Mary Ellen Guffey
Copyright © 2008

Characteristics of Reports
Structure and
Organization
Report Writing
Process
Research
Report Data
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 2

Business reports are systematic attempts to answer questions and solve problems.
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 Informational reports
 Analytical reports
 Formal
 Informal
 Direct pattern
 Indirect pattern
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 4

 Letter
 Memo
 Manuscript
 Printed forms
 Digital
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 5

Everyone writes reports.
Most reports flow upward.
Most business reports are informal.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 6

Three formats are most popular:
Memo format
Letter format
Manuscript format
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 7

Reports differ from memos and letters.
Today’s reports take advantage of computer technologies.
Many reports are collaborative efforts.
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Ethical report writers interpret facts fairly.
Organization is imposed on data.
The writer is the reader’s servant.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 9

The Direct Pattern
If readers are informed
If readers are supportive
If readers are eager to have results first
Direct Pattern
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 10

Direct Pattern
Informational Report
Introduction/Background
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Facts/Findings
_________________
__________________________________
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Summary
______________________
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Analytical Report
Introduction/Problem
__________________________________
__________________________________
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CONCLUSIONS/
RECOMMENDATIONS
__________________________________
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Facts/Findings
__________________________________
__________________________________
Discussion/Analysis
____________
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 11

The Indirect Pattern
If readers need to be educated
If readers need to be persuaded
If readers may be disappointed or hostile
Indirect Pattern
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 12

Indirect Pattern
Analytical Report
Introduction/Problem
__________________________________
__________________________________
Facts/Findings
_________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Discussion/Analysis
__________________________________
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CONCLUSIONS/
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 13

Center for Consumers of Legal Services
P.O. Box 260
September 7, 2007
(804) 248- 8931
Richmond, VA 23234 www. cclegalservices.com
Ms. Lisa Burgess, Secretary
Lake Austin Homeowners
3902 Oak Hill Drive
Austin, TX 78134
Dear Ms. Burgess:
As executive director of the Center for Consumers of Legal Services, I'm pleased to send you this information describing how your homeowners’ association can sponsor a legal services plan for its members. After an introduction with background data, this report will discuss three steps necessary for your group to start its plan.
Introduction
A legal services plan promotes preventative law by letting members talk to attorneys whenever problems arise. Prompt legal advice often avoids or prevents expensive litigation. Because groups can supply a flow of business to the plan's attorneys, groups can negotiate free consultation, follow-up, and discounts.
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Two kinds of plans are commonly available. The first, a free plan, offers free legal consultation along with discounts for services when the participating groups are
Prepaid plans provide more benefits, but members must pay annual fees, usually $200 or more a year. Over 30 million people are covered by legal services plans today, and a majority belong to free plans.
Since you inquired about a free plan for your homeowners' association, the following information describes how to set up such a program.
Determine the Benefits Your Group Needs
The first step in establishing a free legal service is to meet with the members of your group to decide what benefits they want. Typical benefits include the following:
Free consultation. Members may consult a participating attorney--by phone or in the attorney's office--to discuss any matter. The number of consultations is unlimited, provided each is about a separate matter. Consultations are generally limited to 30 minutes, but they include substantive analysis and advice.
Free document review. Important papers--such as leases, insurance policies, and installment sales contracts--may be reviewed with legal counsel. Members may ask questions and receive an explanation of terms.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 15

Atlantic Environmental, Inc.
DATE: March 7, 2008
TO:
FROM:
Kermit Fox, President
Cynthia M. Rashid, Environmental Engineer
SUBJECT: Investigation of Mountain Park Commercial Site
For Allegheny Realty, Inc., I've completed a preliminary investigation of its Mountain Park property listing. The following recommendations are based on my physical inspection of the site, official records, and interviews with officials and persons knowledgeable about the site.
Recommendations
To reduce its potential environmental liability, Allegheny Realty should take the following steps in regard to its Mountain Park listing:
• Conduct an immediate asbestos survey at the site, including inspection of ceiling insulation material, floor tiles, and insulation around a gas-fired heater vent pipe at
2539 Mountain View Drive.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 16

currently operating at the site, including Mountain Technology.
• Obtain lids for the dumpsters situated in the parking areas and ensure that the lids are kept closed.
Findings and Analyses
My preliminary assessment of the site and its immediate vicinity revealed rooms with damaged floor tiles on the first and second floors of 2539 Mountain View Drive.
Apparently, in recent remodeling efforts, these tiles had been cracked and broken.
Examination of the ceiling and attic revealed further possible contamination from asbestos. The insulation for the hot-water tank was in poor condition.
Located on the property is Mountain Technology, a possible hazardous waste generator.
Although I could not examine its interior, this company has the potential for producing hazardous material contamination.
In the parking area large dumpsters collect trash and debris from several businesses.
These dumpsters were uncovered, thus posing a risk to the general public.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 17

