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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-1
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
14.1. Informational reports confine themselves to the delivery of information, whereas analytical
Written and oral communication
and oral communication
14.3. The work plan should at least include a statement of the problem or opportunity and a statement
of the purpose and scope of the investigation. It can also include: a discussion of tasks to be
MyBCommLab for additional insights)
14.4. Reports that monitor and control operations focus on vital organizational performance statistics.
Written and oral communication
14.5. The three major ways to organize analytical reports are focusing on conclusions, recommendations,
14.6. Feasibility reports explore the wisdom of making a particular choice or decision; justification
communication
14.7. Problem factoring is the technique of breaking a complex problem into a series of logical,
communication
14.8. To attract a large number of bidders, an RFP (request for proposals) supplies guidelines for submitting
a formal proposal (or bid) by describing the organization’s exact needs, deadlines, and preferred work
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
14.9. “Look into employee morale problems” would not be an effective problem statement for a report
because it doesn’t provide enough focus for the reporting effort. What does “look into” mean? Is
the writer supposed to verify that morale problems exist, or identify specific problems, or look
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-2
additional insights)
14.10. Power outages tend to have a ripple of causes and effects (e.g., a regulator malfunction in the
thermal test oven triggered an automated fire control system, but when it failed to operate
14.11. A report writer should include all relevant information, whether or not it supports the writer’s
recommendation. Omitting information deprives the reader of facts that might affect the decision
—and ultimately destroys the writer’s credibility. Most readers expect pros and cons and are
MyBCommLab for additional insights)
14.12. The yardstick approach would be an effective structure for this report because it would show how
[LO-3] AACSB: Analytical thinking (See MyBCommLab for additional insights)
14.13. Students should recognize that often an unsolicited proposal must first convince readers that a
problem or opportunity exists and that the proposal offers a viable response to that situation. Such
proposals are potentially unwelcome advances (or at least unexpected) made by the business
insights)
PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS
14.14. Message for Analysis
Note that the “Year in Review” section might be titled “Letter to Shareholders” or something more
specific. Whatever it is called in a specific report, it’s the narrative review and summary that preceded the
Form 10-K section.
Students should surmise that the Year in Review has the broader audience, those readers looking for a
narrative summary of the company’s performance over the past year. The average shareholder, the general
media, and the general public would be typical readers of this document. Besides the SEC, others
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-3
Students will probably agree that the Year in Review is easier and more interesting for them to read, and
they may attribute this to its narrative content, visuals, organization, and the level of the presentation.
Exercises
14.15. Developing a statement of purpose for this report is a straightforward task. The shop owner has
observed a sales decline for three consecutive months and wants to know why this is happening.
However, this situation does involve two subtle points that should be considered in the statement
of purpose: an investigator may not be able to identify precisely why sales have declined, and the
oral communication
14.16. Preparing the work plan will give students a chance to consider all the factors that go into report
planning and research. Their draft plan should reflect thoughtful analysis of the difference
between the problem statement and the statement of purpose and scope. Their plan should also
[LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
Planning: Organizing Reports This exercise gives students practice in applying organizational
approaches to various subjects, even though more than one approach could be used with each item.
[LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
14.17. Since this is a recurring (monthly) report, the direct approach would be better because the
14.18. The indirect approach would be better in this situation. First, the accountant is still
building credibility with the audience. Second, such a report from a new employee is
14.19. As with most unsolicited proposals, the indirect approach is likely to work better here
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-4
14.20. The best organization strategy would depend on the CEO’s preference, but using the
14.21. Since the board recently rejected a proposal on the same issue, the direct approach would
14.22. Before students begin analyzing their own choices, you might want to walk them through a
practice session. Locate a brief, but substantive, article and have students read it ahead of class.
Construct the outline together so that students will clearly see the differences between the two
14.23. A topical organization for the informational report might be outlined as follows:
I. Availability of parking places
II. Security problems
III. Parking fees
IV. Maintenance of lots
[LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
Planning: Organizing Reports (Analytical Reports) Here are suggested answers to this set of
questions. [LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-5
14.24. The 2 + 2 = 4 approach would be a good choice for convincing a skeptical audience to
14.25. To preserve a neutral tone in the report, restate the headings in a manner that does not
14.26. A few conclusions that might be drawn from the information include the following:
14.27. Although the following outline uses informative phrasing to guide the writing effort, the
headings of the report itself would be worded more descriptively.
Planning Reports and Proposals If students mention that they need more information to categorize these
reports, suggest that they try to find specific examples—or they can simply use their imagination to make
communication
14.28. City crime report
Based on the description given, this would be an informational report, without analysis or
recommendations. The audience would depend on the purpose of the report and the person or
14.29. Seed company report
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-6
This analytical report would include both logical argumentation and presumably data
based on field trials (either company’s own trials or a combination of those results and
14.30. Cold-remedy test report
This analytical report would be based on experimental data collected by the testing
agency. Because the data on cold remedies would be largely statistical, they could be
14.31. Trip report
This report would be written in memo format or perhaps using an electronic form on a
management information system. There may be some quantitative and factual data (e.g.,
date of call, person contacted, time spent, business booked or discussed), as well as some
14.32. Land development report
This analytical report would offer geographic and demographic characteristics of the area
plus financial analyses of alternatives for converting the vacant land to industrial use.
14.33. Annual report
The primary audience of the annual report is the company’s shareholders, as indicated, but
government regulators at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are also a target
audience, as are reporters and financial advisors who comment on the company. Data about
the operations of the company would include both descriptive material and financial
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-7
14.34. Wildlife report
This internal report would use both descriptive material and statistics on the condor
population. The report would be in standardized memo or manuscript format, depending on
14.35. Retail stores report
The audience for this analytical report would most likely be company executives. Data
would consist of facts and figures related to sales and costs, and the author would need to
explain whether the data justifies closing the stores and moving the business online. If the
14.36. The emergency procedures report might be tailored this way:
Who: Authorized
What: Emergency procedures
When: Special (periodic update if necessary)
Where: Internal, downward
Why: Informational
How: Receptive readers
communication
14.37. Students will want to ask and answer questions that will help them focus on audience needs. First,
they’ll ask questions to define that audience. Then, since an unsolicited proposal must first
convince readers that a problem exists, students will want to ask questions similar to those used
The benefits students describe should demonstrate their understanding of audience focus and the
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14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-8
14.38. When reviewing students’ work, look for their ability to define the problem and break it into
smaller components for analysis (if appropriate). To keep the exercise manageable, they’ll need to
avoid any extensive research, which they should be able to do either through team brainstorming
(using questions described in the chapter for use with analytical reports) or through problem
AACSB: Written and oral communication
ASSISTED GRADING QUESTIONS (ACCESSED ON MYBCOMMLAB)
14.39. A conventional business plan can contain most of all of these components: executive summary,
mission and objectives, company and industry overviews, product and service overviews, market
communication
14.40. No, when responding to an RFP, it is not wise to try to stand out from the crowd by organizing
[LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
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