《Business Letters》課件-Module 9 Letters to Shareholders課件-課件-

LetterstoShareholdersModuleNineGenre-basedBusinessEnglishReadingLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReading2

learnsometermsaboutletterstoshareholders3getfamiliarwiththeformatandcontentofletterstoshareholders4knowthebasicsaboutmacroThemeandhyperTheme5practicethewritingofletterstoshareholders1knowhowtowritealettertoshareholdersLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingWatchthevideoaboutbusinessletter,thentrytoanswerthefollowingquestions.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReading1.Whatarethemajorelementsofabusinessletter?2.Whatistherelationshipbetweenabusinessletterandalettertoshareholders.Opening,greeting,body,closing,andenclosures.Abusinesslettercoversawiderangeofletterswherealettertoshareholdersisincluded.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartOneGetYourselfPrepared:theBasicsI.Getyourselffamiliarwiththeterms.Thefollowingtermsarefromthepassageyouaregoingtoread.Readthedefinitionstogetyourselfpreparedforthecomprehensionofthepassage.?1.stake:?2.pressrelease:?3.annualreport:animportantpartorshareinabusiness,plan,etc.thatisimportanttoyouandthatyouwanttobesuccessfulanofficialstatementmadetojournalistsbyalargeorganization,apoliticalpartyoragovernmentdepartmentadocumentthatoutlinesandanalyzestheactivities,especiallythefinancialdealings,ofacompanyorotherorganizationoverthepastyearLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReading?4.generalcounsel:?5.executive:?6.PR:?7.earnings:

?8.balancesheet:(intheUS)themainlawyerwhogiveslegaladvicetoacompanyapersonwhohasanimportantjobasamanagerofacompanyoranorganization(PublicRelations)thebusinessofgivingthepublicinformationaboutaparticularorganizationorpersoninordertocreateagoodimpressiontheprofitmadebyacompanyawrittenstatementshowingtheamountofmoneyandpropertythatacompanyhasandlistingwhathasbeenreceivedandpaidoutLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingII.Testyourselfwiththeterms.FillintheblanksinsentenceslistedinColumnBwiththetermsinColumnA.ABstake1.China,Timkensaidinitsmostrecent___________,was“oneofthefewgrowthstoriesof2021.”pressrelease2.Moreover,______firmsarebeginningtoencroachonterritorythatusedtobethedomainofadvertisingfirms,asignoftheirincreasingclout.annualreport3.BEAhasissueda__________todaytoclarifythatithasnoaffiliationwiththefraudulentwebsite.generalcounsel4.The______issuedbythefiredepartmentthenextdaywouldbeasecondarysource.annualreportPRpressreleasestakeLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingII.Testyourselfwiththeterms.FillintheblanksinsentenceslistedinColumnBwiththetermsinColumnA.ABexecutive5.Acompanymightusesomeofits_______

topaydividendsasarewardtoshareholders.Oritmightreinvestthemoneyintothebusiness.PR6.“Wehavetobepreparedforthedifficulttimesawaitingus”,saidMikioWatatsuki,former________directoroftheBankofJapan.earnings7.Ithasalsotransferredloanportfoliostootherpartsofthebankinordertohelpshrinkthe___________ofitsUSconsumerfinancearm.balancesheet8.Thisfall,thecompanyhiredanew_____________andchiefcomplianceofficeraspartofabroaderoverhaulofitscompliancesystem.earningsexecutivebalancesheetgeneralcounselLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPassage1HowtoWriteYourAnnualLetterto

Shareholders/2021/01/how-to-write-your-annual-letter-to-shareholders-2/WarrenBuffetmakesthenewseachyearforhislettertoBerkshireHathawayshareholders.Byemployinghisuniquelywryand

styleandcoveringmanytopicsthathavelittledirect

onBerkshire‘sresultsorprospects,Buffethastakenoneofthe

obligationsofapubliccompanyCEO,andturneditintosomethingmuchlarger—akindofStateoftheUnionfromthedeskofoneofourmostimportantbusinessleaders.It’simpressive.Andasyougetreadytoreleaseyourownannualletter,youmaybetemptedtotakeapagefromtheBuffettplaybookandofferyourshareholdersabitofyourownwitandwisdom.Butdon’tbeafraidtotakeadifferentapproach:simple,clear,andconcise.逆向投資者aninvestorwhodeliberatelydecidestogoagainsttheprevailingwisdomofotherinvestorscontrarianbearingstaple關系；影響thewayinwhichsthisrelatedtosthorinfluencesit主要的；基本的；重要的formingabasic,largeorimportantpartofsth.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingTheshareholderletterisanimportantpieceofcommunicationwithyourinvestors.Thelettercertainlygetslessattentionthanyourfinancialresults.Andintruth,itisoftenoverlookedbyordinaryinvestorsandmediacoveringyourcompany,whomayperceiveitas

