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Locker−Kienzler: Business and Administrative Communication, Eighth Edition

V. Reports 16. Analyzing Information and Writing Report

C H A P T E R 16 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports

Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you will know:

1 Ways to analyze data, information, and logic.

2 How to choose information for reports.

3 Different ways to organize reports.

4 How to present information effectively in reports.

5 How to prepare the different components of formal reports.

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V. Reports 16. Analyzing Information and Writing Report

I N T H E N E W S

“Seasonal Fluctuations”: Facts, Spin, and Annual Reports

I n 2005, the US Securities and Exchange Com-

mission (SEC) started legal action against the

former CEO and CFO of Kmart Corporation, be-

cause the Management’s Discussion and Analysis

(MD&A) portion of Kmart’s 2001 annual report was

misleading to stockholders. The report explained an

increase in inventory by “seasonal fluctuations” (a

natural part of doing business that stockholders

wouldn’t question) when the

increase was really caused by

one executive’s poor decisions

(which would reflect badly on

the company). Did Kmart’s

CEO and CFO actually write

that report themselves? Proba-

bly not, but they signed off on

the information and certified it as factual, so the

SEC found them liable for the lies.

Kmart isn’t the only corporation whose annual

report has come under heavy scrutiny: in the post-

Enron business world, the SEC now watches corpo-

rate annual reports more closely than ever. The

result? As ReportWatch notes in their 2006 Annual

Report on Annual Reports, many US companies have

replaced descriptive, easy-to-read MD&A sections

with simple “10-K” statements: tables of financial

data taken directly from the Form 10-K that all pub-

licly held US companies must file with the SEC.

These new MD&A’s are factual and detailed, with

no spin and no misleading information, but they

don’t provide much actual information about the

companies’ economic realities.

A good annual report should

do both: it should combine

hard data with the explana-

tions and details that are nec-

essary for your readers to

understand the numbers and

make good decisions about

you and your organization. To

write a good report, you’ll need to know your audi-

ence(s)’ needs, goals, and interests. You’ll also need

to gather data from a variety of sources, interpret

and format that data—using graphics to increase

usability—and collaborate with others to make sure

the final product is factual and reflects your organi-

zation’s goals.

535

“A good report . . . [combines] hard

data with the explanations and details

that are necessary for your readers to

understand the numbers.”

Sources: Amy Borrus, “The SEC: Cracking Down on Spin,” BusinessWeek, September 26, 2005, 94–97; and ReportWatch.net, “Annual Report on Annual Reports 2006,” http://www.reportwatch.net/download/AnnualReport_on_AnnualReports2006.pdf (accessed May 18, 2007).

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Chapter Outline Using Your Time Efficiently

Analyzing Data and Information for Reports

• Identifying the Source of the Data • Analyzing Numbers • Analyzing Words • Analyzing Patterns • Checking Your Logic

Choosing Information for Reports

Organizing Information in Reports

• Basic Patterns for Organizing Information • How to Organize Specific Varieties of Reports

Presenting Information Effectively in Reports

1. Use Clear, Engaging Writing. 2. Keep Repetition to a Minimum. 3. Introduce Sources and Visuals. 4. Use Forecasting, Transitions, Topic Sentences, and Headings.

Writing Formal Reports

• Title Page • Letter or Memo of Transmittal • Table of Contents • List of Illustrations • Executive Summary • Introduction • Background or History • Body • Conclusions and Recommendations

Summary of Key Points

Careful analysis, smooth writing, and effective document design work together to make effective reports, whether you’re writing a 21⁄2-page memo report or a 250-page formal report complete with all the report components.

Chapter 15 covered the first two steps in writing a report:

1. Define the problem.

2. Gather the necessary data and information.

This chapter covers the last three steps:

1. Analyze the data and information.

2. Organize the information.

3. Write the report.

Using Your Time Efficiently To use your time efficiently, think about the parts of the report before you begin writing. Much of the introduction comes from your proposal, with only minor revisions. You can write six sections even before you’ve finished your research: Purpose, Scope, Assumptions, Methods, Criteria, and Definitions.

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Measure What Matters

It sounds obvious: Find out whether your

customers are satisfied, because satisfied customers will buy from you again and again, helping your profits grow. It sounds so obvious that big companies pay generous fees to researchers who create sophisticated meas- ures of customer satisfaction.

It sounds obvious, but it’s wrong. Frederick Reichheld com- pared consumers’ answers to questions about customer satis- faction and loyalty with measures of their actual purchases and their memory of referring others to the company. He found little relationship between stated satis- faction and repeat purchases. Instead, the best predictor of re- peat purchases was a favorable response to “How likely is it that you would recommend [com- pany X] to a friend or colleague?” People who would recommend the company were also likely to buy from it again.

Responses fall into three clus- ters: promoters, defined as the customers who were extremely likely to recommend (choosing 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale), those who were less likely (“passively satis- fied,” at 7 or 8), and the remainder of the customers. The greater the share of customers who are pro- moters, the faster a company’s rev- enues grow. Over the three years studied, companies with many promoters included Southwest Airlines, Earthlink, and Enter- prise Rent-A-Car, and all of them grew much faster than their com- petitors. Reichheld’s advice to companies looking for growth: Skip the fancy questionnaires, and just ask customers if they will recommend your company.

Adapted from Frederick F. Reichheld, “The One Number You Need to Grow,” Harvard Business Review 81, no. 12 (December 2003): 46–54.

Mock up tables and figures early. Since they provide information on which you will base your arguments or explanations, it is important to arrange data logically and plan how you will use it in the report. As you tally and analyze the data, prepare your figures and tables, and a complete list of references. The background reading for your proposal can form the first draft of your list of references. Save a copy of your questionnaire or interview questions to use as an appendix. You can print appendixes before the final report is ready if you number their pages separately. Appendix A pages would be A-1, A-2, and so forth; Appendix B pages would be B-1, B-2, and so forth.

You can write the title page and the transmittal as soon as you know what your recommendation will be.

After you’ve analyzed your data, write the body, the conclusions and rec- ommendations, and the executive summary. Prepare a draft of the table of contents and the list of illustrations.

When you write a long report, list all the sections (headings) that your re- port will have. Mark those that are most important to your reader and your logic, and spend most of your time on them. Write the important sections early. That way, you won’t spend all your time on Background or History of the Problem. Instead, you’ll get to the meat of your report.

Analyzing Data and Information for Reports Good reports begin with good data. Analyzing the data you have gathered is essential to produce the tight logic needed for a good report. Analyze your data with healthy skepticism. Check to see that they correspond with expecta- tions or other existing data. If they don’t, check for well-supported explana- tions of the difference.

Spreadsheets can be particularly troublesome. Cell results derived by for- mulas can be subtly, or grossly, wrong by incorrectly defining ranges, for example. It is easy to generate results that are impossible, such as sums that exceed known totals. Always have an estimate of the result of a calculation. Using spreadsheets, you can easily be wrong by a factor of 10, 100, or 1,000. Results produced by this kind of error are wrong at best, and can be ludicrous and embarrassing. One study found that 30% of spreadsheets had errors, such as misplaced decimal points, transposed digits, and wrong signs, built into their rules.1 Try to keep ball-park figures, estimates of what the numbers should be, in mind as you look at numerical data. Question surprises before accepting them.

Analyzing data can be hard even for experts. New techniques continually appear, allowing experts to challenge earlier conclusions. One example is the Number Needed to Treat (NNT), a new measure of drug effectiveness devel- oped within the past 20 years. Most clinical trials answer the question, “Will patients on this drug do better than those taking a placebo?” For statins, drugs to reduce high cholesterol, the answer is yes: you may see 30% fewer heart at- tacks, depending on the particular trial. Sounds great, yes? But how many of those people would have had heart attacks in the first place? If the number is very small, 30% fewer isn’t much decrease, particularly considering the cost of statins and possible side effects including liver damage. The NNT asks, “How many people have to take this drug to avoid one heart attack?” For statins, the answer is about 50, much different odds and more food for thought for Amer- ica’s aging population as it decides whether or not to take more prescriptions.2

Numerous studies exist in scholarly journals challenging the data-based conclusions of earlier articles. One example is the fate of unmarried, college- educated women over 30. A famous Newsweek cover story, “Too Late for Prince

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Getting the Right Data

Surveys are often used to measure consumer

satisfaction, asking people to rate products and services. How- ever, does high customer satis- faction also mean that the quality of the product or service is also high? In a recent study, medical researchers found no correlation between patient-satisfaction and the quality of the care received. Those patients that rated the quality of their care as 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10) were no more likely to have received better care than those who gave it a 5.

This example shows some of the thorny issues associated with surveys. First, because surveys are easy to get and report, they are popular. But, people who re- spond to surveys tend to be those who are satisfied with the product or service. In addition, relying on survey data can exclude other im- portant findings. As in the case in medical research, customer satis- faction can mean something very different than the quality of med- ical care received.

Given these complexities, how can surveys be used effectively?

Adapted from David Wessel, “In Health Care, Consumer Theory Falls Flat,” Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2006, A2.

Charming?” reported the Yale and Harvard study that suggested such women had only a 20% chance of finding husbands, and only a 2.6% chance by the time they reached 40. Twenty years later an economist at the University of Washington examined 30 years of census data. Her figures for the decade of the original study showed that women aged 40–44 with advanced degrees were only 25% less likely to be married than comparably aged women with just high school diplomas. By 2000, those women with postcollege education were slightly more likely to be married than those who had finished only high school.3

Identifying the Source of the Data Check to be sure that your data come from a reliable source. Use the strategies outlined in Chapter 15 to evaluate Web sources ( p. 509). When the source has a vested interest ( p. 372) in the results, scrutinize them with special care. To analyze a company’s financial prospects, use independent informa- tion as well as the company’s annual report and press releases.

If your report is based upon secondary data from library and online re- search, look at the sample, the sample size, and the exact wording of questions to see what the data actually measure. (See Chapter 15 for more information on sampling and surveying.) Does the sample have a built-in bias? A survey of city library users may uncover information about users, but it may not find what keeps other people away from the library.

