Business Communication Chapter 14 Planning Reports And Proposals Planning Reports And Proposals This The

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Chapter 14: Planning Reports and Proposals

This chapter, the first of two on preparing reports and presentations, investigates the various tasks

involved in planning longer documents. It starts with an overview of how to adapt the three-step process

to reports and proposals, then offers advice on planning informational reports, analytical reports, and

proposals.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals

Analyzing the Situation

Defining Your Purpose

Preparing Your Work Plan

Gathering Information

Selecting the Best Media and Channels

Organizing Your Information

Planning Informational Reports

Organizational Strategies for Informational Reports

Creating Successful Business Plans

Planning Analytical Reports

Organizational Strategies for Analytical Reports

Focusing on Conclusions

Focusing on Recommendations

Focusing on Logical Arguments

Effective Analytical Reports: An Example

Planning Proposals

Organizational Strategies for Proposals

Effective Proposals: An Example

Learning Catalytics is a “bring your own device” student engagement, assessment, and classroom

intelligence system. It allows instructors to engage students in class with real-time diagnostics. Students

can use any modern, web-enabled device (smartphone, tablet, or laptop) to access it. For more

information on using Learning Catalytics in your course, contact your Pearson Representative.

14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14-2

LECTURE NOTES

Section 1: Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals

Learning Objective 1: Adapt the three-step writing process to reports and proposals.

Reports are written accounts that objectively communicate information about some aspect of a business:

• Informational reports offer data, facts, feedback, and other types of information, without analysis

or recommendations.

These reports can vary widely in length and complexity.

View every business report as an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of business challenges

and your ability to contribute to your organization’s success.

By adapting the three-step writing process, you can reduce the time required to write effective reports and

still produce documents that make lasting and positive impressions on your audiences.

Analyzing the Situation

Given the length and complexity of many reports, it’s crucial to define your purpose clearly to avoid

massive amounts of rework.

Pay special attention to the statement of purpose and take the time to prepare a work plan before

starting writing.

Defining Your Purpose

Informational reports often address a predetermined need and must meet specific audience

expectations. Sometimes, however, you will need to determine audience needs before defining

the optimum purpose.

Analytical reports and proposals are almost always written in response to a perceived problem or

a perceived opportunity.

Address the problem or opportunity with a clear statement of purpose that defines why you are

preparing the report:

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Preparing Your Work Plan

Carefully thinking through a work plan is the best way to make sure you produce quality work on

schedule. By identifying all the tasks that must be performed, you ensure that nothing is

overlooked.

A formal work plan might include the following elements (especially the first two):

• Statement of the problem or opportunity. The problem statement clarifies the challenge you

face, helps you stay focused on the core issues, and avoids distractions.

• Statement of the purpose and scope of your investigation. The purpose statement describes

what you plan to accomplish and defines the boundaries of your work. Delineating which

subjects you will cover and which you won’t is especially important for complex

investigations.

Class discussion question: Have you ever “had the wheels come off” a major academic project, such as

getting near the end and discovering you were off course in a major way or struggling mightily to craft a

required report? Did you analyze why you ran into trouble? Would a more methodical approach to

planning (including outlining the report before trying to write it) have helped?

Gathering Information

The amount of information needed in many reports and proposals requires careful planning—and may

even require a separate research project just to get the data and information you need.

Prioritize informational needs before starting, and focus on the most important questions.

Whenever possible, try to reuse or adapt existing information to save time.

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Selecting the Best Media and Channels

In addition to the general media and channel selection criteria already discussed, consider several

points for reports and proposals:

• For many reports and proposals, audiences have specific media or channel requirements that

must be met.

Organizing Your Information

The length and complexity of most reports and proposals require extra emphasis on clear, reader-

oriented organization.

When an audience is likely to be receptive, use the direct approach. Lead with a summary that

consists of these elements:

• Key findings

If your audience is skeptical or hostile, consider the indirect approach:

• Introduce your complete findings and discuss all supporting details before presenting

conclusions and recommendations.

Because both direct and indirect approaches have merit, businesspeople often combine them. They

reveal their conclusions and recommendations as they go along rather than put them either first or

last.

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Section 2: Planning Informational Reports

Learning Objective 2: List the options for organizing informational reports, and identify the key parts of a

business plan.

