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Critical-Thinking Questions
1. Discuss the effects of formality and likely length on report makeup as described in the
chapter. (LO1)
2. Which of the prefatory pages of reports appear to be related primarily to the length of
the report? Which to the need for formality? (LO1)
3. Describe the role and content of a transmittal message. (LO1)
The message takes the place of the conversation that would take place if the writer were to
4. Why is the personal style typically used in the transmittal message? (LO1)
5. Explain how to write the executive summary of a report. (LO1)
The executive summary includes all of the major points (facts and conclusions) in the report.
6. Why does the executive summary include key facts and figures in addition to the
analyses and conclusions drawn from them? (LO1)
7. Explain why some routine report problems require little or no introduction. (LO2)
The purpose of the introduction is to prepare the reader to receive the report. Usually the
8. Why is the direct order generally used in the shorter reports? When is the indirect order
desirable for such reports? (LO2)
9. Describe a situation in which you would use short-report format rather than email
format for an internal report. Why would you choose the short-report format? (LO3)
Student answers will vary. Short-report format typically is used for short, informal reports
submitted to someone outside the company. Email report format generally is used for short,
10. Describe a situation in which you would prepare a memo report rather than an email
report for an internal report. Why would you choose the memo format? (LO3)
11. What kinds of information might go into routine operational reports for different kinds
of organizations? Why would these organizations need this information regularly? (LO4)
12. Given what you’ve learned about progress reports, suggest a general structure for these
reports. What might go into the beginning? What might the middle parts be? What
would the conclusion do? (LO4)
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The opening clearly identifies what project the report concerns and makes an overall statement
assessing the progress made.
13. How might an internal problem-solving report that has been assigned differ from one on
the same subject that an employee generated on his or her own? (LO4)
14. Discuss the pros and cons of including a list of absentees in meeting minutes. (LO4)
Including the names of absentees makes the document a more complete record. And it may
15. Give examples of long-report problems whose introduction could require historical
background or a discussion of the report’s limitations. (LO5)
16. Give examples of report problems that would require, respectively, (a) an ending
summary, (b) a conclusion or conclusions section, and (c) a recommendation or
recommendations section (LO5)
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17. Find a long report or white paper and identify the devices it uses to help guide the reader
through the report and keep the report’s purpose clearly in mind. (LO5)
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Skills-Building Exercises
1. Review the following report situations and determine for each the makeup of the report
you would recommend for it. (LO1, LO3)
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 five pages long, including a full-page diagram. It
is written in the personal style.
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).
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2. Making any assumptions needed, construct complete yet concise titles for the reports
described here. (LO1)
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.
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.
c. A report writer compared historical financial records (2006 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.
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3. Critique the following beginning sentences of transmittal messages. (LO1, LO5)
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. “I recommend that we open a new outlet in Bragg City, based on the research you asked
me to conduct.”
d. “That you for giving me this interesting report assignment.”
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 their furniture and wanted to know the cause of the delays. Critique this
report. (LO2, LO4)
11-17-16
TO: Martina Kalavoda
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Now that a new driver’s helper, Morris Tunney, has been hired, there should be no more
delays. This was the cause of the problem.
The driver was able to find a temporary helper, a man by the name of Rusty Sellers, for some
help in the unloading work, but he got behind and couldn’t seem to catch up. He could have
caught up by working overtime, in the opinion of the writer, but he refused to do so. Of the 36
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Sample Solutions to Problem-Solving Cases
Short to Mid-Length Reports, Case #7
This report problem enables your students to practice much of the advice in this chapter and the
preceding one.
Or
Now you can brainstorm about possible factors to investigate. The boss has named one: security.
Others might be the following:
Ease of setup, ease of use
Possible time and money savings
As students move into the research phase of the project, they will probably think of additional factors
to consider.
Once they have gathered their data, they will need to settle on a form and an organization plan for
the report. Most writers in this situation would probably either write an email report, write a short
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report and send it as an attachment to a brief transmittal email, or (depending on the size of the office)
drop by the boss’s office and hand her the report (this informal delivery might be acceptable since the
boss authorized the report informally). Whichever method the students choose, they need to avoid
overly casual language, use headings, and explain well, since the report may be passed on to other
supervisors or executives.
factors, the report could go from strongest features to weakest features (given the intended use), or
vice versa. Or, the report could be organized according to the boss’s likely questions (e.g., What are
Skype and OpenMeetings exactly? Do companies like ours use it? For what types of communication
does it work best? Does it save time and money? What are the downsides, if any?).
The topics to be covered should be logically grouped so that there are no more than four or five main
topics in the body of the report. With more parts than that, the information may be too chopped up,
and the boss may have difficulty putting everything together in her mind.
It is possible that tables or other graphics will help the students with their presentation of
information. See if any part of Chapter 3 looks useful for this problem, and, if so, explain how to
integrate the visual into the text.
Longer Reports, Case #20
Like the previous case, this report problem enables your students to practice much of the advice in
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Or
“To understand what is causing visitors to decline booking events at the Phoenix, which has resulted
in disappointing rental sales revenue.”
Or
“Why are people not interested in booking the Phoenix for their wedding receptions and other
events?”
Now students can brainstorm about possible factors to investigate.
Another factor is data. In order to support the information gathered from the interviews with the
couples, you’ll want to gather information from competing venues on their pricing policies, rental
In constructing the report for the partners, students will want to begin with a summary of the strengths
of the venue, including comments from the couples about its uniqueness and artsy feel, its availability,
and its location. The ending also will need to be upbeat, looking toward making changes that will
increase interest in the venue in the very near future.
In the body of the report, it would be helpful to break down the comments from the three couples and
divide them into groups related to the related services, pricing, and customer service of the Phoenix.
Final recommendations would suggest solutions for eliminating the factors that are causing the venue
to be rejected. These may include developing partnerships with vendors, changing the pricing strategy,