For many kinds of research, a large sample is important for giving signifi- cant results. For example, polls found that citizens were closely divided about the 2004 presidential elections. The difference of a few percentage points was within the margin of error, meaning that the pollsters really did not know whether President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry was in the lead; the difference in the numbers could have been mere chance. In that situation, a large sample was essential for the results to be meaningful. Nielsen Media Re- search collects about 2 million television viewing diaries annually to gather viewing data. The large numbers also allow it to provide viewing information for local stations and their advertisers.4

A survey that has been the target of much questioning in the press is the one behind the annual college rankings of US News & World Report. Critics charge that the rankings are based far too heavily on opinion (peer evalua- tions from other schools), uncorroborated data supplied by the schools them- selves, and irrelevant data (such as rates of alumni giving). Critics also charge schools with gaming the system through practices such as heavy solicitation of students who have almost no chance of being accepted (low acceptance rates help schools’ rankings).5

Identify exactly what the data measure. When advertisers began to place messages on the Internet, they soon realized that they had a measurement problem. The tools they used to measure viewer response counted the num- ber of people who clicked on an ad that delivered them to the advertiser’s Web site. In most cases, of course, advertisers want more than Web site visi- tors; they want people to buy from the company. Now more sophisticated tools can keep track of the percentage of people who click on the ad and then make a purchase at the company’s Web site. Advertisers can use this infor- mation to test different versions of their advertising, so they use only the most profitable versions. At the same time, the companies that sell online ad- vertising complain that these measures are unfair because they hold Internet advertising to a higher standard. Other media, such as magazines and televi- sion, merely estimate the number of people who see an ad, not the percentage who make a purchase.6

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Identify the assumptions used in analyzing the data. When Nielsen Media Re- search estimates the number of people who view television stations, it must make a number of assumptions. The company has to determine how well its People Meter actually tracks whether people are watching, and it has to make decisions about how to count groups that are hard to measure. Nielsen has reported that 18- to 34-year-old males are watching less television, in part because they spend more time with videogames and DVDs. However, television networks complained that the company was underreporting this group’s hours for a variety of reasons. For example, Nielsen was not counting young people who leave for college, and its sample did not include homes with TiVo or other personal video recorders (de- vices that make measurement more difficult). Because of such differences, the net- works, Nielsen, and advertisers disagree about whether young men are losing interest in television programming.7 Nielsen continually refines the ways it col- lects data. Since its original report on young men, for instance, it has started meas- ures to track college students’ viewing. Those efforts have increased ratings for some shows by more then 35%.8

Analyzing Numbers Many reports analyze numbers—either numbers from databases and sources or numbers from a survey you have conducted. The numerical information, properly analyzed, can make a clear case in support of a recommendation. Suppose, for example, you are trying to make your company’s Web site easier to use. In your report, you might want to include numbers from Jakob Nielsen that using Web sites is 206% harder for people with disabilities and 122% harder for elderly people.9 These numbers are striking because they are large and because they are quite different. They make the case that some groups are having great difficulty with Web sites; if your company cares about serving these groups, it would be worthwhile to find out how to make your com- pany’s Web site easier for them to use. Also, depending on your group’s ob- jectives, you might decide to focus more on people with disabilities (because they have much more difficulty) or to focus more on elderly computer users (because they are a larger part of the population). The next steps would in- clude finding out why these groups have trouble and how to make your com- pany’s Web site more user friendly. (The Web Accessibility Initiative provides excellent material on how to make Web sites accessible to the disabled: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php.)

Recognize that even authorities can differ on the numbers they offer, or on the interpretations of the same data sets. Researchers from the United Nations and Johns Hopkins University differed on their estimates of Iraqi deaths in the war by 500% (see sidebar on page 542).10

In their books, The Tipping Point and Freakonomics, Malcolm Gladwell and Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner reach different conclusions about the data on dropping crime rates for New York City. Gladwell attributes the drop to the crackdown by the new police chief on even minor crimes such as graffiti and public drunkenness. Levitt and Dubner first explain why the cause was not a crackdown on crime (the years don’t match well; other cities also experi- enced the drop) and attribute it to the legalization of abortion (at the time of the crime drop the first wave of children born after Roe v. Wade was hitting late teen years and thus prime crime time; that group was short on the cate- gory most likely to become criminal: unwanted children). They also provide corroborating evidence from other countries.11

If you’ve conducted a survey, your first step in analyzing your numbers is to transfer the responses on the survey form into numbers. For some cate- gories, you’ll assign numbers arbitrarily. For example, you might record men

Analyzing Numbers, I

True story. One of the Big Three Detroit Au-

tomakers put together a cus- tomer relationship management (CRM) system that helped it de- cide which cars to manufacture based on what was going on in dealers’ lots. It worked great.

Well, except for one catch. Ac- cording to Eric Almquist, VP at Mercer Management Consult- ing, the company’s marketing team had just created sales in- centives to get rid of a lot of lime-green cars, which no one wanted. As consumers snapped up the special deals on the cars, the CRM software noticed the surge of sales in lime-green cars and instructed the factory to produce more. The automaker lost millions of dollars before it caught the error.

Quoted from Brian Caulfield, “Facing Up to CRM,” Business 2.0, August/ September 2001, 149.

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as 1 and women as 2—or vice versa. Such assignments don’t matter, as long as you’re consistent throughout your project. In these cases, you can report the number and percentage of men and women who responded to your survey, but you can’t do anything else with the numbers.

When you have numbers for salaries or other figures, start by figuring the average (or mean), the median, and the range. The average or mean is calcu- lated by adding up all the figures and dividing by the number of samples. The mode is the number that occurs most often. The median is the number that is exactly in the middle. When you have an odd number of observations, the me- dian will be the middle number. When you have an even number, the median will be the average of the two numbers in the center. The range is the differ- ence between the high and low figures for that variable.

Figure 16.1 shows the raw data that a student recorded in a report evaluat- ing a hospital’s emergency room procedures. To analyze the data, we could rearrange them, listing them from low to high (see Figure 16.2). The average waiting time is 26.6 minutes, but the median (the middle number) is only 22.

Finding the average takes a few more steps when you have different kinds of data. For example, it’s common to ask respondents whether they find a fea- ture “very important,” “somewhat important,” or “not important.” You might code “very important” as “3,” “somewhat important” as “2,” and “not impor- tant” as “1.” To find the average in this kind of data,

1. For each response, multiply the code by the number of people who gave that response.

2. Add up the figures.

3. Divide by the total number of people responding to the question.

For example, suppose you have the following data after selecting a random sample and surveying 50 people about the features they want in a proposed apartment complex:

Patient Wait Patient

12 17 15 22 35

Wait Patient Wait

17 35 12 54 50

19 31 41 23 17

Amount of time (rounded off to the nearest minute) that patients wait in the emergency room before being examined in triage.

Figure 16.1 Raw Data from Observations for a Report

Very important Somewhat important Not important (coded as “3”) (coded as “2”) (coded as “1”)

Party house 26 12 13 Extra parking for guests 26 23 1

Following step 1, to get the average for “party house,” multiply 3 � 26 � 78; 2 � 12 � 24; and 1 � 13 � 13. Then add 78 � 24 � 13 � 115. Divide by the

Analyzing Numbers, II

Beth Baldwin, Direc- tor of Marketing Infor-

mation at Terra Lycos, the giant dotcom portal, knew the num- bers didn’t add up. Last No- vember, New York–based Web audience measurement serv- ice Media Matrix reported that Lycos Zone—the portal’s site for kids—had seen a 5 percent de- cline from the previous month. Baldwin’s own numbers, how- ever, showed that in fact the amount of traffic to the site had increased during that period.

Baldwin believed that her numbers, generated by Terra Lycos’s site-metrics software, were probably right, but she had to prove it because Wall Street was more inclined to treat Media Matrix as the final word. It took two months, but she finally found the answer in a study, conducted by market research firm Roper Starch Worldwide, that reported on Web usage in schools and listed popular K–12 sites. Baldwin realized that many of the visitors to Lycos Zone were kids logging on from school, and that Media Matrix doesn’t count those users. Her numbers were indeed correct.

Quoted from Brian Caulfield, “Why Your Site Traffic Numbers Are out of Whack,” Business 2.0, March 2001, 122.

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12, 12 15 17, 17, 17 19 22 23 31 35, 35 41 50 54

Average: 26.6 minutes Median: 22 minutes Mode: 17 minutes Range: 12 54 minutes

Figure 16.2 Rearranging Data to Find the Average (Mean), Mode, and Median

number of people answering the question and you get the average for that factor: 115 divided by 50 � 2.3. Repeat the process for the next factor, “extra parking”: 3 � 26 � 78; 2 � 23 � 46; 1 � 1 � 1. Adding 78 � 46 � 1 � 125; dividing by 50 � 2.5.

The average then gives an easy way to compare various features. If the party house averages 2.3 while extra parking for guests is 2.5, you know that your respondents would find extra parking more important than a party house. (Whether the difference is significant or not is a statistics question.) You can now arrange the factors in order of importance:

Table 4. “How Important Is Each Factor to You in Choosing an Apartment?”

n � 50; 3 � “Very Important”

Extra parking for guests 2.5 Party house 2.3 Pool 2.2 Convenient to bus line 2.0

Often it’s useful to simplify numerical data: rounding it off, combining similar elements. Then you can see that one number is about 21⁄2 times an- other. Charting it can also help you see patterns in your data. (See Chapter 6 for a full discussion of charts as a way of analyzing and presenting nu- merical data.) Look at the raw data as well as at percentages. For example, a 50% increase in shoplifting incidents sounds alarming. An increase from two to three shoplifting incidents sounds less so but is the same data stated differently.

Many people believe numbers are more “objective” than words. In reality, this belief is inaccurate; both numbers and words require interpretation and context to have meaning. Consider the data collected by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For each year, the NHTSA gathers and reports statistics on the number of motor vehicle accident fatalities, breaking down the data by type of accident, type of vehicle, and state. In 2003 the agency determined that 42,643 people died in traffic accidents in the United States. When the data were ready, the NHTSA news release proclaimed, “DOT Announces Historic Low Highway Fatality Rate in 2003.” The release quoted Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as saying, “America’s roads are safer than ever.” The “historic low” was a rate of 1.48 per 100 million

When Estimates Collide

Why do married cou- ples argue about

money? One reason might be dif- ferences in what they think they have. In the National Longitudinal Studies, the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics looks at household meas- ures over many years. Economist Jay Zagorsky found a problem with the financial data: husbands and wives differ in their estimates of income and assets.

On average, husbands report 5 percent more income and 10 percent more total wealth than wives do. In one way, though, spouses are consistent. Both re- port lower earnings for their spouses than the spouses report as their income. Their estimates differ by more than $3,000. When it comes to total wealth, hus- bands report more wealth than wives estimate.

Who is wrong? Zagorsky isn’t sure. Couples do agree on which spouse pays most of the bills. For about 60 percent of the couples, that person is the wife.

Zagorsky’s research tells oth- ers to be cautious in reviewing estimates of family earnings. For example, the federal govern- ment uses the Current Popula- tion Survey to calculate statistics about poverty. About two-thirds of respondents are women. Are poverty estimates too high? So far, we can only wonder.

Adapted from Jeff Grabmeier, “Hus- bands, Wives Don’t Agree on Their Financial Status,” OnCampus, June 12, 2003, 5–6.

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vehicle miles traveled, the first time that rate had been less than 1.5 since the NHTSA began gathering the data. A columnist for the Wall Street Journal ac- knowledged the good news but observed that the rate of decline was just 0.8%. The NHTSA news release emphasized reasons for the decline in fatali- ties (more seat belt use and stiffer drunk-driving laws), whereas the Wall Street Journal highlighted reasons for the small size of the decline (the popu- larity of SUVs and pickups, whose fatality rates are declining but are higher than for passenger cars).12

The same numbers can be presented in different ways to create very differ- ent impressions. In the case of the NHTSA data, the Kansas City Star and Time magazine prepared articles emphasizing not the overall decline in fatalities, but the difference between the fatality rates observed for passenger cars and SUVs. Both articles mentioned that passengers are “11% more likely to die” in a crash if they are driving an SUV rather than an automobile. A story in Forbes magazine, however, called SUVs “slightly more dangerous” but focused on additional data comparing various types of crashes. The Forbes article empha- sized that in crashes between a light truck and a passenger car, if someone died, that person usually was an occupant of the car. The article listed the number of deaths recorded in each type of crash but not the percentage of fatalities (13%) in crashes between cars and light trucks.13 In each of these ex- amples, the publication used the same data to reach a conclusion that is more dramatic than a decline in fatalities of less than 1%.

A common myth associated with numbers is that numbers are more objective than words: “numbers don’t lie.”

