Business Reports

Overview
• Chapter 6 examines the functions, organizational strategies,
writing styles, and formats of typical business reports. It discusses
the importance of clearly identifying the problem to be solved and
the specific purpose of the report
• learn proposal. proposal is a written offer to solve problems,
provide services, or sell products. Proposals can mean life or
death for a business.
Chapter Objectives
• Explain informational and analytical report functions,
organizational strategies, and writing styles.
• Describe typical report formats and understand the
significance of effective headings
• Determine the problem the report is addressing as well as
the report’s purpose, and gather significant secondary
and primary information
• Write short informational reports that describe routine
tasks
• Prepare short analytical reports that solve business
problems

3
Chapter Objectives
• Understand the importance, purpose, and components of
informal and formal proposals.
• Describe the steps in writing and editing formal business reports.
• Conduct research using primary and secondary sources, and
understand how to assess the credibility of resources.
• Identify the purposes and techniques of documenting and citing
sources in business reports
• Convert report data into meaningful visual aids and graphics
• Describe the components of typical formal reports.

4
Contents
• Informal Report
• Proposal and Formal Report
Report Functions

Present data without

Informational analysis or
recommendations

Present data or
findings, analyses,
Analytical conclusions, and
recommendations
Report Patterns
The Direct Strategy

If readers If readers If readers are

are informed are supportive eager to have
results first

Direct Strategy
 Direct Strategy

Informational Report Analytical Report

Introduction/Background
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Facts/Findings _________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Summary ______________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Introduction/Problem
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
CONCLUSIONS/
RECOMMENDATIONS
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Facts/Findings
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Discussion/Analysis ____________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Report Patterns
The Indirect Strategy
If readers If readers need If readers may
need to be to be persuaded be disappointed
educated or hostile

Indirect Strategy
 Indirect Strategy

Analytical Report
Introduction/Problem
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________

Facts/Findings _________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Discussion/Analysis
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
CONCLUSIONS/
RECOMMENDATIONS____________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Report Formats
Letter For informal reports sent to outsiders

For informal reports sent within

Memo/E-Mail
organizations

Manuscript For longer, more formal reports.

Preprinted For routine activities, such as expense

forms reports.
Useful for collaboration and for posting
Digital
online
Developing Informal Reports

 Determine problem
and purpose.
 Gather data.
 Organize data.
 Write first draft.
 Edit and revise.
Gathering Data for Reports
• Company records
• Printed materials (books, newspapers,
and periodicals)
• Electronic resources (Web, electronic databases, online resources)
• Personal observation and
experience
• Surveys, questionnaires,
and inventories
• Interviews
Typical Informal Reports

 Information reports
 Progress reports
 Justification/recommendation
reports
 Feasibility reports
 Minutes of meetings
 Summaries
Information Reports

What do they do?

• Collect and organize information
• Provide findings without analysis
or persuasion
Progress Reports

What do they do?

• Explain the progress of continuing
projects
• May be internal or external
Progress Reports
- Tentukan tujuan atau sifat dari proyek dalam pembukaan
- Berikan informasi latar belakang utk memberikan perspektif yang
lebih baik kepada pembaca
- Jelaskan pekerjaan yang telah diselesaikan sejauh ini
- Jelaskan pekerjaan yang sedang berlangsung secara rinci
(kegiatan, metode, lokasi, dll)
- Jelaskan masalah yang dihadapi saat ini dan yang diantisipasi,
sertakan kemungkinan solusi jika memungkinkan
- Diskusi rencana kegiatan mendatang dan tanggal penyelesaian
dalam penutupan.
To: Hunter Thomas <hthomas@century.com>
From: Olivia Nevaeh <onevaeh@eaglevideo.com>
Subject: Laporan Kemajuan – Pencarian Lokasi untuk Telenovela “Bodega Bay”
Cc:
Bcc:
Hunter,
Berikut ini adalah pembaharuan yang menjelaskan hasil pencarian saya terhadap rumah pedesaan, villa, dan
perternakan untuk kebutuhan telenovela "Bodega Bay."
Sebelumnya, saya telah berkonsultasi dengan Direktur David Hamilton, dan Beliau menyarankan sebuah rumah
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biaya situs tidak melebihi $ 30.000 untuk sewa tiga minggu.
Saya mencari di sekitar Sungai Rusia di negara anggur California Utara. Lokasi - lokasi yang mungkin termasuk
pergantian abad, rumah mewah bergaya Victoria, dan rumah pertanian pedesaan di Duncans Mills, Monte Rio, dan
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pembatasan, dan biaya.
Dua komplikasi dapat mempengaruhi pemotretan. (1) Pemilik properti tidak terbiasa dengan pembangunan dan
mencurigai adanya sewa jangka pendek. (2) Banyak pohon tidak akan memiliki daun lagi sampai bulan Mei. Pada 14
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Warm Regard,
Olivia
Olivia Nevaeh – Production Scout
EAGLE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS 8587 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
www.eaglevideo.com 213-539-8922 Fax 213-539-8649
Justification/Recommendation
Reports

What do they do?

