Business Communication Workshop

1. Business Communication Workshop Course Coordinator: AyyazQadeer Lecture # 23

2. Informal Reports

3. We have discussed….. • The Purpose of Reports: To make sound decisions, To provide a formal, verifiable link between people, places, and times; To solve immediate problems; To provide complete, accurate, objective information • Reports are commonly classified by some factors • Six Categories of Informal Reports: Information Reports, Progress Reports, Justification/Recommendation Reports, Feasibility Reports, Minutes of Meetings, Summaries • Report Formats: Letter format Letterhead stationery. Useful for informal reports sent to outsiders. • Memo format Memo style. Useful for informal reports circulated within organizations.

4. We have discussed….. • Report Formats: Report format Plain paper, manuscript form. Useful for longer, more formal reports. Prepared forms Standardized forms. Useful for routine activities, such as expense reports. • General Guidelines for Writing Reports • Where to Gather Data for Reports • Planning Business Reports • Investigating and searching for required information

5. Indirect Strategy Problem Facts Discussion Recommendations Direct Strategy Problem Recommendations Facts Discussion Organizing Report Data

6. Making Effective Report Headings • Use appropriate heading levels. • Strive for parallel construction. • Use first- and second-level headings for short reports. • Capitalize and underline carefully. • Keep headings short but clear.

7. Making Effective Report Headings • Don't enclose headings in quotation marks. • Don't use headings as antecedents for pronouns. For example, avoid: Inserting Hypertext Links.These links . . . .

8. Being Objective in Writing Reports • Present both sides of an issue. • Separate fact from opinion. • Be sensitive and moderate in language. • Cite sources carefully.

9. Information Reports Introduction • Explain why you are writing. • Describe credibility of data methods and sources. • Provide background. • Identify report purpose. • Offer a preview of the findings.

10. Information Reports Findings • Organize chronologically, alphabetically, topically, by importance, or by another method. • Group similar topics together. • Use appropriate headings.

11. Information Reports Summary • May include or omit summary. • If included, summarize findings or highlight main points.

12. Progress Reports • Describe the purpose and nature of an unusual or nonroutine project. • Provide background information if necessary. • Summarize work already completed. • Describe work currently in progress, including personnel, methods, obstacles, and attempts to remedy obstacles.

13. Progress Reports • Forecast future activities in relation to the scheduled completion date. • Include recommendations and requests.

14. Justification/Recommendation Reports • Use direct organization for nonsensitive topics and recommendations that will be agreeable to readers. • Identify the problem or the need briefly. • Announce the recommendation, solution, or action concisely and with action verbs.

15. Justification/Recommendation Reports • Present a discussion of pros, cons, and costs. • Explain more fully the benefits of the recommendation or steps to be taken to solve the problem. • Conclude with a summary specifying the recommendation and action to be taken.

16. Feasibility Reports • Prepare a feasibility report when examining the practicality and advisability of following a course of action. • Announce your decision immediately. • Describe the background and problem necessitating the proposal. • Discuss the benefits of the proposal.

17. Feasibility Reports • Describe the problems that may result. • Calculate the costs associated with the proposal, if appropriate. • Show the time frame necessary for implementation of the proposal.

18. Meeting Minutes • Include name of the group, the date, the time, the place, the name of the meeting. • List names of attendees and absentees. • Describe disposition of previous minutes. • Record old business, new business, announcements, and reports. • Include the precise wording of motions.

19. Meeting Minutes • Record the vote and action taken. • Conclude with the name and signature of the individual recording the minutes.

20. Summaries • Compress data from a longer publication, such as a business report, a magazine article, or a book chapter. • Indicate the goal or purpose of the document being summarized. • Highlight the research methods (if appropriate), findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

21. Summaries • Omit illustrations, examples, and references. • Organize for readability by including headings and bulleted or enumerated lists. • Include your reactions or an overall evaluation of the document if asked to do so.

22. Ten Keys to Designing Better Documents • Analyze your audience. • Choose an appropriate type size. • Use a consistent type font. • Generally, don't justify right margins. • Separate paragraphs and sentences appropriately.

23. Ten Keys to Designing Better Documents • Design readable headlines. • Strive for an attractive page layout. • Use graphics and clip art with restraint. • Avoid amateurish results. • Develop expertise with your software program.

24. Recapitulation • Organizing Report Data: Indirect Strategy Direct Strategy • Making Effective Report Headings • Being Objective in Writing Reports • How to write Information Reports • How to write Progress Reports • How to write Justification/Recommendation Reports • How to write Feasibility Reports

25. Recapitulation • How to write Meeting Minutes • How to write Summaries • Ten keys to designing better documents

26. Thank You