Business report writing notes

BUSINESS REPORT WITING

Contents

CLARIFYING WRITING TASK....................................................................2

Classification of report..............................................................................2

TYPE OF REPORTS....................................................................................4

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS – PROGRESS & PROJECT REPORT..............5

ANALYTICAL REPORT – EVALUATION & FEASIBILITY REPORT..............6

PERSUASIVE REPORT – PROPOSALS & RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP).......................................................................................7

WRITE REPORT IN A GROUP....................................................................8

4 Types of approaches................................................................................8

OPERATIONALIZE PROBLEM....................................................................9

WAYS TO DIVIDE THE INFORMATION.....................................................9

SYSTEM OF OUTLINE SYMBOLS...............................................................9

SOURCE OF INFORMATION....................................................................10

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION..........................................................10

SAMPLING METHOD...............................................................................11

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION........................................................12

ORGANIZING & DRAFTING REPORT......................................................13

Flow of information presentation............................................................14

Organizing report body............................................................................15

1


CLARIFYING WRITING TASK

Classification of report

1) Time2) Delivery3) Length4) Function5) Format/form6) Formality

1) time – different stages of project to inform people about the progress/problem encountered

i. preliminary report (before commencemant of project)ii. interim report (middle stage)

iii. periodic report (fixed-interval : routine)iv. final report (completion of project)

2) delivery – medium of presentation

i. oral report (transmitted orally – informal/formal)ii. written report (commonly at workplace)

3) length

i. short report- 5 pages or less- 3 parts > intro – report body – conclusion- Informal style

ii. long report- more than 5 pages- actual length varies with complexity of issues discussed- 3 parts > prefatory / preliminary – report body - appended parts

4) function

i. Informational report - To provide information needed by reader.- Information in organized matter- Not make any judgment

ii. Analytical report- Based on facts gathered, interpret / analyze the information- Sometimes, recommend actions needed.

iii. Persuasive report- To influence reader to agree with the solution suggested.- Based on fact and interpretation- Use data / well-chosen data / visual aids

2

BUSINESS REPORT WITING5) format / form

i. Form report- Pre-printed forms- Routine in nature- E.g. : accidents report / daily sales report

ii. Memorandum report- Use memo format- Informal in language- Brief

iii. Letter report- Exactly like letter- Have components necessary – address, salutation, etc

6) formality

i. Informal report - Short- Language – conversational in nature- Matters less complex- Memo / letter format

ii. Formal report- Quite long- Language -formal- Fairly complex- Long report format

3

BUSINESS REPORT WITINGInformational report Analytical report Persuasive report

Function Present only facts not evaluate / judge/

recommend don’t give opinion tell HOW and WHAT not WHY

analyze / evaluate the data & interpret the information

To influence decision in agree with solution suggested

Common type

Progress report Project report Situation report Site visit report Process description

and instruction report

Feasibility report Evaluation report

Proposals Respons to

request for proposal (RFP)

example Progress report Project report Travel report Test report accident report

TYPE OF REPORTS

4


INFORMATIONAL REPORTS – PROGRESS & PROJECT REPORTProgress report Project report

Function - compilation of all projects a person undertook during a period of time in the past (past week / month/ year)

- report on work done during specific period & on the works still needs to be done

generally - covers specific period of time- deal with one’s person works- deal with more than 1 task

- discuss tasks to be carried out

- cover work effort of team people

- deals only tasks related to 1 specific project

Content - focus on work done during specific period covered by the report

- reader wants to know what has been done, progress made & continuing efforts

- provide : work done , work in progress , work being planned

- include specific info (names, facts, dates )

- what task have been completed ?

- what work currently being done ?

- how much work yet to be done ?

- project on schedule & within budget ?

- any anticipated problem ?

Format - based on audience , amount & detail of information , any policies involvedo brief memos / lettero informal / formal

- in the form ofo memoo lettero short informal reporto long formal report

Arrangement of content

- priority order ( in descending order of importance)

- chronological order (based on way the tasks were carried out)

- status order (status of task )o 3 parts ( work

completed , work in progress , work left to do )

- Task order (individual task)o Reported individuallyo Sub-tasks of each

individual task have 3 parts ( work completed , work in progress , work left to do )

5


6


ANALYTICAL REPORT – EVALUATION & FEASIBILITY REPORTEvaluation report Feasibility report

What ? - Present data & writer’s judgment of the information.

