Formal Report
Determining the Problem
and Planning the
Investigation
Determine the
Basic Problem
Work begins with a study of the
problem
 Get the problem clearly in mind by
analyzing the information available
 Gather information through informal
research

talking to people,
 studying company records,
 and reading printed material

Develop a clear
statement of the
problem
Put it in writing using one of the
following phrasing techniques:
Infinitive phrase
 Question
 Declarative statement

Determining the
Factors
Determine the problem’s needs by:
 identify topics and subtopics,
 identify each topic’s relationship to
the problem and,
 develop possible explanations and/or
hypotheses.

Design the Research
The research operations are
designed around the possible
explanations or hypotheses
 Research operations are the steps
needed to gather the necessary
information
 The necessary information
determines the bases of comparison

Determine the Bases
of Comparison
 Determine
the characteristics
you will evaluate
 Determine how to gather the
information about these
characteristics
 Determine how to evaluate each
characteristic
Possible Bases of Comparison
Shareholders
Company /
Employees/
stakeholders
TAKE ACTION TO OUTSOURCE
Laid-off
employees
Remaining
Employees
morale
Hiring &
retention
Risks:
Control
Future
Customer
reactions
Quality of
service
Cost
savings
Ethical
concerns
TAKE NO ACTION
OUTSOURCING
To take action to outsource
the call center operations
or
not to take action.
Prepare your research
outline
Your research outline = your roadmap
for the analytical process.
 Review The Analytical Report Process
handout, paying particular attention to
“Identify the Scope (Factors)”.
 The bases of comparison in Scope
(Factors) are the topics and subtopics of
your study.

Your research group should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Discuss and agree upon the problem
statement.
Discuss and agree on the bases of
comparison (Scope).
Put these in a logical order on paper so that
each member of the group has a copy.
Divide up the topics so that each member is
responsible to gather information for their
particular topic(s).
If you don’t do #4, above, you will become
overwhelmed with the data-gathering task
and you will wind up procrastinating. Don’t
get caught in this trap.
Gather the Data
 Gather
secondary data first
 Then gather primary data (in our
Formal Case, you have already been provided
with this primary data in the employee survey)
 WHY
secondary data first?
 Because you don’t want to “reinvent the wheel.”
Gathering secondary data Gather articles from the databases,
library, and elsewhere. (Link on class
Web site)
 Read them and color code them
according to your agreed-upon bases of
comparison (Scope).
 Share your information with others in
the group - often.

DON’T NEGLECT THE
READING!
Read those sections that are
clearly spelled out in The
Analytical Report Process.