Not to waste her time

1
Not to waste her time!
The purpose of a business report is to help the
reader make a decision . . .
2
reports

• help decision-makers make decisions
• collect support information
• organize clearly and simply
• make conclusions or recommendations

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reports

• based on observation, fact
• not a vehicle for opinion
• easy to understand
• informal in tone

4
planning

• consider audience
• needs, concerns, position
• anticipate and address questions, objections
• consider desired outcome
• what do you want her to do?

5
planning

• set boundaries
• define topic clearly
• establish assumptions
• focus!

6
format

• letter
• outside the organization
• memo
• inside the organization
• report
• longer, title and headings
• prepared forms
• reg forms, police reports

7
guidelines

• define the problem
• establish assumptions
• set boundaries

8
guidelines

• gather the data
• company records
• observation
• surveys, questionnaires
• interviews
• electronic, on-line

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guidelines

• organize
• direct (deductive)
• indirect (inductive)
• follow logical thought processes

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guidelines

• use effective headings
• highlight key ideas and categories
• break up large blocks of info into manageable
  chunks
• be information rich (vs. functional)
• keep to one or two levels
• use parallel structure

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guidelines

• be objective
• present both sides
• use verifiable facts
• avoid biased or exaggerated language
• cite sources

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report

• information
• introduction
• findings
• summary
• recommendation
• introduction
• recommendations
• findings
• summary

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report

• informational
• summary and highlights
• analytical
• conclusion or recommendations

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report

• analytical
• solve problem
• analyze situation
• recommend action
• make a decision

15
report

• other
• justification
• progress
• meeting minutes
• summaries
• to-file

16
return to schedule
go to next lesson