Business Communication Chapter 13 Homework Most instructors would consider the team as a whole guilty of academic dishonesty, whereas many students view their research tasks as work that they divide among themselves

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Solution and Answer Guide

Guffey/Loewy, Business Communication: Process & Product, 10e, 2022, 9780357129234;

Chapter 13: Proposals, Business Plans, and Formal Business Reports

Table of Contents

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers …………………………………………………………………………… 1

Bold Proposals Helped Propel SpaceX Ahead of the Competition ……………………………………………………. 1

Zooming In—Your Turn Solution ……………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Applying Your Skills at SpaceX ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Ethics Check Answers …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Honesty is Key …………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

One for All, All for One ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Critical Thinking Answers ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Activities Solutions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers

Bold Proposals Helped Propel SpaceX Ahead of the Competition

• Why are proposals vitally important to a company such as SpaceX?

Solution

As is typical in the aerospace industry, SpaceX’s business is largely program based. NASA’s

and the Air Force’s awards to SpaceX are based on the agencies’ evaluations of proposals

• How are proposals at SpaceX similar to and different from proposals or long reports

written by students?

Solution

Both student proposals and corporate proposals share the following characteristics:

• Purpose-driven

Not surprisingly, student proposals are generally shorter and simpler than most corporate

proposals. They also are more likely to be written as an exercise by a single person.

Corporate proposals, on the other hand, especially the most important and largest ones, are

always for real and are likely to be critical to the survival of the business, created in response

to customers’ (in this case, NASA’s) detailed requests for proposals, and written by teams of

writers and engineers.

• How can team members maintain consistency and meet deadlines when writing

important, time-constrained, multivolume documents such as formal proposals?

Solution

In developing large, multivolume, team-written documents on tight schedules, much can go

wrong either in the planning and management of the development process or in developing

content. The first challenge is to create a document development plan that does the

following:

• Includes everything that must be accomplished to complete the document

• Schedules all necessary stages (e.g., storyboard and draft reviews, executive reviews,

document sign-offs)

Zooming In—Your Turn Solution

Applying Your Skills at SpaceX

• Select one of the suggested tasks. For Task 1, in a two– or three-person team, plan the

report and have each team member prepare an outline of his or her assigned section.

As a team, review and improve the outlines with written comments and annotations.

For Task 2, individually research, plan, and write a one– to two-page memo.

Solution

Task 1 requires a short (three– to five-page) business report recommending a structured

writing process to be used for team-written company documents. The following is a

suggested outline for this report:

1. Executive summary of the key points (optional)

2. Introduction identifying why report was written and outlining the need for an improved

writing process for team-written company documents

3. Analysis of the characteristics that an effective team-writing process for business

documents should have

Task 2 requires a memo evaluating several (two to four) proposal consulting companies that

might be able to help SpaceX teams write high-quality business proposals when the

company’s proposal specialists are unavailable.

Ethics Check Answers

Honesty is Key

• A business plan’s purpose is to help manage a company and raise capital; hence, it is a

persuasive document that must be accurate and honest. Whether the goal is to

persuade a lender or investors or whether it is the blueprint for running operations,

the business plan must be realistic. What are the risks of fudging numbers or

sugarcoating potential challenges?

Solution

To create buy-in from potential investors and to ensure the smooth management of the

startup, solid research and an honest look at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

One for All, All for One

• If one of your teammates cowriting a formal report with you has been found to have

plagiarized a portion of your writing project, typically the instructor will punish the

entire group, assuming ownership by the entire team. After all, researchers are

expected to deliver a product that they have jointly prepared. Is this fair?

Solution

Answers will probably vary. Most instructors would consider the team as a whole guilty of

academic dishonesty, whereas many students view their research tasks as work that they

divide among themselves and don’t perceive as a coherent whole. Each group member

assumes responsibility for an activity—such as researching, writing, or editing—or team

Critical Thinking Answers

1. Why are highly capable grant writers among the most sought-after professionals

today? What activities does their work entail?

Solution

A grant writer is the vital connecting link between a funder and the grant seeker. Large

projects may require a team of writers to produce various sections of a grant proposal. Then

2. Is it true that business reports shouldn’t contain footnotes? If you were writing your

first business report and did considerable research, what would you do about

documenting your sources?

Solution

Although some people do assert that business reports should never contain documentation,

not revealing one’s sources can be dangerous. The best plan is to seek advice from a

3. If you were to read credible reports showing that streaming (think films and gaming)

is very bad for the environment because the growing electricity needs of huge data

centers are nearly exhausting power production, would you change your behavior?

Why or why not?

Solution

Answers will vary. It’s one thing to worry about the state of the planet and another to change

one’s ingrained behavior, especially if it encroaches on our creature comforts. Netflix, Hulu,

Prime Video, HBO Max, and Disney+, the immense platforms of Amazon and Facebook, as

4. If you were about to launch a new business, would you write your business plan from

scratch or use a software program? What are the pros and cons of each method?

