Chapter 11 - Planning Reports and Proposals

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Reports fall into 3 main categories:

1. Informational reports - offer data, facts feedback without analysis or recommendations

Reports to monitor and control operations

Reports to implement policies and procedures

Reports to demonstrate compliance

Reports to document progress

2. Analytical Reports - offer information and analysis, can include recommendations

Reports to assess opportunities

Reports to solve problems

Reports to support decisions

3. Proposals - persuasive requests for decision or action

Internal Proposals

External Proposals

Statement of Purpose: Why you are reporting the report and what you plan to deliver

- Infinitive phrase (to plus a verb) ie: to inform, to analyze

"To identify potential markets for our new smartphone app"

Work Plan:

Simple Report: list of tasks and simple schedule

Lengthy report: detailed work plan

Statement of problem or opportunity

Statement of purpose and scope

discussion of tasks that need to be accomplished

review of assignments, schedules and resource requirements

Plan for following up after delivering the report.

Gather Information

Selecting the right medium

Audiences have specific media requirements (Intranet? Executive Dashboard?)

Audiences may want to provide written feedback

Will multiple people need to update the document over time? (WIKI)

Audiences will assess your professional image according to your choice of media (technology)

Organizing your information

Direct Approach

Often used for reports because efficient and easy to follow

Use direct approach when audience is likely to be receptive or open minded

Indirect Approach

Use indirect approach if audience is unsure about your credibility or needs evidence or reasoning

Unsolicited proposals often use indirect approach

AIDA Style Persuasion (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)

Both approaches can be combined.

Supporting your messages wiht reliable information

1. Plan your research - most important step

2. Locate the data and information you need

3. Process the data and information you've located

4. Apply your findings

5. Manage information efficiently

Knowledge Management (KM) systems - computer based systems to share research results

Planning Your Research

familiarize yourself with the subject

identify basic terminology, significant trends, important conflicts, influential people and potential sourses of information

develop problem statement

Idenfity information gaps

prioritize research needs

maintain research ethics and etiquette

Being an ethical researcher

Don't force a specific outcome by skewing your research

respect the privacy of your research participants

document sources and give appropriate credit

respect the intellectual property and digital rights of your sources

don't distort information from your sources

don't misrepresent who you are or what you intend to do with the results

Locating data & information

research donee previously for another purpose is considered secondary research

primary research is research done specifically for your current subject (ie: surveys, interviews and observations)

Evaluate Sources - separate quality information from unreliable junk

Answer questions to evaluate if source and information is accuracte, objective, and current.

Does the source have a reputation for honesty & reliability?

is the source potentially biased?

what is the purpose of the material?

is the author credible?

where did the source get its information?

can you verify the material independently?

in the material current?

is the material complete?

Keep Track of your research

Bookmark, download or print out pages

write down complete bibliographic information

mark up printouts or photocopies

take notes by computer

read topic sentences first

Analyzing Data

mean = average

median = midpoint of a series when there is an equal number of items above and below

mode = number that occurs most often

trends = repeatable patterns taking place over time (ie: growth, decline,)

quoting = reproduce it exactly as you found it (quotation marks for small phrases, and indented paragraphs for longer ones)

paraphrasing = restating in your own words with your own sentence struction

Both ways need to give credit to the original research.

How to paraphrase:

1. Reread passage until you understand its meaning

2. Use language that matches the flow and tone of the rest of your writing

3. Check your version with the original source to verify you haven't altered the meaning

4. Use quatation marks to identify any unique terms or phrases

5. Record the source so you can give proper credit

Summaraizing = presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original.

conclusion = logical interpretation of the facts

recommendations = suggest action

Conducting Secondary Research

Finding information at a library

ie: Newspapers, Business books, directories, Almanacs, Government publications, Electronic databases

Finding information online

ie: Online search tools, web directories,online databases, online monitoring tools,

shortcomings of search engines:

1. no human editors are involved

2. various engines use different search techniques

3. search engines can't reach all the content on some websites

Search Tips:

1. Think before you search

2. Read the instructions and pay attention to the details

3. review the search and display options carefully

4. vary your terms

5. look beyond the first page of results

Benefits of documenting your sources

1. properly and ethically credits the person who created the original material

2. shows audience that you have sufficient support

3. helps readers explore your topic in more detail.

copyright low covers the expression of creative ideas and copyrights can cover a wide range of materials

Intellectual Property (IP) includes patents, copyrighted materials, trade secrets, and internet domain names.

