Informal Business Reports

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Informal Business Reports
Organization
and Structure
Devices for
Analyzing Data
Drawing Report
Conclusions
Report
Recommendations
Analytical Report
Informational
Reports

Types of Reports
Informational
Analytical
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Introduction
Identify the report and its purpose.
Present a brief overview of the report’s organization, especially for longer reports.
When readers are unfamiliar with the topic, briefly fill in the background details.
Informational Report Content

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Body
Group facts or findings into three to five roughly equal segments that do not overlap.
Organize by time, component, importance, criteria, convention, or some other method.
Supply functional or talking heads (at least one per page) to describe each section.
Informational Report Content

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Body
Use an informal, conversational writing style unless a formal tone is expected.
Use bullets, numbered and lettered lists, headings, underlined items, and white space to enhance readability.
Informational Report Content

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Summary/Conclusion
When necessary, briefly review the main points and discuss what action will follow.
If relevant, express appreciation or describe your willingness to provide further information.
Informational Report Content

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Typical Informational Reports
Periodic or activity reports
Describe production, sales, shipping, service, and other recurring activities.
Trip, convention, conference reports
Describe an event, summarize three to five main points of interest, itemize expenses, and analyze the event’s value.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Typical Informational Reports
Progress and interim reports
Explain continuing projects including work completed, work in progress, future activities, and completion date.
Investigative reports
Examine problems and supply facts; provide little analysis.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Analytical Report Content
Introduction
Explain why the report is being written. For research studies, include the significance, scope, limitations, and methodology of the investigation.
Preview the report’s organization.
Summarize the conclusions and recommendations for receptive audiences.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Analytical Report Content
Findings
Discuss the pros and cons of each alternative. For receptive audiences, consider placing the recommended alternative last.
Establish criteria to evaluate alternatives. In “yardstick” studies create criteria to use in measuring each alternative consistently.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Analytical Report Content
Findings
Support the findings with evidence: facts, statistics, expert opinion, survey data, and other proof.
Use headings, enumerations, lists, tables, and graphics to focus emphasis.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Analytical Report Content
Conclusions/Recommendations
Develop reasonable conclusions that answer the research question. Justify the conclusions with highlights from the findings.
Make recommendations, if asked. Use action verbs. Explain needed action.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Typical Short Analytical Reports
Justification/recommendation reports
Make recommendations to management; provide data to solve problems and make decisions.
Feasibility reports
Analyze problems and predict whether alternatives will be practical or advisable.
Yardstick reports
Establish criteria and evaluate alternatives by measuring against the “yardstick” criteria.

Helping the Reader
Organizing Information
Using Headings
Interpreting Data
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Organizing Information
Reader comprehension, not writer convenience, should govern report organization. Possible methods:
Time
Arrange data by chronology: e.g., 2006, 2007, 2008.
Component
Arrange data by classifications: location, geography, division, product, or part. A report discussing company profits could be organized by each product.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Importance
Criteria
Convention
Order data from most important to least important, or vice versa.
Arrange data by evaluative categories. In a report comparing fax equipment, organize by such areas as price, warranty, speed, print quality, etc.
Organize data according to prescribed categories. Proposals, for example, are organized by staff, budget, schedule, and so forth.
Organizing Information

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Structural Cues for Reports
Discuss purpose and significance of report.
Preview main points and order of development.
Introductions
Transitions
however
on the contrary
therefore
moreover

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Headings
Write short but clear headings.
Experiment with wording that tells who, what, when, where, and why.
Include at least one heading per report page.
Structural Cues for Reports

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Creating Team Motivation
Treating Employees Like Customers
(not Employees Should Be Treated Like Customers)
Balance headings within levels. All headings at a given level should be grammatically similar. For example:
Structural Cues for Reports
Headings

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Integrate heading gracefully. Try not to repeat the exact wording from the heading in the following sentence. Also avoid using the heading as an antecedent to a pronoun.
For example, avoid:
CUSTOMER SURVEYS. These are…
Headings
Structural Cues for Reports

