Preparing Informative and Influential
Business Reports
• Write clear problem and purpose statements.
• List the factors involved in the problem.
• Explain the common errors in interpreting data.
• Organize information in outline form.
• Turn an outline into a table of contents.
• Write reports that are focused, objective, and interesting.
• Prepare reports collaboratively.
Overview
An orderly and objective communication of factual information that serves a business purpose.
Definition of Report
• Conduct a preliminary investigation.
– Gather facts to better understand the problem.
– Study the company’s files and consult experts.
• Create a clear problem and purpose statement.
– The problem is a clear description of the situation.
– The purpose statement may ask why the problem is happening.
Determine the Report Purpose
Declarative statement (problem):
“Sales are decreasing at Company X.”
Infinitive phrase (purpose):
“To determine the causes of decreasing sales at Company X…”
Question statement (purpose):
“What are the causes of decreasing sales at Company X?”
State the Problem & Purpose
• Subtopics in informational and some analytical reports
• Hypotheses for problems requiring solutions
• Bases of comparison in evaluation studies
Determine the Factors & Purpose
Purpose statement: To review operations of Company X from January 1 through March 31.
Subtopics:
1. Production
2. Sales and promotion 3. Financial status
4. Computer systems
5. Product development 6. Human resources
Sample Purpose & Subtopics
Purpose statement: To find out why sales at the Springfield store have declined.
Hypotheses:
1.Activities of the competition have caused the decline.
2.Changes in the economy of the area have caused the decline.
3.Merchandising deficiencies have caused the decline.
4.Changes in the environment (population shifts, political actions, etc.) have caused the decline.
Sample Problem & Hypotheses
Purpose statement: To determine whether Y Company’s new location should be built in City A, City B, or City C.
Comparison bases:
1.Availability of skilled workers 2.Tax structure
3.Community attitude
4.Transportation facilities 5.Nearness to markets
Sample Problem & Comparison Bases
• Primary
– Observation – Experiments – Surveys
• Telephone
• Mail/Email
• Web surveys
• Interviews (personal, expert)
– Company records (raw data)
• Secondary
– Library – Online
– Company records (interpreted data)
Gather the Information Needed
• Report the facts as they are.
• Do not think that conclusions are always necessary.
• Do not interpret lack of evidence as proof to the contrary.
• Do not compare noncomparable data.
• Do not draw illogical cause-effect conclusions.
• Beware of unreliable and unrepresentative data.
• Do not oversimplify.
• Tailor your claims to your data.
Advice for Avoiding Human Error
• Maintain a judicial attitude.
• Consult with others.
• Test the interpretations.
– Test of Experience
“ Is this conclusion logical in light of all I know?”
– Negative Test
Build a case for the opposite interpretation and see if it ’ s stronger.
Appropriate Attitudes & Practices
• Statistical tools enable writers to simplify data.
• Most readers can understand descriptive statistics, measures of central tendency, dispersion, ratios, and probability.
• Inferential statistics enable you to generalize about a population based on the study of a sample.
Statistical Tools for Data Analysis
Q. A study produced data that showed United States college students to be far behind their comparable groups in European countries. The conclusion was made that the educational
systems in these European countries are superior to that in the United States.
A. The education systems are not comparable. The United States is committed to a system of
educating the masses. Many of the other
countries maintain a system of highly selective education.
A Logical Conclusion
• Long problems and formal contexts require a more complex makeup.
• Short problems and informal contexts need a simpler makeup.
Length and Formality
11-16
376 PART 4 Fundamentals of Report Writing
three prefatory parts: title page, table of contents, and combination transmittal letter and executive summary.
At the fourth step, the table of contents drops out. Another step down, as formality and length requirements continue to decrease, the combined letter of transmittal and executive summary drops out. Th us, the report commonly called the short report now has only a title page and the report text. Th e title page remains to the last because it serves as a very useful cover page. In addition, it contains the most important identify- ing information.
Below the short-report form is a form that presents the entire report as a letter—
thus, the letter report . And fi nally, for short problems of more informality, the email or memo form is used.
Th is is a general analysis of how reports are adapted to the problem and situation.
While it won’t cover every report, it can be relied upon for most reports you will write.
Th e Report Components
To be able to decide which parts of a long, formal report to include in your reports, you need a basic understanding of each part. Th is section describes the diff erent report components represented in Figure 12–1.