Analyzing Words If your data include words, try to find out what the words mean to the people who said them. An effort to measure the effectiveness of four TV commercials in Australia asked whether each commercial “encourages me to try/buy the brand product.” The question is ambiguous. Some consumers might think the researcher wants to know whether the ad is obviously a sales pitch. (Is the ad “encouraging me to buy” or just trying to make me feel good?) Others might think the question is asking about how effective the ad is in persuading the consumer. (Did the ad succeed at encouraging me, or did it fail?) This ques- tion therefore might measure either the commercials’ content or their ability to persuade, depending on how people interpret the words.14

Also try to measure words against numbers. When he researched possible investments, Peter Lynch found that people in mature industries were pes- simistic, seeing clouds. People in immature industries saw pie in the sky, even when the numbers weren’t great.15

Analyzing Patterns Patterns can help you draw meaning from your data. If you have library sources, on which points do experts agree? Which disagreements can be explained by early theories or numbers that have now changed? Which dis- agreements are the result of different interpretations of the same data? Which are the result of having different values and criteria? In your interviews and surveys, what patterns do you see?

• Have things changed over time?

• Does geography account for differences?

• Do demographics such as gender, age, or income account for differences?

• What similarities do you see?

• What differences do you see?

Getting the Data Right

A 2006 report by Johns Hopkins University

claimed that 655,000 Iraqis had died in the war in Iraq, a figure that diverged wildly from other estimates—sometimes more than 1,000%. The Hopkins figure is 500% more than that of the United Nations. Such a difference from other reports calls into ques- tion the accuracy of the Hopkins report.

To understand why the figure is so much higher than other re- search reports, it is important to consider how the data were gath- ered. The Hopkins researchers used cluster sampling for inter- views, a methodology that makes sense given the country’s war- zone status. Researchers ran- domly selected neighborhoods and then conducted door-to-door interviews with “clusters” of indi- viduals from within those neigh- borhoods. Such a technique saves time and money and is common in research within devel- oping countries.

But, the key to this kind of tech- nique is to use enough cluster points. A lack of cluster points can mean that the population sampled isn’t representative of the population in Iraq. The Hopkins researchers did not use enough cluster points. In addition, the Hopkins researchers didn’t gather demographic data from their participants for comparison to census data. Doing so would have added to the believability of their results.

Getting the data right is impor- tant because numbers can have a significant impact on de- cisions and policies. In terms of casualties, the decisions made based on the numbers reported have an impact on millions of Iraqis and Americans.

Adapted from Stephen E. Moore, “655,000 War Dead?” Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2006, A20.

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• What confirms your hunches?

• What surprises you?

Checking Your Logic State accurately what your data show. For example, suppose that you’ve asked people who use computers if they could be as productive without them and the overwhelming majority say no. This finding shows that people believe that computers make them more productive, but it does not prove that they in fact are more productive.

Don’t confuse causation with correlation. Causation means that one thing causes or produces another. Correlation means that two things happening at the same time are positively or negatively related. One might cause the other, but both might be caused by a third. Correlation and causation are easy to confuse, but the difference is important. Consider studies showing that intelli- gence declines as birth order increases. Thus, the average first-born child is more intelligent than the average second-born, and IQs continue to fall for the third-, fourth-, and fifth-born. Does that mean having older siblings makes a person less intelligent? A more plausible explanation would be that a third factor makes large families different from small ones in a way that relates to intelligence measures. Similarly, the Census Bureau publishes figures show- ing that greater education levels are associated with greater incomes. A widely held assumption is that more education causes greater earnings. But might people from richer backgrounds seek more education? Or might some third factor, such as intelligence, lead to both greater education and higher income? The Census Bureau does not measure intelligence.16

Consciously search for at least three possible causes for each phenomenon you’ve observed and at least three possible solutions for each problem. The more possibilities you brainstorm, the more likely you are to find good op- tions. In your report, mention all of the possibilities; discuss in detail only those that will occur to readers and that you think are the real reasons and the best solutions.

When you have identified causes of the problem or the best solutions, check these ideas against reality. Can you find support in quotes or in numbers? Can you answer claims of people who interpret the data in other ways?

Make the nature of your evidence clear to your reader. Do you have obser- vations that you yourself have made? Or do you have inferences based on observations or data collected by others? Old data may not be good guides to future action.

If you can’t prove the claim you originally hoped to make, modify your conclusions to fit your data. Even when your market test is a failure or your experiment disproves your hypothesis, you can still write a useful report.

• Identify changes that might yield a different result. For example, selling the product at a lower price might enable the company to sell enough units.

• Divide the discussion to show what part of the test succeeded.

• Discuss circumstances that may have affected the results.

• Summarize your negative findings in progress reports to let readers down gradually and to give them a chance to modify the research design.

• Remember that negative results aren’t always disappointing to the audience. For example, the people who commissioned a feasibility report may be re- lieved to have an impartial outsider confirm their suspicions that a project is- n’t feasible. Marketing consultant Arthur Shapiro once worked with an executive who was disappointed when the results were positive. Shapiro tested a proposed advertising campaign and found that it performed as

To see examples of the ways in which

reports are written and disseminated, visit the Pew Internet & American Life Project at the above Web site.

The project produces reports on the impact of the Internet on American lives, collecting and analyzing data or real-world developments as they intersect with the virtual world. Following data collection, the results are written into the reports and posted as PDFs to the Web site.

Visit the Project’s Web pages to see examples of the ways in which reports are first presented and then rewritten by the press for their audience and purpose.

http://www.pewinternet .org/

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intended. But after receiving the results, the executive responded that he could not be convinced because, he explained, “I hate the campaign.”17

Choosing Information for Reports Don’t put information in reports just because you have it or just because it took you a long time to find it. Instead, choose the information that your reader needs to make a decision.

If you know your readers well, you may know what their priorities are. For ex- ample, the supervisor of a call center knows that management will be looking for certain kinds of performance data, including costs, workload handled and fore- cast, and customer satisfaction. To write regular reports, the supervisor would set up a format in which it is easy to see how well the center is doing in each of these areas. Using the same format month after month simplifies the reader’s task. Pre- senting the actual performance alongside objectives helps managers focus on ma- jor successes and failures. The supervisor also would highlight and explain any unusual data, such as an unexpected surge in volume or a one-time expense.18

If you don’t know your readers, you may be able to get a sense for what is important by showing them a tentative table of contents (a list of your headings) and asking, “Have I included everything?” When you cannot contact an exter- nal audience, show your draft to colleagues and superiors in your organization.

How much information you need to include depends on whether your audience is likely to be supportive, neutral, or skeptical. If your audience is likely to be pleased with your research, you can present your findings di- rectly. If your audience will not be pleased, you will need to explain your thinking in a persuasive way and provide substantial evidence.

You must also decide whether to put information in the body of the report or in appendixes. Put material in the body of the report if it is crucial to your proof, if your most significant readers will want to see it there, or if it is short. (Something less than half a page won’t interrupt the reader.) Frequently deci- sion makers want your analysis of the data in the report body rather than the actual data itself. Supporting data that will be examined later by specialists such as accountants, lawyers, and engineers are generally put in an appendix.

Anything that a careful reader will want but that is not crucial to your proof can go in an appendix. Appendixes can include

• A copy of a survey questionnaire or interview questions.

• A tally of responses to each question in a survey.

• A copy of responses to open-ended questions in a survey.

• A transcript of an interview.

• Computer printouts.

• Complex tables and visuals.

• Technical data.

• Previous reports on the same subject.

Organizing Information in Reports Most sets of data can be organized in several logical ways. Choose the way that makes your information easiest for the reader to understand and use. If you were compiling a directory of all the employees at your plant, for ex- ample, alphabetizing by last name would be far more useful than listing people by height, social security number, or length of service with the com- pany, although those organizing principles might make sense in other lists for other purposes.

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In one company, a young employee comparing the economics of two proposed manufacturing processes gave his logic and his calculations in full before getting to his conclusion. But his superiors didn’t want to wade through eight single-spaced pages; they wanted his recommendation up front.19

The following three guidelines will help you choose the arrangement that will be the most useful for your reader:

1. Process your information before you present it to your reader. The order in which you became aware of information usually is not the best order to present it to your reader.

2. When you have lots of information, group it into three to seven cate- gories. The average person’s short-term memory can hold only seven chunks, though the chunks can be of any size.20 By grouping your infor- mation into seven categories (or fewer), you make your report easier to read.

3. Work with the reader’s expectations, not against them. Introduce ideas in the overview in the order in which you will discuss them.

Basic Patterns for Organizing Information Seven basic patterns for organizing information are useful in reports:

1. Comparison/contrast.

2. Problem-solution.

3. Elimination of alternatives.

4. General to particular or particular to general.

5. Geographic or spatial.

6. Functional.

7. Chronological.

Any of these patterns can be used for a whole report or for only part of it.

1. Comparison/contrast

Many reports use comparison/contrast sections within a larger report pattern. Comparison/contrast can also be the purpose of the whole report. Feasibility studies usually use this pattern. You can focus either on the alternatives you are evaluating or on the criteria you use. See Figure 16.3 for examples of these two patterns in a report.

Focus on the alternatives when

• One alternative is clearly superior.

• The criteria are hard to separate.

• The reader will intuitively grasp the alternative as a whole rather than as the sum of its parts.

Focus on the criteria when

• The superiority of one alternative to another depends on the relative weight assigned to various criteria. Perhaps Alternative A is best if we are most concerned about Criterion 1, cost, but worst if we are most concerned about Criterion 2, proximity to target market.

• The criteria are easy to separate.

• The reader wants to compare and contrast the options independently of your recommendation.

Tell Them a Story

To persuade people, tell them a story or anecdote that proves your point.

Experiments with both high school teachers and quantita- tively trained MBA students show that people are more likely to believe a point and more likely to be committed to it when points were made by examples, stories, and case studies. Sto- ries alone were more effective than a combination of stories and statistics; the combination was more effective than statis- tics alone. In another experi- ment, attitude changes lasted longer when the audience had read stories than when they had only read numbers. Recent re- search suggests that stories are more persuasive because people remember them.

In many cases, you’ll need to provide statistics or numbers to convince the careful reader that your anecdote is a representa- tive example. But give the story first. It’s more persuasive.

Adapted from Dean C. Kazoleas, “A Comparison of the Persuasive Effec- tiveness of Qualitative versus Quan- titative Evidence,” Communication Quarterly 41, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 40–50; and Joanne Martin and Melanie E. Powers, “Truth of Corpo- rate Propaganda,” in Organizational Symbolism, ed. Louis R. Pondy, et al. (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1983), 97–107.

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A variation of the divided pattern is the pro-and-con pattern. In this pat- tern, under each specific heading, give the arguments for and against that alternative. A report recommending new plantings for a university quadrangle uses the pro-and-con pattern:

Figure 16.3 Two Ways to Organize a Comparison/Contrast Report

Focus on alternatives

Alternative A Opening a New Store on Campus Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores

Alternative B Opening a New Store in the Suburban Mall Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores

Focus on criteria

Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space for the New Store Alternative A Cost of Campus Locations Alternative B Cost of Locations in the Suburban Mall

Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Alternative A Proximity on Campus Alternative B Proximity in the Suburban Mall

Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores Alternative A Competing Stores on Campus Alternative B Competing Stores in the Suburban Mall

Advantages of Monocropping High Productivity Visual Symmetry

Disadvantages of Monocropping Danger of Pest Exploitation Visual Monotony

This pattern is least effective when you want to deemphasize the disadvantages of a proposed solution, for it does not permit you to bury the disadvantages between neutral or positive material.

2. Problem-solution

Identify the problem; explain its background or history; discuss its extent and seriousness; identify its causes. Discuss the factors (criteria) that affect the decision. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of possible solu- tions. Conclusions and recommendation can go either first or last, depend- ing on the preferences of your reader. This pattern works well when the reader is neutral.

A report recommending ways to eliminate solidification of a granular bleach during production uses the problem-solution pattern:

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4. General to particular or particular to general

General to particular starts with the problem as it affects the organization or as it manifests itself in general and then moves to a discussion of the parts of the problem and solutions to each of these parts. Particular to general starts with the problem as the audience defines it and moves to larger issues of which the problem is a part. Both are good patterns when you need to redefine the reader’s perception of the problem to solve it effectively.

