Organizing and Writing

Analytic Business Proposals

Formal Report Components

1. Title page
 Balance the following lines vertically on
the page:
 Title of report
 Name of the report receiver’s name, title,
and organization
 Author’s name, title, and organization
 Date submitted
Formal Report Components

2. Letter or memo of transmittal

 Announce the topic and explain who
authorized it.
 Briefly describe the project and preview
the conclusions – if the reader is
supportive.
 Close by expressing appreciation for
the assignment, suggesting follow-up
actions, acknowledging the help of
others, and offering to answer
questions.
Formal Report Components

3. Table of contents
 Show the beginning page
number where each report
heading appears in the
report.
 Connect page numbers
and headings with dots.
List of tables and
illustrations
 Include a list of tables,
illustrations, or figures.
 Place the list on the same
page as the table of
contents if possible.
Formal Report Components

4. Executive summary or abstract

 Summarize the report purpose,
findings, conclusions, and
recommendations.
 Gauge the length of the summary by
the length of the report and by the
organization’s practices.
Use “AIDA” to Persuade

Use AIDA to persuade your audience to

take your TARP into consideration.
 Attention
 Interest
 Desire (Reduce
Resistance/Counterarguments)
 Action
Formal Report Components

5. Introduction (Gain Attention)

 Explain why the report is being written. For
research studies, include the significance, scope,
limitations, and methodology of the investigation.
 Preview the report’s organization.
 For receptive audiences, summarize the conclusions
and recommendations.
 Convince the reader that a problem exists.
 Show that you fully understand the problem and its
ramifications.
 Demonstrate with evidence the ramifications that
have already taken place due to the problem
(costs, staff, loss of customers, etc.)
Formal Report Components

6. Body
 Findings
 Discuss the pros and cons of each alternative.
For receptive audiences, consider placing the
recommended alternative last.
 Establish criteria to evaluate alternatives. In
“yardstick” studies create criteria to use in
measuring each alternative consistently.
 Support the findings with evidence: facts,
statistics, expert opinion, survey data, and
other proof.
 Use headings, enumerations, lists, tables, and
graphics to focus attention.
Formal Report Components

6. Body: Build Interest/Desire (Reduce

Resistance)
 Present your plan for solving the problem.
 Compute staff costs
 Itemize all costs carefully. Proposals are
contracts.
 Establish credibility.
 Outline a schedule showing dates/deadlines.
 Describe evaluation process and
recommendations.
Formal Report Components

7. Conclusions/Recommendations
 Develop reasonable conclusions that
answer the research question. Justify the
conclusions with highlights from the
findings. Do NOT present new information.
 Suggest feasible actions that would be
acceptable to this audience.
Difference between Conclusions
and Recommendations
Conclusion:
“Survey results show that the
biggest student complaint centered
on long registration lines.”
Recommendation:
“Implement a registration
reservation system in which students
sign up for specific registration time
slots.”
Formal Report Components

7. Authorization (Action)
 Ask for approval. Make it easy to reply.
Formal Report Components

8. Appendix/Appendices: Include items

of interest to some, but not all,
readers, such as:
 Data-gathering tools like questionnaires
or surveys
 Interviewing notes
Formal Report Components

9. References
 List all references on a page called
“References.”
 Make sure to cite all referenced work in
the body of the report to avoid
plagiarism (and severe loss of points!)
 Illustrating Data

Remember you are

looking for:
• Meanings
• Relationships
• Answers
Note: Place all graphs/charts in text if they are
½ page or less, otherwise place them in an
appendix and refer to them in the text.
Illustrating Report Data
 Forms and objectives of graphics
• Table
To show exact figures and values

Class Agree Disagree Undecided

Seniors 738 123 54

Juniors 345 34 76
Sophomor
123 234 78
es
Freshmen 45 567 123
Illustrating Report Data

 Forms and objectives of graphics

• Bar chart
To compare one item with others
48

47

46

45 Enrollees

44

43

42
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Illustrating Report Data

 Forms and objectives of graphics

• Line chart
To demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time
100
90
80
70
60
Net ($M)
50
40 Gross ($M)
30
20
10
0
2001 2002 2003 2004
Illustrating Report Data

 Forms and objectives of graphics

• Pie graph
To visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its
components (should add to 100%)

