<P> A memorandum can have only a certain number of formats; it may have a format specific to an office or institution . In law specifically, a memorandum is a record of the terms of a transaction or contract, such as a policy memo, memorandum of understanding, memorandum of agreement, or memorandum of association . Alternative formats include memos, briefing notes, reports, letters, binders, etc . They could be one page long or many . They may be considered as grey literature . If the user is a cabinet minister or a senior executive, the format might be rigidly defined and limited to one or two pages . If the user is a colleague, the format is usually much more flexible . At its most basic level, a memorandum can be a handwritten note to one's supervisor . In business, a memo is typically used by firms for internal communication, as opposed to letters which are typically for external communication . Hence, we can consider memoranda as an upward communication process through which any complaint, issues, opinion, views and suggestion are put forward to the authorized level . </P> <P> A specific type of memorandum is the policy briefing note (alternatively referred to in various jurisdictions and governing traditions as policy issues paper, policy memoranda, or cabinet submission amongst other terms), a document for transmitting policy analysis into the political decision making sphere . Typically, a briefing note may be denoted as either "for information" or "for decision". </P> <P> The origins of the term "briefing" lie in legal "briefs" and the derivative "military briefings". </P> <P> The primary purpose of a briefing note "for decision" is to support decision making--to "help (or sometimes influence) a decision - maker to make a better decision in a particular problem situation than he might otherwise have made without the analysis". Other purposes that the briefing note can serve include: conveying information; informing decisions, making a request, providing a response to a question, making a suggestion, presenting an informal report, proposing a solution to a problem, or documenting a reference for future use . </P>

What do you understand by the term office memorandum