C
H
12
A
P
T
E
R
Proposals and Formal
Reports
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Learning Objectives
Identify and explain the parts of informal
and formal proposals.
Describe the preparatory steps for writing a
formal report.
Collect data from both primary and
secondary sources, including company data,
library resources, and on-line data.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Learning Objectives
Distinguish among five organizational
strategies for reports.
Outline topics and use appropriate heading
format.
Illustrate data using tables, charts, and
graphs.
Sequence 13 parts of a formal report.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Preparing to Write Formal
Reports
Limit the Scope of the Report.
How much time do you have to prepare the
report?
How long can you make it?
How accessible is the data?
How thorough should your research be?
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Preparing to Write Formal
Reports
Write the Statement of Purpose.
Describe the goal, significance, and limitations of
the report.
The purpose of this report is to present recommendations for meeting
basic education training needs of employers in the immediate city
area. The report will identify basic skills lacking in entry-level
workers and will rank the importance of those basic skills. This
research is important because employers have expressed
dissatisfaction with the skills of entry-level workers; however, those
skills have not been identified. This report will not identify specific
job requirement skills, which represents a different training need.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Primary Sources Secondary Sources
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Primary Sources
Observations
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Primary Sources
Observations
Interviews
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Primary Sources
Observations
Interviews
Surveys
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Primary Sources
Observations
Interviews
Surveys
Experiments
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Proprietary
Databases
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Proprietary CD-ROMs
Databases
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
CD-ROM or
Printed Indexes
to Periodicals
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
CD-ROM or
Printed Indexes
to Periodicals
Journals, Magazines, Newspapers,
Trade Publications
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
CD-ROM or
Printed Indexes
to Periodicals
On-line
On-line or
Printed Catalogues
of Holdings
Journals, Magazines, Newspapers,
Trade Publications
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
CD-ROM or
Printed Indexes
to Periodicals
On-line
On-line or
Printed Catalogues
of Holdings
Journals, MagaBooks, Governzines, Newspapers, ment Publications,
Trade Publications
Microfilm, etc.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Internet (World
Wide Web, Gopher,
Newsnet,etc.)
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Internet (World
Wide Web, Gopher,
Newsnet,etc.)
Web Search
Engines (Canada.com,
Yahoo, etc.)
Gopher Search
Tools (Archie,
Veronica)
National and World
Newspapers and
Magazine Archives
Government
Publications and
Databases
Commercial
Information
(Northern Light,
Lexis-Nexis, etc.)
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Collecting Data
Secondary Sources
Company
Library
On-line
Wide Web, Gopher,
Newsnet,etc.)
Commercial
On-line Services
(Sympatico,
AOL Canada, etc.)
National and World
Newspapers and
Magazine Archives
Government
Publications and
Databases
Internet (World
Web Search
Engines (Canada.com,
Yahoo, etc.)
Gopher Search
Tools (Archie,
Veronica)
Commercial
Information
(Northern Light,
Lexis-Nexis, etc.)
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Searching Strategies
Become acquainted with library’s resources.
Learn to use a computer to conduct research.
Don’t allow yourself to become a victim of
information overload.
Be resourceful and persevering when searching
for data.
Keep excellent notes.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Organizing Data
Deductive:
Proposals, recommendations, findings first.
For readers who are supportive and
knowledgeable.
Inductive:
Facts and discussion first, conclusions last.
For readers who need to be educated.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Organizing Data
Chronological:
Information sequenced along time line.
Useful in presenting historical data or in
describing a procedure.
Geographical or spatial:
Data organized by physical location.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Organizing Data
Topical or functional:
Data arranged by topic or function.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Organizing Data
Data may be arranged in order of
importance.
Some reports may combine more than one
organizational strategy.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Outlining
Title of Topic
I. First main topic
A. Major subdivision No. 1
1. First subdivision of Topic A
2. Second subdivision of Topic A
B. Major subdivision No. 2
1. First subdivision of Topic B
2. Second subdivision of Topic B
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Outlining
II. Second main topic
A. Major subdivision No. 1
1. First subdivision of Topic A
2. Second subdivision of Topic A
B. Major subdivision No. 2
1. First subdivision of Topic B
2. Second subdivision of Topic B
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Illustrating Data
General tips
Clearly identify the contents of the visual
aid with meaningful titles and headings.
Refer the reader to the visual aid by
discussing it in the text and mentioning its
location and figure number.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Illustrating Data
Locate the table close to its reference in the
text.
Strive for vertical placement of visual aids.
Give credit to the source if appropriate.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Tables
Most frequently used visual aid in
reports.
Summarizes substantial data in readable,
concise form.
Uses systematic columns and rows.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Table
Table 1
POST SECONDARY GOALS
OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
Post Secondary Goals
Planning to Attend
Attending
Employment
4%
3%
2-year trade school
7%
8%
2-year comprehensive college
28%
33%
4-year college or university
58%
54%
Military
3%
2%
_____________________________________ _______ _____ ______
Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Charts and Graphs
Bar charts and other graphs show
relationships between variables.
Spreadsheet and presentation software
programs produce quality graphics.
1. Assemble data.
2. Choose pie chart, bar chart, organization chart,
or other form.
3. Key in data.
4. Print hard copy or import into report file.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Bar Chart
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
OBJECTIVE:
To compare one item with others.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Sample Vertical Bar Chart
Figure number
Figure title
40
Millions of Dollars
Scale value
FIGURE 1
1995 MPM Income by Division
30
$32.3
$22.0
$24.3
20
10
Scale captions
0
Theme Motion Videos
Parks Pictures
Source note Source:AET Predictors Research (Toronto:CompDat, 1999).225
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Line Chart
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
OBJECTIVE:
To demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Pie chart
OBJECTIVE:
To visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its
components
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Sample Pie Chart
Theme Parks
Motion Pictures
Videos
$22.0
$32.3
$24.3
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Organization Chart
I. M. Bossie
President
H. E. Soldit
Sales
Sales
Staff
Penny Worth
Accounting
U. R. Wright
Marketing
Product
Design
Advertising
Staff
OBJECTIVE:
To define a hierarchy of elements
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Introduction
Explain the problem motivating the report.
Describe the background and significance of
the problem.
Clarify the scope and limitations of the report.
Consider reviewing relevant literature.
Consider describing data sources, methods,
and key terms.
Close by previewing the report's organization.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Body
Discuss, analyze, and interpret the research
findings or proposed solution to the
problem.
Arrange the findings in logical segments
that follow your outline.
Use clear, descriptive headings.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Conclusions and
Recommendations
Explain what the findings mean in relation
to the problem.
Make enumerated recommendations, if
requested.
Suggest actions for solving the problem.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
References and Bibliography
If footnotes are not provided, list all
references in a section called "Notes,"
"Works Cited," or "References."
Optionally, include a bibliography showing
all the works cited (and perhaps consulted)
arranged alphabetically.
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning
Essentials of Business Communication Third Canadian Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey and Brendan Nagle Copyright 2000 Nelson Thomson Learning