Business Communication Chapter 15 Writing And Completing Reports And Proposals Point Out Students That This Situation

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15: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals 15–13

15.19. Point out to students that this situation may not actually be an instance of idea-stealing at all.

Perhaps they can brainstorm other possibilities; for example, given the number of active minds

and informal communication channels in a typical organization, it may be possible that somebody

else independently suggested the same idea to the vice president. Or the boss might’ve given full

credit, but in the crunch of daily work, that fact was not transmitted back to you.

You might ask students how they could determine more about the boss’s behavior. Has she

exhibited similar behavior in the past? Is she ignoring other communications or only this one?

What about nonverbal signals (e.g., does the boss appear to be avoiding eye contact in the

cafeteria, etc.)? Is this the only communication that has gone unanswered (e.g., maybe the boss is

going through a personal or professional crisis and hasn’t had time to respond to any messages)?

The simplest and safest first step would be to ask the boss (in a neutral way) if the report met her

needs and whether she has any questions. If she simply forgot or hasn’t had time to get back to

you, then the situation could be resolved without further worry. For example, she could say that

she shared your ideas with the vice president (who decided to implement them immediately), but

she was caught up in a family crisis and forgot to share this news with you. Or, she might explain

that the vice president was already working on a similar plan when she presented your ideas.

If this conversation doesn’t give you a satisfactory answer, then you need to decide how to

proceed, based on whatever you learned from the exchange. Students can brainstorm the options

one might take in this situation, such as asking the boss directly if she passed your report on to the

vice president, going over the boss’s head to complain to a superior, asking a trusted party for

advice, or simply letting this episode pass without mention.

15.20. One possible revision (28 words):

The 376 employees (57 percent of the workforce) who completed our online survey are primarily

15.24. Message Strategies: Informational Reports

This project will test students’ ability to distinguish causation, correlation, and coincidence. Look for

15.25. Message Strategies: Informational Reports

The audience for this information report will be interested, so the direct approach is appropriate. The

memo should include information on progress the student has made thus far and on his or her plan for

completing the remaining requirements.

The purpose of the report should be clearly identified in the first paragraph. Information in the report

should be presented in a straightforward manner. Developing a preliminary outline will assist in planning

coverage of necessary information.

The reader will be interested in points such as the number of semesters the student has been in school, the

number of courses typically taken each semester, and the number of courses remaining. As students

assess the number of courses remaining, they will need to research the course offerings carefully and

consider their own financial situations. They should research answers to such questions as the following:

What prerequisites must be completed for each of the remaining courses? How will such prerequisites

affect the number of semesters I will need to complete the work? How will my progress be affected by

courses offered only once a year or only in certain terms? They must also address how working part- or

15: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals 15–17

departments. This suggests that a few top performers in the engineering group are paid far above the

15.28. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports

This is a good opportunity to practice evaluating information sources. Look for students’ ability to

distinguish logical, fact-based projections from marketing hype and wishful thinking. For example, any

15.29. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports

Students are preparing this report for a counselor or academic adviser, so they can assume they have an

interested reader. An important planning step for this report is identifying and prioritizing the criteria that

will be used as the “yardstick.” Criteria could include times and days of the week that courses are

15.30. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports

Students should get creative with this one and identify as many ways as possible to increase poetry sales.

• Motivate artistic residents to showcase their talents in this space.

• Host common events such as Super Bowl parties, potluck dinners, and other group events where

residents can socialize with each other.

• Help residents to organize birthdays, anniversaries, New Year’s Day, Christmas and other

common celebrations in the community room.

15.41. Message Strategies: Proposals [LO-1] [LO-3]

The proposal for a presentation workshop involves two key challenges: communicating the value of an

intangible product, and tailoring the pitch to make it relevant to the specific target buyer. Thorough

research is the first step to meeting both challenges. Students should focus on how the presentation will

yield meaningful results for the target customer, and various businesses can have dramatically different

15: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals 15–22

For instance, if the focus is on making sales presentations, a company that sells a large number of

relatively simple and low-cost products or services has different presentation needs than a company that

sells a small number of complex, expensive products or services every year. The former probably doesn’t

have the time to customize every sales presentation, whereas the latter might invest days or weeks in

customizing a presentation for a single customer. By studying the company’s website and other available

1. Do we really need help with our presentation skills? (If the prospect doesn’t already sense the need or

2. Assuming we have a need, is a workshop the right solution? (The prospect might believe that self-

3. If a workshop is the right solution, how do we know that this particular trainer is the right person to

teach us? (Assuming the prospect senses the need and agrees that a workshop is the way to go, now

it’s time for the presentation coach to explain why he or she is the right trainer for the job.)

By following this chain, students can quickly see that it’s futile to sell the trainer’s qualifications before

the potential client is aware of the need or in agreement that a workshop is the right solution. Using this

insight, students can formulate a step-by-step persuasive argument that starts from the basic customer

15: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals 15–24

evaluations are addressed in mentoring relationships is a good start; this will ensure that people

are motivated to work on the skills that their bosses judge them on.

• The imbalance of supply (executives available to mentor) and demand (employees who want

mentors) is likely to be a permanent situation given the pyramid shape of all organizations. One

possibility is to treat entry into the mentoring program as a reward for top performance.

15.44. Message Strategies: Proposals

Students will have two key challenges here, understanding what services their businesses would be

willing to pay for and how to adapt their skills and interests to those needs. In particular, look for how

ASSISTED GRADING QUESTIONS (ACCESSED ON MYBCOMMLAB)

15.45. Previews and reviews work nicely in tandem to help readers because they help establish a mental

15.46. The close of a report or proposal is important because it is often the last part readers see—and in