- Writer draws inference & conclusion

- Studies, assess the practically of proposed project or change

Analyze on?

- Concerning an unchanging, static situation & draw specific conclusion

- To determine whether a suggested change in situation is possible & reasonable & recommend action( should / should not)

How to - Clear intention of judging the value of the report.

- Based ono Past performanceo Present statuso Potential outcome

- How?o Divide largeo general subject > specific

areao Specific area > sub-area

- Looks at alternative to a situation / at proposed solution to a problem

- Examine several alternatives that been proposed

- How?o Technical feasibility

(technical resources)o Economic feasibility

(money @ cost implemented)

o Operational feasibility (personnel availability)

o Social feasibility(social @ society impact)

o Environmental feasibility(environment)

Components

- Title page- TOC- Executive summary- introduction- Overview / background- Methodology- Analysis / findings- Conclusion- Recommendation

- Title page- TOC- Executive summary &

recommendation- Introduction- Analysis of alternatives- Conclusion- recommendation

7


PERSUASIVE REPORT – PROPOSALS & RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

proposal RFPWhat - to recommend

change/solution/action- well-chosen word/data/visual

aids- to convince reader to take

action

- Request for proposal (RFP) is document sent by clients who need specific product/service; invite the receiver to propose solution.

- Response to request for proposal is a proposal that propose solution/action that writer feels meet the best needs stated in RFP

type - May beo Solicited (request by

someone)o Unsolicited (self –initiated)

- Reader may beo External (outside client)-

informal languageo Internal (within

organization)- formal language

o Response to non-negotiable RFP- Condition are not

changeable, strictly adhered to

o Response to negotiable RFP- Specification / condition

may be modified

How to write?

- Write persuasively- Stress on benefits- Discuss possible –ve impact- Use visual aids

- Response must depends on what needed in RFP

- Include accurate information, appropriate solution

Components

- Transmittal letter- Title page- Executive summary- Introduction- Problem/current situation- Solution/recommendation

(proposed action)- Benefits- Implementation (schedule of

steps)- Costs- Conclusion (restate benefit &

immediate action)

- Transmittal letter- Title page- TOC- Executive summary- Introduction- Problem/current situation- Solution/recommendation

(proposed action)- Benefits- Implementation (schedule of

steps)- Costs- Conclusion (restate benefit &

immediate action)

8


WRITE REPORT IN A GROUP

4 Types of approaches1) horizontal approach

- team works independently- each member complete separate section- doing all things (drafting, revising, researching ) alone

2) sequential approach- completed entirely by one team member- reworked /edited by 2nd team member- repeated until all member have edited the report

3) stratified approach- each member have specialized role- 1st – research- 2nd – graphics- 3rd – editing

4) free-form approach- all member works together at one place- perform all roles and finish the task together

Guidelines

i. all team member have clear understanding of the reportii. decide what will done together / individually

iii. clearly define role each memberiv. schedule regular meetingsv. prepare Gantt chart

9


OPERATIONALIZE PROBLEMProblem statement – statement that briefly define the problem situation that your report would cover

Purpose statement - statement that defines the objective of the reportIn 3 ways :

i. Infinitive phrase (the purpose of this report is to evaluate ……. )ii. Question (Are the …….. ?)

iii. Declarative sentence ( The client wants to know whether …………………..)

Informational report Analytical report Persuasive reportto documentto describeto inform

to examineto determineto evaluateto assessto compareto analyze

to proposeto suggestto recommend

Scope – tells the reader what is and is not part of the report , informs the coverage of the report.

