Sylvias Bar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sylvias Bar - Essay Example It did good business, attracting high volume of customers and earning sizable profits from its beginning in the late 1980s till the mid-2000s. From the late of 2000s, its profits started to decline, as the flow of customers reduced to abysmal levels, even close the bar for few days of the week. The response from the customers dwindled because of Sylvia’s long-standing strategies of offering products and services at high cost, playing outdated music and also due to the advent of more modern bars in the neighbourhood. This report will focus on the Sylvia’s Bar and will discuss its current situation or problems, coming up with recommendations for it to manage those problems. Cost and menu High cost in the sense, Sylvia’s was established as a high class wine and cocktail bar, aimed at the customers, who constitute the top end of the market. Because of this focus on a particular target segment, the price of the drinks and the food was on the higher side. Although Sylv ia’s Bar wanted to focus more on these high segment, who are able to pay the high prices. In the fact, with this pricing restrict its customer base. Due to these high pricing, other segments of the wide prospective customer base look for other options that the bar has to throw ingredients by the reduction of the customers, and this was validated by Sylvia’s waitress, Kate. â€Å"We throw too much food away, I’m not sure that the customers in town are looking for this kind of fancy stuff†. ... (Piron 2000). (Vickers and Renand 2003). So, by setting price on the basis of industry standards, and equal or less than its competitors, Sylvia’s Bar can expand its customer segment. Even while bringing in more customers, care should be taken not to compromise on the quality. Staffing The insistence of using only classically trained cocktail bar staff, who have completed a course in bar work at South Birmingham College, negatively impacts the finances of the Sylvia’s Bar. As these particular staff demand payment, which are double the ones paid to the casual bar workers, Sylvia has to allocate a sizable financial resources for the salary of these staffs, which further eats into their income. As the customers do not particularly insist on qualified employees from a particular academic institution and may not even know that fact, it is not compulsory for Sylvia’s Bar to recruit only them. Instead, they can recruit skilled and enterprising casual employees and impor tantly train them according to the job needs. (Mattila 1999). Training programs may not cost sizably, and on the other hand, the trained casual labourers can be paid only half of the salary paid to the other set of employees, thus saving crucial finances for the firm. (Kerfoot, Davies & Ward 2003). Sylvia’s bar also faced certain employee centric problems. Firstly, the employees had to wear a particular set of uniforms, and that according to certain employees was also very outdated. Barman Paul, 32 had this to say about it, â€Å"These uniforms are so dated and formal. I feel like I’m working in a church not a bar!† Importantly, this outdated feel of the uniforms would also negatively reflect among the customers, who might want to see employees clad in

Possible Implications Essay Example for Free

Possible Implications Essay Throughout the world, it is quite understandable that there are countries that place policies in order to restrict the flow of foreign programs, movies, and magazines into their territory. For example, in Canada and France, such forms of entertainment that were produced in the United States are given restrictions in terms of number; hence in a way, placing a limit upon the influences of such forms of entertainment to the local community. Understandably, the reason for such policies is so that Canadian and French culture will be maintained and locally made forms of entertainment will not be faced with additional competition. However, such policies and restrictions were apparently made for conventional forms of distributing programs, movies, and magazines. In this sense, given that distribution may now be accomplished through the web, then there is a possibility that such policies will no longer be effective. Therefore, it is important to reflect upon the possible implications of the web on such policies. First of all, the most apparent feature of the web is how freely one may be able to share and distribute multimedia content to a virtually infinite amount of individuals (Baase, 2008). In this sense, popular movies and programs may now be easily acquired or downloaded from different areas of the web. In addition, even magazines may now be distributed through cyberspace because the means to electronically reproduce written documents through scanning and file conversion are widely available. Considering that the movies, programs, and magazines transferred throughout the web are distributed as data and not actual physical objects, it is quite expected that the conventional ways in which the government may keep watch of the number of such forms of entertainment are no longer effective. To expound, while it is possible to monitor the activities of individuals through the internet, many believe that such a pursuit is quite complex and cumbersome due to complications in methods of tracking (Baase, 2008). Aside from difficulties in terms of which methods may be used to track the