Disagree Strongly
28% Disagree
38%
Agree
13%

Strongly No
Agree Opinion
18% 3%
Structural Cues for Report
Readers – Use APA style
Structural Cues for Report
Readers
Headings and subheadings:
• Use appropriate heading levels: The position and
format of a heading indicate the importance and
relationship to other points.
• The example on the next slide shows how APA
defines 3 levels of subheadings.
• The executive summary on the following slide
illustrates commonly used heading format for
business reports from a student sample.
 Name
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Levels of Report Headings
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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Levels of Report Headings

Statement of Purpose
This report is designed to help Chrysler sell excess inventory and start producing
vehicles that consumers will be enticed to buy. The primary issues affecting this
transition include corporate culture, addressing past decisions, and continuous
quality improvement.

Findings

Corporate Culture
Chrysler’s corporate culture is working against its mission statement of producing
vehicles that consumers want to drive. A hierarchical system of management
has lead to infighting which the new chief executive officer, Dieter Zetsche, has
vowed to do away with. However, Chrysler’s financial statements do not reflect
the type of change that should be occurring.

Addressing Past Decisions

Losses of $1.5 billion for the third quarter of 2006 show that Chrysler is not
producing vehicles that consumers want to drive. They have not paid attention
consumers’ shift in demand from big SUVs to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. In
the mean time, Japanese automakers, such as Toyota, are gaining more of
Chrysler’s market share because they are paying attention to quality and what
the consumer really wants.

Continuous Quality Improvement

Project: Refocus is designed to help Chrysler focus in on three critical issues –
pensions, high production costs, and slowing sales.

Recommendations
1. Sell excess inventory of vehicles. Inventories should be reduced within
six weeks. Offer discounts of up to $2,500 if necessary.
2. Flatten corporate hierarchy. Create cross-functional teams to increase
synergy. They should offer monthly recommendations. Implement teams
within one month.
3. Monitor performance of CEO. If Dieter Zetsche’s performance has not
improved by 15% within the year, a new CEO from outside the company
should be sought.
4. Reduce pension liabilities. Negotiate with the United Auto Workers for a
defined-contribution plan. Lower liabilities should be realized by
December of 2007.
5. Cut production costs. Negotiate with United Auto Workers for less
overtime. Explore possibility of production in China.
6. Increase sales of new vehicles. Consumers should be surveyed to
discover their desires. Consumers should also test and rate prototypes.
New cars should be on the market within six months of the testing.
Structural Cues for Report Readers
• Write short but clear headings.
• Experiment with wording that tells who,
what, when, where, and why.
• Include at least one heading per report
page.
• Integrate headings gracefully. Try to avoid
repeating the exact wording of a heading in
the following sentence.
• All subheadings should be listed on your
table of contents with the page numbers.
Structural cues – Page numbering
 Page numbers are crucial for formal
reports to keep the reader oriented.
 Put your page numbers in a header
on the top right hand corner of each
page (APA style) as seen in previous
sample slide demonstrating headings.
Researching Report Data
Researching Report Data

 Researching primary data

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Observation
• Experimentation
Researching Report Data

 Locating secondary print data

• Books – card catalog, online catalog
• Periodicals – print indexes, CD-ROM indexes
Researching Report Data

 Locating secondary electronic data

• Electronic databases (CSU Library)
• The Internet
• World Wide Web search tools
Google MSN search
Ask Jeeves Yahoo!
• Evaluating Web sources
How current is the information?
How credible is the author or source?
What is the purpose of the site?
Do the facts seem reliable?
 Two Documentation Formats
Generally Accepted:
Modern Language
Association (MLA)
Author’s name and page
(Smith 100) placed in
text; complete references
in “Works Cited.”