WAYS TO DIVIDE THE INFORMATIONby time period (chronological in order)by place (different location)by quantity (quantitative values)by factors (several factors /areas)

SYSTEM OF OUTLINE SYMBOLSalpha-numeric (conventional symbol) - use alphabets and numeralsdecimal (numerical ) – use numerals (1,2,3) and decimals

10


SOURCE OF INFORMATIONó primary source

- primary data- firsthand information- e.g. : experiments / observation / survey

ó secondary source- secondary data- information already created (published / unpublished)- e.g. : directories / newspaper / internet website / encyclopedia /

company publication

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTIONprimary research method

- examining- conducting experiment- making observation- surveying (process of asking questions) – in 2 ways

o interviewing

- face-to-face interview better information can clarify things,

CostlyWay of asking may indirectly influence the answer given

- interview by telephone cheaper interview many people quickly

limit question to shorten timenot all people have telephone

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o questionnaire

- administer the questionnaire in person spot on questions to complete the

questionnairecostly

- mail to the respondents select respondents from wider geographic

area reduce expenses

return rate of completed questionnaire lowrespondents may biased

secondary research method- reviewing- retrieving data- searching in internet

SAMPLING METHODprobability sampling

o simple random sampling – subjects randomly selected

o systematic random sampling – subjects randomly selected from pre-determined interval (every 4th person)

o stratified random sampling – population > sub-groups (based on characteristic) = select random subject from sub-groups

non-probability samplingo quota sampling - subject select based on actual proportion in

population)o judgment sampling – only subject thought to possessed required

characteristic are selected.

12


QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION

Consider :

ï type of questioni. open questions (free to answer , no specific answer )

ii. closed questions : provide choices to answer. 2 types : o dichotomous questions (provide only 2 choices : yes/no )

o multiple choice questions ( provide 3 or more choices)

- discrete point type- ranking (I – 2 – 3 – 4 )- continuous rating ( excellent - good- average – fair – poor)

ï Construction of question - Answers are affected by : Phrasing question

Leading question - leads to choose particular answer Double-barrelled question – multiple question in 1 question ,

ask 2 type of information Overlapping questions – choices provided overlapped each

other Vague questions :

- Unfamiliar words- Not within respondent’s experience- Subjective (wide range in meaning)

Answerability Questions embodying hidden assumption (assume

respondents have certain behavior) Recall dependent question (recall thing happened long time

ago) Personal question (too personal to reveal)

Question structure Hop and skip question : If yes, go to …. If no, please go to .. ) Question with limited choices (doesn’t provide all possible

choices)

Scaling technique

Ranking – measure relative importance of items : (most important)1-2- 3-4(least important)

13

BUSINESS REPORT WITINGRating – measure opinion or attitude of item(excellent – good – average – fair – poor )

ORGANIZING & DRAFTING REPORT

Short report format Pre-printed form – present information of routing nature (e.g. daily

sales) Memo – memo standards ; To, From, Date, Subject Letter – include normal parts of letter Short report format – like long report format, has 4 sections ; intro,

findings, conclusion, recommendation

Long report formatPrefatory / preliminary part

o Title fly – has only report title, as cover page of reporto Title page – has 4 components ; report title , report reader,

report writer, submission dateo Letter of authorization – request/ commissioning a report

attached to the reporto Transmittal letter – contains ;

- Statement stating purpose of the letter- Summary of report’s scope & purpose- Explanation of problem encountered- Acknowledgement of help- Closure offering further assistance if needed

o Acknowledgment – to express appreciation to those have provided the assistance

o TOC – to locate information of interesto List of figures / tables – listed with respective page numberso Executive summary – synopsis of report. Contains ;

- Report’s major findings- Conclusions- recommendation

Bodyo Introduction/ opening – introduce the report. Contains ;

- Purpose statement *- Scope *- Source of information- Authorization *- Definition- Background- Methods

14


## British tradition, (* )combined as “ Term of reference ”. Contains ;

Date of instruction given Name & official designation of person who

asked for the report Name & official designation of person who

wrote the report Purpose Scope Submission date

o Findings o Conclusion summarizing the reporto Recommendation

Appended / supplementary parto Bibliographyo Appendix

Flow of information presentation

METHOD SEQUENCE OF PRESENTATIONInductive Specific to generalDeductive General to specific

Chronological Past to nowTropical One topic to another

Geographical One area / place to anotherProblem-solution Problem to the solution

Pros / Cons Advantages & disadvantages

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Organizing report bodyIndirect / inductive / logical order

Begin with known information (from secondary/primary source)Later, unknown information (from interpretation / collected experience)Looks like ;

o Introductiono Findingso Conclusiono Recommendation

Direct / deductive / psychological orderBegin with unknown information ( from suggestion / interpretation)Later, known information ( from secondary/primary source )Looks like ;

o Conclusiono Recommendationo Introductiono Findings

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Education

Business report writing notes