1. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 1 Planning Business Reports and Proposals

2. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 2 Classifying Reports Source Frequency Audience Length Intent

3. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 3 Informational Reports Monitor and control operations Implement policies and procedures Document compliance Report progress

4. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 4 Monitoring and Controlling Operations Written plans Operating reports Activity reports

5. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 5 Implementing Policies and Procedures Lasting guidelines Position papers

6. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 6 Complying with Government Regulations Annual reports Interim reports

7. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 7 Documenting Progress on Projects Interim reports Final reports

8. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 8 Analytical Reports Problem-solving reports Business proposals

9. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 9 Solving Problems Troubleshooting reports Feasibility reports Justification reports

10. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 10 Writing Proposals Internal External Solicited Unsolicited

11. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 11 The Three-Step Process Planning Writing Completing

12. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 12 Planning Reports Analysis Investigation Adaptation

13. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 13 Analyze the Situation Informational reports Analytical reports

14. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 14 Problem Definition for Analytical Reports Clarify the problem Ask the right questions Factor the problem Form a hypothesis

15. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 15 What is the Purpose of the Report? To inform To analyze To persuade To recommend To summarize

16. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 16 Developing an Outline Parallel construction Consistent headings

17. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 17 Preparing the Work Plan State the problem State the purpose and scope Discuss tasks to be accomplished Review final products or outcomes Review schedules and requirements Set follow-up plans Compose a working outline

18. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 18 Gathering Information Do some preliminary research Clarify your assignment Start serious research

19. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 19 Locating Secondary Sources A specific company An entire industry Statistics and trends Business issues

20. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 20 Information at the Library Business books Electronic databases Newspapers Periodicals Directories Statistical resources Almanacs Government publications

21. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 21 Information on the Internet Internet Public Library Company websites News release sites

22. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 22 Fine-Tune Search Techniques Select appropriate databases Use short phrases and single terms Use multiple search engines Avoid stopwords Replace concepts with key words Avoid words in the database’s name

23. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 23 Fine-Tune Search Techniques Use variations of search terms Use proximity operators Specify logical relationships Use wildcards Use Boolean operators Refine searches as needed

24. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 24 Primary Information Documents Observation Experiments Surveys Interviews

25. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 25 Sources of Primary Information Documents Observations Experiments

26. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 26 Effective Survey Questions Reliable and valid –Ask easy-to-analyze questions –Avoid leading questions –Ask one thing at a time –Pretest all questions

27. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 27 Internet Surveys Minimize cost Reach more people Boost response rate

28. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 28 Planning Interviews Purpose Audience Main ideas Structure

29. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 29 Types of Questions Close-ended Restatement Direct open-ended Open-ended

30. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 30 Preparing Questions Think about sequence Rate the questions Ask smart questions Mix types of questions Limit the number Edit questions

31. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 31 Processing Interview Information Write down your ideas Review notes Organize the material Transcribe recordings

32. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 32 Evaluating and Selecting Sources Honesty and reliability Potential bias Purpose of the material The author Data collection methods Independent verification Timeliness Completeness Logic and good sense

33. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 33 Presenting Information Direct quoting –Enhance the argument –Preserve the original text Paraphrasing –Enhance your understanding –Condense original text

34. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 34 Documenting Sources Quotations Paraphrased material General knowledge Fair use doctrine

35. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 35 Analyzing the Data Mean Median Mode Trend Correlation

36. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 36 Interpreting the Findings Conclusions Recommendations

37. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 37 Selecting the Channel and Medium Written reports –Complex information –Future reference Oral reports –Immediate feedback –Nonverbal communication

38. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 38 Electronic Reports Advantages –Cost and space savings –Faster distribution –Multimedia features –Ease of maintenance

39. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 39 Electronic Reports Disadvantages –Hardware and software costs –System incompatibility –Training needs –Data security

40. © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business CommunicationChapter 10 - 40 Audience Relationship You” attitude Positive tone Credibility Polite treatment Bias-free language Corporate image