1. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 1 Planning Reports and Proposals

2. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 2 Writing for the Workplace Informational reports Analytical reports Proposals

3. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 3 The Three-Step Process Planning Writing Completing

4. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 4 Analyzing the Situation Define the purpose Prepare the work plan

5. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 5 Statement of Purpose Inform Persuade Recommend Confirm Analyze Summarize

6. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 6 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

7. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 7 Gathering Information Purpose Audience Priorities

8. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 8 Selecting the Medium Hardcopy Digital format Multimedia

9. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 9 Organizing the Information Direct approach State conclusions and recommendations Introduce findings Include support Indirect approach Introduce findings Discuss support State conclusions and recommendations

10. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 10 Supporting Your Messages Plan your research Locate data and information Process data and information Apply your findings Manage information

11. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 11 Plan Your Research Learn about the subject Identify information gaps Prioritize research needs

12. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 12 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

13. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 13 Data and Information Secondary research Primary research

14. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 14 Purpose of the Material IndependentVerification Logic and Good Sense Honesty and Reliability The Author Timeliness PotentialBias Data Collection Methods Completeness Evaluating Sources

15. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 15 Secondary Research Inside the company –Company documents –Knowledge management systems Outside the company –Hardcopy resources –Online resources

16. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 16 Finding Information at the Library BusinessBooksElectronicDatabasesNewspapersPeriodicals DirectoriesAlmanacsStatisticalResourcesGovernmentPublications

17. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 17 Using Search Engines Advantages –Keyword searching –Scanning webpages –Ranking results Disadvantages –No human editors –Inconsistent results –Restricted access

18. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 18 Alternate Search Methods Web directories Metasearch engines Online databases

19. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 19 Search Techniques Keywords Boolean operators Natural language Forms-based

20. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 20 Fine Tune Search Methods Read instructions Review your options Observe the details Vary search terms Adjust the search scope

21. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 21 Innovative Search Methods Desktop search engines Enterprise search engines Research managers Content managers Social bookmarking sites Newsfeeds

22. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 22 Documenting Sources Credit sources Support your message Help your readers

23. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 23 Primary Research Surveys Interviews Experiments Observations

24. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 24 Conducting Surveys Representative sample Effective questions

25. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 25 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

26. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 26 Effective Internet Surveys Minimize cost Reach more people Boost response rate

27. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 27 Conducting Interviews Types of questions Sequence of questions Subject’s background

28. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 28 Processing Information Gather your thoughts Review your notes Organize the material Transcribe recordings

29. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 29 Using Research Results Mean, median, and mode Overall trends Cause and correlation Cross-tabulation

30. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 30 Processing Data and Information Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing

31. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 31 Applying Your Findings Drawing conclusions Making recommendations

32. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 32 Planning Informational Reports Monitor and control operations Implement policies and procedures Demonstrate compliance Report progress

33. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 33 Organizing Informational Reports Comparison Importance Sequence Chronology Spatial orientation Geography category

34. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 34 Website Content Web readers are demanding Reading online can be difficult Nonlinear, multidimensional format Multiple purposes Diverse audiences

35. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 35 Information Architecture Vertical hierarchy of pages Horizontal division of pages Links that tie pages together

36. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 36 Organizing the Site Plan your navigation first Let your readers be in control Break the information into chunks

37. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 37 Planning Analytical Reports Assess opportunities Solve problems Support decisions

38. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 38 Challenges of Writing Analytical Reports Quality of reasoning Clarity of writing Responsibility of persuasion

39. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 39 Organizing Analytical Reports Logical arguments Feasible recommendations Bottom-line conclusions

40. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 40 Focus on Conclusions Advantages –Ease of use –Bottom-line driven Disadvantages –Possible resistance –Oversimplification

41. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 41 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

42. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 42 Focus on Logical Arguments 2 + 2 = 4 approach –Problem/opportunity –Reasons for conclusions –Reasons for recommendations –Evidence behind reasons Yardstick method –Problem/opportunity –Alternatives –Decision criteria –Alternatives vs. criteria

43. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 43 Planning Proposals Internal requests –Funding –Management support –General projects External requests –Investments –Grants –Sales

44. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 11 - 44 Structuring Proposals Solicited –Direct approach –Interested audience Unsolicited –Indirect approach –Uninterested audience