978-0073403229 Chapter 9 Text Summary, Lecture Outline

Type

Quiz

Book Title

M: Business Communication 3rd Edition

ISBN 13

978-0073403229

April 5, 2019

Teaching Suggestions

Lecture, discussion, and illustration are all good for teaching types of reports. You can use lecture to summarize text

highlights. We give special emphasis to the overall makeup of reports (Exhibit 9-1 in the text, Slide 9-5). For the

discussion you can use the questions at the end of the chapter (and the suggested answers in the following

section).

Showing examples of actual reports (with explanatory comments) also helps. We have included *ve illustrations of

reports in the text. But you will probably want to use some of your own also. We have found that past reports we

have graded, with our wri,en comments, are especially useful.

Of course, much of the learning comes from application. So probably you will assign some problem work. In-class

analysis of these exercises a/er they have been completed is an e0ective teaching technique. It is especially

e0ective to show good and bad reports—with appropriate explanation and discussion, of course.

Text Summary, Lecture Outline

Slides 9-1, 9-2, 9-3

You can use the *rst slides to talk about how frequently reports are wri,en in business and therefore how

important is it to feel relatively comfortable when writing them. This chapter will help your students with writing a

variety of common types.

An Overview of Report Components

Slide 9-4

The makeup of reports is determined by their length and formality. While shorter reports are wri,en more

frequently, longer reports are also very common in business, especially those wri,en to external audiences. Long

reports are often collaborative e0orts.

Slide 9-5

The influence of report formality and length on report form is depicted in the illustration.

Slide 9-6

To make full sense of the diagram, students need some familiarity with the prefatory components of long reports.

As the book explains:

The title y is simply a page with the title of the report on it. It is included as an extra touch of formality.

The title page has more information. It typically contains the title, identi*cation of the reader and writer, and the

date. You can point out that the title needs special care, as it will form the reader’s expectations for the rest of the

report.

The letter of transmittal is the message that hands the report over to the reader. It describes the report’s purpose

and main finding and includes any other information about the project that the writer wants to include. This piece

of the report has the most personal tone of any of the parts; it typically uses personal pronouns and a more

conversational style than the rest of the report.

The table of contents, of course, is a guide to the structure and specific contents of the report. It can be

appropriate for reports that are as short as *ve pages, though usually it’s for longer reports. When writing a short

report, one can embed a guide to the contents in the introductory sections of the report itself (for example, as a

preview sentence or a bulleted list).

The executive summary (sometimes given other labels) is the report in miniature. In long reports, it is on a

separate page or pages; in a short report, it can be the opening section of the report itself. Whichever form it takes,

it should be self-explanatory—that is, people shouldn’t have to read the report to make sense of it. One reason for

this guideline is that it is o/en the only part of the report that many readers will read. But another is that it helps

readers get the key points quickly, enabling them to digest the report itself more quickly and accurately.

Characteristics of Shorter Reports

Slide 9-7

Shorter reports are frequently wri,en in business. They generally share the following characteristics.

Little Need for Introductory Information

Slide 9-8

If shorter reports need introductory information at all, it is small.

Short reports are routine and unlikely to be kept on *le for long.

Thus, the need for introductory information is slight.

Slide 9-9

Predominance of the Direct Order

Direct order means that the conclusions and/or recommendations begin the report.

Most short reports use it because readers want answers *rst in routine situations.

Direct order follows this pa,ern:

Summary/conclusions/recommendations

Introduction (if needed)

Body sections

Recap of conclusions/recommendations

Use the direct order when readers expect an answer and when you expect them to respond positively to your main

finding/recommendations.

Use the indirect order when readers need to see the facts before the conclusions/ recommendations.

Indirect order follows this arrangement:

Introduction

Body Sections

Conclusions/recommendations

Summary

More Personal Writing Style

Slide 9-10

Shorter reports use more personal writing (I’s, we’s, you’s).

They do so because short reports are prepared and wri,en to people who know one another, involve personal

investigations, and deal with routine ma,ers.

Less Need for a Structured Coherence Plan

Slide 9-11

Long, formal reports usually need a formal, structured coherence plan (summarizing, forward-looking,

backward-bending parts).

Short reports need coherence, but not an elaborate structured plan.

Forms of Shorter Reports

Slide 9-12

This section discusses types of reports based on the nature of the medium (report, le,er, or email).

The Short Report

This report (5th step in diagram) consists of title page and text. It has mid-level formality.

Most use the direct order, headings (but usually to the first or second division only), graphics, and appended parts.

Letter Reports

Le,er reports—reports in le,er form—present information to readers outside an organization. Although

exceptions exist, le,er reports are usually wri,en personally and in the indirect order.

If they are wri,en directly, they use a subject line and end with goodwill closings.

See the Case Illustration in the text as an example.

Email Reports

Email, of course, is widely used in business, and thus so are email reports.

Typically email reports are informal, use headings, and sometimes have graphics.

See the Case Illustration in the text as an example.

Types of Short Reports

Slide 9-13

Many types of short reports exist. Several of the most common are discussed as follows.

Routine Operational Reports

As the text says, these are the workhorse of business. Virtually every organization relies on them to get the

information where it needs to go, and on time.

They can be yearly, quarterly, weekly, or even daily. Most are wri,en on a relatively regular schedule since they

provide information on routine operations.

Their form can vary widely from company to company. The text mentions one innovative format—the 5-15 report.

But you and your students can share others that you know about.

Whatever the form, the top priority is to get the information across as directly and clearly as possible.

Those who regularly write routine reports should consider creating forms or templates for these.

Progress Reports

Progress reports can be viewed as a type of routine operational report.

They review progress made on an activity.

They may also include problems encountered and future projections of progress.

But since you want to convey the point that you are making progress, use a positive tone whenever possible.

Most progress reports are informal, narrative reports.

Problem-Solving Reports

While all signi*cant forms of business communication can be said to solve business problems of one kind or

another, we focus here on reports that are specifically focused on helping decision makers *gure out a course of

action to take.

These are o/en assigned (or requested by a client company), but they can also be unsolicited (as when an

employee needs to bring a problem to his or her supervisor’s a,ention).

One common type of problem-solving report is the feasibility study. For these reports, writers study several courses

of action and then propose the most feasible, desirable one.

It is possible that some problem-solving reports won’t go so far as to recommend a solution. Sometimes executives

just want you to give them a thorough investigation of a problem. But even in these cases, your report will be

helping them solve a problem.

The direct order is usually best, especially for an assigned problem-solving report, but if you will be proposing

something that readers may not be immediately ready for, the indirect order (with an opening like the “common

ground” opening described in Chapter 6) would probably be wiser.

Audit Reports

Audit reports are wri,en to hold organizations accountable to standards that they are required to meet.

While audit reports can assess an organization’s finance, operations (for example, do they comply with safety or

environmental-protection standards?), or compliance with a contract (is the new assembly line being built to

specifications?), the most common type is that wri,en by an accounting firm to verify the truthfulness of a

company’s financial reports.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has exponentially increased the number of audit reports that companies must

prepare and submit to various regulatory parties.

Audit reports can be short or long in form. In accounting, short forms are a statement of the auditor’s opinion. Long

forms vary greatly, defying any typical form.

Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes are an example of reports in business that do not recommend or even conclude anything—they

simply describe what happened. Trip reports and incident reports also fall into this category, and you and your

students may think of others.

Minutes provide a wri,en record of a group’s activities and decisions during a meeting.

Announcements, reports, signiticant discussions, and decisions are usually included in summary form.

Minutes should be recorded in objective language, and only resolutions should be recorded word for word. The

writer has to use his or her judgment when recording and preparing the minutes since there is a danger of

furthering some participants’ political interests and not others.

Minutes should be forma,ed for easy readability; sometimes items are numbered to correspond to the numbering

on a formal agenda.

Sample Short Report, Direct Order

Slides 9-14, 9-15, 9-16, 9-17, 9-18, 9-19, 9-20, 9-21, 9-22

Le,er reports either use direct or indirect order. Those in the direct order begin with the main finding or

recommendation. Sometimes this main point is preceded by brief introductory information. Another option is to

use a subject line to announce the topic of the report. Indirect-order le,ers tend not to use a subject line, and they

open with brief background information, such as who authorized the report and the topic.

These slides give an example of a le,er report using direct order.

Slide 12-26

This final quote makes clear that skillful report writing is more important in “the information age” than it has ever

been.