transfer of programs, movies, and magazines through the web, the issue of privacy adds further problems for those with interest of limiting the flow of such items into their countries. For one, aside from the innate sense of anonymity that the web provides to its users, web privacy either in law or in the form of augmentative software has already been considered by many users of the web (Baase, 2008). In this sense, effectively tracking the users of how files are being distributed has become an even more difficult task. Given that each user is entitled to a certain level of freedom in his or her activities on the web, then technically an individual may be involved in either legal or illegal acts. Having illegal means of file distribution furthers the possibility of increasing the presence of foreign programs, movies, and magazines, due to the fact that people would not need to pay for such items in order to be acquired or accessed. Hence, locally made programs, movies, and magazines which are most likely to be sold throughout different outlets are given intense competition. It is perceivable that the web is very much unlike the previous means of distributing programs, movies, and magazines. Aside from providing a sense of freedom, anonymity is also maintained at different degrees depending on the knowledge of the user of how the web functions. In addition, previous means of distributing programs, movies, and magazines, are limited in terms of the number of actual physical objects while distributing such items throughout the web allows for a massive amount of audience as well as the potential to make it endlessly reproducible (Baase, 2008). It is quite certain that the web will affect the policies regarding limitations on the number of programs, movies, and magazines being allowed into the country. Therefore, if restrictions are to be maintained, it is necessary that new and more applicable policies are formed since it is apparent that previous policies are already obsolete. Reference Baase, S. (2008). A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet. 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay

History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay eBay is an online auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. Since then, eBay has been expanding their business worldwide. One of the countries which eBay has failed badly was Japan. They had a joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan but the final results after 3 long years of fight that has been proven as futile attempts to make a foot hold in Japan, eBay Japan had no other choice but to withdraw because they lost out for not being there earlier, not enjoying a first mover advantage, the rise of the Rakuten Auctions as contender against Yahoo! Japan Auctions further dug eBay deeper into the oblivion against ever seeing themselves as a leader in Japan. Hiring the right country manager makes all the difference, eBay did not ensure the credentials and expertise of their country manager appointed for the task. Apart from that, the typical American style of Announcing their grand arrival even before they could sniff the air in Japan, gave competitors a chance to prepare themselves against anyone trying to steal their piece of the pie in Japan. Introduction of eBay When we hear of the word, Auction we often think of the famous Christie Auction house in England, located at King Street in St. James. The function of an auction house is to showcase rare or prized items that could fetch the highest price through an elaborate process that allows individuals with deep pockets to out-bid one another to purchase these items. Thanks to modern technology, these auctions are being brought on-line via the use of the Internet. Users can buy or sell items online through the same elaborate process, but at the comfort of their room, in front of their computers without the need to physically be at the location. eBay is one such on-line auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. AuctionWeb became a new focus for Pierre. It occupied his entire domain, www.ebay.com, acronym for Echo Bay (the name of his consulting firm). By 1996, the company was large enough to require professional help to make the concept, even more profitable. Jeffrey Skoll, Stanford MBA graduate, went onboard the profit spinning ship. Meg Whitman, a Harvard graduate soon joined the `crew and together with a formidable business team, created the modern day eBay that we know today. By 1998, the pioneers of the company were billionaires. Entry Strategies Entry Strategy 1 eBay Join Hands with NEC Corporation to enter Japan Market The joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan seemed like a great idea. Infact, it is a great idea. Having a localized corporation to enter the Japanese market builds the credibility any foreign company will need. Having a myriad of possibilities from because they could trade with anything. eBay gained exposure through NECs contact with Biglobe, an Internet Service Provider. Much hype was anticipated as the CEO for eBay, Mr. Okawara, looked forward to bringing online auctioning to the Japanese people. However, the Japanese culture amongst the younger generation is to meet at malls, to try out new introductions into the Japanese market. Touch and Feel is what they prefer. Also, its a social norm in Japan that people meet at malls to socialize or just to look at people. What eBay tried to do, was