The directors of a student volunteer organization, VIP, have defined their problem as “not enough volunteers.” After studying the subject, the writer is convinced that problems in training, supervision, and campus awareness are re- sponsible for both a high dropout rate and a low recruitment rate. The general- to-particular pattern helps the audience see the problem in a new way:

Glass Ceilings?

Researchers not only write reports about

their data, they also use reports to gather data. In a recent study, researchers from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Loyola University–Chicago in- vestigated proxy statements and Securities and Exchange Commission reports to gather data about the status of female CEOs.

Researchers categorized and ranked biographical data by gender, age, and tenure of ex- ecutives from the largest 942 U.S. companies to predict the rate at which female executives will advance to become CEOs. In 2000, 0.6 % of board chairs and CEOs were women. By 2016, the proportion of females in those top positions is pro- jected to be 6.2 percent. They concluded that “despite ad- vances in the corporate sphere, it’s still lonely at the top for fe- male CEOs—and will be for at least another decade.”

Adapted from Elizabeth Woyke, “Glass Ceilings: Corner Office Crawl,” BusinessWeek, December 4, 2006, 14.

Recommended Reformulation for Vibe Bleach Problems in Maintaining Vibe’s Granular Structure

Solidifying during Storage and Transportation Customer Complaints about “Blocks” of Vibe in Boxes

Why Vibe Bleach “Cakes” Vibe’s Formula The Manufacturing Process The Chemical Process of Solidification

Modifications Needed to Keep Vibe Flowing Freely

3. Elimination of alternatives

After discussing the problem and its causes, discuss the impractical solutions first, showing why they will not work. End with the most practical solution. This pattern works well when the solutions the reader is likely to favor will not work, while the solution you recommend is likely to be perceived as expensive, intrusive, or radical.

A report on toy commercials, “The Effect of TV Ads on Children,” eliminates alternatives:

Alternative Solutions to Problems in TV Toy Ads Leave Ads Unchanged Mandate School Units on Advertising Ask the Industry to Regulate Itself Give FCC Authority to Regulate TV Ads Directed at Children

Why VIP Needs More Volunteers Why Some VIP Volunteers Drop Out

Inadequate Training Inadequate Supervision Feeling That VIP Requires Too Much Time Feeling That the Work Is Too Emotionally Demanding

Why Some Students Do Not Volunteer Feeling That VIP Requires Too Much Time Feeling That the Work Is Too Emotionally Demanding Preference for Volunteering with Another Organization Lack of Knowledge about VIP Opportunities

How VIP Volunteers Are Currently Trained and Supervised Time Demands on VIP Volunteers

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5. Geographic or spatial

In a geographic or spatial pattern, you discuss problems and solutions by units by their physical arrangement. Move from office to office, building to building, factory to factory, state to state, region to region, etc.

A sales report uses a geographic pattern of organization:

Tapping into the Research Experts

Where else can you go besides Google to

find the information you need for your next report? You might try your local library. While you can find a wealth of information on Google, libraries subscribe to commercial databases that can give you access to power- ful tools for writing your com- pany’s business or marketing plan. An added plus is that li- brarians are experts at navigat- ing those databases.

Small business owners, in par- ticular, can benefit. Many libraries even hold classes for entrepre- neurs and provide networking opportunities with other local agen- cies and organizations geared to help the small business person. So the next time you are working out a business problem, visit your local library.

Adapted from Tara Siegel Bernhard, “Enterprise: Big Help for Small Busi- nesses at the Library; Commercial Databases, Assistance on Research and Classes Are Offered,” Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2006, B4.

Emotional Demands on VIP Volunteers Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment and Motivation

Improving Training and Supervision Improving the Flexibility of Volunteers’ Hours Providing Emotional Support to Volunteers Providing More Information about Community Needs and VIP Services

Sales Have Risen in the European Community Sales Are Flat in Eastern Europe Sales Have Fallen Sharply in the Middle East Sales Are Off to a Strong Start in Africa Sales Have Risen Slightly in Asia Sales Have Fallen Slightly in South America Sales Are Steady in North America

6. Functional

In functional patterns, discuss the problems and solutions of each functional unit. For example, a small business might organize a report to its venture capital- ists by the categories of research, production, and marketing. A government report might divide data into the different functions an agency performed, taking each in turn:

Major Accomplishments FY 09 Regulation Education Research International coordination

7. Chronological

A chronological report records events in the order in which they happened or are planned to happen. Many progress reports are organized chronologically:

Work Completed in October Work Planned for November

If you choose this pattern, be sure you do not let the chronology obscure significant points or trends.

How to Organize Specific Varieties of Reports Informative, feasibility, and justification reports will be more successful when you work with the readers’ expectations for that kind of report.

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Informative and closure reports

Informative and closure reports summarize completed work or research that does not result in action or recommendation.

Informative reports often include the following elements:

• Introductory paragraph summarizing the problems or successes of the project.

• Purpose and scope section(s) giving the purpose of the report and indicating what aspects of the topic it covers.

• Chronological account of how the problem was discovered, what was done, and what the results were.

• Concluding paragraph with suggestions for later action. In a recommen- dation report, the recommendations would be based on proof. In contrast, the suggestions in a closure or recommendation report are not proved in detail.

Figure 16.4 presents this kind of informative closure report. Closure reports also allow a firm to document the alternatives it has consid-

ered before choosing a final design and to prove its right to copyrights and patents.

Feasibility reports Feasibility reports evaluate two or more alternatives and recommend one of them. (Doing nothing or delaying action can be one of the alternatives.)

Feasibility reports normally open by explaining the decision to be made, list- ing the alternatives, and explaining the criteria. In the body of the report, each alternative will be evaluated according to the criteria using one of the two comparison/contrast patterns. Discussing each alternative separately is better when one alternative is clearly superior, when the criteria interact, or when each alternative is indivisible. If the choice depends on the weight given to each criterion, you may want to discuss each alternative under each criterion.

Whether your recommendation should come at the beginning or the end of the report depends on your reader and the culture of your organization. Most readers want the “bottom line” up front. However, if the reader will find your recommendation hard to accept, you may want to delay your recommenda- tion until the end of the report when you have given all your evidence.

Justification reports Justification reports recommend or justify a purchase, investment, hiring, or change in policy. If your organization has a standard format for justification reports, follow that format. If you can choose your headings and organization, use this pattern when your recommendation will be easy for your reader to accept.

1. Indicate what you’re asking for and why it’s needed. Since the reader has not asked for the report, you must link your request to the organiza- tion’s goals.

2. Briefly give the background of the problem or need.

3. Explain each of the possible solutions. For each, give the cost and the advantages and disadvantages.

4. Summarize the action needed to implement your recommendation. If several people will be involved, indicate who will do what and how long each step will take.

5. Ask for the action you want.

Failure Isn’t Final

Researchers write clo- sure reports when the company decides that the project they’re working on isn’t feasible. How- ever, a few years later, new tech- nologies, new conditions, or new ideas may make a “failed” idea feasible.

Post-It® notes use a “failed” adhesive because one 3M em- ployee saw the weak adhesive as a solution to a problem:

I was singing in the choir in my church. . . . I would mark the pages with little pieces of paper normally. And sometimes they would fall out. . . . I thought what I really need is . . . a bookmark that’s going to stick to those pages . . . and still not damage the book when I pull them off. . . . I knew that Spence Silver back in our labora- tory had just developed an adhesive that would do that. And I made . . . rough samples of the bookmarks. . . . I had also made up some larger sizes and found, hey, these are really handy for notes.

An adhesive that failed in its original application was a spec- tacular success in a new and highly profitable product.

Adapted from John Nathan, In Search of Excellence (Waltham, MA: Nathan/Tyler Productions, 1985), 9.

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March 14, 2008

To: Kitty O. Locker

From: Sara A. Ratterman

Subject: Recycling at Bike Nashbar

Two months ago, Bike Nashbar began recycling its corrugated cardboard boxes. The program was easy to implement and actually saves the company a little money compared to our previous garbage pickup.

In this report, I will explain how whyand Bike Nashbar‘s program was initiated, how the program works and what it costs, and why other businesses should consider similar programs.

The Problem of Too Many Boxes and Not Enough Space in Bike Nashbar

Every week, Bike Nashbar receives about 40 large cardboard boxes containing bicycles and other merchandise. As many boxes as possible would be stuffed into the trash bin behind the building, which also had to accommodate all the other solid waste the shop produces. Boxes that didn't fit in the trash bin ended up lying around the shop, blocking doorways, and taking up space needed for customers' bikes. The trash bin was only emptied once a week, and by that time, even more boxes would have arrived.

The Importance of Recycling Cardboard Rather than Throwing It Away

Arranging for more trash bins or more frequent pickups would have solved the immediate problem at Bike Nashbar but would have done nothing to solve the problem created by throwing away so much trash in the first place.

According to David Crogen, sales representative for Waste Management, Inc., 75% of all solid waste in Columbus goes to landfills. The amount of trash the city collects has increased 150% in the last five years. Columbus‘s landfill is almost full. In an effort to encourage people and businesses to recycle, the cost of dumping trash in the landfill is doubling from $4.90 a cubic yard to $9.90 a cubic yard next week. Next January, the price will increase again, to $12.95 a cubic yard. Crogen believes that the amount of trash can be reduced by cooperation between the landfill and the power plant and by recycling.

How Bike Nashbar Started Recycling Cardboard

Waste Management, Inc., is the country‘s largest waste processor. After reading an article about how committed Waste Management, Inc., is to waste reduction and recycling, I decided to see whether Waste Management could recycle our boxes. Corrugated cardboard (which is what Bike Nashbar‘s boxes are made of) is almost 100% recyclable, so we seemed to be a good candidate for recycling.

Purpose and scope of report.

First paragraph

summarizes main

points.

Bold or underline headin gs.

Informal short reports use

letter or memo format.

Further seriousness of problem.

Cause of problem.

Triple space before

Double space after heading.

heading.

Double space between paragraphs within heading.

Capitalize first letter o f

major words in heading .

Solution.

Figure 16.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem

(continued)

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Kitty O. Locker March 14, 2008 Page 2

How the Service Works and What It Costs

Waste Management took away our existing 8-cubic-yard garbage bin and replaced it with two 4-yard bins. One of these bins is white and has “cardboard only” printed on the outside; the other is brown and is for all other solid waste. The bins are emptied once a week, with the cardboard being taken to the recycling plant and the solid waste going to the landfill or power plant.

Since Bike Nashbar was already paying more than $60 a week for garbage pickup, our basic cost stayed the same. (Waste Management can absorb the extra overhead only if the current charge is at least $60 a week.) The cost is divided 80/20 between the two bins: 80% of the cost pays for the bin that goes to the landfill and power plant; 20% covers the cardboard pickup. Bike Nashbar actually receives $5.00 for each ton of cardboard it recycles.

Each employee at Bike Nashbar is responsible for putting all the boxes he or she opens in the recycling bin. Employees must follow these rules:

Reader’s name, date, page number.

To get the service started, I met with a friendly sales rep, David Crogen, that same afternoon to discuss the service.

Waste Management, Inc., took care of all the details. Two days later, Bike Nashbar was recycling its cardboard.

•

Talking heads tell reade r what to

expect in each section.

Details of solution.

Double space

between paragraphs.

Indented lists

provide visual variety.

The cardboard must have the word “corrugated” printed on it, along with the universal recycling symbol.

The boxes must be broken down to their flattest form. If they aren’t, they won’t all fit in the bin and Waste Management would be picking up air when it could pick up solid cardboard. The more boxes that are picked up, the more money and space that will be made.

