© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Planning Reports and Proposals

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Writing for the Workplace Informational reports Analytical reports Proposals

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter The Three-Step Process Planning Writing Completing

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Analyzing the Situation Define the purpose Prepare the work plan

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Statement of Purpose Inform Persuade Recommend Confirm Analyze Summarize

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Preparing the Work Plan Statement of the problem Statement of the purpose and scope Discussion of tasks to be accomplished Description of final products or outcomes Review of schedules and requirements Plans for following up Working outline

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Gathering Information Purpose Audience Priorities

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Selecting the Medium Hardcopy Digital format Multimedia

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Organizing the Information Direct approach State conclusions and recommendations Introduce findings Include support Indirect approach Introduce findings Discuss support State conclusions and recommendations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Supporting Your Messages Plan your research Locate data and information Process data and information Apply your findings Manage information

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Plan Your Research Learn about the subject Identify information gaps Prioritize research needs

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Ethics and Etiquette in Business Research Don’t skew results Respect privacy of participants Document sources Respect intellectual property Don’t distort information Don’t misrepresent

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Data and Information Secondary research Primary research

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Purpose of the Material IndependentVerification Logic and Good Sense Honesty and Reliability The Author Timeliness PotentialBias Data Collection Methods Completeness Evaluating Sources

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Secondary Research Inside the company –Company documents –Knowledge management systems Outside the company –Hardcopy resources –Online resources

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Finding Information at the Library BusinessBooksElectronicDatabasesNewspapersPeriodicals DirectoriesAlmanacsStatisticalResourcesGovernmentPublications

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Using Search Engines Advantages –Keyword searching –Scanning webpages –Ranking results Disadvantages –No human editors –Inconsistent results –Restricted access

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Alternate Search Methods Web directories Metasearch engines Online databases

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Search Techniques Keywords Boolean operators Natural language Forms-based

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Fine Tune Search Methods Read instructions Review your options Observe the details Vary search terms Adjust the search scope

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Innovative Search Methods Desktop search engines Enterprise search engines Research managers Content managers Social bookmarking sites Newsfeeds

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Documenting Sources Credit sources Support your message Help your readers

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Primary Research Surveys Interviews Experiments Observations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Conducting Surveys Representative sample Effective questions

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Effective Questionnaires Provide clear instructions Keep questionnaire short and easy to answer Seek answers that are easy to analyze Avoid leading questions Avoid ambiguous questions Ask one question at a time Make the survey adaptive

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Effective Internet Surveys Minimize cost Reach more people Boost response rate

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Conducting Interviews Types of questions Sequence of questions Subject’s background

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Processing Information Gather your thoughts Review your notes Organize the material Transcribe recordings

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Using Research Results Mean, median, and mode Overall trends Cause and correlation Cross-tabulation

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Processing Data and Information Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Applying Your Findings Drawing conclusions Making recommendations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Planning Informational Reports Monitor and control operations Implement policies and procedures Demonstrate compliance Report progress

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Organizing Informational Reports Comparison Importance Sequence Chronology Spatial orientation Geography category

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Website Content Web readers are demanding Reading online can be difficult Nonlinear, multidimensional format Multiple purposes Diverse audiences

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Information Architecture Vertical hierarchy of pages Horizontal division of pages Links that tie pages together

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Organizing the Site Plan your navigation first Let your readers be in control Break the information into chunks

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Planning Analytical Reports Assess opportunities Solve problems Support decisions

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Challenges of Writing Analytical Reports Quality of reasoning Clarity of writing Responsibility of persuasion

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Organizing Analytical Reports Logical arguments Feasible recommendations Bottom-line conclusions

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Focus on Conclusions Advantages –Ease of use –Bottom-line driven Disadvantages –Possible resistance –Oversimplification

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Focus on Recommendations 1.Establish the need for action 2.Introduce the overall benefits 3.List the required steps 4.Explain each step more fully 5.Summarize the recommendations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Focus on Logical Arguments = 4 approach –Problem/opportunity –Reasons for conclusions –Reasons for recommendations –Evidence behind reasons Yardstick method –Problem/opportunity –Alternatives –Decision criteria –Alternatives vs. criteria

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Planning Proposals Internal requests –Funding –Management support –General projects External requests –Investments –Grants –Sales

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter Structuring Proposals Solicited –Direct approach –Interested audience Unsolicited –Indirect approach –Uninterested audience