to introduce another cultures norm into Japan. Though a workable and definitely profitable business model in the states and probably even in the western world, they failed to garner enough market sampling to warrant an entry into the Japanese market. Thats just part of the challenge they face. The other factor that had brought forth the early retreat from Japan is the presence of Yahoo Auctions in Japan. Yahoo entered the market in 1996, together with Softbank. The collaboration between Yahoo and Softbank was at the right time where the fad of the internet is still hot. They built the largest portal in Japan which in turn means their presence already had a huge market share from consumers and sellers alike who has loyalty to the company. Japanese people have high level of loyalty to product brandings and service providers. Another thing eBay Japan did not forsee is that, Japanese people, do not appreciate hand-me-downs, second hand goods. Entry Strategy 2 eBay Joins Hands with Yahoo! in Japan eBay has about 83 million users and Yahoo Japan has about 6.6 million registered users. eBay and Yahoo agreed to link their auction sites to facilitate cross-border trading and invigorate the online auction market. This would enable users of Yahoo Auctions Japan to bid for items listed on eBays US site using their Yahoo Japan ID, and eBay users in the US to buy items auctioned on Yahoo Japan using their eBay ID. The plan, which will enable registered users from Japan and North America to participate in a single marketplace. Japanese-language Website sekaimon.com, unveiled by the companies will enable Yahoo Japan users to take part in eBay auctions and is part of a strategy to implement the integration. A reverse setup, enabling North American users to shop for items from Japan under an English-language bidding system. The eBay portal will initially feature Japanese licensed-character goods, comic books, and other collectibles listed on the Yahoo Japan auction site. The integrated marketplace will also offer services to streamline payment, shipping and customs clearance. International users were able to use the US based web site consumers craved trading in local currencies and the ease that domestic transactions presented. Disadvantages of Non-first movers for Auction Disadvantage 1 Unable to garner the interested customers The first disadvantage of not being the first mover to launch the online auction services has caused eBay Japan to lose the opportunity to garner the interested customer base who are first timers that really wanted to attempt the Online Auction services. Being the first mover would have allowed the first timer customers whom are interested to sign up and attempt this online auction services that has never been provided in Japan as many analyst believes that the launch would not have been successful due to the image consciousness character of the Japanese. Therefore, being only the second launching provided, eBay Japan has lost the genuine interested first timer customers as they have already signed up for the online auction services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction when they launched the service in September 1999, which was five months before eBay Japan. Disadvantage 2 Unable to attract over Yahoo! Japan Auction loyal customer base The second disadvantage is eBay Japan is unable to attract over the loyal customer base garnered by Yahoo! Japan Auction five months before their launch. All the loyal customer base has already been used to the services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction has got no intention to move over to eBay Japan. In addition, Yahoo! has been an established and best known brand in Japan for other services such as Yahoo! Email, search, etc however, in contrary, eBay has only been known for online auction services and limited to overseas which is outside Japan. Therefore, Japanese, who generally only trust reputable, well-known and established brands, are more comfortable using Yahoo! instead of eBay. Disadvantage 3 Comparison of first and second online auction service launcher The third disadvantage of not being the first mover is being compared to the first launcher. The customers has done a comparison between Yahoo! Japan Action and eBay Japan on the difference in the different areas such as charging listing fees, final value fees, branding strength. Yahoo! Japan Auction has launched the online auction services before eBay Japan with all services free and no any transaction charges at all. Therefore, in comparison, Japanese who are not willing to pay for the service are not willing to sign up for services for eBay Japan. Also, it has also proven that when eBay Japan has stopped the charging the fees as per the usual practice, the customer base and the number of listings has increased. Cultural Misunderstandings Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people within business to recognize, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences. If no cultural awareness, cultural sensitive was established before launching into a different culture, itll cause cultural misunderstanding, in long term, resulting in business failure. Misunderstanding 1 Not fully understanding the mindset of a different culture For eBay Japan, during the initial launch into Japan, they had not understood in depth the business dealing ways of Japanese. eBay instead of modifying the American-centric service model to fit the