1. Planning the Business Report and Managing Data
Chapter 9
Planning the Business Report and Managing Data

2. Planning the business report and managing data
Evaluate the quality of data already available.
Collect and evaluate data on the Internet.
Develop a questionnaire and cover letter.
Construct tables and charts.
Interpret data for the report reader.

3. Definition business report (biz’ nis ri port) n.
An orderly and objective presentation of information that helps in decision making and problem solving.

4. Is the information primary or secondary?
Ask these questions:
Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene to know these details (names, dates, times)?
Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports by others?
Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account (e.g., diary entries, third-party accounts, impressions of contemporaries, newspaper accounts)?
Source: Adapted from: accessed 10/1/07.

5. Types of secondary data
Published
Internet resources
Journals and magazines
Newspapers
Books
Brochures
Pamphlets
Technical reports

6. Types of secondary data (cont’d)
Unpublished
Company records
Legal documents
Personal records
Medical records
Insert photo of files or file cabinets.

7. Evaluating secondary data
What was the purpose of the study?
How was the data collected?
How was the data analyzed?
How consistent is the data with that from other studies?
How old is the data?

8. Evaluate one of your sources using the initial appraisal above.
Evaluating sources
Initial appraisal of material is based on:
Author
Date of publication
Edition or revision
Publisher
Title of journal
Evaluate one of your sources using the initial appraisal above.
Source: accessed 10/1/07.

9. Evaluate one of your sources using the content analysis above.
Evaluating content
Content analysis is based on:
Intended audience
Objective reasoning
Coverage
Writing style
Evaluative reviews
Evaluate one of your sources using the content analysis above.
Source: accessed 10/1/07.

10. Using the Internet
The Gallup Organization has been conducting public opinion surveys and providing other management consulting services since The company is frequently asked to survey the public about political issues—especially during election campaigns—as well as business and economic issues, social issues, and lifestyle topics.

11. Using the Internet AlltheWeb.com
Access:
Read “About Us.”
Find and click on the “Try Us Out” hyperlink.
Identify features for searching and compare them with Google.com.

12. Using the Internet altavista.com
Access:
Review information about the website at “About Us.”
Identify features for searching and compare with Google.com and Alltheweb.com.

13. Searching What’s the difference? topic1 AND topic2 topic1 OR topic2
topic1 NOT topic2
topic1 NEAR topic2

14. How good is the information?
Authority
Accuracy
Objectivity
Currency

15. Debate issue: Does marketing research invade a respondent’s privacy?
YES
A great deal of marketing research asks questions that are too personal.
Some marketing research, especially telephone and personal interviews, is nothing more than a disguise for sales presentations.
The information obtained from marketing research is often used to develop mailing lists that are used to sell consumers products that they may not want.
Sometimes the true nature of the research is disguised to get consumers to respond. NO
The right to privacy deals with an individual’s ability to restrict personal information.
Individual respondents must decide for themselves how much of their personal lives they will share with others.
What constitutes private information and public information is ultimately up to the individual respondent.
As long as the researcher obtains the consent of the respondent, the research does not invade the respondent’s privacy.

16. Constructing questionnaire items
Necessary
Not: What percentage of new start-up companies failed in Michigan last year? (question of fact)
But: What percentage of new start-up companies do you think failed in Michigan last year? (question of opinion)

17. Questionnaire items Unbiased
Not: Do you think new companies fail primarily because of a lack of adequate funding?
But: What do you think is the major reason that new companies fail?

18. Questionnaire items (cont’d)
Unambiguous
Not: Do you think it takes a long time for the average start-up firm to secure financing?
But: How many months do you think it takes the average start-up company to secure financing?

19. Questionnaire items (cont’d)
Exhaustive and mutually exclusive
Not: How many months did it take you to secure financing for your new company? __ 4 months __ 4-6 months __ more than 6 months
But: How many months did it take you to secure financing for your new company? __ 0-4 months __ 5-6 months __ more than 6 months

20. Questionnaire items (cont’d)
One idea
Not: Banks should set aside more funds for start-up companies because they are so important to the economy. __ agree __ no opinion __ disagree
But: Banks should set aside more funds for start-up companies. __ agree __ no opinion __ disagree

21. What a cover letter should include
Date mailed
Recipient address
What the study is about
Why the recipient is important
Promise of confidentiality
Usefulness of study
Reward for participation
What to do if questions arise
Appreciation
Personal signature
Sender's title
Source: Adapted from: accessed 10/1/07.

22. Data versus information

23. Data versus information (cont’d)

24. HASCO EMPLOYMENT LEVELS
Format of a table
Cross-tabulations
Table Number
Table 3
HASCO EMPLOYMENT LEVELS
As of December 10, 2007
Employee Type
Total
By Department
Annual
Admin
Prod
Sales
Change
Full-time nonexempt
389 27
345 17
-3.0%
Full-time exempt
143 19 15
109
13.5%
Temporary 31 4 22 5
5.3%
Othera 21 13 8
-1.6%
584 63
382
139
5.9%
Source: Madison County Facts—2006, Metropolitan State University Press, St. Louis, MO, 2001, p. 183.
a Includes all special-project and work-for-hire employees.
Title
Subtitle
Column Headings
Source (optional)
Footnote (optional)
<#> 10

25. Figure 1. Employee Distribution: 2001–2007
Line chart
700
600
No. of Employees
500
400
Nonexempt
300
Exempt
200
100
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Figure 1. Employee Distribution: 2001–2007

26. Bar chart Figure 1. Employee Distribution: 2006–2007 50 100 150 20050
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Nonexempt
Exempt
Temporary
Other
2006
2007
No. of Employees
Figure 1. Employee Distribution: 2006–2007

27. Pie chart
Figure 1. Employees by Type

28. Problem recognition tasks
With a partner, identify the type of table or chart that should be constructed for the following circumstances. Provide your rationale.
The sales of bed linens for two years for the company’s four sales districts, indicating which districts met their goals.
Use of exercise facilities from 2004 to 2008 by income
Male and female use of the exercise facilities from 2004 to 2008
Type of home Internet connection in 2008: cable, dial- up, DSL, other.

29. Answers Table: Shows a large amount of detail in a small space
Line chart: Identifies trend
Bar chart: Shows comparisons
Pie chart: Divides information into component wedges

30. Ethics problem Potential ethical problems with interpreting data:
Editing data
Making up data
Using inappropriate statistical tests
Violating the assumptions of the statistical test
Performing multiple statistical tests
Identify which problem is most likely to occur in business research. Explain why.

31. Key terms bar chart cross-tabulation factoring line chart pie chart
primary data
questionnaire
secondary data
survey
table