Research & Recommendation Report

Business 300 GW Final Project 1

For your final project, you are charged with writing a research and recommendation (problem solving) report

for a real-world audience.

Components:

The Report [80 Points]: This is a real-world problem-solving exercise based on research and analysis that

offers a recommendation to a specific audience in response to a specific problem. It is research and synthesis

(like other academic research papers), but it is more than that – you must also include feasible (capable of being

done) recommendations. Research and analyze a problem/opportunity and feasible solutions in order to make

recommendations the audience can use to address the problem/opportunity.

Reports usually average seven pages. But the question is never “have I achieved x pages?”; it’s always “have I

sufficiently answered the question?” And, “will my reader be able to achieve their greater goal with this

information?”

Revision Process: Report must go through multiple drafts. There are check-ins with me, a draft

deadline, a final deadline, and then a final revision with applied feedback. Failure to participate in the

revision process results in automatic 40/80 grade.

Report Deck (Slide Deck & Presentation) [50 Points]: Following your written report, you will translate your

report into a deck (report deck). Report decks are informational slides that are meant to serve the function of the

report itself, and, as in our case, serve as the slides for an informational presentation.

Logistics: use Flipgrid to record the verbal component; 4-5 minutes where you review essential information in

your report deck. Focus on facts and solid information.

The Memo [20 Points]: In memo format, please report on and discuss how you applied feedback and made

changes to your final report - what did you do to revise your report? Your job is to make it easy for me to see

the work you did on the final revised report.

Grading Criteria: Each component will be graded separately based on the following:

1. Audience and Purpose Awareness 2. Clarity and Concision 3. Tone & Formatting

Business 300 GW Final Project 2

TIPS TO COMPLETING THE REPORT:

Step 1/SELECT A TOPIC: all topics need a real-world context, a concrete and local problem or opportunity

that the report will analyze and offer appropriate (again concrete) responses to. You need a specific audience in

mind that needs persuading or information on the topic (the audience is the person that will say yes or no to

your plan, or the person that needs this information to conduct business.

Come up with ideas about actual problems or opportunities in businesses you’re familiar with (stick to publicly

traded companies so you can access information).

Cautionary Note: Topics that are too general or abstract won’t work because you can’t get specific enough.

Topics need to be concrete, local, and specific. For example, a topic like “autism” would be too general and

abstract. However, a situating the topic in a specific context can solve that problem – “many students with

autism are not having their educational needs met at SFSU”, the report would then study the problem and

propose how to address the needs of the students.

Sample Report Outline:

I. Executive summary II. Purpose/problem

III. Background IV. Research methods: design/activities/ costs, etc. V. Research findings/results

VI. Implications of these results VII. Conclusions/recommendations

VIII. Implementation/Next Steps

IX. Appendices (data, graphs, tables, charts, etc.) X. References/Works Cited (Chicago Style)

Note: this is a sample, not specific sections or criteria for your report, whose contents should vary based on

topic and audience needs. Also, see report samples and template on ilearn.