Japanese market needs, they chose to force the Japanese consumers to fit into the current American-centric company service model. eBay charged commissions of up to 5% and required acutely risk-averse Japanese users to submit credit card information on signup. This service model did not go well with the Japanese. Most of the internet savvy people come from the young Japanese who did not own any credit card. Even so, Japan was a largely cash-based society, they preferred to pay for purchases with cash or through banks transfers instead of online credit card payments. This has therefore resulted in the poor sign-up figures after the launch of eBay Japan. Misunderstanding 2 Failing to hire the right person eBay Japan also erred in selecting for country head. In the selection of country manager, the issue of language is overplayed. They can actually hire a bilingual executive assistant, translator, or interpreter for a fraction of what it costs to hire a country manager. Making language skills a key recruiting criterion severely reduces the pool of potential candidates. Rather than focus on language skills, eBay Japan has failed to care about the truly important things, like a country managers strategic thinking ability, his track record managing comparable businesses, industry knowledge, and, ultimately, whether or not he can successfully build and motivate a local team, introduce new products, and gain market share in a highly competitive market. In Japan organization structure, the HR organization in a leading Japanese company is at the top of the hierarchy. In the US, its at the bottom. It has to be empowered, it must have very top people, it must engage with peopleits not about recruiting-eBay Japan had failed to utilize the talents of Japan based foreigners who had many years of valuable experience managing in Japan, as well as relevant industry knowledge and connections, who can help successfully navigate Japan market entry, smoothen interactions between head office and Japan-based operations. Misunderstanding 3 Unprepared for new Culture eBay Japan did something that American companies are notorious for, something that had cost them dearlynamely, they made grandiose announcements about their entry into the Japanese market, well before they had a localized product ready to launch in Japan. While missing the first mover advantage was perhaps eBays Japan single biggest blunder, the lack of traction in Japan for eBay products had too caused the failure of entry. Therefore, with the culture shock, eBay has failed to penetrate the Japan market as eBay Japan was not accepted widely by the Japanese in terms of their entry to Japan and their working style when operating the online auction services. The Current Status of eBay To recap, eBay Inc. tried to open its popular auction service under its subsidiary eBay Japan established in 1999, withdraw in March 2002 after failing to capture significant market share against Yahoo! Auction. Ebay partnered Yahoo! Japan, the Japan biggest portal offering online auction services. Together both companies designed a separate stand alone site, Sekaimon. English meaning for the Japanese term Global Shopping. Sekaimon site is able to translate items listed on eBay into Japanese, help with payments, shipping and customs clearance for Japanese shoppers. The alliance benefits users of both sites. Sellers will be able to reach out to a wider audience for their goods, meanwhile buyers will able to choose from a richer selection of products that are on offer. The impact of the deal will mean more in certain areas. For example, U.S. music fans will be able to easily purchase many of the limited edition CDs that Western artists release in Japan, while Japanese movie enthusiasts will be able to find a wider array of DVDs that are not available locally. Ebay users to have an easier time buying Japanese goods that are popular abroad, such as popular manga comics books, CDs and merchandise that feature Japanese animation characters and mascots. Yahoo! Japan users can login using their Yahoo! Japan ID and purchase translated eBay items with customize Japanese menu and online agent support. Hence, in order to achieve their vision, eBay must overcome various issues such as language barriers, government regulations, internet access and cultural differences. Ebay attempt to deal with the challenge of conducting transactions in multiple languages, where the sellers interact in one language and potential buyers in another.   Sellers using eBays Japanese site, Sekaimon, who want to offer their items on any English language eBay sites will be able to enter descriptions of up to 200 Japanese characters and get them translated within a day for about $12.34. By enabling this translation service, it helps to boost and introduce more Japanese products into eBay sites. Thus, eBay has successfully turned a challenge to its global growth into a new revenue stream while increasing its value proposition. eBay has a significant challenge in dealing with cultural differences, such as high uncertainty avoidance culture in Japan. eBay is dealing with this by structuring strategic partnerships with reliable entity when it struck a deal with Yahoo! Japan, after numerous attempts yet failing to penetrate the market independently.  eBay adopts localization strategy, where it replicates smaller and culturally sensitive portions of its content in specific markets such as Japan and China. By doing so, it value adds towards ensuring easy usage and adaptability in new or low tech markets.   