Planning Reports and Proposals

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 1

Writing for the Workplace

Informational reports Analytical reports Proposals

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 2

The Three-Step Process

Planning
Writing

Completing

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 3

Analyzing the Situation

Define the purpose Prepare the work plan

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 4

Statement of Purpose
Inform Persuade Recommend Confirm Analyze Summarize
Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 5

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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
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 6

Gathering Information
Purpose
Audience

Priorities

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 7

Selecting the Medium

Hardcopy Digital format Multimedia

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 8

Organizing the Information

Direct approach
State conclusions and recommendations Introduce findings Include support

Indirect approach
Introduce findings Discuss support State conclusions and recommendations
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 9

Supporting Your Messages

Plan your research Locate data and information Process data and information Apply your findings Manage information

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 10

Plan Your Research

Learn about the subject Identify information gaps Prioritize research needs

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 11

Ethics and Etiquette in Business Research

Dont skew results Respect privacy of participants Document sources Respect intellectual property Dont distort information Dont misrepresent
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Data and Information

Secondary research Primary research

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 13

Evaluating Sources
Honesty and Reliability Potential Bias Data Collection Methods Purpose of the Material Independent Verification Logic and Good Sense
Chapter 11 - 14

The Author

Timeliness
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Completeness
Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Secondary Research
Inside the company
Company documents Knowledge management systems

Outside the company

Hardcopy resources Online resources
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 15

Finding Information at the Library

Business Books Electronic Databases Newspapers Periodicals

Directories

Almanacs

Statistical Resources

Government Publications

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 16

Using Search Engines

Advantages
Keyword searching Scanning webpages Ranking results

Disadvantages
No human editors Inconsistent results Restricted access

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 17

Alternate Search Methods

Web directories Metasearch engines Online databases

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 18

Search Techniques
Keywords
Boolean operators

Natural language
Forms-based

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 19

Fine Tune Search Methods

Read instructions
Review your options

Observe the details

Vary search terms Adjust the search scope

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 20

Innovative Search Methods

Desktop search engines Enterprise search engines Research managers Content managers Social bookmarking sites Newsfeeds
Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 21

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Documenting Sources
Credit sources
Support your message

Help your readers

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 22

Primary Research
Surveys
Interviews

Experiments
Observations

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 23

Conducting Surveys
Representative sample
Effective questions

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 24

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
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 25

Effective Internet Surveys

Minimize cost
Reach more people

Boost response rate

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 26

Conducting Interviews
Types of questions
Sequence of questions

Subjects background

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 27

Processing Information
Gather your thoughts
Review your notes

Organize the material

Transcribe recordings

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 28

Using Research Results

Mean, median, and mode
Overall trends

Cause and correlation

Cross-tabulation

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 29

Processing Data and Information

Quoting
Paraphrasing

Summarizing

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 30

Applying Your Findings

Drawing conclusions Making recommendations

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 31

Planning Informational Reports

Monitor and control operations Implement policies and procedures Demonstrate compliance Report progress

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 32

Organizing Informational Reports

Comparison Importance Sequence Chronology Spatial orientation Geography category
Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 33

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Website Content
Web readers are demanding Reading online can be difficult Nonlinear, multidimensional format Multiple purposes Diverse audiences

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 34

Information Architecture
Vertical hierarchy of pages Horizontal division of pages Links that tie pages together

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 35

Organizing the Site

Plan your navigation first Let your readers be in control Break the information into chunks

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 36

Planning Analytical Reports

Assess opportunities
Solve problems

Support decisions

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 37

Challenges of Writing Analytical Reports

Quality of reasoning
Clarity of writing

Responsibility of persuasion

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 38

Organizing Analytical Reports

Logical arguments
Feasible recommendations

Bottom-line conclusions

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 39

Focus on Conclusions
Advantages
Ease of use Bottom-line driven

Disadvantages
Possible resistance Oversimplification

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 40

Focus on Recommendations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Establish the need for action Introduce the overall benefits List the required steps Explain each step more fully Summarize the recommendations

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 41

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

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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 11 - 42

Planning Proposals
Internal requests
Funding Management support

General projects
External requests
Investments

Grants
Sales
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 43

Structuring Proposals
Solicited
Direct approach Interested audience

Unsolicited
Indirect approach Uninterested audience
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Excellence in Business Communication, 8e Chapter 11 - 44