Communication, Business, and You

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Planning Business

Reports and

Proposals

Teamwork on Proposal

Select an interesting topic

• E.g., impact of new rural pension program

Apply for grant from Ford Foundation

Write proposal

Prepare PPT

Make presentation in class

Hand in proposal and PPT

Tao Xiang 2

Learning Objectives

Concepts

Purposes

Informational v.s. analytical

Elements included in work plan

Four types of interview questions

Tao Xiang 3

Concept of Reports

Written factual accounts

Information about business

Presentable form

Tao Xiang 4

Purpose

Guide decisions

Comply with government regulations

Gain acceptance

Monitor and control operations

Implement policies and procedures

Document results

Tao Xiang 5

Classifying Reports

Source:

Authorized, Voluntary

Frequency:

Special, Routine

Audience:

Internal, External

Length:

Short, Long

Formality:

Informal, Formal

Intent:

Informational, Analytical

Tao Xiang 6

Informational Reports

Monitor and control operations

• Plans, operating reports, personal activity reports

State policies and procedures

• Lasting guidelines, position papers

Document compliance

Report progress

Tao Xiang 7

Analytical Reports

Problem-solving reports

Business proposals

• Internal

• External

• Solicited

• Unsolicited

Tao Xiang 8

Planning Reports

Analysis

• Audience and purpose

• Define problem

• Limit scope

• Outline investigation, etc.

Investigation

Adaptation

Tao Xiang 9

Analyzing the Situation

Informational reports

Analytical reports

Tao Xiang 10

Problem Definition for Analytical Reports

Clarify the problem

Ask the right questions

Factor the problem

Form a hypothesis

Tao Xiang 11

Purpose of Report

To inform

To persuade

To recommend

To confirm

To analyze

To summarize

Tao Xiang 12

Developing a

Preliminary Outline

Parallel construction

Consistent headings

Tao Xiang 13

Preparing Work Plan

State problem

State purpose and scope

Discuss tasks

Review final outcomes

Review schedules and requirements

Set follow-up plans

Compose working outline

Tao Xiang 14

Research Process

Understand topic and assignment

Find and access information

Evaluate and finalize sources

Process information

Analyze data

Interpret findings

Tao Xiang 15

Understand Topic and

Assignment

Preliminary information

Problem statement

Questions and subquestions

Tao Xiang 16

Using Secondary

Sources of Information

Business books

Electronic databases

Newspapers

Periodicals

Directories

Government publications

Almanacs

Statistical resources

Tao Xiang 17

Business Information in Cyberspace

Internet public library

Company Websites

• www.apple.com

News release sites

Searching the Internet

Tao Xiang 18

Preliminary Observations

Documents

Observations

Experiments

Tao Xiang 19

Effective Interviews

Purpose

• Collect information

• Make decisions

• Clarify issues

Structure

• Overall length

• Stylistic issues

• Organization

Tao Xiang 20

Types of Questions

Open-ended

Direct open-ended

Restatement

• You said you dislike sales quotas. Is that correct?

Close-ended

• Did you meet your sales quota?

Tao Xiang 21

Preparing Questions

Think about sequence

Rate questions

Ask smart questions

Mix types of questions

Limit number

Edit questions

Tao Xiang 22

Processing Interview

Information

Write down your ideas

Review notes

Organize the material

Transcribe recordings

Tao Xiang 23

Evaluating and Selecting Sources

Honesty and reliability

Logic and good sense

Data collection methods

The author

Purpose of the material

Completeness

Independent verification

Potential bias

Timeliness

Tao Xiang 24

Analyzing the Data

Mean

Median

Mode

Trend

Correlation

Tao Xiang 25

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