Justify or recommend something
(buying equipment, changing a
procedure, hiring an employee, etc.)
Justification/Recommendation
Reports
Direct
• Identifikasi masalah atau kebutuhan
secara singkat.
• ▪▪ Umumkan rekomendasi, solusi, atau
tindakan secara singkat dan dengan
kata kerja tindakan.
• ▪▪ Jelaskan lebih lengkap manfaat dari
rekomendasi atau langkah yang
diperlukan untuk memecahkan
masalah.
• ▪▪ Termasuk diskusi tentang pro,
kontra, dan biaya.
• ▪ ▪ Simpulkan dengan ringkasan yang
menjelaskan rekomendasi dan
tindakan yang diperlukan
Indirect
• Lihat masalah dalam istilah umum, bukan
rekomendasi Anda, di baris subjek.
• ▪▪ Jelaskan masalah atau perlu alamat
rekomendasi Anda. Gunakan contoh spesifik,
statistik pendukung, dan kutipan otoritatif
untuk memberikan kredibilitas pada
keseriusan masalah.
• ▪▪ Diskusikan solusi alternatif, dimulai dengan
kemungkinan yang paling kecil untuk berhasil.
• ▪ ▪ Sajikan alternatif yang paling menjanjikan
(rekomendasi Anda) terakhir.
• ▪▪ Tunjukkan bagaimana keuntungan dari
rekomendasi Anda lebih besar daripada
kerugiannya.
• ▪ ▪ Rangkumlah rekomendasi Anda. Jika sesuai,
tentukan tindakan yang diperlukan.
• ▪▪ Mintalah otorisasi untuk melanjutkan jika
perlu.
Feasibility Reports

What do they do?

• Examine the practicality and
advisability of a course of action
• Ask: Will this plan or proposal work?
Feasibility Reports
Umumkan keputusan Anda segera.
▪▪ Berikan deskripsi latar belakang dan masalah yang
mengharuskan proposal.
▪▪ Diskusikan manfaat dari proposal.
▪▪ Jelaskan masalah yang mungkin terjadi.
▪ ▪ Hitung biaya yang terkait dengan proposal, jika sesuai.
▪▪ Tunjukkan jangka waktu yang diperlukan untuk
mengimplementasikan proposal.
Minutes of meetings
• Mulailah dengan nama perusahaan, tanggal, waktu, dan tempat
pertemuan.
• ▪ ▪ Identifikasi nama-nama peserta dan yang tidak hadir.
• ▪▪ Sebutkan apakah waktu rapat yang sudah ditentukan
sebelumnya disetujui atau direvisi.
• ▪▪ Catat secara singkat diskusi bisnis lama, bisnis baru,
pengumuman, dan laporan komite.
• ▪▪ Termasuk kata-kata yang tepat dari gerakan; rekam suara dan
tindakan yang diambil.
• Sebutkan penundaaan bila ada pada penutup
• ▪ ▪ Simpulkan dengan nama orang yang merekam notulen. Notulen
formal mungkin memerlukan tanda tangan.
Summaries
Sebutkan gagasan utama atau tujuan serta sumber dari dokumen
itu
diringkas. Mengapa itu ditulis?
▪ ▪ Jika meringkas laporan, soroti metode penelitian, temuan,
kesimpulan, dan rekomendasi.
▪▪ Hentikan ilustrasi, contoh, dan referensi.
▪▪ Atur agar terbaca dengan menyertakan heading dan daftar bullet
atau daftar yang disebutkan.
▪▪ Jika diminta untuk melakukannya, sertakan reaksi Anda atau
evaluasi keseluruhan dokumen.
Informal Report Writing Style
Uses Characteristics
 Short, routine reports aimed  Use of first-person pronouns (I,
at familiar audiences we, us)
 Noncontroversial reports  Use of contractions (can’t, don’t,
 Most reports to company I’ll)
insiders  Emphasis on active-voice verbs (I
conducted the study)
 Shorter sentences, familiar words
Effect  Occasional use of humor,
metaphors
Feeling of warmth, personal
 Acceptance of author’s opinions,
involvement, closeness
ideas
Formal Report Writing Style
Uses Characteristics
 Theses  Absence of first-person
pronouns; use of third person
 Research studies
(the researcher, the writer)
 Controversial and complex
 Absence of contractions
reports, especially to outsiders
(cannot, do not)
 Use of passive-voice verbs (the
study was conducted)
Effect
 Complex sentences, long words
 Impression of objectivity,
 Absence of humor, colorful
accuracy, professionalism,
adjectives, adverbs
fairness
 Elimination of author’s
 Distance created between writer
“editorializing”
and reader
Being Objective in Writing Reports

