RE: there is vs. there's

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

Zen C wrote:
 
> The SOP doc I am reviewing has an overview of the parent 
> company, other partners the company works with, our company 
> etc..Does an SOP for a specific department need to have all 
> that information?
> 
> My thought is that the employee is provided with other 
> manuals to read about the company and why does one have to 
> repeat it in a SOP that is for a specific department. I would 
> only write about the Department and the tasks.
> 
> Any thoughts on this issue?

My first thought is "What's an SOP?" Standard operating procedure? (And
tangentially related, are employees there really expected to read
_multiple_ manuals about the company? Sounds more like a cult or
movement than a business.)

My second thought is that you're probably right, and it sounds like the
author of this doc was grasping at ways to pad the page count. Of
course, given that there are "other manuals to read about the company,"
padded page counts may be standard operating procedure there. ;-)

My third thought is that you should discuss the scope and content of
this doc with people at your company (such as the people who assigned
you this task, the SMEs for the doc, and the people to whom you'll
deliver it). 

Just as there is no global "rule" regarding "there is," there is also no
global "rule" for what belongs in a particular kind of document. Think
"audience" and "purpose" -- then go talk with the people who can help
define them. 

Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------




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