Business English and writing skills Unit 11 – Proposals and formal reports Source: The Essentials of Business Communication, 10e, (U4-Ch9-10, pg 273)

Reporting in the digital age Whether a company decides to launch a new product, expand into new markets, reduce expenses, improve customer service, or increase its social media presence, the decisions are usually based on information submitted in reports. Routine reports keep managers informed about work in progress. Focused reports help managers analyze the challenges they face before recommending solutions. Business reports vary in length, purpose, and delivery mode.

Informational and analytical report functions Informational Reports. Present data without analysis or recommendations are primarily informational. For such reports, writers collect and organize facts, but they do not analyze the facts for readers. Ex: A trip report describing an employee’s visit to a trade show. Weekly status reports about an ongoing project, monthly sales reports, status updates, etc. Analytical Reports. Reports that provide data or findings, analyses, conclusions, and sometimes recommendations. May intend to persuade readers to act or change their beliefs. Ex: feasibility studies (e.g., for expansion opportunities) and justification reports (e.g., for buying equipment or changing procedures).

Organizational strategies Direct strategy – places the purpose for writing at the beginning. Indirect strategy – conclusions and recommendations appear at the end of the report.

Writing styles Reports can range from informal to formal depending on their purpose, audience, and setting (email, memo, forms, manuscripts, etc.). Research reports from consultants to their clients tend to be more formal.

Effective report headings Report design should include meaningful headings to highlight major points and help ideas flow. Tip: try to create headings that are grammatically parallel. E.g. Developing Product Teams and Presenting Plan to Management are parallel headings; they both begin with an action word ending in -ing. Development of Product Teams and Presenting Plan to Management are not parallel headings.

Determine purpose of the report Determine the problem and purpose that the report will address. Problem statement: The leases on all company cars will expire in three months. The company must decide whether to renew them or develop a new policy regarding transportation for sales reps. Expenses and reimbursement paperwork for employee-owned cars is excessive. Statement of purpose further clarifies the report’s purpose and scope. Use action verbs telling what you intend to do: analyze, choose, investigate, compare, justify, evaluate, explain, establish, determine, etc. E.g. To recommend a plan that provides sales reps with cars to be used in their calls. The report will compare costs for three plans: outright ownership, leasing, and compensation for employee-owned cars. Data will include the sales reps’ reactions to each plan.

Gather information A good report is based on solid, accurate, verifiable facts. This factual information falls into two broad categories: primary and secondary. Primary data result from firsthand experience and observation. Secondary data come from reading what others have experienced or observed and recorded. Typical sources of factual information for informal reports include company records, printed material, electronic resources, observation, surveys and questionnaires, and interviews.

Informational reports Describe periodic, recurring activities (e.g. monthly sales or weekly customer calls) Situational, nonrecurring events (such as trips, conferences, and special projects). Most have a neutral or receptive audience. The readers of informational reports do not need to be persuaded; they simply need to be informed. Outline for trip or convention reports Identify the event (name, date, and location) and preview the topics that were discussed. In the body, summarize the main topics that might benefit others in the organization. Use bulleted lists. Close by expressing appreciation, mentioning the value of the trip or event, and offering to share the information. Itemize your expenses, if requested, on a separate sheet

Progress or interim reports Continuing projects often require progress, or interim, reports to give status updates on the project. May be external (advising customers regarding the headway of their projects) or internal (informing management of the status of activities). Recommended pattern: Specify the purpose and nature of the project in the opening. Provide background information if it gives the reader a better perspective. Describe the work completed so far. Explain the work currently in progress, including names, activities, methods used, and locations. Describe current, and anticipated problems. If possible, include possible remedies. Discuss future plans and completion dates in the closing.

Short analytical reports Informational reports generally provide data only. Analytical reports include (a) justification/recommendation reports, (b) feasibility reports, and (c) yardstick reports. These reports involve collecting and analyzing data, evaluating the results, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations. Analytical evaluate data and typically try to persuade the reader to accept the conclusions and act on the recommendations. Informational reports emphasize facts; analytical reports emphasize reasoning and conclusions.

Justification/recommendation reports Both managers and employees must occasionally write reports that justify or recommend actions, such as buying equipment, changing a procedure, hiring an employee, consolidating departments, or investing funds. These reports may also be called internal proposals because their persuasive nature is similar to that of external proposals. Let your audience and topic determine your choice of the direct or indirect strategy. Direct → For non sensitive topics and recommendations that will be agreeable to readers. Indirect → when a reader may oppose a recommendation or when circumstances suggest caution, do not rush to reveal your recommendation.

Feasibility reports Feasibility reports examine the practicality and advisability of following a course of action. They answer this question: Will this plan or proposal work? Feasibility reports typically are internal reports written to advise on matters such as consolidating departments, offering a wellness program to employees, or hiring an outside firm to handle a company’s accounting or social media presence. The focus of these reports is on the decision: rejecting or proceeding with the proposed option. Guidelines: Announce your decision immediately. Provide a description of the background and problem necessitating the proposal. Discuss the benefits of the proposal. Describe the problems that may result. Calculate the costs associated with the proposal, if appropriate. Show the time frame necessary for implementing the proposal.

Critical thinking exercise Under what circumstances would a recommendation report be written directly? Give an example. Do you think informational reports should be written directly or indirectly? For what reasons would an analytical report be written with a direct or an indirect approach? State your reasoning. What heading guidelines should you follow when writing a report? What technology trends do you think will affect business reporting and delivery in the future? How can report writers ensure that they present their information objectively and credibly?

Business proposals

Types of proposals Writers prepare proposals for various reasons, such as asking for funds or promoting products and services to customers. A proposal recipient could be a manager inside your company or a potential client outside your company. Some proposals are brief; some are lengthy and complex; but they all share two characteristics: (a) they use easy-to-understand language, and (b) they show the value and benefits of the product or services being recommended. Proposals may be classified as (a) informal or formal, (b) internal or external, and (c) solicited or unsolicited.

Internal and external proposals Internal. May resemble justification and recommendation reports. Ex – to management about benefits in changing a company policy, purchasing equipment, or adding new products and services. A company decision maker will review the proposal and accept or reject the idea. External. Addressed to clients and customers outside the company. Ex: An external sales proposal to a client would show how the company’s goods or services would solve a problem or benefit the client. Another type of external proposal is a grant request, written to obtain funding from agencies that support worthwhile causes. For example, Project C.U.R.E. submitted a successful grant request to Ronald McDonald House Charities to help reduce infant mortality in remote locations around the world.

Solicited (RFP) or unsolicited When government organizations or businesses have a specific need, they prepare a request for proposal (RFP), a document that specifies their requirements. RFPs are used obtain comparable, competitive bids from vendors and ensure funds are awarded fairly. Companies responding to these solicited proposals are careful to follow the RFP instructions explicitly, which might include following a specific proposal format. Enterprising companies looking for work or special projects might submit unsolicited proposals. Regardless of whether they’re solicited or unsolicited, proposals must be persuasive, not merely mechanical descriptions of what you can do.

Types Formal or informal. Informal proposals are short reports, often formatted as memos or letters.

Components of informal proposals 1. Introduction. States the reason for the proposal. Use a hook (e.g. speedy results, promise a solution, show benefits) 2. Background, problem, and purpose. Identifies the problem and discusses the goals or purposes of the project. In an unsolicited proposal → convince the reader that a problem exists. In a solicited proposal → persuade the reader that you understand the reader’s issues and that you have a realistic solution. 3. Proposal, plan, and schedule. Often tricky to disclose enough of your plan to secure the contract, without providing too much information. 4. Staffing. Include qualifications and credentials to show value. 5. Budget. Sometimes called Statement of Costs. Can be itemized or not (lump sum). 6. Conclusion and authorization. Should remind the reader of the proposal’s key benefits and make it easy for the reader to respond.

Documenting and citing sources Whether you quote or paraphrase another’s words, you must document the source. Why Document? To strengthen your argument and add credibility. To protect yourself against charges of plagiarism. Acknowledging your sources keeps you honest. To help the reader learn more about the topic. Citing references enables readers to pursue a topic further and make use of the information themselves. To provide proper credit in an ever-changing world.

Documenting and citing sources What to document? 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. Visuals, images, and any kind of electronic media. Remember to paraphrase Read the original material intently to understanding its meaning. Write down your own version without looking at the original. Avoid repeating the same grammatical structure of the original.

Business Report Components A formal report → analyzes findings, draws conclusions, and makes recommendations to solve a problem. Present findings and recommendations based on research and data analysis. Recommendations are presented to decision makers.

Body components Introduction Background: Events leading up to the problem or need Problem or purpose: Explanation of the problem or need that motivated the report Significance: Account of the importance of the report topic, which may include quotes from experts, journals, or Web resources Scope: Boundaries of the report, defining what will be included or excluded Organization: A road map or structure of the report

Body components Report body. Discusses, analyzes, interprets, and evaluates the research findings or solution to the initial problem. This is where you show the evidence that justifies your conclusions. The body section contains clear headings that explain each major section. Functional heads (such as Results of the Survey, Analysis of Findings, or Discussion) help readers identify the general purpose of the section. Such headings are useful for routine reports or for sensitive topics that may upset readers. Talking heads (for example, Findings Reveal Revenue and Employment Benefits) are more descriptive and informative. Conclusions and Recommendations. This section tells what the findings mean, particularly in terms of solving the original problem. Most writers present the conclusions after the body because readers expect this sequence. To improve readability, you may present the conclusions in a numbered or bulleted list.