• Present both sides of an issue.

• Separate fact from opinion.
• Be sensitive and
moderate in language.
• Cite sources carefully.
Report Headings

Benefits
• Serve as an outline of the report
• Highlight major ideas and categories
• Act as guides for locating information
• Provide resting points for the
mind and the eye
• Organize data into meaningful
blocks
Report Headings
• Functional headings
describe functions or general topics
Background, Findings, Benefits, Costs

• Talking headings
describe content and provide more information
Benefits of Offering a Wellness Program

• Combination heading
Benefit : Benefits of Offering a Wellness Program
Effective Report Headings

• Use appropriate heading levels.

• Strive for parallel construction within levels.
• Use first- and second-level headings for short reports.
• Capitalize and underline carefully.
• Keep headings short but clear.
• Include at least one heading per report page.
Proposals and Formal
Reports
Understanding Business Reports
Definition
Business Report
• Product of thorough investigation and analysis
• Presents vital information to decision makers in
business, industry, government, and education
Understanding Business Reports
Report Writing Process
 Prepare to write.
 Research secondary data.
 Generate primary data.
 Document data.
 Organize, outline, and
discuss data.
 Illustrate data.
 Present final report.
Preparing to Write
• Define the purpose of the project.
• Limit the scope of the report.
• Write a statement of purpose to describe the following:
• Goal
• Significance
• Limitations
Primary v. Secondary Data
Primary Data: come from firsthand experience and observation
Secondary Data: come from reading what others have experienced or
observed and written down

Nearly every research project

begins with investigating
secondary data.
Researching Secondary Data
Print Resources The Web
 Books  Product/service information
 Public relations materials
 Periodicals
 Mission statements
 Bibliographic indexes such as  Staff directories
Reader’s Guide  Press releases
Electronic Databases  Company news
 Article reprints
Collections of information accessible  Stock and financial data
by computer and digital searchable  Employment records
Examples:
ABI/Inform LexisNexis
Factiva EBSCO
Generating Primary Data

Surveying Experimenting

Observing Interviewing
Documenting Data

Why document data?

•To strengthen your argument
•To instruct the reader
•To project yourself against
charges of plagiarism
Documenting Data
What to Document
•Another person's ideas, opinions, examples,
or theory
•Any facts, statistics, and graphics that are not
common knowledge
•Quotations of another person's actual spoken
or written words
•Paraphrases of another person's spoken or
written words
Documenting Data

Using Citation Formats

•Modern Language Association (MLA)
•American Psychological Association (APA)

See Appendix A to learn

how to use these formats.
Organizing Report Data
Organizing Report Data
Outlining Report Data
The main points used to outline a report often become the main
headings of the written report.
Major headings
centered and typed in bold font
Second-level headings
start at the left margin
Third-level headings
indented, becoming part of the paragraph
Illustrating Report Data
Why use visual aids?
• To clarify data
• To create visual interest
• To make numerical data meaningful
• To make information more understandable and easier
to remember
Illustrating Report Data
Most common types of visual aids
• Tables
• Charts
• Graphs
• Photographs,
Maps,
Illustrations
Presenting the Final Formal Report

Prefatory Parts
• Title page
• Letter or memo of transmittal
• Table of contents
• List of figures
• Executive summary
Presenting the Final Formal Report
Body of Report
• Introduction
Background
Problem or purpose
Significance and scope
Sources and methods
Organization
• Discussion of findings
• Summary, conclusions, recommendations
Presenting the Final Formal Report
Supplementary Parts of a Formal Report
 Footnotes or endnotes
 Works Cited, References, or Bibliography
 Appendix
Parts of Formal Appendix
Bibliography

Reports
Recommendations
Conclusions
Body
Introduction
Executive summary
List of figures
Table of contents

Letter of transmittal

Title page

Cover

Generally appear in both

formal and informal reports:

Optional in informal reports:

Question & Answers