.Butitisreadwithinterestbyprofessionalinvestorsandanalysts,becauseit’sanopportunityfortheCEOtoclearlylayouthisorhervisionforthecompany,alignemployeesandotherstakeholdersaroundthatvision,andhighlightitscurrentprogresstowardlong-termgoals,includingkeymilestonesachieved.Theletterisobligatory.Takeseriouslytheresponsibilityofwriting(orleastreviewing)itbyfollowingthesesimpletips:(宣傳或廣告中的)吹捧exaggeratedpraise,espinpublicityoradvertisingpufferyLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingLearningObjectivesPre-readingPost-readingFurtherReadingReadingFirstly,makesureit’saccurate.Thefirstobjectiveofyourletteristocorrectlydescribethestateofyourbusiness.Perhapsitshouldgowithoutsayingthatthelettercannotincludeanyerrors.Butthingschangequicklyineverybusiness,andit’seasierthanyouthinktofailtoupdateyourletterwiththemostrecentinformationonanimportantdevelopment,ortogetasmalldatapointwrong.Secondly,puttheletterthrougha

reviewprocess.Thesameprocessyouusewhenyouissueapressreleaseorotherpublicstatementsshouldbedeployedhere.Thestakesareevenhigher:Apressreleasecanbecorrectedoramended.YourlettertoshareholderswillbeincludedinyourAnnualReportandprintedbythethousands.Thecredibilitydamageofaletterthatincludesmistakesor

willendure.Makesureallappropriateparties—especiallyyourCEO,CFO,generalcounsel,andheadofinvestorrelations—reviewandapproveevery

oftheletter.謹慎的；細致的；徹底的donecarefullyandwithalotofattentiontodetail打字錯誤

asmallmistakeinaprinteddocument迭代theprocessofrepeatingamathematicalorcomputingprocessorsetofinstructionsagainandagain,eachtimeapplyingittotheresultofthepreviousstagerigoroustypositerationLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingThirdly,focuson.Evenifallyourfactsareaccurate,thevalueofyourletterisdiminishedifitispoorlywritten.Allbusinesscommunicationmustbeclear,andyourshareholderletterisnoexception.Investmentanalysisisoftenaverycomplicatedprocess.Simplifyitwithliberaluseofbulletsandcutoutthebusiness.Mostimportantly,sticktowhatmatterstoyourinvestors:yourrecentsuccesses,yourimmediateprospects,andyourlong-termobjectives.Fourthly,keepitbrief.Brevityisthesoulofwit.WarrenBuffetcangetawaywithasweepingletterthattops18,000wordsandstretchesmorethan30pages.Youcan’t.Manyofthebestletterstoshareholdersareapageortwo.Fifthly,cutthe