Informational reports provide the information that employees, managers, and others need in order to make

decisions and take action. These can be grouped into four general categories:

• Reports to monitor and control operations. Business managers rely on a wide range of reports to

see how well the various systems in their companies are functioning.

• Reports to implement policies and procedures.

• Policy reports range from brief descriptions of business procedures to lengthy manuals.

• Position papers, sometimes called white papers or backgrounders, outline an

organization’s official position on issues that affect the company’s success.

Organizational Strategies for Informational Reports

Most informational reports use a topical organization, arranging the material by topic in one of the

following ways:

• Comparison. Showing similarities and differences (or advantages and disadvantages) between

two or more entities

• Importance. Building up from the least important item to the most important (or from most

important to the least, if the audience will only skim the report)

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Creating Successful Business Plans

A business plan is a comprehensive document that describes a company’s mission, structure,

objectives, and operations. Business plans can be written or updated during three separate phases of a

company’s life:

• Before the company is launched

The specific elements to include in a business plan can vary based on the situation. Here are the

sections typically included in a plan written to attract outside investors:

• Summary. Briefly summarize the business concept, particularly the business model, defining

how the company will generate revenue and produce a profit.

• Mission and objectives. Explain the purpose of the business and what you hope to

accomplish.

• Company and industry. Give full background information on the origins and structure of your

venture and the characteristics of the industry in which you plan to compete.

• Products or services. Concisely describe your products or services, focusing on their unique

attributes and their appeal to customers.

Class discussion question: What are the risks and disadvantages of investing the time and money

required to develop a comprehensive business plan?

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Section 3: Planning Analytical Reports

Learning Objective 3: Discuss three major ways to organize analytical reports.

The purpose of analytical reports is to analyze, to understand, to explain—to think through a problem or

an opportunity and figure out how it affects the company and how the company should respond.

Analytical reports fall into three basic categories:

• Reports to assess opportunities. Every business opportunity carries some degree of risk and also

requires a variety of decisions and actions in order to capitalize on the opportunity.

• Reports to solve problems. Troubleshooting reports are used to understand why something isn’t

Writing analytical reports presents a greater challenge than writing informational reports, for three

reasons:

• First, rather than simply delivering information, you’re thinking through a problem or an

opportunity and presenting conclusions. Of key importance: avoid flawed analysis.

Be careful not to confuse a simple topic with a problem. To help define the problems that analytical

reports address, answer these questions:

• What needs to be determined?

• Why is this issue important?

• Who is involved in the situation?

• Where is the trouble located?

• How did the situation originate?

• When did it start?

Not all these questions apply in every situation, but asking them helps define the problem being addressed

and limit the scope of the discussion.

Another effective way to tackle a complex problem is to divide it into a series of logical, connected

questions, a process sometimes called problem factoring:

• Use the available evidence to organize an investigation or to start a search for cause-and-effect

relationships.

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Organizational Strategies for Analytical Reports

When expecting the audience to agree with you, use the direct approach to focus attention on

conclusions and recommendations.

When you expect your audience to disagree or to be hostile, use the indirect approach to focus

attention on the rationale behind your conclusions and recommendations.

The three most common structural approaches for analytical reports are:

Focusing on Conclusions

When writing for audiences that are likely to accept your conclusions, use a direct approach that

focuses immediately on those conclusions.

This structure communicates the main idea quickly, but it presents some risks:

Focusing on Recommendations

When structuring a report around recommendations, use the direct approach. Then unfold your

recommendations using a series of five steps:

• Establish or verify the need for action in the introduction by briefly describing the problem or

opportunity.

• Introduce the benefit that can be achieved, without providing any details.

Focusing on Logical Arguments

If you guide people along a logical path toward the answer, they are more likely to accept it when

they encounter it.

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The two most common logical approaches are:

• The 2 + 2 = 4 Approach. The 2 + 2 = 4 approach is so named because it convinces readers of

your point of view by demonstrating that everything adds up. The main points in your outline

The yardstick approach has two potential drawbacks:

• First, your audience members need to agree with the criteria you’re using in your analysis. If

they don’t, they won’t agree with the results of the evaluation.

• Second, the yardstick approach can get tedious when you have many options to consider or

many criteria to compare them against.

