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SOURCE TYPE: EMAIL / MEMO
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WHAT IT IS
An internal communication between employees, managers, executives, departments, consultants, analysts, or stakeholders.
Purpose is usually not to provide raw facts.
Purpose is usually to:
Express opinion
Make recommendation
Raise concern
Request action
Explain decision
Respond to issue
Mental Tag:
PERSON + POSITION
Always remember:
An email is usually an OPINION source.
Not an EVIDENCE source.
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WHY GMAT USES EMAILS
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To introduce:
Stakeholder goals
Recommendations
Concerns
Conflicts
Assumptions
Business priorities
GMAT often uses email tabs because they create:
Opinion
which must later be tested against:
Data
Research
Financials
Survey results
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HOW EMAILS ARE TYPICALLY DRAFTED
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Pattern 1
Problem
Reason
Recommendation
Example:
Sales declined.
Customer engagement fell.
We should increase advertising.
Most common pattern.
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Pattern 2
Observation
Concern
Recommendation
Example:
Competitors are expanding.
We risk losing market share.
We should enter new markets.
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Pattern 3
Goal
Constraint
Recommendation
Example:
We want growth.
Budget is limited.
We should expand digitally.
Very common in recommendation questions.
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Pattern 4
Recommendation
Supporting Reasons
Example:
I recommend Product B.
Reason 1
Reason 2
Reason 3
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WHAT THE PASSAGE USUALLY LOOKS LIKE
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Example 1
To:
Marketing Director
Our recent customer surveys indicate lower engagement among younger consumers. Because digital campaigns have performed well in comparable markets, I recommend increasing online advertising expenditures during the next quarter.
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Example 2
To:
Chief Executive Officer
The western division generated lower profits than expected this year. Although revenue increased, production costs rose significantly. I recommend delaying expansion until costs stabilize.
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Example 3
To:
Operations Manager
Demand has increased by nearly 20 percent over the past year. Existing facilities may soon reach capacity. We should consider investing in additional production equipment.
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WHAT INFORMATION APPEARS IN EMAILS
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Recommendations
Opinions
Concerns
Goals
Constraints
Forecasts
Assumptions
Internal politics
Business priorities
Tradeoffs
Strategic preferences
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WHAT INFORMATION RARELY APPEARS
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Hard evidence
Detailed statistics
Complete financial analysis
Research methodology
Experimental results
Those usually appear elsewhere.
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FIRST 5-SECOND SCAN
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Question 1
Who wrote this?
CEO?
CFO?
Marketing?
Analyst?
Consultant?
Operations?
Question 2
What does this person want?
Question 3
Why do they want it?
Question 4
What assumptions are they making?
Question 5
Which other tab will verify this?
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MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCE
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Usually one of:
I recommend...
We should...
My concern is...
I propose...
Management should...
I believe...
The recommendation sentence is often the most important sentence in the entire tab.
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WHAT TO EXTRACT FIRST
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Speaker
Position
Goal
Recommendation
Reason
Nothing else initially.
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WHAT TO IGNORE
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Greetings
Thank you statements
Politeness
Formal opening
Formal closing
Background history
Most examples
Most descriptive details
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COMMON QUESTION TYPES
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Recommendation
Inference
Verification
Integration
Constraint Matching
Prediction
Stakeholder Analysis
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HIDDEN CR CONCEPTS
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Assumptions
Recommendations
Cause and Effect
Tradeoffs
Necessary Conditions
Decision Making
Stakeholder Incentives
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CROSS-TAB RELATIONSHIPS
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Email + Data Table
Email recommends.
Table verifies.
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Email + Financial Statement
Email claims.
Financials verify.
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Email + Survey
Email recommendation based on survey.
Need evaluate whether survey supports recommendation.
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Email + Research Report
Email conclusion.
Research evidence.
Need connect.
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Email + Market Research
Recommendation based on market opportunity.
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RED FLAG WORDS
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recommend
propose
suggest
should
must
believe
concern
risk
opportunity
forecast
expect
predict
prefer
support
oppose
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CONCEPT KNOWLEDGE
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STAKEHOLDER INCENTIVES
CEO
Usually wants:
Growth
Market share
Long-term success
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CFO
Usually wants:
Profitability
Cost control
Financial stability
Risk reduction
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Marketing Director
Usually wants:
Customer acquisition
Brand awareness
Sales growth
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Operations Manager
Usually wants:
Efficiency
Capacity
Productivity
Lower costs
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HR Director
Usually wants:
Retention
Hiring
Employee satisfaction
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Investor
Usually wants:
Return
Profit
Growth
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Government Official
Usually wants:
Compliance
Public benefit
Policy goals
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THE BIGGEST TRAP
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Student reads:
"I recommend expanding internationally."
Student thinks:
Expansion is correct.
Wrong.
Email only provides opinion.
Need evidence.
Always ask:
What evidence supports this recommendation?
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SECOND BIGGEST TRAP
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Confusing recommendation with fact.
Fact:
Revenue increased 10%.
Recommendation:
We should expand.
Only one of these is proven.
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THIRD BIGGEST TRAP
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Ignoring speaker incentives.
A marketing executive and CFO may see the same data differently.
Why?
Different objectives.
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HOW 705+ QUESTIONS USE EMAILS
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Version 1
Multiple stakeholders disagree.
Need identify whose recommendation is best supported.
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Version 2
Email recommends action.
Financial data contradicts recommendation.
Need identify conflict.
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Version 3
Recommendation satisfies some constraints.
Violates others.
Need multi-constraint evaluation.
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Version 4
Two emails.
Two executives.
Opposite conclusions.
Need determine whose reasoning is stronger.
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99TH PERCENTILE RULE
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Never read an email asking:
What does every sentence mean?
Read asking:
Who is speaking?
What do they want?
Why do they want it?
What evidence would prove them right?
Which tab contains that evidence?
If you can answer those five questions, you have extracted almost everything GMAT usually wants from an Email/Memo source.