Suggested Solutions for the Skills Building Exercises
1. Review the following report situations and determine for each the makeup of the report you would
recommend for it (LO1)
a. A professional research organization has completed a survey of consumer attitudes toward
BankOne. The survey results will be presented to the bank president in a 28-page report,
including seven charts and three tables.
b. Joan Marion was asked by her department head to inspect the work area and report on safety
conditions. Her report is two pages long and written in personal style.
c. Bill Wingler has an idea for improving a work procedure in his department at McLaughlin Body
Company. His department head suggested that Bill present his idea in a report to the production
superintendent. The report is almost five pages long, including a full-page diagram. It is written
in the personal style.
Answer: The report to the production superintendent would likely take the form of a short report. One
d. Karen Canady, a worker in the corporate library of Accenture, was asked by Doug Edmunds, its
president, for current inventory information on a number of subscriptions. Her report is less
than a full page and consists mostly of a list of items and numbers.
e. Bryan Toups, a sales manager for Johnson & Johnson, was asked by the vice president of
marketing to prepare an analysis of the results of a promotional campaign conducted in Toups’s
district. The report is six pages long (including one chart) and is written in the personal style.
2. Making any assumptions needed, construct complete yet concise titles for the reports described
below.