Conclusion eBay made all the wrong moves in their attempt to extend their services to Japan. Not hiring the right people who can competently study the market in Japan to know if it is a viable business preposition to even attempt the creation of eBay Japan. eBay did not understand the culture in Japan. Basic business ventures to a foreign country requires everyone to understand and work with the cultural styles. eBay tried to force their American centric service model upon the Japanese people, it will never work unless they were the first to setup the service in the country where people may just think that, thats the way eBay did not pay attention to the presence of Yahoo! Japan Auctions and went in blind. To make matters worst, they announced their plans and created quite a fanfare to path their way into Japan way before they could even set foot in the country. Its like telling the enemies at war, Were coming from the south island at dawn. Recommended alternatives Conducting a business in any country requires business planners to conduct extensive market research, sampling the market sentiments for products or services that are to be introduced into the country. The people after all, are the sources of income. How can a company sell a product or service to people of a different lifestyle, who have different needs and perception of how they want to be sold a service or product? After identifying what the people want, the company should look into competitors and their position in the market as well. Gauge their own size and see if they are able to go up against on a head-on battle or to find a niche market to carve out a position for themselves and slowly expand from there. Recommendation The most important point among the alternatives that is recommended to eBay during the new set-up is to identify what their target audience wants.It is imperative that the barrier for entries be understood prior embarking on any non-localized businesses. It is very important to understand the culture of the target audience, understand the needs and the wants of the target audience before entering into a brand new market that the organization has never had their presence before. It very important to understand the direction of the target audience before entrance, in which, refers to the current competitors in the market. The current market share of the competitors, the number of competitors in the market and how does the target audience view this competitor. Need be, make a joint venture with existing service provider that has already penetrated into the market in order to leverage on their expertise and also the expertise of local talents and foreign talents living in the country.

Plato and Aristotle Essay -- Philosophy Essays Wellness

Plato and Aristotle Plato and Aristotle have two distinct views on wellness. However, each man’s opinion on wellness is directly tied in to his respective opinions on the idea of imitation as a form of knowledge. Their appreciation or lack thereof for tragedy is in fact directly correlated to their own perspective on wellness and emotion. Firstly, it is important to consider each man’s view of wellness—that is how does each man go about addressing emotional stability. One important consideration is the approach Plato takes in relation to Aristotle. It is this approach that we will see actually mirroring between how they treat emotional well-being and their tolerance for imitation. In order to understand this hypothesis that each thinker’s handling of wellness is representative of how they handle imitation (and thus, representation), we need to step back and examine how in fact each gentleman approaches the question of emotional stability and happiness. For Plato, as defined in the â€Å"Republic†, emotion is to be suppressed. Speaking of poetry, he says: â€Å"We’d be right, then to delete the lamentations of famous men† (63). The idea of deletion is exactly what he is after. Taking something quite real, very much a part of the present moment, and with the swipe of an eraser, dimissing it as gone. In poetry, it is called deletion, and the words are no longer on the page. In psychology, it is called repression, and the concepts suggested for deletion are instead relegated to swell in the caverns of one’s mind. Plato speaks of emotion in poetry at other times as something we should â€Å"expunge† (61). Again, entrenched in his linguistics is a conscious hat tip to repression, to keeping emotion—be that joy, sadness, despair—out of highe... ...fact directly linked to his understanding of wellness, and the need to have an emotional release as a part of that wellness. What can then be steeped out of these observations? It becomes apparent that Plato and Aristotle do in fact have different views on how to reconcile wellness and these different views are directly linked to their approach to imitation. For Plato, who believes in ‘deleting’ and suppressing emotion, imitation is a device much too emotional for his support. The Aristotelian view that emotion is in fact a natural part of life, knowledge, and our own wellness translates in to his acceptance (if not always full embrace) of imitation. While different, the two men reconcile the problems of wellness in terms of the knowledge they deem acceptable. Works Cited Plato. Republic. Translated by Grube, G.M.A. Hackett. Second Ed. Indianapolis, 1992.

