47) Internal reports are more likely to be misinterpreted than external reports.
48) The statement of purpose for a report is always presented as a question.
49) The statement of purpose for analytical reports will usually need to be more comprehensive
than one for informational reports.
50) Very few reports require a work plan.
51) When writing a work plan, it’s important to begin by developing a problem statement.
52) An executive dashboard is a customized online presentation of highly summarized business
information.
53) The direct approach is the most popular strategy for business reports.
54) For long, complex reports, the indirect approach tends to be less effective than the direct
approach.
55) In business reports, it is never appropriate to combine the direct and indirect approaches by
revealing conclusions and recommendations as you go along.
56) A primary goal in preparing monitor/control reports is to emphasize the good news and hide
the bad news.
57) An email summarizing an employee’s trip to a trade show would be an example of a personal
activity report.
58) Sales call reports are a type of compliance report.
59) Operating reports establish expectations and guidelines to direct future action.
60) Progress reports are never more than updates in memo or email form.
61) Reports that examine the financial aspects of a proposed decision, such as acquiring another
company, are called due diligence reports.
62) Whereas troubleshooting reports deal with problems as they occur, failure analysis reports
seek to prevent problems before they happen.
63) A justification report is an internal report designed to persuade top management to approve a
proposed investment or project.
64) Focusing on conclusions in an analytical report involves using the direct approach to report
organization.
65) In reports focused on recommendations, it is best to avoid the direct approach.
66) The yardstick approach is best for organizing reports when you and your audience do not
agree on the criteria you’re using in your analysis.
67) The primary purpose of an internal proposal is either to request funds and management
support for new projects or to obtain permission to take action on specific projects.
68) Proposals are classified in two ways: internal versus external, and solicited versus
unsolicited.
69) “RFP” stands for “ratified final proposal.”
70) A landscaper bidding on a job at the request of a general contractor would submit an
external, unsolicited proposal.
71) Whereas ________ reports focus on facts, ________ reports offer interpretation and can also
include recommendations.
72) The statement of ________ defines why you are preparing a report.
73) Report writers often combine the ________ and ________ approaches—revealing their
conclusions and recommendations as they go along instead of putting them first or last.
74) When a business plan is written after a company is operating, it tends to serve as a ________.
75) All ________ reports are written in response to regulations of one sort or another.
76) A(n) ________ report is written to validate a decision that has already been made.
77) ________ ________ reports study events that happened in the past, with the hope of learning
how to avoid similar failures in the future.
78) Breaking down a problem into a series of specific questions is called problem ________.
79) When you speculate about the cause of a problem, you are forming a(n) ________, a
potential explanation that needs to be tested.
80) The ________ approach is often the most persuasive and efficient way to develop an
analytical report for skeptical readers—it’s the approach to try first.
81) With the ________ approach to structuring analytical reports, you begin by discussing the
problem, and then list the criteria that will guide evaluation of possible solutions.
82) Whereas ________ proposals are used to request decisions from managers within an
organization, ________ proposals are directed to parties outside the organization.
83) ________ proposals are initiated by a company that is trying to obtain business or funding on
its own, without a specific request from a client.
84) A formal invitation to bid on a contract is called a ________ for ________, or RFP.
85) In a(n) ________ proposal, the author must convince readers that a problem or opportunity
exists before providing a solution or plan of action.
86) Briefly explain the primary function of a statement of purpose, then indicate the most useful
way to phrase one.
87) You have been asked to help a company find ways to reduce the amount it spends on
employee health and dental benefits. Write a purpose statement for the report you will produce.
88) List three types of reports commonly used to monitor and control operations in business.
89) Provide at least five examples of topical organization strategies for business reports.
90) What is the primary difference between a feasibility report and a justification report?
91) Give three reasons why writing analytical reports presents a greater challenge than writing
informational reports.
92) Briefly explain problem factoring.
93) List the three most common strategies for structuring analytical reports.
94) Briefly describe the circumstances in which the yardstick approach would be particularly
useful for organizing your proposal, and provide an example of a report that would benefit from
this organizational approach.
95) List and describe the seven elements that usually are part of a formal work plan.
96) What are the four general categories of informational reports?
97) Describe several benefits and one potential drawback of organizing business reports using
the direct approach.
98) Describe the elements of a formal business plan.
99) What is the difference between a solicited and an unsolicited proposal?
100) Explain the three basic categories of analytical business reports and provide at least one
example of each type.