.SomeexecutivesseethelettertoshareholdersasanexerciseinPRspin.Itisn’t.Yourlettershouldbedensewithimportantinformationaboutyourbusiness.It’sfinetopaintyourcompanyinapositivelight,butnotafalselight.Makesureyoucarefullyreviewlastyear’sletterbeforedraftingthisyear’s,andupdatereadersonyourprogressontheexpectationsyoulaidoutthen.Yourlettershouldhelpgetyourinvestorsexcitedaboutyourprospects,butit’sonlyasvaluableasitiscredible.行話；行業(yè)術語；切口wordsorexpressionsthatareusedbyaparticularprofessionorgroupofpeople,andaredifficultforotherstounderstand清晰；清楚；明確thequalityofbeingexpressedclearly胡說；謊話nonsense;liesclarityjargonbaloneyLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingSixthly,keepitconsistent.Trytofollowthesameformatforthelettereachyeartomakeiteasyforreaderstocompare.Here’sabasicoutlinetofollow:1.Youropeningparagraphshouldsetthetoneandcharacterizetheyear.Admittowhatwentwrong.Highlightthechallengesthecompanyfacedandthepathtoovercometheminthecurrentyearandbeyond.2.Nextcomesanoverviewofyourfinancialbenchmarks(revenues,earnings,researchanddevelopmentprogression,etc.).Makeclearthebenchmarksthecompanyisheldaccountabletoandhowthecompanyexecutedagainstthosebenchmarksduringtheyear.3.Now,reviewthebalancesheetandmeasuresoffinancialhealth.4.Moveontoadiscussionofyourimportantachievements,milestones,progress,andotherkeybusiness.5.Finally,provideyouroutlook.Whatdoyouhopetoachieveinthecurrentyear,andwhatarethelonger-termgoals?Whatdifferentiatesyourcompanyfromyourpeers?LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Decidewhetherthefollowingstatementsaretrueorfalse.WriteTfor“True”andFfor“False”.T/FStatements____1.Generallyspeaking,letterstoshareholdersaremoreattractivetoprofessionalinvestorsandanalyststhanordinaryinvestorsandmedia.____2.Sinceletterstoshareholdersgetlessattentionthanfinancialresults,itisoptionalandcanbeomitted.____3.Failingtoupdatethemostrecentinformationinthelettertoshareholdersmaydiscountitsaccuracy.____4.TheletterstoshareholdersshallbereviewedandapprovedbyallappropriatepartiesincludingtheCEO,CFO,generalcounsel,andheadofinvestorrelations.____5.Toshowtheprofessionalismofthelettertoshareholders,youshouldusebusinessjargonasmuchaspossible.TFTTFLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Decidewhetherthefollowingstatementsaretrueorfalse.WriteTfor“True”andFfor“False”.T/FStatements____6.Accordingtothepassage,yourletterstoshareholdersshouldbeaslonganddetailedasWarrenBuffet’s.____7.Yourletterstoshareholdersshouldpresentimportantinformationsuchastheprogressandprospectsofyourcompany.____8.Intheopeningparagraph,youshouldadmitthemistakesinthepreviousyear,stresscurrentchallengesandputforwardsolutions.____9.Toprovideyouroutlookinthelettertoshareholdersistopresentthecurrentgoalsandlong-termgoals,aswellasdistinctivefeaturesofyourcompany.FTTTLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartTwoSampleLetterstoShareholders1Getyourselffamiliarwiththeterms.Matchthedefinitionwiththeterms.1.stock2.partnership3.capital4.marketshare5.businessverticals6.supplychain7.stakeholder______A.theamountthatacompanysellsofitsproductsorservicescomparedwithothercompaniessellingthesamethings______B.asharethatsb.hasboughtinacompanyorbusiness______C.thedegreetowhichsth.isprofitable,orthestateofbeingprofitable______D.therelationshipbetweentwoormorepeopleororganizationsthatareinvolvedinthesameactivity4162LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReading______E.atermusedtodescribeaspecificindustryormarketthatfocusesonaparticularniche______F.alargeamountofmoneythatisinvestedorisusedtostartabusiness______G.apersonorcompanythatisinvolvedinaparticularorganization,project,system,etc.,especiallybecausetheyhaveinvestedmoneyinit5371.stock2.partnership3.capital4.marketshare5.businessverticals6.supplychain7.stakeholderLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Therearesomequestionsandunfinishedstatements.BeneatheachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Choosetheonethatbestcompletesthesentenceoranswersthequestion.D1.Accordingtothepassage,astandardshareholderlettercontainsthefollowingtopicsorheadingsexceptfor_____.A.marketingstrategies

B.financialresultsC.datatypes

D.dataorganization2.Whichofthefollowingisnotincludedinthefinancialperformanceofthecompany?A.Therevenueandprofits.B.Theoverviewofloans,capital,andmarketshare.C.Thereasonsfortheperformance.D.ThegoalsandmissionofthecompanyA.marketingstrategies