Hobson’s Choice Essay

Maggie. Yes, Maggie†¦ You’re growing on me lass. ‘ In act three we see that the wedding reception is a small and simple one. This tells the audience that Maggie is not one for wasting money and does not mind having the party in the cellars. As the play moves on, the audience starts to see a change in Willie, You’re making a great mistake, Mr. Hobson. ‘ Willie also starts to take the upper hand with Hobson, ‘Sit down, Mr. Hobson. ‘ The change in him is all down to Maggie; she has pride in Willie and believes in him. Their marriage is originally more of a business arrangement but it starts to ecome more of marriage of equal partners. When Hobson comes over to seek help, Maggie is sure to talk to Will first, Will it’s my father. Is he to come in? Maggie and Will work together to make Hobson feel ashamed of his drinking and lead him into giving marriage settlements to her younger sisters. The audience will warm to Maggie over the way he skilfully gets her own back on her father. When Maggie deals with her father’s â€Å"problem†, she is in control and the audience, clearly see that she and Will are working together as a team, ‘Do you think it will get in the paper Maggie?†¦ Yes, for sure. ‘ Will has come a long way as he was previously described as ‘stunted mentally by a brutalised childhood. ‘ Even though Maggie’s plan has gone well in getting Hobson to give the settlement money over as a fine for trespassing, she shows that she cares for her sisters. Maggie does not let Albert Prosser take the thousand pounds he originally asks for, You needn’t be greedy. ‘ She also threatens to counter-sue and confirms the original settlement of five hundred pounds. We see a softer more sentimental side of Maggie when she throws away the hot ouse flowers but keeps one to press in her bible. To finish the act, Brighouse returns to the comedy of when Will has to be led to bed ‘by the ear. ‘ Although Maggie is clearly in charge in this respect, it contains an element of affection and humour plus this would also make her character a likeable one. At the start of Act Four, we see that Hobson is ill. Tubby tries to help by suggesting for Maggie to come over. ‘Shall I go for Miss Maggie sir? The opinion is agreed by the doctor, ‘l don’t know who this Maggie is, but I prescribe her. ‘ When Maggie and her sisters find that Hobson needs looking after, Vickey and Alice try to get Maggie to do it. Alice says, ‘I don’t think I can be expected to come back to this after what IVe been used to. ‘ Hobson tries to offer an unfair, mean deal to Maggie and Will to take care of him but Maggie quickly says, ‘If he goes, I go with him father,’ as the bribe is poor. The audience notice how Will has become a true gentleman with the help from Maggie, You’re the man IVe made you and I’m proud. When Will tries to replace Maggie’s brass ring for a gold one, Maggie does not ish to give it up. That brass ring stays where you put it. ‘ This shows the audience a sense of sentimentality. The play ends with Hobson as a sleeping partner, in Will’s business. Will, amazed, closes the act and the play with the words, W ell by gum! ‘ At the end of the play, the audience sees that Maggie as more of a likeable character. She is portrayed, by Brighouse, as a successful businesswoman – strange for a lady in her point in time. Brighouse shows Maggie can be fair and compassionate with other characters.