No other waste except corrugated cardboard can be put in the recycling bin. Other materials could break the recycling machinery or contaminate the new cardboard.

The recycling bin is to be kept locked with a padlock provided by Waste Management so that vagrants don't steal the cardboard and lose money for Waste Management and Bike Nashbar.

Figure 16.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem (Continued)

(continued)

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Kitty O. Locker March 14, 2008 Page 3

Minor Problems with Running the Recycling Program

The only problems we’ve encountered have been minor ones of violating the rules. Sometimes employees at the shop forget to flatten boxes, and air instead of cardboard gets picked up. Sometimes people forget to lock the recycling bin. When the bin is left unlocked, people do steal the cardboard, and plastic cups and other solid waste get dumped in the cardboard bin. I’ve posted signs where the key to the bin hangs, reminding employees to empty and fold boxes and relock the bin after putting cardboard in it. I hope this will turn things around and these problems will be solved.

Advantages of the Recycling Program

The program is a great success. Now when boxes arrive, they are unloaded, broken down, and disposed of quickly. It is a great relief to get the boxes out of our way, and knowing that we are making a contribution to saving our environment builds pride in ourselves and Bike Nashbar.

Our company depends on a clean, safe environment for people to ride their bikes in. Now we have become part of the solution. By choosing to recycle and reduce the amount of solid waste our company generates, we can save money while gaining a reputation as a socially responsible business.

Why Other Companies Should Adopt Similar Programs

Businesses and institutions in Franklin County currently recycle less than 4% of the solid waste they produce. David Crogen tells me he has over 8,000 clients in Columbus alone, and he acquires new ones every day. Many of these businesses can recycle a large portion of their solid waste at no additional cost. Depending on what they recycle, they may even get a little money back.

The environmental and economic benefits of recycling as part of a comprehensive waste reduction program are numerous. Recycling helps preserve our environment. We can use the same materials over and over again, saving natural resources such as trees, fuel, and metals and decreasing the amount of solid waste in landfills. By conserving natural resources, recycling helps the U.S. become less dependent on imported raw materials. Crogen predicts that Columbus will be on a 100% recycling system by the year 2020. I strongly hope that his prediction will come true and the future may start to look a little brighter.

Dis- advantages of solution.

Advantages of solution.

Argues that her

company's experience is relevant to other

companies.

Figure 16.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem (Concluded)

If the reader will be reluctant to grant your request, use this variation of the problem-solving pattern described in Chapter 12 ( p. 378):

1. Describe the organizational problem (which your request will solve). Use specific examples to prove the seriousness of the problem.

2. Show why easier or less expensive solutions will not solve the problem.

�

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3. Present your solution impersonally.

4. Show that the disadvantages of your solution are outweighed by the advantages.

5. Summarize the action needed to implement your recommendation. If several people will be involved, indicate who will do what and how long each step will take.

6. Ask for the action you want.

How much detail you need to give in a justification report depends on the cor- porate culture and on your reader’s knowledge of and attitude toward your recommendation. Many organizations expect justification reports to be short—only one or two pages. Other organizations may expect longer reports with much more detailed budgets and a full discussion of the problem and each possible solution.

Presenting Information Effectively in Reports The advice about style in Chapter 4 also applies to reports, with three exceptions:

1. Use a fairly formal style, without contractions or slang.

2. Avoid the word you. In a document with multiple audiences, it will not be clear who you is. Instead, use the company name.

3. Include in the report all the definitions and documents needed to un- derstand the recommendations. The multiple audiences for reports in- clude readers who may consult the document months or years from now; they will not share your special knowledge. Explain acronyms and abbre- viations the first time they appear. Explain as much of the history or back- ground of the problem as necessary. Add as appendixes previous documents on which you are building.

The following points apply to any kind of writing, but they are particularly important in reports:

1. Use clear, engaging writing.

2. Keep repetition to a minimum.

3. Introduce sources and visuals.

4. Use forecasting, transitions, topic sentences, and headings to make your organization clear to your reader.

Let’s look at each of these principles as they apply to reports.

1. Use Clear, Engaging Writing. Most people want to be able to read a report quickly while still absorbing its important points. You can help them do this by using accurate diction. Not- quite-right word choices are particularly damaging in reports, which may be skimmed by readers who know very little about the subject. Occasionally you can simply substitute a word:

Incorrect: With these recommendations, we can overcome the solutions to our problem.

Correct: With these recommendations, we can overcome our problem.

Also correct: With these recommendations, we can solve our problem.

Sometimes you’ll need to completely recast the sentence.

The Importance of Annual Reports

A 2006 survey, con- ducted by WithumSmith

& Brown and MGT Design Inc., found that the annual report is the most important publication that a company produces. To understand the value of annual reports, the survey asked indi- vidual investors, portfolio man- agers, and securities analysts (the primary audiences for an- nual reports) about the ways that they read and use the reports to make decisions.

Here are some of their findings:

• 77% said the annual report is the most important publication that a company produces.

• 33% read most of the report.

• Nearly 64% read the report’s Financial Highlights first.

• 47% said that poorly done annual reports are a sign that the organization is not performing well.

• 90% said that important concerns facing the industry, such as environment issues and corporate governance, should be addressed in the report.

• 81% prefer a print version over electronic versions. Respondents said the print documents were easier to read, highlight, annotate, and file.

Taken together, these findings suggest that the annual report is an important communication for organizations and well worth the time spent creating it.

Adapted from WithumSmith & Brown and MGT Design Inc., “AR Survey � Findings,” in News & Financial Tools: WS�B Press Releases: WS�B In The News: Survey Reveals Impor- tance of Corporate Annual Reports, http://www.withum.com/pressRelease Files/Annual%20Report%20Survey% 20Results.pdf (accessed June 17, 2007).

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Incorrect: The first problem with the incentive program is that middle managers do not use good interpersonal skills in implementing it. For example, the hotel chef openly ridicules the program. As a result, the kitchen staff fear being mocked if they participate in the program.

Better: The first problem with the incentive program is that some middle man- agers undercut it. For example, the hotel chef openly ridicules the pro- gram. As a result, the kitchen staff fear being mocked if they participate in the program.

A strong writing style is especially important when you are preparing a re- port that relies on a wealth of statistics. Most people have difficulty absorbing number after number. To help your readers, use text to highlight the message you want the statistics to convey. Examples and action-oriented details keep the reader engaged. An example that has this level of clarity is the 2004 report of the US government’s commission investigating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The report was praised for its “solid, clear narrative that provides a sense of drama” and was described as being “richly detailed and colorful” and using language that is “precise, economical and highly authori- tative.” The commission’s executive director, Philip D. Zelikow, said the re- port was intentionally made readable because the commission’s leadership wanted people to read and act on it.21

2. Keep Repetition to a Minimum. Some repetition in reports is legitimate. The conclusion restates points made in the body of the report; the recommendations appear in the transmittal, the abstract or executive summary, and in the recommendations sections of the report. However, repetitive references to earlier material (“As we have already seen”) may indicate that the document needs to be reorganized. Read the document through at a single sitting to make sure that any repetition serves a useful purpose.

3. Introduce Sources and Visuals. The first time you cite an author’s work, use his or her full name: “Rosabeth Moss Kanter points out. . . . ” In subsequent citations, use only the last name: “Kanter shows. . . . ” Use active rather than passive verbs.

The verb you use indicates your attitude toward the source. Says and writes are neutral. Points out, shows, suggests, discovers, and notes suggest that you agree with the source. Words such as claims, argues, contends that, believes, and alleges distance you from the source. At a minimum, they suggest that you know that not everyone agrees with the source; they are also appropriate to report the views of someone with whom you disagree.

The report text should refer to all visuals:

As Table 1 shows, . . .

See Figure 4.

4. Use Forecasting, Transitions, Topic Sentences, and Headings. Forecasts are overviews that tell the reader what you will discuss in a section or in the entire report. Make your forecast easy to read by telling the reader how many points there are and using bullets or numbers (either words or fig- ures). In the following example, the first sentence in the revised paragraph tells the reader to look for four points; the numbers separate the four points

Who Did What?

The passive verbs and impersonal con-

structions in US reports of coal mine disasters (“coal dust was permitted to accumulate” and “an accident occurred”) sug- gest that accidents are in- evitable. Who permitted the coal dust to accumulate? What could have been done to prevent the accumulation? Mine disaster re- ports contain sentences like the following: “The . . . fatality oc- curred when the victim pro- ceeded into an area . . . before the roof was supported.” Why did the man who was killed go into the area? Had a supervisor checked to see that the roof was supported? Who ordered what?

British reports of mine disas- ters, in contrast, focus on people and what they did to limit the damage from the disaster. Per- haps as a result, British mines have a much lower incidence of disasters than do US coal mines.

Adapted from Beverly A. Sauer, “Sense and Sensibility in Technical Documentation: How Feminist Inter- pretation Strategies Can Save Lives in the Nation’s Mines,” Journal of Business and Technical Communi- cation 7 (January 1993): 63–83.

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clearly. This overview paragraph also makes a contract with readers, who now expect to read about tax benefits first and employee benefits last.

Paragraph without numbers: Employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs) have several advantages. They provide tax bene- fits for the company. ESOPs also create tax bene- fits for employees and for lenders. They provide a defense against takeovers. In some organizations, productivity increases because workers now have a financial stake in the company’s profits. ESOPs are an attractive employee benefit and help the company hire and retain good employees.

Revised paragraph with numbers: Employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs) provide four benefits. First, ESOPs provide tax benefits for the company, its employees, and lenders to the plan. Second, ESOPs help create a defense against takeovers. Third, ESOPs may in- crease productivity by giving workers a financial stake in the company’s profits. Fourth, as an at- tractive employee benefit, ESOPs help the com- pany hire and retain good employees.

Transitions are words, phrases, or sentences that tell readers whether the discussion is continuing on the same point or shifting points.

There are economic advantages, too.

(Tells the reader that we are still discussing advantages but that we have now moved to economic advantages.)

An alternative to this plan is . . .

(Tells reader that a second option follows.)

The second factor . . .

(Tells reader that the discussion of the first factor is finished.)

These advantages, however, are found only in A, not in B or C.

(Prepares reader for a shift from A to B and C.)

A topic sentence introduces or summarizes the main idea of a paragraph. Readers who skim reports can follow your ideas more easily if each paragraph begins with a topic sentence.

Hard to read (no topic sentence): Another main use of ice is to keep the fish fresh. Each of the seven kinds of fish served at the restaurant requires one gallon twice a day, for a total of 14 gallons. An additional 6 gallons a day are required for the salad bar.

Better (begins with topic sentence): Twenty gallons of ice a day are needed to keep food fresh. Of this, the biggest portion (14 gallons) is used to keep the fish fresh. Each of the seven kinds of fish served at the restaurant requires one gallon twice a day (7 � 2 � 14). An additional 6 gallons a day are required for the salad bar.

Headings (see Chapter 6 p. 156) are single words, short phrases, or complete sentences that indicate the topic in each section. A heading must cover all of the material under it until the next heading. For example, Cost of Tuition cannot include the cost of books or of room and board. You can have

�

Legal Liability and Report Drafts

During civil litigation (such as a tort case

charging that a product has in- jured a user), rough drafts may be important to establish the state of mind and intent of a document’s drafters.

To protect the company, one lawyer recommends labeling all but the final draft “Preliminary Draft: Subject to Change.” That way, if there’s ever a lawsuit, the company will be able to argue that only the final report, not the drafts, should be used as evidence.

Adapted from Elizabeth McCord, “‘But What You Really Meant Was . . . Multiple Drafts and Legal Liability,” paper presented at the Association for Business Communication Mid- west Regional Conference, Akron, OH, April 3–5, 1991.

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just one paragraph under a heading or several pages. If you do have several pages between headings you may want to consider using subheadings. Use subheadings only when you have two or more divisions within a main heading.

Topic headings focus on the structure of the report. As you can see from the following example, topic headings give very little information.

Topic headings are vague.

Recommendation Problem

Situation 1 Situation 2

Causes of the Problem Background Cause 1 Cause 2

Recommended Solution

Talking heads are specific.

Recommended Reformulation for Vibe Bleach Problems in Maintaining Vibe’s Granular Structure

Solidifying during Storage and Transportation Customer Complaints about “Blocks” of Vibe in Boxes

Why Vibe Bleach “Cakes” Vibe’s Formula The Manufacturing Process The Chemical Process of Solidification

Modifications Needed to Keep Vibe Flowing Freely

Talking heads, in contrast, tell the reader what to expect. Talking heads, like those in the examples in this chapter, provide an overview of each section and of the entire report.

Headings must be parallel ( p. 124); that is, they must use the same gram- matical structure. Subheads must be parallel to each other but do not necessarily have to be parallel to subheads under other headings.

Not parallel: Are Students Aware of VIP?

Current Awareness among Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students

Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment and Motivation

We Must Improve Training and Supervision

Can We Make Volunteers’ Hours More Flexible?

Providing Emotional Support to Volunteers

Provide More Information about Community Needs and VIP Services

�

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Parallel: Campus Awareness of VIP

Current Awareness among Undergraduate Students

Current Awareness among Graduate Students

Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment and Motivation

Improving Training and Supervision

Improving the Flexibility of Volunteers’ Hours

Providing Emotional Support to Volunteers

Providing More Information about Community Needs and VIP Services

In a very complicated report, you may need up to three levels of headings. Figure 16.5 illustrates one way to set up headings. Follow these standard conventions for headings:

Typing Titles and Headings for Reports

For the title of a report, use a bold font two point sizes bigger than the largest size in the body of the report. You may want to use an even bigger size or a different font to create an attractive title page. Capitalize the first word and all major words of the title.

Typing Headings for Reports

Center main headings, capitalize the first and all major words, and use bold. In single-spaced text, leave two empty spaces before main headings and one after. Also leave an extra space between paragraphs. You may also want to use main headings that are one point size bigger than the body text.

This example provides just one example of each level of heading. However, in a real document, use headings only when you have at least two of them in the document. In a report, you'll have several.

Typing Subheadings

Most reports use subheadings under some main headings. Use subheadings only if you have at least two of them under a given heading. It is OK to use subheadings in some sections and not in others. Normally you'll have several paragraphs under a subheading, but it's OK to have just one paragraph under some subheadings.

Subheadings in a report use the same format as headings in letters and memos. Bold subheadings and set them at the left margin. Capitalize the first word and major words. Leave two empty spaces before the subheading and one empty space after it, before the first paragraph under the subheading. Use the same size font as the body paragraphs.

Typing Further Subdivisions. For a very long report, you may need further subdivisions under a subheading. Bold the further subdivision, capitalizing the first word and major words, and end the phrase with a period. Begin the text on the same line. Use normal spacing between paragraphs. Further subdivide a subheading only if you have at least two such subdivisions under a given subheading. It is OK to use divisions under some subheadings and not under others.

12-point type

for body text

12-point type

Period after heading

14-point type.

12-point type.

Two empty spaces (triple space)Heading for main divisions

Center the title; use bold and a bigger font.

Two empty spaces (triple space) Bold; left margin

One empty space

One empty space (normal paragraph spacing)

One empty space (double space)

Figure 16.5 Setting Up Headings in a Single-Spaced Document

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• Although the figure shows only one example of each level of headings, in an actual report you would not use a subheading unless you had at least two subsections under the next higher heading.

• Whatever the format for headings, avoid having a subhead come immedi- ately after a heading. Instead, some text should follow the main heading before the subheading. (If you have nothing else to say, give an overview of the division.)

• Avoid having a heading or subheading all by itself at the bottom of the page. Instead, have at least one line (preferably two) of type. If there isn’t room for a line of type under it, put the heading on the next page.

• Don’t use a heading as the antecedent for a pronoun. Instead, repeat the noun.

Writing Formal Reports Formal reports are distinguished from informal letter and memo reports by their length and by their components. A full formal report may contain the following components (see Figures 16.6 and 16.7):

Cover

Title Page

Letter or Memo of Transmittal

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Executive Summary

Report Body

Introduction (Orients the reader to the report. Usually has subheadings for Purpose and Scope; depending on the situation, may also have Limi- tations, Assumptions, Methods, Criteria, and Definitions.)

Figure 16.6 The Components in a Report Can Vary

More formal Less formal

Cover Title Page Introduction Title Page Table of Contents Body Transmittal Executive Summary Conclusions Table of Contents Body Recommendations List of Illustrations Introduction Executive Summary Body Body Conclusions

Introduction Recommendations Body Conclusions Recommendations

References/Works Cited Appendixes

Questionnaires Interviews Computer Printouts Related Documents

Tantalizing Titles

Two titles define two reports that look at

business through very different lenses, one with a rosy glow and one in a bleaker light.

The darker images are in Syd- ney Finkelstein’s book, Why Smart Executives Fail. Finkelstein has earned a reputation as a man- agement expert by studying business failures. For example, he has looked in depth at the col- lapse of Internet start-up Web- van Group and the inability of Barney’s New York to sell cloth- ing in the Midwest. Finkelstein uses problems as a tool to help managers learn what not to do.

A pair of writers from McKinsey and Company, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, compiled a best-seller when they wrote In Search of Excellence over two decades ago. Peters now ad- mits that their book started as a marginal project at the consult- ing giant. While others were im- mersed in quantitative data, he and Waterman visited organiza- tions where people worked together effectively; they sum- marized what they saw. They identified eight principles (for example, “Close to the Cus- tomer” and “Productivity through People”) as a way to make “pounds of transcripts” di- gestible by clients. Peters down- plays the significance of their methods but insists that the eight principles were important for their time. Also, the coau- thors never claimed that follow- ing the eight principles would guarantee success. Rather, businesspeople are supposed to continue seeking principles that contribute to excellence in today’s environment.

Adapted from Jennifer Merritt, “The ABCs of Failure,” BusinessWeek, June 9, 2003, 126; and Tom Peters, “Tom Peters’s True Confessions,” Fast Company, December 2001, 78–81�.

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Use a large font size

for the main titl e.Ce

nter all text on the title

page.

Use a slightly sm aller

font size for the sub-heading.

No punctuation

The rest of the

document should use

12-point font siz e.

Name of reader, job title, organization,

city, state, and zip code.

Name of writer(s), organization, city,

state, and zip code.

Viva Panera!

Expanding Panera into Chile

Prepared for

Mr. Ronald M. Shaich, CEO Panera Bread Company

Richmond Heights, MO 63117

Prepared by

April 16, 2007

JOABA Consulting April Hoffmeyer

Betsy Hertz Andrea Keeney Jessica Oney Omar Romero

Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011

No punctuation

Date report is released

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report

(continued)

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JOABA Consulting 131 Ross Hall Ames, IA 50011

April 17, 2006

Mr. Ronald M. Shaich, CEO Panera Bread Company 6710 Clayton Road Richmond Heights, MO 63117

Dear Mr. Shaich:

Here you will find the report you requested in March including information on the feasibility of expanding a Panera Bread facility into Chile and our recommendations for a plan of action.

During the market analysis, our team considered and researched various macro environment factors including location, customs and behaviors, economics and laws, and market possibilities and competition. Our findings show that Chile is an attractive market to invest in, and we recommend it as a location into which Panera Bread should expand. The research conducted about your business and Chile’s consumer market leads us to recommend opening a corporate- owned facility in the capital city of Santiago.

The capital city of Santiago is already home to many successful American franchises, and to stay competitive with these franchises, we suggest you expand into this market. With the use of appropriate marketing campaigns and employment of locals with management experience, your business has the potential to penetrate the market in Santiago.

The analysis in this report came from several helpful resources. The U.S. Commercial Services, the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, and the Santiago Chamber of Commerce were all very helpful and cooperative in answering our questions.

Thank you for allowing us to conduct this research. We have learned about Panera, the country of Chile, and the international business environment. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our firm at any time. We look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

April Hoffmeyer JOABA Team Leader

This s tuden

t grou p des

igned their

own le tterh

ead, a ssum

ing th ey

were doing

this repor

cons ultan

ts.

This letter uses Block format.

In paragraph 1, release the report.

note when and by whom the report

was authorized. Note repor t’s purpose.

Thank reader for the opportunity to do the research.

Offer to an swer quest

ions

about the report.

Center page n

umber at the

bott

om of the pa

ge. Us e

lowerc ase Ro

man

n umera

l for in itial

pag es of r

eport.

Give rec ommend

ations

or thesis of

report.

Note so urces

that wer e

helpful.

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

(continued)

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Letter of Transmittal

Executive Summary

Introduction Purpose & Scope Assumptions Methods Limitations Criteria

Location

Chilean Customs and Behaviors Food Preferences Eating Times Family Life Greetings and Address Body Language Religion

Chilean Politics Presidential Power Trade Agreements

Chilean Economics and Legal Concerns Economic Growth Currency and GDP Imports Franchising

Market Possibilities and Competitors

Conclusions and Recommendations

References

Figure 1 Economic Growth in Chile: 2000-2005

Figure 2 Franchising Ownership

Headings or subheadings must be parallel with a section.

Use low er-

case Ro man

numera ls for

initial pa ges.

Introduc tion

begins o n

pa ge I.

Line up right ma

rgin

(justify)

Table o f

conten ts doe

not lis t itsel

Capita lize fir

letter of eac

major word in

he adings

Indent ions sh

level o f head

ing

at a g lance.

Figures and tables are numbered independently, so you could have both a Figure 1 and a Table 1.Add

a “Lis t of Illu

strati ons” a

t the

bottom of the

page or on a

separ ate

page if the re

port h as gra

phs

and

other visuals

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

1 1

1 1 1

2 2 3 3 3 4 4

4 4 4

5 5 6 6 7

iii

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

(continued)

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Executive Summary

To remain competitive with an ever-expanding market, Panera should expand into Santiago, Chile’s capital. Santiago is home to approximately 5.6 million people and is one of the most modern cities in South America because of its buildings, subway system, and green areas. Santiago is already home to many American franchises, several direct competitors of Panera, and remaining competitive with these chains would be beneficial to Panera.

As far as our research shows, expanding into Chile is likely to be a profitable decision for a few reasons. For example, the country’s foods are similar to those of Panera’s and would not require extensive menu changes. In addition, the current economic situation is among the most stable in South America, and with an unemployment rate of 8%, there will likely be workers to fill positions at the restaurant. Moreover, the political standing and lack of legal barriers in Chile is beneficial to foreign-run businesses.

To ensure a successful expansion, JOABA recommends the following:

1. Expand into one location in Santiago, Chile. Opening one store in this large city will introduce the restaurant into the Chilean culture with minimal risk. The locals will have the opportunity to show their acceptance or rejection of Panera through their patronage. • Start a company-owned store (as opposed to a franchise).

• Open the store with both an American and Chilean manager so the American can train the Chilean in the business to ensure Panera’s identity is maintained.

• Hire local people in Santiago as employees.

2. Evaluate the success and expansion feasibility at the end of a 12 month period. • Survey locals for their feedback on the restaurant. • Explore additional places in Santiago to expand to (if expansion is the result of the evaluation).

3. After three years, investigate selling the company-owned stores to managers to transition the stores into franchises. • Evaluate the success of the stores based on sales and community response. • Research the economic feasibility of this change of ownership.

Many audiences only read the Executive Summary, not the report.

Include enough information to give readers the key points

you make.

Report title.

Start w ith reco

mmenda tion

or t hesis.

Provide brief

support for

recomm en

-dation .

Langua ge in Ex

ecutive Summa

can com e from r

eport. M ake

sure an y repea

ted lang uage

is well-w ritten!

The abs tract o

r Execu tive Sum

mary

contain s the lo

gical sk eleton o

the rep ort: the

recomm endatio

n(s)

and evid ence su

pportin g it.

Viva Panera! Expanding Panera into Chile

iii

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

(continued)

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Viva Panera!: Expanding Panera into Chile 1

Introduction

To stay competitive in the global market, Panera Bread has asked us to explore expanding into Chile. In order to make a wise and well-researched proposal, JOABA Consulting has researched Chilean data to see if Panera would be potentially prosperous and successful there.

Purpose and Scope Panera has experienced recent success and is growing rapidly within the United States. To stay competitive in the global market, they must look to expand into other countries. The purpose of this research is to propose a plan stating if and to what extent Panera should expand into Chile.

This report will cover several topics about Chile including: location, customs and behaviors, politics, economics and laws, and market possibilities and competition. Throughout this report, we do not discuss topics dealing with the internal intricacies of Panera Bread Company. We also do not include any on-site research from local Chilean people.

Assumptions Our recommendation is based on the assumption that Panera’s expansion process will be similar to that of other American competitors who have successfully opened stores in Chile. We are also assuming that Chile’s political outlook will remain stable and its economic situation will remain healthy.

Methods The information from this report came from newspapers, library books, and online sources. We have found the U.S. Commercial Services, the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, and Kwintessential Language and Cultural Specialists websites to be extremely useful resources to explore this expansion possibility.

Limitations This research was limited to materials available via the Internet and from our university’s library. In addition, only one of the five JOABA group members is a business major, and the other group members are somewhat unfamiliar with this type of business analysis. Time constraints have limited the possibility of an exhaustive search for information regarding the expansion of Panera Bread into Chile. Moreover, our group would have greatly benefited by actually traveling to Chile for on-location research.

Criteria JOABA Consulting established criteria, which we used during our investigation of Chile. These criteria included the location, customs, politics, economic climate and legal issues, market

A running header is optional

“Purpose” a nd

“Scope” can

be separate

sections if

either is long

Topics in “Sco

pe”

section should

match those

in the r eport.

Center main headings

Tell what you discuss and how thoroughly you discuss each topic Give topics

in the order in which

you’ll discuss them

List any relevant topics you do not discuss.

Assumptions cannot be proved. But if they are wrong, the report’s recommendation may no

longer be valid.If you collecte

d original data (surveys, interviews, or observations).

If your report has limitations, state them.

This s ection

outlin es the

criter ia use

to ma ke

the ov erall

recom menda

tion.

, tell how you c hose whom to s

tudy, what

it just provides a brief discuss

ion of significant sou

rces. the informat

ion. This repo rt does not u

se original da ta;

kind of sample you used, and

when you coll ected

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

(continued)

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Viva Panera!: Expanding Panera into Chile 2

possibilities and competition. At least four of these five criteria needed to be favorable for us to give a positive recommendation.

Location

While Chile offers many possible cities for Panera to expand, we believe that Santiago would be the most prosperous. Santiago, the capital of Chile and home to approximately 5.6 million people, is one of the most modern cities of South America because of its buildings, subway system, and green areas (“Chile”). Expanding Panera Bread into Santiago would be ideal because of the large market.

Moreover, Santiago ranked first on AméricaEconomía’s list of the Best Cities for Doing Business in Latin America in 2005. The study looked at the costs and benefits of different locations and was based on the recommendations of international consulting firms. Santiago was found to add the most value to a business and to offer the best combination of quality of life, business potential, and professional development. The ranking also points out the city’s attention to transportation infrastructure, showing that it benefits both commuters and business visitors (“Business Environment”). In 2006, Santiago was ranked second behind Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The continued high ranking of Santiago reinforces it as one of the best cities for doing business in Latin America, and supports our belief that Santiago would make a great city in which Panera could expand.

Chilean Customs and Behaviors

Panera must have a deep understanding of the approximately 16 million Chilean people if it is to effectively adapt products to its new audience. Panera representatives, who would implement the plan, must appreciate and respect Chilean customs and behavioral norms so they do not send negative signals to the native Chilean people.

In order to ensure a smooth expansion effort for Panera, we have researched food preferences, eating times, family life, greetings and address, body language, and religion. The following information presents the results of this research and can serve as a guide to understanding some of the customs and behaviors of Chilean people.

Food Preferences Chilean cuisine boasts a wide range of tastes, which vary from region to region. Seafood dishes are popular, including the use of eel, bass, scallops, clams and other shellfish. Although many assume Chilean food to be hot, spiciness is a rarity in this country. Chano en piedra and pebre are two common spices used in Chilean cooking. Chano en piedra is made by grinding tomato, garlic and onions with a stone. Pebre is made from tomatoes, onions, chili, coriander, and chives. Main dishes are commonly made from beef, chicken or pork and lots of vegetables (“Typical Chilean”).

Triple space before headings

It's ok to have subheadings

under some headings and not others.

Begin most paragraphs with topic sentences.

Not every idea needs a source. Here, general population figures are readily available.

Italicize

titles.

List sub topics

in the order

in whic h

they a re

discu ssed.

Use subh eadings

only whe n

you have two or m

ore

sections

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

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Viva Panera!: Expanding Panera into Chile 3

Sandwiches and breads are also popular in Chile. Both cold and grilled sandwiches are served for the smaller meals during the day. The type of sandwiches eaten ranges from ham and chicken deli meat to hamburgers and hotdogs, usually topped with vegetables, especially tomatoes and avocados. Breads are also served at smaller meals. Pan amasado is a homemade bread and sopaipilla is a deep fried flat bread made using pumpkin and flour (“Typical Chilean”).

Many Chilean dishes correspond with Panera’s menu. The popularity of vegetables suggests salads would work well. Sandwiches are well-liked in Chile both grilled and cold, often with deli meats. Panera could easily adapt their menu for the Chilean people by blending traditional Panera flavors with common Chilean flavors. Soups and stews are common in Chile and could also be adapted for a menu in Chile. A Panera in Chile could also offer more seafood dishes because of its popularity and availability. Panera’s traditional coffees and teas would fit in to the culture and could be served, especially during the once meal.

Eating Times In Chile, most people customarily eat four meals a day. Breakfast is a small meal consisting of fresh bread with jelly or manjar (a caramel-like spread). Lunch is the largest meal of the day, having several courses, usually a cazuela soup or stew, a main dish, and a vegetable side dish, often beans. Once (pronounced own-say) is served in the afternoon between 4:00 and 7:00 PM. It includes bread or a sandwich served with coffee or tea. Dinner is a smaller meal than lunch and is typically served late evening (Rawlinson).

Family Life Chilean life is family-centered, and people spend a lot of time with their extended family and distant relatives. Large family gatherings are common, and Panera restaurants in Chile would have to cater to the needs of large groups for such events. Family is also important in the business world, as many businesses in Chile are run by a single family (Nicol). A Panera franchise could potentially be owned and operated by a single family.

Greetings and Address People in Chile are traditional as well as friendly. When greeting someone new, a firm handshake and good eye contact are usually expected. If a man is greeting a friend or family member, he would give them a hug, while a woman would kiss them on the cheek (“Chile: Society”). When engaged in conversation, Chileans speak close to one another and usually maintain eye contact. Common conversational topics are family and children (Nicol).

Addressing people by the proper name is important to build goodwill with people in business. In Chile, it is common for people to have two surnames, one from both the mother and the father. Most of the time the father’s name is first and that is what most people will go by (“Chilean Culture”).

Period goes outside of the parenthesis.

Use author’s name in parentheses when it isn't

in the sentence introducing quote.

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

(continued)

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Viva Panera!: Expanding Panera into Chile 4

Body Language Body language is also important to keep in mind when interacting with someone from Chile. Hitting your fist into the other hand is usually considered obscene. Holding one’s fist to the same height as their head is a sign of communism. In addition, a hand palm-up with fingers spread out signals you think something is stupid. Moreover, yawns should always be covered or stifled (Nicol). At meals, hands should always be above the table, with wrists resting on the edge of the table. Serving wine with the left hand is sometimes seen as disrespectful. (“Chile: Society”).

Religion Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in Chile, making up 89% of the population (“Chile”). The religion is integrated into the society, as it is taught in most public schools and is the reason for most public holidays. Even many of the country’s laws are influenced by Catholic beliefs. For example, because of the Church’s inherent disbelief in divorce, it was illegal until 2004 (“Chile: Society”). The religion of Chile would affect Panera’s business, particularly during the Lenten season, because Catholics change their diet by refraining from eating meat on Fridays. The Catholic religion also affects holidays for the customers, as well as the employees.

Chilean Politics

To comprehend the importance of the current political stability, Panera must understand some recent Chilean political history. Specifically, it should know about presidential power and trade agreements.

Presidential Power In 1973, Augusto Pinochet led a military coup and declared himself president. His regime hurt the country and its economy, closing down the Chilean Parliament and banning all political and trade union activity. Pinochet was overthrown in 1990 and democracy was finally restored to Chile. (Franklin).

Chile is currently a republic with seven primary political parties, which are grouped into two main groups (“Why Chile?”). The Concertación coalition has been in power since the end of Pinochet’s rule. In January 2006, the first female president in Chile's history, Michelle Bachelet, was elected. Bachelet is the fourth consecutive head of state from the center-left Concertación coalition (“Business Environment”).

Trade Agreements In addition to the positive political environment, the country is also taking positive steps to improve its stability through relations with other countries. The U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has expanded U.S-Chilean trade ties and relations between the U.S. and Chile, and they are the best they have ever been (Santiago – Chile). The two governments regularly discuss issues

Use first words of the title in quotation marks for sources with no author.

Headings must cover everything under that heading until next one.

Capitalize all main words of headings and subheadings.

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

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of mutual concern including multilateral diplomacy, security, culture, and science. The strong relationship between the governments shows the political stability of Chile. The U.S. Embassy in Santiago will also be available to assist Panera through its involvement in strengthening the relationship between the two countries (Santiago – Chile).

Chilean Economics and Legal Concerns

We believe that Panera should know characteristics of the Chilean economy and other legal concerns before expanding. Ideally, Panera wants a stable economy before expanding there because economic instability might affect Panera’s success. The local currency and its stability should be taken into account when considering how to price our products. The GDP per capita is also important because it is an indicator of the average income of an average citizen. Our analysis of Chile’s economy shows us that it is well suited for the expansion of Panera Bread into its market because of its stable and growing economy and its willingness to allow foreign investment and free trade.

Economic Growth By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover from the low growth levels seen for much of the 90s. By 2000, economic growth increased to 4.5%. However, growth once again dropped in 2001 to 3.4% and to 2.2% in 2002 as seen in Figure 1. The drop occurred largely because of low global growth, and the devaluation of the Argentine peso (“Business Environment”).

Economic Growth in Chile 2000–2005

However, in 2003, Chile’s economy began a recovery resulting in growth of 3.7% and increases to 6.2% and 6.3% in 2004 and 2005, respectively, while Chile maintained a low rate of inflation

Refer to Figure in text before you show it. Tell what point it makes.

Provide a heading for figures and tables.