Solution

Business plan software could certainly be helpful in learning the parts of a business plan and

determining what goes in each section. However, many people say that no cookie-cutter

5. Plagiarism detection software such Turnitin makes cheating by copying easy to spot.

This explains why ghostwritten assignments are booming online. The old paper mills

have morphed into global enterprises and brazenly market their services in slick

YouTube videos but also offline. Students cite time pressure and stress as reasons for

resorting to contract cheating. Some rationalize buying written–to-order papers online

by falling back on the old saw that “everyone is doing it.” In a recent NPR story, a

student made this argument: “Technically, I don’t think it’s cheating. Because you’re

paying someone to write an essay, which they don’t plagiarize, and they write

everything on their own.” When pressed, the student acknowledged that perhaps it’s

“a difficult question to answer,” verging on “a gray area” or being “on the edge, kind

of.” What is your take on this type of growing academic dishonesty? Is it really

common?

Solution

Academic dishonesty is a topic that could lead to long, heated debates. Students’ answers

will vary, if they are willing to discuss the subject openly. Accidentally “lifting” passages from

Contract writers, on the other hand, have rationalizations at the ready. One told NPR that

students who hire her to write their papers show “resourcefulness and creativity.” She

believes that her services make student customers more “well–rounded,” freeing them, as it

were, from the burdens of studying and writing papers, so that they can pursue travel and

internships.

The practice of buying essays on demand is surging; estimates suggest that up to 16 percent

of students have paid for such services and the trend is rising. The director of the Academic

Integrity Office at the University of California in San Diego, Tricia Bertram Gallant, believes

that the best solution is “creating a culture where integrity and ethics matter” and education

trumps grades. Students need to understand that by cheating on essays they would only

cheat themselves, she says. Research into plagiarism has shown that universities offering

training and requiring honor pledges experience less cheating. Most students feel bound by

their word.

Activities Solutions

13.1 Proposal: Never too Soon to Plan for Retirement

Solution

Information about SIMPLE IRA accounts is easy to find on the Internet. More important than

the bare facts is that students plan the persuasive strategy for their unsolicited proposal. A

small business with eleven employees may understandably be reluctant to offer an

employer-sponsored retirement plan. The best approach may be to appeal to the owner’s

13.2 Proposal: Be a Problem Solver at Work

Solution

Most students have had some workplace or internship experience to draw on. However,

they may have difficulty identifying a problem that’s substantial enough to merit a proposal.

Students tend to bring up problems that are insignificant or whose solutions wouldn’t

generate much in savings or earnings—the standard for writing a proposal. With these kinds

of problems, why not just say it?

13.3 Proposal: Are You a Tycoon in the Making?

Solution

Many students dream of owning a business one day; some students even run small

13.4 Proposal: Helping a Friend Find Examples to Study

Solution

This activity encourages students to search the Internet to locate actual proposals. Real

13.5 Proposal: Pitching Ortopedica Sports Medicine

Solution

Answers will vary. Students should be encouraged to do minor Internet and database

13.6 Grant Writing: Nonprofits’ Lifeblood

Solution

This activity encourages students to use the Internet to learn more about writing proposals

13.7 Service Learning: Better Your Community!

Solution

This activity could be merely a research project to raise student awareness. A more

substantive alternative would involve hands-on work in community projects such as working

13.8 Business Plans: Examining Mission Statements

Solution

Figure 13.2 establishes four goals for mission statements. They should be (a) easily

understood; (b) free of complex words and buzzwords; (c) concise, memorable, and simple;

and (d) unique in distinguishing a business or program. Writers of mission statements

should ask themselves the following questions: (a) What do we do? (b) Why and how do we

serve our clients? (c) Why did we start this business? (d) What image do we want to convey?

and (e) What is the broadest way to describe our work?

13.9 Business Plan: Baby Sharks, Get Ready for the Shark Tank

Solution

A complete instructional module for developing a business plan as a report-writing

13.10 Executive Summary: In a Nutshell, Boil it Down 10 Percent

Solution

Responses will vary. Being able to identify the main idea of an article and learning how to

write a succinct yet complete summary are important skills. Students often struggle with this

assignment, and practice is necessary. It is worth pointing out that summarizing is also

necessary when we use sources in academic papers and reports. Under APA rules, verbatim

quoting is discouraged except for the most poignant passages or when an excerpt from the

source is needed for its detailed discussion in an article. In most cases, researchers in the

13.11 Unsolicited Proposal: Cash Infusion Needed

Solution

Students are to write an unsolicited letter or memo proposal to an assistant dean who

13.12 Unsolicited Proposal: Protecting Gadgets in the Dorm

Solution

13.13 Formal Business Report: Planning an International Launch

Solution

13.14 Proposals, Business Plans, and Formal Reports: Find Topics to Write About

Solution

The list of report topics gives students a number of ideas for executive summaries, long