designation and address of the addressee;
• Subject;
• Salutation
• Main text of the letter;
• Subscription; and
• Signature and designation of the sender with his telephone number.

Letters addressed to official authorities should begin with the salutation ‘Sir’ and end with “Yours Sincerely”. Letters addressed to non-officials or groups of individuals should “begin with “Dear Sir/Sirs” and should end with the subscription “yours truly” followed by the signature and designation of the persons signing the letter. Official letters not under directions from Government to should begin with the words “I have the honor to” and not “I am directed”.

2.1.2   Office Memorandum: This form should be used:

• For correspondence between various Divisions;
• For conveying information not amounting to an order of Government to Attached departments and subordinate authorities.

It should be written in the third person and should bear no salutation except the signature and designation of the officer signing it. The name of the Division or Attached department (Including, if necessary, the name of the officer) should appear at the bottom on the left hand corner of the page. The Office Memorandum purporting to issue under directions from Government should begin with the words “The undersigned is directed to…”

2.1.3   Memorandum: This form should be used:

• For correspondence between the Divisions and Attached Departments and their subordinate offices;
• In replying to petitions, applications for appointments etc.

It should be written in third person and should bear no salutations or subscriptions except the signature and designation of the officer signing it. The name of the addressee should appear on the left hand corner of the page. The Memorandum should begin with the words “Reference application/petition/letter No…..dated…..from….”.

2.1.4   Demi-Official (DO) letter: This form should be used in correspondence between Government officers when it is desired that a matter should receive the personal attention of the individual addressed. A Demi-official communication should be addressed to an officer by name. It should be written in the first person singular with the salutation “My dear ___” or “Dear Mr.____” and end with “Yours sincerely”. The expression ‘My dear’ should normally be used for an officer of the same status or an officer one step higher in status and “Dear Mr.” If the officer to be addressed is a two or more step higher in status. The name and designation of the sender with titles, if any, should also be typed under the crest on the first page. The telephone number of the officer sending the communication shall invariably be indicated.

2.1.5   Un-official note: An un-official (U.O) note should be made by sending a note on the concerned file. This method of consultation should be generally employed between Divisions and a Division and Attached Department where so authorized.

2.1.6   Endorsement: This form should be used when a copy of a communication is to be forwarded to others in addition to the original addressee. The endorsement may take one of the following forms:-  “A copy (with a copy of the letter replied to) is forwarded to for information/for information and guidance/for necessary action/for-compliance”.

2.1.7   Notification: This form should be used for notifying in the Gazette of Pakistan Ordinance, rules and orders; appointments leave and transfer of gazette officers and other matters, which are required to be published in the Gazette of Pakistan.

2.1.8   Resolution: The form should be used for making public announcements in the Gazette of decisions of Government on important matters of policy, appointments of committees or commissions of enquiry and of the results of the review of important reports of such bodies.

2.1.9   Press Communiqué or Press Note: A press communiqué or press note should be issued when it is sought to give publicity to a consultation with and issued through the Press Information Department.

2.1.10 Fax and internet Messages: A fax should be issued only on occasions of urgency. As fast services exist, marking can serve the purpose. Where internet service exists, the greatest possible use should be made of it in preference to fax and telephones. The text of a fax or internet message should be brief and clear but clarity should not be scarified for brevity. Where groups of figures are necessary in a message, these should be typed in words in the copy to be issued.

2.1.11 Office Order: This form should be used for conveying instructions to be followed in office and notifying appointment, promotion, leave, etc. of the non-gazetted staff.

2.1.12   Preparation of Drafts: In a case to be submitted to a higher officer wherever a communication is to be issued, a draft shall be prepared and put up with the note. A draft should convey the exact intentions. The language should be clear, concise and incapable of misconstruction. In communications, the main points should be summarized in the concluding paragraph.

2.1.13 Noting on the Files: All the cases are dealt in the relevant files. First of all, the Paper Under Consideration (PUC) is placed in the file and flagged as PUC. Thereafter, the dealing personl will write a note (in the note portion of the file), briefly explaining the contents of the PUC, referencing the Previous Papers on the subject, if any, highlighting  Policy (Rules & Regulations) of the Government, on the subject quoting Precedent (s) if any and giving Proposal. Thus a complete note consists of 5 Ps:

• PUC
• Previous Papers
• Policy
• Precedent
• Proposal