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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.
a. A report writer reviewed records of exit interviews of employees at Marvel-Floyd Manufacturing
Company who left their jobs voluntarily. The objective of the investigation was to determine the
reasons for their leaving.
Who: Marvel-Floyd Manufacturing Company
What: Analysis of Voluntary Job Turnover
b. A researcher studied data from employee personnel records at Magna-Tech, Inc. to determine
whether permanent (long-term) employees differ from short-term employees. Some of the
differences found would be used in hiring employees in the future. The data studied included age,
education, experience, and scores on pre-employment tests.
Who: Magna-Tech, Inc.
What: Comparison of Long- and Short-Term Employees
c. A report writer compared historical financial records (1995 to the present) of Super Saver Foods
to determine whether this grocery chain should own or rent store buildings. In the past it has
done both.
Who: Super Saver Foods
What: Comparison of Financial Records
3. Criticize the following beginning sentences of transmittal messages. (LOL)
a. “In your hands is the report you requested January 7 concerning . . .”
b. “As you will recall, last January 7 you requested a report on . . .”
c. “That we should open a new outlet in Bragg City is the conclusion of this report, which you
authorized January 7.”
Answer: This sentence gives the conclusion immediately, with appropriate subordination of the
4. Following is a report that was written for the manager of a large furniture retail store by the
manager’s assistant. The manager was concerned about customer complaints of late deliveries of
furniture purchased and wanted to know the cause of the delays. Critique this report. (LO2, LO4)
11-17-10
TO: Martina Kalavoda
FROM: Anthony Dudrow
SUBJECT: Investigation requested 11-17-10