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Levels of Report Headings
REPORT, CHAPTER, AND PART TITLES
The title of a report, chapter heading, or major part should be centered in all caps.
First-Level Subheading
Headings indicating the first level of division are centered and bolded. Whether a report is single-spaced or double-spaced, most writers triple-space (leaving two blank lines) before and double-space (leaving one blank line) after a first-level heading.
Second-Level Subheading
Headings that divide topics introduced by first-level subheadings are bolded and begin at the left margin.
Third-level subheading. Because it is part of the paragraph that follows, a third-level subheading is also called a paragraph subheading. It should appear in boldface print.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
► Meanings
► Relationships
► Answers!
Interpreting Data
You are looking for

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Table - systematic columns and rows
The Three Ms
Mean - arithmetic average
Median - middle point in a range of values
Mode - most frequent value
Interpreting Data
Devices for tabulating and analyzing data

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Correlation - relationships between variables
Grid - boxes of rows and columns to sort data
Decision matrix – grid that allows comparison among weighted criteria
Interpreting Data

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Mean: Average value
Median: Middle point in range of values
Mode: Most frequent value
Mean, Median, Mode

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
The Athletic Department is collecting data on shoe sizes for male and female players. Here are the shoe sizes for 20 people:
Shoe Sizes
14
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
9
8
8
7
6
6
6
200
What is the mean?
What is the median?
What is the mode?
How can such statistical values be important to report writers?
Mean, Median, Mode

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Mean = 10; Median = 11; Mode = 12
The Athletic Department is collecting data on shoe sizes for male and female players. Here are the shoe sizes for 20 people:
Mean, Median, Mode
Shoe Sizes
14
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
9
8
8
7
6
6
6
200
How can such statistical values be important to report writers?

Tips for
Conclusions
Recommendations
Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Tips for Drawing Report Conclusions
Interpret and summarize
the findings.
Tell what your findings (collected data)
mean.
Relate the conclusions to the
report problem.
Focus only on conclusions that help solve
the original problem.
1
2

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Limit the conclusions to the
data presented.
Do not introduce new material.
Be objective.
Avoid exaggerating or manipulating
the data to prove a point.
3
4
Tips for Drawing Report Conclusions

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Use consistent criteria.
In evaluating options, use the same
criteria for each alternative.
Enumerate each conclusion.
Number and list each item. Present each
conclusion in parallel form.
5
6
Tips for Drawing Report Conclusions

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Tips for Making Report Recommendations
Suggest actions.
What specific procedures can help solve
the report problem?
Focus on recommendations
that are practical and agreeable.
Suggest feasible actions that would be
acceptable to this audience.
1
2

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Present recommendations
separately.
Enumerate each in a statement
beginning with a verb.
Invest two thirds of the income in growth funds.
If requested, describe how the
recommendations may
be implemented.
Some writers present detailed plans for
executing the recommendations.
Tips for Making Report Recommendations
3
4

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Conclusion:
Survey results show that the biggest
student complaint centered on
long registration lines.
Recommendation:
Begin a registration reservation system
in which students sign up for specific
registration time slots.
Conclusions and Recommendations

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Student Progress Report

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Student Progress Report (Continued)
and to suggest ways to improve our program. I agreed to collect secondary data by reading periodicals about recycling efforts in other parts of the country. More importantly, I agreed to collect primary data by conducting a campus survey.
Work Completed
Thus far I have completed the secondary research, which included using the library and databases to find current articles about recycling programs in other areas. Several references had particularly relevant data that will be useful as I write my report. To collect data from the campus population, my business communication class and I worked out a pilot questionnaire. We

Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Ch. 12, Slide
Student Progress Report – Continued
Ms. Cheryl Bryant Page 2 January 2, 2008
tried it out on 28 people and then revised it. Then we administered our revised questionnaire to a convenience sample of 220 individuals.
Work to Be Completed
The questionnaire data must now be tabulated. I plan to work with a committee of three other students in counting questionnaire responses. After making tables and analyzing the data, I will discuss the findings with my class. We will draw conclusions from the findings and discuss ways to improve participation in the recycling program. I think a group discussion is a good way to brainstorm for ideas to improve the program. Because no problems are anticipated, I should be able to integrate the findings, conclusions, and recommendations into a final report to be submitted to you by our January 18 deadline.