American Psychological
Association (APA)
Author’s name, date of publication,
and page number placed near text
reference (Jones, 2000, p. 99).
Complete references listed at end
of report. For most BUSINESS
courses (BUAD 201/301) you will
use APA format
Documenting Data

 Reasons for crediting sources

• Strengthens your argument
• Gives you protection (plagiarism!)
• Instructs readers where to go for more
information
Documenting Data

 Learning what to document (cite)

• Another person's ideas, opinions, examples, or
theory
• Any facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings that
are not common knowledge
• Quotations of another person's actual spoken
or written words
• Paraphrases of another person's spoken or
written words
Documenting Data

 Learn to paraphrase
• Read the original material carefully so that you
can comprehend its full meaning.
• Write your own version without looking at the
original.
• Do not repeat the grammatical structure of the
original, and do not merely replace words of
the original with synonyms.
• Reread the original to be sure you covered the
main points but did not borrow specific
language.
In-text citations and referencing –
APA format
Sample: paraphrased in-text
citations

 Microsoft Corp. has 15% employee

turnover. The employees who leave
employment typically turn out to be
the ones who create innovations for
the company. According to Nocera
(2005), the primary reason is poor
management
Sample: paraphrased in-text
citations

 The cost to replace an hourly worker

in an industry such as this can reach
up to six months of the employee’s
salary (Kinsman, 2004).
Sample: paraphrased in-text
citations

 In addition, the percentage of

engaged employees skyrocketed to
61%. Vice President of Human
Resources, Jerry McMurrough,
estimated that the decrease in
turnover saves the hospital at least
$1 million annually (Robinson, 2005).
Samples of in-text citations
99% of your report should be
paraphrased!
• Your report should be in your own
words, meaning it should ALL be
paraphrased, making sure to give credit
to the source (cite).
• You MAY use a maximum of TWO short
direct quotes. No more than 2
sentences, use direct quotation marks as
shown in the next slide.
Sample of in-text citation using a
direct quote….

 “This is a made up quote by me to

demonstrate the use of a SHORT
direct quotation in the body of a
report. Your short direct quotes
should not exceed two sentences and
should only be used to establish
credibility (Hedges, 2006).”
References Page

 You must have ten references to match the

“in-text citations.” Only one book within
the last two years and one interview may
be used as part of the ten references.
 Use APA style.
 Consult APA manual or see Blackboard for
examples. See student sample on next
slide.
 Alphabetical by author and/or title.
 Employee
Employee Shirking
Shirking Page
Page 15
15 of
of 15
15

Levels of Report Headings

REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Accountability
Accountability International
International [online].
[online]. (2005).
(2005). Available:
Available:
http://www.minitrax.com/bw/cp-080105.html.
http://www.minitrax.com/bw/cp-080105.html. (December(December 2,
2, 2005).
2005).

Accountability
Accountability international
international patented
patented Minitrax
Minitrax ™
™ solution
solution enhances
enhancesFrozen
Frozen
Food Express employee productivity. (2005, August). Business
Food Express employee productivity. (2005, August). Business wire. wire.
Retrieved
Retrieved November
November 29, 29, 2005,
2005, from
from LexisNexis
LexisNexis Academic
Academic database.
database.

Barnes,
Barnes, R.
R. (2005,
(2005, January
January 1).
1). WORKPLACE
WORKPLACE Pardon
Pardon the
the interruption
interruption
Workplace
Workplace consultants think office distractions are costing companies
consultants think office distractions are costing companies
millions
millions of dollars: [Metro Edition]. San Antonio express-news, 5H.
of dollars: [Metro Edition]. San Antonio express-news, 5H.
Retrieved November 12, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand
Retrieved November 12, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand database. database.
(Document
(Document ID: ID: 778037321).
778037321).

Fishman-Lapin,
Fishman-Lapin, J.
J. (2005,
(2005, July
July 8).
8). Driven
Driven to
to distraction?
distraction? Companies
Companies
debate
debate what constitutes acceptable cell phone use at work. Advocate,
what constitutes acceptable cell phone use at work. Advocate,
Stanford, Conn., B.7. Retrieved November 30, 2005, from
Stanford, Conn., B.7. Retrieved November 30, 2005, from ProQuestProQuest
Newsstand
Newsstand database.
database. (Document
(Document ID: ID: 865753541).
865753541).

Kowalski,
Kowalski, M.
M. (2005,
(2005, July
July 7).
7). Human
Human resources
resources survey
survey finds
finds that
that poor
poor
management
management equals low productivity. St. Charles County business record.
equals low productivity. St. Charles County business record.
Retrieved November 14, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.
Retrieved November 14, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.
References:

Guffey, M.E. (2006). Business

Communication: process and
product. 5th Ed. Thompson:
Southwestern.
Questions?