Business Communication Today, 11e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 13 Planning Reports and Proposals
1) The basic purpose of informational reports is
A) to persuade the audience to act.
B) to present recommendations and conclusions to a superior for how to solve a particular
problem.
C) to present data, facts, feedback, and other types of information, without analysis or
recommendations.
D) to convince the reader of the soundness of your thinking.
2) With an internal audience for your report, you
A) must avoid discussing sensitive information.
B) are more free to discuss sensitive information.
C) must avoid analysis.
D) must include analysis.
3) The best way to phrase the purpose statement of a report is with
A) complex language.
B) an infinitive phrase.
C) a controversial statement.
D) jargon.
4) Which of the following is not an infinitive phrase?
A) to determine
B) to think clearly
C) to prioritize and organize
D) to our loyal customers
5) Which of the following is the least clear statement of purpose?
A) “To determine which of four alternative investments will have the highest return.”
B) “To analyze four potential investments.”
C) “To answer the question, ‘Which of four investments will provide the highest return?’ ”
D) “To evaluate and make recommendations based on data.”
6) A formal work plan includes all of the following except
A) a statement of the problem or opportunity addressed in your report.
B) plans for what will happen if funds for the project are cancelled.
C) plans for following up after delivering the report.
D) a statement of the purpose and scope of your investigation.
7) Which of the following is not a typical element in a formal work plan?
A) Statement of purpose
B) Statement of the scope of the investigation
C) Discussion of tasks to be accomplished
D) Conclusions and recommendations
8) When selecting media for a report
A) you should choose the ones that are most convenient.
B) you should choose the ones that are most economical.
C) your decisions should reflect your audience’s expectations.
D) you should always present your report in writing.
9) Delivering a business report as a word processing file
A) is usually not preferable to a printed document.
B) is useful if the audience will need to search the report frequently.
C) wastes time and confuses your audience.
D) is rarely, if ever, necessary.
10) When outlining the content of your report
A) it is preferable to use informative headings as opposed to descriptive ones.
B) you should use complex language for all headings.
C) keep in mind that you will have to use this same outline for your final report.
D) do all of the above.
11) Which of the following is not a useful strategy in preparing business reports?
A) Understand and meet audience expectations.
B) Use the same format for reports, regardless of topic.
C) Keep your report as short as possible.
D) All of the above are useful strategies.
12) An employee who describes the data she collected from six different plant managers without
drawing any conclusions is preparing
A) an analytical report.
B) an informational report.
C) a proposal.
D) a work plan.
13) The CEO of a pharmaceutical company asks you assess the company’s adherence to laws
governing television ads for prescription drugs. The CEO has requested a
A) personal activity report.
B) work plan.
C) compliance report.
D) policy report.
14) Compliance reports are generally required by
A) parent companies.
B) accounting departments.
C) government agencies.
D) marketing departments.
15) A public corporation filing a quarterly tax report would be providing
A) a progress report.
B) a compliance report.
C) a justification report.
D) a periodic operating report.
16) A contractor submitting a weekly report on work done to date would be providing the client
with
A) a progress report.
B) a compliance report.
C) a justification report.
D) a periodic operating report.
17) Topical organization strategies for informational reports include all of the following except
A) complexity.
B) sequence.
C) importance.
D) comparison.
18) A business plan
A) is useful only before a company is launched.
B) always contains the same elements.
C) should not identify risks and problems, since these might discourage potential investors.
D) is sometimes prepared after a company is up and running.
19) For most audiences, reading online is ________ than reading from a printed page.
A) easier
B) more difficult
C) neither easier nor more difficult
D) much faster
20) Making generous use of descriptive labels, subheads, and other similar devices on a website
A) confuses and frustrates online readers.
B) helps online readers get oriented to your website.
C) is fine for amateurs, but professional web designers avoid it.
D) none of the above.
21) Unlike proposals, justification reports
A) are designed to affirm decisions after they have been made.
B) are internal as opposed to external reports.
C) are always in memo format.
D) do not require a great deal of supporting data.
22) Problem factoring is the process of
A) looking at a problem from many different angles.
B) considering how to divide responsibility for a problem.
C) creating problems instead of solving them.
D) breaking a problem down into a series of logical, connected questions.
23) Analytical reports for skeptical audiences should generally follow the ________ approach.
A) direct
B) indirect
C) hypothetical
D) aggressive
24) Which of the following is not a common organizational format for analytical reports?
A) Focusing on conclusions
B) Focusing on recommendations
C) Focusing on information
D) Focusing on logical argument
25) One potential drawback of focusing immediately on conclusions in a report is that you may
A) reveal information you know about that has not been included in the report.
B) make everything you say seem too simple.
C) offend your audience.
D) do all of the above.
26) A report focused on recommendations should
A) first establish or verify the need for action.
B) not include conclusions.
C) avoid mentioning any potential risks.
D) outline costs, but not in detail.
27) Any risks involved with your recommendations should
A) not be addressed, since they may discourage your audience.
B) be discussed in your report, but only in vague, general terms.
C) be addressed clearly in your report.
D) be outlined before you reveal the benefits that can be achieved.
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28) Unlike reports focused on conclusions or recommendations, reports focusing on logical
arguments
A) use an indirect approach.
B) are not very convincing.
C) emphasize the positive.
D) do not include outside evidence.
29) Which of the following is not a strategy for structuring reports focused on logical arguments?
A) 2 + 2 = 4 approach
B) Direct approach
C) Yardstick method
D) An approach that compares a solution to a set of predetermined standards
30) The 2 + 2 = 4 approach
A) generally works only with lengthy, nonroutine reports.
B) is the first logical argument strategy to try.
C) is far more complicated than any other organizational strategy.
D) is the only approach that is appropriate for any business report.
31) Because of its natural feel and versatility, the ________ approach is generally the most
persuasive way to develop an analytical report for skeptical readers.
A) 2 + 2 = 4
B) yardstick
C) direct
D) hypothetical
32) One drawback of using the yardstick approach to structure business reports is that
A) you must discuss all the alternatives, even if many of them turn out to be irrelevant and/or
unproductive.
B) this approach is generally considered old-fashioned.
C) it forces you to ignore the fact that the problem may have multiple causes.
D) it is impractical in most business settings.
33) You’re writing an analytical report outlining the benefits of starting a recycling program. You
need to explain how the program meets numerous criteria including reasonable cost, ease of
implementation, and long-term impact. The ________ approach will probably be the best way to
organize your report.
A) 2 + 2 = 4
B) scientific
C) direct
D) yardstick
34) A contractor receives a request from the owner of a company to bid on a large-scale
construction project. The contractor will prepare a(n)
A) unsolicited proposal.
B) solicited proposal.
C) blind proposal.
D) request for proposal.
35) In an unsolicited proposal, the people applying for the job often must
A) convince readers that a problem exists that must be addressed.
B) analyze the client’s business in light of the competition.
C) use a style approved by the American Association of Business Writers.
D) enumerate the client’s options regarding such business decisions as product-line expansion.
36) An analytical report often ends by presenting a recommendation.
37) For a business document to be considered a report, it must be at least six pages long.
38) Internal reports are more likely to be misinterpreted than external reports.
39) The statement of purpose for a report is always presented as a question.
40) The statement of purpose for analytical reports will usually need to be more comprehensive
than one for informational reports.
41) Very few reports require a work plan.
42) When writing a work plan, it’s important to begin by developing a problem statement.
43) Some work plans include a preliminary or “working” outline.
44) An executive dashboard is a customized online presentation of highly summarized business
information.
45) Online reports are always preferable to paper reports in today’s business environments.
46) The direct approach is the most popular strategy for business reports.