REDUCING VEHICLE EMISSIONS
INTRODUCTION
Pacific Enterprises, Inc., is pleased to submit this report to the Air Resources Board of
Los Angeles County in response to its request of April 18. This report examines the problem of vehicle emissions in the Los Angeles Basin. Moreover, it reviews proposed solutions and recommends a course of action that will lead to a significant reduction in the hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions of older vehicles.
Background and Discussion of Problem
The County of Los Angeles has battled dirty air for five decades. The largest stationary polluters (manufacturers, petroleum refineries, and electric power plants, for example) are no longer considered a major source of pollution. Today, the biggest smog producers are older automobiles, trucks, and buses. Newer vehicles, as a result of improved technology and government regulation, have sharply reduced their emissions. However, nearly 400,000 pre-1980 vehicles continue to operate on Southern California's streets and freeways. A recent state-funded study (Rutman 37) estimated that 50 percent of the smog generated in Southern California comes from these older vehicles.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 18

However, many of these vehicles are either undetected or exempted from meeting the
worth. Two innovative solutions were recently proposed.
Reducing Smog by Eliminating Older Cars
Two large organizations, Unocal and Ford Motor Company, suggested a buy-out program to eliminate older cars. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the two firms bought more than
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our findings and the conclusions discussed earlier, we submit the following recommendations to you:
1. Study the progress of Germany's attempt to reduce smog by retrofitting older vehicles with computer-controlled fuel management systems.
2. Encourage Ford Motor Company and Unocal to continue their buy-out programs in exchange for temporary smog credits.
3. Invite Neutronics Enterprises in Carlsbad, California, to test its Lambda emissioncontrol system at your El Monte test center.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 19

Analyze the problem and purpose.
Anticipate the audience and issues.
Prepare a work plan.
Implement your research strategy.
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Organize, analyze, interpret, and illustrate the data.
Compose the first draft.
Revise, proofread, and evaluate.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 21

 Statement of problem
 Statement of purpose
 Sources and methods of data collection
 Tentative outline
 Work schedule
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Researching Report Data
Secondary Print Data
 Books – card catalog, online catalog
 Periodicals – print indexes, electronic indexes
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 23

Researching Report Data
Secondary Electronic Data
 Electronic databases
ABI/INFORM LexisNexis Academic
Factiva EBSCO
 Web search tools
Google Yahoo Search
MSN Search AOL
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 24

Researching Report Data
Secondary Electronic Data
Evaluating Web sources
How current is the information?
How credible is the author or source?
What is the purpose of the site?
Do the facts seem reliable?
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 25

Tips for Searching the Web
 Use two or three search tools.
 Know your search tool.
 Understand case sensitivity.
 Use nouns as search terms and up to eight words in a query.
 Combine keywords into phrases.
 Omit articles and prepositions.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 26

Tips for Searching the Web
 Use wild cards.
 Learn basic Boolean search strategies.
 Bookmark the best sources.
 Repeat your search a week later.
 Keep trying.
 Evaluate your Web sources for currency, authority, content, and accuracy.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 27

Researching Primary Data
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Documenting Data
 Strengthens your argument
 Protects you from charges of plagiarism
 Instructs readers
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Documenting Data
 Modern Language Association
Author’s name and page (Smith 100) placed in text; complete references in
"Works Cited."
 American Psychological Association
Author’s name, date of publication, and page number placed near the text reference (Jones,
2006, p. 99). Complete references listed at the end of the report in "References.”
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 30

Documenting Data
 Another person's ideas, opinions, examples, or theory
 Any facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings that are not common knowledge
 Quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words
 Paraphrases of another person's spoken or written words
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 31

Documenting Data
 Read the original material carefully so that you can comprehend its full meaning.
 Write your own version without looking at the original.
 Do not repeat the grammatical structure of the original, and do not merely replace words of the original with synonyms.
 Reread the original to be sure you covered the main points but did not borrow specific language.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 32

Illustrating Report Data
 To clarify data
 To create visual interest
 To condense and simplify data
 To make numerical data meaningful
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 33

Illustrating Report Data
 Table
To show exact figures and values
 Bar chart
To compare one item with others
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 34

Illustrating Report Data
 Line Chart
To demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time
 Pie Chart
To visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its components
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 35

Illustrating Report Data
 Flow Chart
To display a process or procedure
 Organization Chart
To define a hierarchy of elements
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 36

Illustrating Report Data
 Photograph, map, illustration
To create authenticity, to spotlight a location, and to show an item in use
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 37

Vertical Bar Chart
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 38

Vertical Bar Chart
 Use bar charts to make visual comparisons.
Compare related items, illustrate changes in data over time, or show segments as parts of wholes.
 Make bar charts in vertical, horizontal, grouped, or segmented forms. Avoid shoeing too much information, thus producing clutter and confusion.
 Make the length of each bar and segment proportional.
 Start dollar or percentage amounts at zero.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 39

Pie Chart
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 40

Pie Chart
 Use pie charts to show a whole and the proportion of its components.
 Generally begin at the 12 o’clock position, drawing the largest wedge first.
 Include, if possible, the actual percentage or absolute value for each wedge.
 Use four to eight segments for best results; if necessary, group small portions into one wedge called “Other.”
 Distinguish wedges with color, shading, or crosshatching.
 Keep all labels horizontal.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 41

End
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e Ch. 11, Slide 42