D.Thegoalsandmissionofthecompany.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Therearesomequestionsandunfinishedstatements.BeneatheachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Choosetheonethatbestcompletesthesentenceoranswersthequestion.D3.Ashareholderlettershouldtakethefollowinginformationintoconsiderationexcept____.A.difficultiesfacedB.gainsandprofitsC.thedescriptionofaproductD.plans4.Whichofthefollowingisnotthesignificanceoftheshareholderletter?A.Itprovidesaplatformforthemanagementtocommunicatewithshareholders.B.Itenablesthemanagementtointroducethecurrentstatusofthecompanytotheshareholders.C.Ithelpsthecompanytoraisemoremoneyfromshareholders.D.Itpresentstheplansandprospectsofthecompany.C.thedescriptionofaproductC.Ithelpsthecompanytoraisemoremoneyfromshareholders.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Therearesomequestionsandunfinishedstatements.BeneatheachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Choosetheonethatbestcompletesthesentenceoranswersthequestion.D5.Whatcanbeinferredfromtheshareholderletterexample?A.Thefinancialstatusofthecompanyispositiveonthewhole.B.Thecompanygainedfewerprofitsthanlastyear.C.Therewerenonewbranchandmanufacturingplantduringtheyear.D.Thecompanymanagedtomeetthetargetrevenues.6.Whichofthefollowingisnotthesuggestiongivenbytheauthoraboutwritingagoodshareholderletter?A.Stresstheachievementsofthecompany.B.Clarifythemanagementmethodsofthecompany.C.Avoidtheproblemsandchallengesduringtheyear.D.Appreciatethestaffasawholefortheircontribution.A.Thefinancialstatusofthecompanyispositiveonthewhole.D.Avoidtheproblemsandchallengesduringtheyear.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Therearesomequestionsandunfinishedstatements.BeneatheachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Choosetheonethatbestcompletesthesentenceoranswersthequestion.D7.Whichofthefollowingisnotmentionedinthispassage?A.Thedefinitionoftheshareholderletter.B.Thecomponentsoftheshareholderletter.C.Thesignificanceoftheshareholderletter.D.ThehistoryoftheshareholderletterD.ThehistoryoftheshareholderletterLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartThreeSampleLetterstoShareholders2Getyourselffamiliarwiththeterms.Thefollowingsentencesaretakenfrompassage3.Therearetwosuggestedmeaningsforthewordsinitalics.Choosethecorrectoneusingthegivencontextandword-buildingskills.1.Municipalbonds(A.債券B.結合)turnedinamixedperformanceduringthefirsthalfofthisyear.2.WhilethefirstquarterwitnessedanunexpectedsurgeinTreasury(A.國債B.財政部)yieldsthatledtosomevolatilityinmunicipalbondprices,municipalbondsthenproceededtopostpositivetotalreturnseachmonthduringthesecondquarter.3.Secondly,themacroeconomic(A.宏觀經濟的B.整體經濟)outlookcontinuestoimprove.A.債券A.國債A.宏觀經濟的LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartThreeSampleLetterstoShareholders2Getyourselffamiliarwiththeterms.

4.TheAmericanRescuePlanprovides$350billiontostateandlocalgovernmentstomakeupforthefinancialtoll(A.通行費

B.損失)causedbythepandemic.5.Inthemidstofaglobalpandemicandtheensuingdeeprecession(A.撤回資金B(yǎng).經濟衰退),financialmarketsexhibitedaremarkabledegreeofresiliency.6.Secondly,defaultrates(A.違約率B.缺席率)forinvestmentgrademunicipalbondshavestayedatlowlevels.7.Thenumberofcreditdowngrades(A.降職B.降級)ofinvestmentgrademunicipalbondshasalsostayedexceptionallylow.B.損失B.經濟衰退A.違約率B.降級LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartThreeSampleLetterstoShareholders2Getyourselffamiliarwiththeterms.