Conducting Primary Research

Surveys

- surveys that are reliable and valid can provide invaluable insights

- reliable (would produce identical results if repeated under similar conditions)

- valid (measures what it's supposed to measure)

Provide clear instructions

don't ask for information people can't be expected to remember

keep the questionnaire short and easy to answer

whenever possible, formulate questions to provide answers that are easy to analyze

avoid leading questions that could bias your survey

avoid ambigous questions

ask only one question at a time

make the survey adaptive

Conducting Interviews

-Ask open ended questions to get opinions, insights and information

-Ask closed ended questions to elicit a specific answer, such as yes or no

Planning Informational Reports

1. Reports to Monitor and Control Operations

- To see how company is functioning

- Plans establish expectations nad guidelines to direct future actions (ie: business plans)

- Operating reports give an insight about expenses and functions

- Personal activity reports provide information regarding an individuals experiences during sales calls

2. Reports to implement policies and procedures

- Policy reports range from brief description of business procedures, to manuals.

- Position papers (white papers or backgrounders) outline an organizations official position on issues

3. Reports to demonstrate compliance

- Businesses are required to submit compliance reports (ie: tax returns, handling hazardous materials)

4. Reports to document progress

-status of projects and other activites (ie: memos, comprehensive status reports)

Organizing Informational reports

Most informational reports use topical organization

1. Comparison - If you need to show similarities and differences (or pros/cons) organize report so that you can see information clearly)

2. Importance - Build up from least important to most important if you expect audience to read the entire report, or start with the most important items and progress to the least important if you think they are only interested in the most important

3. Sequence - Discuss steps or stages in the order they occur

4. Chronology - Describe a development or event in the order it occurred

5. Geography - If location is important, organize study according to geography

6. Category - If you're asked to review distinct aspects such as sales, profit, cost or investment

Organizing Website Content

1. Web readers are demanding - if they can't find what they're looking for, they'll go else where

2. reading online can be difficult - slower, and tiring on eyes

3. nonlinear, multidimensional - read in any order they please, start, end, middle

1. Plan site structure and navigation before you write

2. let your readers be in control (let them navigate how they like)

3. break information into chunks

Planning Analytical Reports

purpose of analytical reports is to analyze, to understand and explain.

1. Reports to assess opportunities - assess risk and required decisions or actions

2. Reports to solve problems - troubleshooting reports to understand why something isn't working properly

3. Reports to support decisions - ramifications of a decision you are about to make. Justification reports explain a decision that has already been made.

Analytical reports are a greater challenge than writing informational reports - need to use reasoning and persuasive skills in addition to writing.

To define problem being addressed:

- What needs to be determined?

- Why is this issue important?

- Who is involved in the situation?

- Where is the trouble located?

- How did the situation originate?

- When did it start?

Problem Factoring: a process of breaking a problem down into smaller questions to identify cause and affect

Hypothesis: a potential explanation that needs to be tested.

Focusing on conculsions is often the best approach when you're addressing a receptive audience.

Focus on recommendations when readers want to know what you think they should do.

Focusing on Recommendations:

1. establish the need for action in introduction

2. Introduce the benefit that can be achieved if the recommendation is adopted

3. List the steps (recommendations) required to achieve the benefit

4. explain each step more fully giving details on (procedure, costs, benefits, minimizing risks)

5. summarize recommendation

Focusing on Logical Arguments when readers are skiptical or hostile to your recommendation.

2+2=4 approach - convinces readers of your POV by demonstrating that everything adds up. guide audience down a rational path to see reasons behind conculsions.

The Yardstick Approach- when you need to use a number of criteria to decide which option to pick from 2 options.

1. discuss opportunity

2. list criteria that will guide decision

3. body of report evaluates alternatives against criteria

Planning Proposals

1. Internal Proposals (request decisions from managers within the organization)

ie: purchase new equipment

2. External proposals (request decisions from parties outside the organization)

ie: investment proposals, grant proposals

Strategy depends on whether proposal is solicited or not

Request for proposal - instructions with type of work to be done, budget, deadline

Unsolicited Proposals have more flexibility but recipients aren't expecting them