Title Pages. Th e fi rst two pages of a long, formal report—the title fl y and title page — contain identifi cation information. As we have said, the title fl y contains only the report Figure 12–1
Progression of Change in Report Makeup as Formality Requirements and Length Decrease
Title
fly Title
page Transmittal message
Table ofcontents
Executive summary
Title
page Transmittal message
Table ofcontents
Executive summary
Table ofcontents
Combi- nation transmittal/
executive summary
Title page
Combi- nation transmittal/
executive summary
Title page
EMAIL ORMEMO REPORT
THE REPORT PROPER
THE REPORT PROPER
THE REPORT PROPER
THE REPORT PROPER
LETTER REPORT THE REPORT PROPER
1stlevel
3rd level 2nd level
4th level
5th level
6th level
7th level
Title page
High
Low
Formality
REVISED PAGES
The Report Classification Plan
• Title fly
• Title page
• Transmittal message
• Table of contents
• Executive summary
– Direct order – Indirect order
Report Components
• Little need for introductory information
• Predominance of direct order
• More personal writing style
• Less need for a structured coherence plan
Characteristics of Short Reports
• Short report
• Letter report
• Email report
• Other forms, such as newsletters, pamphlets, and white papers
Forms of Short Reports
• Routine operational report
• Progress report
• Problem-solving report
• Audit report
• Meeting minutes
Common Types of Reports
• Prefatory components
– Title Fly – Title Page
– Authorization Message
– Transmittal Message (or Preface or Foreword) – Table of Contents (and List of Illustrations) – Executive Summary
• The Report Proper
– Introduction – Report Findings
– Summary ,Conclusion , and/or Recommendations
• Appended Parts
– Bibliography
Organization of a Long Report
Hamilton County Solid Waste District Dear Jeanine:
Here is an in-depth qualitative study of Hamilton County residents’ attitudes toward recycling, which you authorized on December 3, 2012.
We contracted the services of Advanced Marketing, a Cincinnati marketing firm, to conduct the study in collaboration with four representatives from the District. The study revealed positive and negative attitudes that Sometimes Recyclers in Hamilton County have toward recycling. This report describes their attitudes in detail.
In light of these findings, the report identifies several strategies that can be implemented to make our next recycling campaign a success.
Thank you for authorizing this research. I look forward to working with you to create our most effective campaign ever.
Sample Transmittal Message
11-23
V III IV I II
12-23
378 PART 4 Fundamentals of Report Writing
Table of Contents. If your short report goes much over fi ve pages (or 1,500 words), you might consider including a brief table of contents. Th is, of course, is a listing of the report’s contents. As Chapter 11 points out, it is the report outline in fi nished form, with page numbers to indicate where the parts begin. Th e formatting should refl ect the report’s structure, with main headings clearly diff erentiated from subheadings. Th e section titles should state each part’s contents clearly and match the report’s headings exactly. Th e table of contents may also include a list of illustrations (or, if long, this list can stand alone). If a separate table of contents would be too formal, you can just list the topics that your report will cover in its introductory section.
Executive Summary. Th e executive summary is the report in miniature. For some readers it serves as a preview to the report, but for others—such as busy executives who may not have time to read the whole report—it’s the only part of the report they will read. Because of this latter group of readers, the summary should be self-explanatory; that is, readers shouldn’t have to read other parts of the report in order to make sense of the summary. As pointed out previously, whether the executive summary is one of the prefatory parts, is included in the transmittal message, or is part of the report proper will depend on how long and how formal the report is.
You construct the executive summary by reducing the parts of the report in order and in proportion. You should clearly identify the topic, purpose, and origin of the report; state at least briefl y what kind of research was conducted; present the key facts, fi ndings, and analysis; and include the main conclusions and recommendations. While some writers follow this order, which usually matches the order of the report contents, others start with the conclusions and recommendations and then continue with the other information. Figure 12–2 shows the diff erence between these two structures, and Figures 12–3 and 12–4 give examples. Whichever order you choose, the executive sum- mary will need to be a masterpiece of economical writing.
Executive summary (in indirect order)
Executive summary (in direct order) I
I
II
III
IV
V
V I II III IV II
III IV V
Figure 12–2
Diagram of the Executive Summary in Indirect and Direct Order
REVISED PAGES