8.Wedon’tholdanyhighyieldmunicipalsecurities(A.證券B.安全)inanyofoursingle-statefunds.9.Thecreditqualityofallofourinvestmentportfolios(A.產品組合B.投資組合)remainsverystrong.10.Thetemporarylossofliquidityinhighqualityfixed-incomemarketswasastarkreminderthattheretrulyisnosuchthingasa“safehaven”asset(A.資產B.資本)whenfearturnstopanic.11.Taxreform,favorablesupply-and-demandtechnicalfactors,benigninflation(A.通貨膨脹B.通貨緊縮),decliningdefaultrates,improvingcreditquality,andafavorableinterestrateenvironmentallcontributedtothestrongperformanceofthemunicipalbondmarket.A.證券B.投資組合A.資產A.通貨膨脹LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.Readthefollowingstatements.EachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneofthepartsmarkedAtoJinthepassage.Identifythesourceofthestatements.Writedownthecorrespondingletterbeforeeachstatement.______1.UnemployedworkerswillreceivefinancialaidprovidedbytheAmericanRescuePlantocoverfinancialdamagesduringthepandemic.______2.Themunicipalbondpriceunderwentdramaticchangesinthefirstquarterandthenpostedpositivetotalreturnsinthesecondquarter.______3.Themunicipalbondmarketperformedbetterthanthepastfewyearsduetotaxreform,benigninflation,decliningdefaultrates,andimprovingcreditquality,etc.______4.Torespondtotheuncertaintyandvolatilitycausedbythepandemic,theFedadjustedthefedfundsratetobe0to?percentandannouncedalargescalequantitativeeasingprogram.BAGFLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingCheckyourcomprehension.______5.ThoughalimitednumberofissuesreceivedcreditdowngradesduetotheinfluenceofCOVID-19,mostofthecreditintheinvestmentgrademunicipalbondsectorperformedwell.______6.BillComdswhowouldretirefromtheBoardofTrusteescontributedalottothecompanywithhissoundjudgement,calmdemeanor,dedication,andlongstandingservice.______7.Despitethepandemic,theequityandfixed-incomemarketsperformedwellandthedefaultratesformunicipalbondsremainedlow.DECLearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartFourLanguageInformationHyperThemeandMacroThemeInformalwriting,theauthorwouldoftenbeginaparagraphwithatopicsentence.Atopicsentenceessentiallytellsreaderswhattherestoftheparagraphisabout.Allsentencesafterithavetogivemoreinformationaboutthatsentence,proveitbyofferingfactsaboutit,ordescribeitinmoredetail.Thelastsentenceofaparagraphissometimestheconcludingsentence.Aconcludingsentenceshouldbeasummaryofthepreviousdiscussionandnotincludeanynewinformation.Thereadershouldbeabletoidentifythekeypointsinatextbyreadingtheconcludingsentence.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartFourLanguageInformationThesetwoconceptsinSystemicFunctionalLinguisticsaretermedhyperThemeandhyperNew.TheconceptsofhyperThemeandhyperNewwereproposedbyMartinandRoseinthebookWorkingwithDiscourse,MeaningbeyondtheClause.TheythinkthathyperThemepredictswhateachpartofdiscoursewillbeabout.Itisnormallythefirstsentenceofaparagraphorasection.Ittellsuswhatwearegoingtohaveinthefollowingpart.Andtheaccumulationofnewinformationisoftendistilledinafinalsentenceofapart,andthatisthehyperNew.HyperNewstelluswherewe’vebeen.Itsummarizeswhathasbeentoldinthepreviouspart.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartFourLanguageInformationThistheoryabouthyperthemeandhypernewisderivedfromM.A.K.Halliday’sinformationwave.Theinformationwaveofsystemicfunctionallinguisticsholdsthatthethemeofaclause(traditionallycalledasentence)includesthesubjectandalltheelementsbeforethesubjectinaclause.Andtherhemecoverstherestoftheclause.MartinandRose’shyperThemeandhyperNewareaboutthelargerlanguageunitthantheclause.Thisisreflectedinthetitleoftheirbook“Meaningbeyondtheclause”.Theymovebeyondtheclauseandtowardthelargerunit,thatis,partofadiscourse.Andtheycallinformationwavesinthelargerunitsthe“biggerwaves”.Theyalsomoveevenfurtherbeyondtohavealookattidalwavesinthewholediscourse.Intidalwaves,thereare“macroTheme”and“macroNew”.Theseconceptshelptheauthorandthereadershaveaclearclueoftheorganizationofthewriting.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartFiveBusinessCase1.Businessethics:dobusinessintherightwayTheEndsofCorporateGovernance:

ShareholderPrimacyorStakeholderBalance?/entries/ethics-business/#EndsSharPrimStakBalaTherearetwomainviewsabouttheproperendsofcorporategovernance.Oneiscalled“shareholderprimacy”whichmeansfirmsshouldbemanagedinthebestinterestsofshareholders.Onthisview,shareholdersownthefirm,andhiremanagerstorunitforthemontheconditionthatthefirmismanagedintheirinterests.Thesecondmainviewisgivenbystakeholdertheory.Accordingtostakeholdertheory—insteadofmanagingthefirminthebestinterestsofshareholdersonly,managersshouldseekto“balance”theinterestsofallstakeholders,whereastakeholderisanyonewhohasa“stake”orinterestinthefirm.LearningObjectivesPre-readingReadingPost-readingFurtherReadingPartFiveBusinessCase1.Businessethics:dobusinessintherightwayThedebatebetweenshareholderandstakeholdertheoristsisaboutwhattodowiththeresidualrevenues,i.e.,what’sleftoverafterfirmsmeettheircontractu