How to Close a Letter in American English

How to Close a Letter in American English How many times have you spent considerable thought and effort writing a letter, only to reach the closing and then wonder how you should end it? And does it really matter whether you choose sincerely or best or thanks to close out your message?While much of letter closing choices are based on personal style and attitude, there are slight differences in how different letter endings come across to the recipient of your writing. For this post, well discuss several common letter closings, more formally known as a valediction from the Latin vale dicere, which means to say farewell. We will also discuss the situations for which each are best used, the connotations each might bring, and how to choose which one fits your overall intent or is complimentary with the letter youve written.Sources weve usedKeep in mind that as with much of the advice youll read online, ours might differ from that of another source. However, since it is important in business or formal communication to follow best practices set by respected organizations, we have used two American authorities- Barrons Educational Series and American Management Association- as our primary sources.Closings for formal and business correspondenceYours truly,According to Barrons, this is a formal closing and AMACOM states that this should be used when there is no personal connection between writer and recipient. Another version of this youll see often is Very truly yours, which again denotes a lack of personal connection between the writer and recipient of the letter. Despite the seemingly intimate associations with this phrase, it is very commonly used in business communication as a formal closing, whether you know the recipient intimately or not.Respectfully yours,Barrons also lists this as a formal closing and AMACOM suggests that it should be used when the letter is sent to someone either with acknowledged authority or when great formality should be used. Again, as with Yours truly, this is a commonly used clo sing that connotes formality and can be used with formal business communication that is written to associates- whether they are typically on your contact list, or not.Sincerely (yours),Often shortened to just Sincerely, Barrons suggests that this is a less formal closing while AMACOM states that it should be used when there is both a personal and business relationship between the writer and recipient. In general, this is a commonly used closing in American business correspondence that covers both well-known associates and those who are not well known. It is also a great choice for letters such as cover letters for a job posting, introductory letters for academic admission, or complaint letters in which the sender wishes to close with a conciliatory yet polite tone.Cordially (yours),Often shortened to just Cordially, Barrons lists this as another less formal closing while AMACOM takes issue with Cordially yours, stating that it is often used but incorrect.So, in essence, consider thi s a great choice for closing business communication as long as the yours is not added. It works for both well-known acquaintances (in business) as well as recipients who are not regularly on your contact list. It is considered to be proper in both situations.Regards, Personal regards, Kindest regards,AMACOM doesnt list either of these choices in its preferred business letter closings, but Barrons lists them as potential personal closings. What this means is that if you plan to use them as business communication closings, or closings of letters written as cover letters or letters to admissions committees, they are acceptable yet slightly less formal than Sincerely or any of the versions of Sincerely (such as Sincerely yours,).This closing is an example of using your own attitude and personality to determine which closing to use in a letter.Best, Best regards,While not as formal as closings like sincerely, best is a polite, semi-formal letter ending that could work in both a business context and when writing to acquaintances or friends. It is a polite way to let your letters recipient know that you wish the best for them. Best regards makes the closing a bit more formal if you feel that Best is not quite formal enough for the situation.Thanks,While not overly formal or overly informal, Thanks is a closing that works well for business letters across the board- whether you are writing to someone not on your contact list, or to an acquaintance or peer within your organization. However, compared to how the other closings weve listed sound to the recipient, Thanks can fall a little flat or seem abrupt. To avoid this, choose Best regards or Sincerely.You should also hesitate to use Thanks if youve made a request in your letter, and rather choose Thanks for your time, since the former assumes that the request will be granted, and the task will be accepted. Again, as with all the letter closings we have mentioned in this article, choose the best considering the type of relationship you have with the recipient and how formal or informal you want the letter to be.Informal closingsYour friend,Obviously, this is not the best closing to choose for a formal business letter or cover letter. Your friend, should be reserved for letters written to friends, as the closing implies. Putting this closing at the end of a letter to someone who is not your close friend will seem overly informal and assumptive.Cheers,While Cheers, or Cheers! might be a light-hearted and casual way to end a letter in British English, for American English, make sure that you only use it for close friends or business associates that you know on a deeply personal basis. The primary reason for this is it is an expression used in relation to alcohol, or imbibing alcoholic drinks, so it can be interpreted as too informal by many American business associates unless you know them on an informal basis.With love,As with Your friend, ensure that any time you use this closing, you are only doin g so in a letter that is written to someone with whom you have an intimate and familiar relationship. Using this closing in a business letter or letter written to anyone else will be off-putting and potentially offensive to your reader. Therefore, ensure that you reserve this closing for only the most intimate recipient to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation.