Planning a Business Report

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Planning a Business Report

• Chapter 10

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Chapter Objectives

• Describe the common types and purposes of
  business reports.
• Analyze the audience for business reports.
• Evaluate the quality of data already available.
• Discuss the need for managing reports in the
  organization.

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Who Reads and Writes Reports?

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Business report

• Business report an orderly and objective
  presentation of information that helps in
  decision making and problem solving.

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Characteristics of reports

• They vary widely
• The quality of the process affects the quality of
  product
• The final product can be only as good as the
  weakest link in the chain of events leading up to
  the report.

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Characteristics of reports

• Accuracy is their most important trait
• Report all relevant facts. Errors or omission
  and commission are equally bad.
• They are often a collaborative effort

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Achieving Accuracy

• Report all relevant facts
• Use emphasis and subordination appropriately
• Give enough evidence to support your conclusions
• Avoid letting personal biases and unfounded
  opinions influence your interpretation and
  presentation

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Types of Reports

• Periodic reports
• Routine management reports
• Compliance reports
• Progress reports
• Proposals
• Project proposals
• Research proposals
• Policies and Procedures
• Situational reports

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Project Proposals

• Background
• Objectives
• Procedures
• Qualifications
• Request for approval
• Support data

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Research Proposals

• Heading
• Introduction
• Problem
• Scope
• Procedures
• Conclusion
• References

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Class Reports

• Introduction
• Background
• Purpose Statement
• Areas to be Discussed
• Body
• Major sections of report
• Details to support major sections
• Summary
• Background
• Purpose Statement
• Areas to be Discussed
• Review of major points
• Conclusions
• Own interpretation of information
• Recommendations
• Courses of action given

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Purpose of Reports

• Informing
• Nearly 2,400 viewers and organizations pledged a
  total of 213,000 during our drive.

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• Analyzing
• This amount represents an increase of 11 from
  last years totals.
• Recommending
• As a result of the success of this effort, I
  recommend we delay our fall drive for two months.

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Audience Analysis

• Internal or external audience
• Authorized or voluntary report
• Level of knowledge and interest

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Types of Secondary Data

• Published
• Internet resources
• Journals and magazines
• Newspapers
• Books
• Brochures
• Pamphlets
• Technical reports

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• Unpublished
• Company records
• Legal documents
• Personal records
• Medical records

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Evaluating Secondary Data

• What is the purpose of the study?
• How was the data collected?
• How was the data analyzed?
• How consistent is the data with that from other
  studies?
• How old is the data?

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Context in International Reports
HIGH
Japanese Arabic Latin American Italian English Fre
nch U.S./Canadian Scandinavian German Swiss-German
LOW
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Managing Reports

• Some managers seem to devote more energy to
  generating reports than to analyzing and making
  use of their contents.
• Someone in the organizationpreferably someone in
  higher managementshould be assigned the task of
  controlling reports.
• This person should periodically take inventory of
  reports and continue, revise, or eliminate
  reports.

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Summary Slide

• Planning a Business Report Chapter Objectives
• Business report
• Characteristics of reports
• Achieving Accuracy
• Types of Reports
• Project Proposals
• Research Proposals
• Purpose of Reports

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Summary Slide (cont.)

• Audience Analysis
• Types of Secondary Data
• Evaluating Secondary Data
• Context of Cultures
• Managing Reports