Section 4: Planning Proposals

Learning Objective 4: Explain how to choose an organizational strategy when writing a proposal.

Proposals are written for both internal and external audiences.

Internal proposals request decisions from managers within the organization.

External proposals include grant, sales, and solicited proposals.

The most significant factor in planning any proposal is whether the intended recipient has solicited that

proposal, asking you to submit it.

The formal process for soliciting proposals involves a request for proposals (RFP), which typically

include detailed instructions for content, format, and submission requirements.

Unsolicited proposals are created by organizations and individuals attempting to:

Unsolicited proposals differ from solicited proposals in another important respect: The audience may not

be aware of the problem, so the proposal must first convince readers that a problem or an opportunity

exists.

With virtually any proposal, you are always competing for something:

• Money

• Time

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Organizational Strategies for Proposals

Choosing the structure for a proposal depends on whether the proposal is solicited and, if so, whether

readers will be receptive to specific recommendations.

Audiences are likely to be more receptive with solicited proposals because the problem and the

solution have already been identified.

HIGHLIGHT BOX: ETHICS DETECTIVE

Solving the Case of the Overblown Proposals

Here are three problematic elements in that paragraph:

• Overstatement: the words “Everybody” or “everyone” are used three times in this brief paragraph.

Rather than use general terms, it is better to refer to specific percentages from the testing the

company did.

• The comment “everyone said it would change their lives forever” also seems overblown. While

this device is impressive, it does not seem to have the capacity to make such a grand impact on

one’s life.

Overall, this paragraph is not supported and does not offer readers specific information that is essential to

take the desired action. Due to such omissions, readers will more than likely question the writer’s

credibility.

COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT WARBY PARKER

Individual Challenge

Choice (a) is the best option of the four presented:

a. Yes. This introduces the idea of a competitive advantage without bringing attention to the

negative issue of the risk of buying eyewear online. The potential objection (the risk of buying

online) can be addressed within the report section.

14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14–11

b. No. This has a strong positive angle, but it brings attention to the negative aspect of purchase risk.

c. No. This is a nice benefit statement in general, but it is aimed too narrowly (at potential

customers only); the report has a wider audience.

d. No. This has a slightly wonky, “business-speak” tone that wouldn’t resonate with some portions

of the diverse target audience, and it emphasizes the negative aspect without introducing any

notion of positive competitive advantage.

Team Challenge

One of the challenges in a project like this is accommodating the needs of a diverse audience that can

include everyone from members of the media to prospective employees to potential customers wanting to

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

14.1. Informational reports confine themselves to the delivery of information, whereas analytical

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

14.4. Reports that monitor and control operations focus on vital organizational performance statistics.

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

14.7. Problem factoring is the technique of breaking a complex problem into a series of logical,

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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.

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

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

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

because readers need to be convinced they have a problem worth solving. However, if the

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.

14.23. A topical organization for the informational report might be outlined as follows:

I. Availability of parking places

A. Inadequate student spaces at critical hours

B. Motorcycles taking up full spaces

C. Spaces (usually empty) reserved for college officials

14: Planning Reports and Proposals 14–15

II. Security problems

A. Inadequate attempts to keep resident neighbors from occupying spaces

B. Discourteous security officers

C. Vandalism to cars and a sense of personal danger

D. Residents harassing students who park on the street in front of neighboring houses

III. Parking fees

A. Full fees charged to night students who use the lots during low-demand periods

B. Relatively high parking fees

IV. Maintenance of lots

Planning: Organizing Reports (Analytical Reports) Here are suggested answers to this set of

questions. [LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication

14.24. The 2 + 2 = 4 approach would be a good choice for convincing a skeptical audience to

accept conclusions and recommendations that are based on a number of reasons.

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.

Topic: Consolidation of company operations

Main idea: The company should consolidate its Georgia and California operations

for several reasons.

14.28. City crime report

Based on the description given, this would be an informational report, without analysis or

14.29. Seed company report

This analytical report would include both logical argumentation and presumably data

14.30. Cold-remedy test report

This analytical report would be based on experimental data collected by the testing

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.,

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

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

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

14.40. No, when responding to an RFP, it is not wise to try to stand out from the crowd by organizing