Writing Well in Business Henry T. Price our messages create the image the public has of you and your business A CEO in South Carolina says, a written message on a piece of "My young sales staff can sell, paper or a written message on a ...80 percent of busi but they don't know enough computer screen. All too frequently, nesses surveyed believe write a proper business letter to the Your messages, both verbal and that their employees customer. "The Wall Street Journal nonverbal, are HUGE in creating your biggest problem is written has said that 80 percent of business- image communication es surveyed believe that their Unfortunately, unless you have employees' biggest problem is writ- been living in a cave for the past about South Carolina:"The econom ten communication three or four years, far from any civi o It's ironic that in a time when the lization, you are all too aware of the ic value lost as a result of an unedu- ed for precision in the use of Eng- shortcomings of our elementary and cated or undereducated workforce is lish is increasing exponentially, pow- secondary education system estimated at $824 million ered by enormous strides in technol- preparing our young people for the The same article talks about the ogy and the use of computers, our rest of their lives. An article by Sue uge cost to society of a student's ability to use the language is rapidly Oliver in the January-March 2004 dropping out of school. The short declining issue of the Business Economic comings of our educational system The first impression many people Review quotes a 1995 report from cover a wide range of subjects, but get of you and your business is often the Winthrop University Center for one of the most damaging is our Economic Development that talks continuing and worsening inability to Dr. Henry T. Price, former interim dean teach our young people to read, and of the College of Journalism and Mass especially write, the English lan Communications at the University of guage. If you doubt that, the next South Carolina, taught copy editing and time your newspaper runs a story writing for more than 30 years at USC about the performance of young before his retirement in 2002 He holds a college-bound South Carolinians on Ph. D in Communication from Michigan he SAT, read it carefully State University and is a consultant with Frankly, if your employees can't Sam E McCuen and Associates of Lex read well and can' t use the precision ington, South Carolina. Anyone interest ed in Price's business writing seminars and conciseness of proper English should contact McCuen and Associates your business is at a severe disad at 803-920-9263 or via e-mail at antage in today's highly competitive world Business Economic Review April-June 2004 13