Figure 1. Recent economic growth rates in Chile (“Business Environment’’).

Label both axes. See Chapter 6 for more infor -mation on creating graphs and visuals.

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(“Business Environment”). Over the last few years, GDP growth can be attributed to record high copper prices, solid export earnings, and increased foreign investment. The growth in GDP has reduced inflation but unemployment remains high at 8.0% (“Chile”), which indicates a large labor pool.

Currency and GDP The currency of Chile is the Chilean Peso (CPL), and the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Chilean Peso is $1 to 514.90 CPL. In recent years, the Chilean Peso has strengthened significantly against the U.S. dollar and has remained stable. This can be attributed to the growing GDP of the country and increased trade with other countries (“Chile”). The stable currency will make Panera’s expansion more favorable.

In 2005, the GDP was $180.6 billion, with a GDP per capita of approximately $11,300. In 2005, Chile had a current account balance of $309 million and external debt of $44.8 billion. As of 2002, Chile has not received economic aid from the IMF, the World Bank, or another country (“Chile”). Chile serves as an economic model for the rest of Latin America with its continued economic growth and is expected to continue growing into 2009 (“Business Environment”).

Imports The country’s largest import partners are Argentina, United States, Brazil, and China. Chile is relatively open to trade and investment and has a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. When the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into effect in January 1, 2004, 90% of tariffs on U.S. exports were eliminated. By 2015, all trade between the two countries will be duty free.

Typically, Chile has few barriers to imports. However, in the case of agriculture, some exceptions apply. If Panera is going to import processed food products, it will have to obtain permission from the Health Service Officer at the port of entry, who will take samples and perform necessary tests. Upon importation of products, there is some necessary documentation that will have to accompany the products. This documentation includes commercial invoices, certificates of origin, bills of lading, freight insurance and packing lists. Franchises are subject to regular trade laws. The withholding tax on royalties is 35% and all imports are subject to 19% value-added tax (“Made”).

In addition, Chile has certain labeling requirements for imported products. The product must display the country of origin before being sold. Packaged goods must be marked with the quality, purity, ingredients, and the net weight or measure. The labeling must also be in Spanish and measurements should use the metric system. Foreign firms in Chile are allowed the same protection and operate under the same conditions as local firms. Trademarks, patents, industrial designs, models, and copyrights are protected in Chile under the Paris Convention because Chile belongs to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Trademark stockpiling is rather common in Chile, so U.S. companies are encouraged to register their trademark as soon as possible (“Made”).

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Continued)

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This legal analysis provides Panera with a synopsis of the opportunities and restrictions available to the company when considering doing business in Chile. These legal restrictions will need to be followed if opening a facility in Chile so that any legal risk between the business and consumers or the government can be avoided.

Franchising Chile has no franchising laws that might restrict the advancement of Panera. (“Chile”). The current franchise fee of a Panera store is $35,000 plus royalties of 4–5% of annual sales (“Panera Bread”). Because of this high startup cost, the Panera facility that would open in Chile would be company owned. After an evaluation of the success of the initial restaurant, the facility could change from being company owned to becoming a franchise with opportunities to expand in numbers of franchises.

Market Possibilities and Competitors

Panera also needs to be aware of the Chilean market possibilities and current competitors, now there are about 50 franchise businesses operating in Chile with over 914 locations. As seen below in Figure 2, U.S.-run franchise operations account for 55% of the total Chilean markets mostly because of technology, convenience, and marketing strategies borrowed from the U.S.

American restaurant franchises currently present are Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Friend Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Bennigans, Chuck E. Cheese, TGI Fridays, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Au Bon Pain, and Ruby Tuesday. The local franchise competitors are Schop Dog,

Figure 2. The current franchising ownership in Santiago, Chile (“Franchising”).

Refer to Figure before it appears in report.

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Lomito’n, and Doggis, all fast food restaurants, and Tavelli. These local competitors are in direct competition with American based franchises, especially in Santiago (“Can One Get a Decent”). This competition most likely will be positive for Panera because of the market awareness created by the competitors.

However, it should be noted that full service restaurants are listed among the best commercial opportunities because in general, they can compete with the inadequate amount of restaurants present (“Franchising”). Some café and bakery style restaurants such as Au Bon Pain, a North American chain marketed as a bakery/cafeteria serving a variety of sandwiches, salads, and breads, have done extremely well in Santiago. The marketability of Au Bon Pain restaurants and the chain’s success in Chile is a key indicator that Panera could do the same (“Can One Get a Decent”).

Moreover, other foreign restaurants have done equally well. For example, Doggendorf is a family-run German bakery in Santiago. The franchise began as a doughnut shop, and has now expanded into a larger commercial operation of four family-owned and run bakeries. The fact that Chileans have accepted this foreign bakery is a good indicator that Panera would also be well-accepted (“Your Complete Guide”).

Conclusions and Recommendations

Chile’s unique culture and customs, progressive politics, and efficient business management along with its growing economy leads JOABA Consulting to suggest their market is ready for a new franchise. Therefore, we conclude that Panera should expand into Chile. We recommend the following process to ensure a successful expansion:

• Open the store with both an American and Chilean manager so the American can train the Chilean in the business to ensure Panera’s identity is maintained.

• Hire local people in Santiago as employees.

2. Evaluate the success and expansion feasibility at the end of a 12-month period. • Survey locals in the area for their feedback on the restaurant. • Explore additional places in Santiago to expand to (if expansion is the result of the evaluation).

Conclusions repeat points made in the report.

Recommendations are actions the readers should take.

Number ing poin

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first, provide enough information so that the reason is

clear all by itself. The ideas in this section must be logical

extensions of the points made and supported in the body of the report.

Some companies ask for Conclusions and Recommendations at the beginning of the report.

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References

“Business Environment.” Chile Foreign Investment Committee. 2006. 30 March 2007. <http://www.cinver.cl/index/plantilla3.asp?id_seccion=7&id_subsectiones=32>.

“Can One Get Decent Coffee in Santiago?” Tourism Promotion Corporation of Chile. 2006. 2 April 2006. <http://www.visit-chile.org/50faq/50faq-section-eng.phtml?id_secc=5>.

“Chile.” Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook. 10 Jan. 2006. 29 March 2007 <http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html>.

“Chile: Culture and Customs.” San Marcos Church. 30 July 2002. 30 March 2007. <http://www.sanmarcoschurch.cl/fr_culture.html>.

“Chile: Society, Language and Culture Guide.” Kwintessential Language and Cultural Specialists. 2006. 30 Mar. 2007. <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/chile.html>.

“Franchising.” U.S. Commercial Service. 2006. U.S.A. Department of Commerce. 2 April 2007. <www.buyusa.gov/chile>.

Franklin, Jonathan. “Chile Identified 35,000 Victims of Pinochet.” Guardian Unlimited. 15 November 2004. 16 June 2007.<http://www.guardian.co.uk/ chile/story/0,13755,1351421,00.html>.

“Made in USA, Sold in Chile.” Buyusa.Gov. 2006. U.S. Commercial Service. 29 March 2007. <www.buyusa.gov/chile/en>.

Nicol, Joni. “Chile.” International Business Center. 2003. International-Business- Center.Com. 30 March 2007. <http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/chile.htm>.

Panera Bread. 2007. 29 Mar. 2007 <http://www.panerabread.com/>.

Rawlinson, Joe. “Chilean Food.” Pepe’s Chile. 1995-2006. Joe’s Kitchen. 30 March 2007. <http://www.joeskitchen.com/chile/culture/food.htm>.

Santiago – Chile. “Embassy of the USA.” 2007. U.S. Department of State. 29 March 2007. <www.usembassy.cl>.

“Typical Chilean Food and Drink.” Woodward Chile. 28 November 2005. Woodward: A Different Kind of Thinking. 30 March 2007. <http://www.woodward.cl.chilefood.htm>.

“Your Complete Guide to Santiago.” Area Guides.Net. 2006. 2 April 2007 <http://santiagoch.ags.myareaguide.com/index.html?detailID=57577&SSC=413>.

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Start with title of article or Web site when no author is given.

List all the printed and online sources cited in your report. Do not list sources you used for background but did not cite.

Figure 16.7 A Formal Report (Concluded)

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Background or History of the Problem (Orients the reader to the topic of the report. Serves as a record for later readers of the report.)

Body (Presents and interprets data in words and visuals. Analyzes causes of the problem and evaluates possible solutions. Specific headings will depend on the topic of the report.)

Conclusions (Summarizes main points of report.)

Recommendations (Recommends actions to solve the problem. May be combined with Conclusions; may be put at beginning of body rather than at the end.)

Notes, References, or Works Cited (Documents sources cited in the report.)

Appendixes (Provides additional materials that the careful reader may want: transcripts of interviews, copies of questionnaires, tallies of all the questions, complex tables, computer printouts, previous reports.)

As Figure 16.6 shows, not every formal report necessarily has all these components. In addition, some organizations call for additional components or arrange these components in a different order. As you read each section below, you may want to turn to the corresponding pages of the long report in Figure 16.7 to see how the component is set up and how it relates to the total report.

Title Page The title page of a report usually contains four items: the title of the report, the person or organization for whom the report is prepared, the person or group who prepared the report, and the release date. Some title pages also contain a brief summary or abstract of the contents of the report; some title pages contain decorative artwork.

The title of the report should be as informative as possible. Like subject lines, report titles are straightforward.

Poor title: New Plant Site

Better title: Eugene, Oregon, Site for the New Kemco Plant

Large organizations that issue many reports may use two-part titles to make it easier to search for reports electronically. For example, US govern- ment report titles first give the agency sponsoring the report, then the title of that particular report.

Small Business Administration: Management Practices Have Improved for the Women’s Business Center Program

In many cases, the title will state the recommendation in the report: “Why the United Nations Should Establish a Seed Bank.” However, the title should omit recommendations when

• The reader will find the recommendations hard to accept.

• Putting all the recommendations in the title would make it too long.

• The report does not offer recommendations.

If the title does not contain the recommendation, it normally indicates what problem the report tries to solve.

Eliminate any unnecessary words:

Wordy: Report of a Study on Ways to Market Life Insurance to Urban Professional People Who Are in Their Mid-40s

Better: Marketing Life Insurance to the Mid-40s Urban Professional

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The identification of the receiver of the report normally includes the name of the person who will make a decision based on the report, his or her job title, the organization’s name, and its location (city, state, and zip code). Govern- ment reports often omit the person’s name and simply give the organization that authorized the report.

If the report is prepared primarily by one person, the Prepared by section will have that person’s name, his or her title, the organization, and its location (city, state, and zip code). In internal reports, the organization and location are usually omitted if the report writer works at the headquarters office.

If several people write the report, government reports normally list all their names, using a separate sheet of paper if the group working on the report is large. Practices in business differ. In some organizations, all the names are listed; in others, the division to which they belong is listed; in still others, the name of the chair of the group appears.

The release date, the date the report will be released to the public, is usually the date the report is scheduled for discussion by the decision makers. The re- port is frequently due four to six weeks before the release date so that the deci- sion makers can review the report before the meeting.

If you have the facilities and the time, try using type variations, color, and artwork to create a visually attractive and impressive title page. However, a plain typed page is acceptable. The format in Figure 16.7 will enable you to create an acceptable typed title page.

Letter or Memo of Transmittal Use a letter of transmittal if you are not a regular employee of the organization for which you prepare the report; use a memo if you are a regular employee. See Appendix A for letter and memo formats.

The transmittal has several purposes: to transmit the report, to orient the reader to the report, and to build a good image of the report and of the writer. An informal writing style is appropriate for a transmittal even when the style in the report is more formal. A professional transmittal helps you create a good image of yourself and enhances your credibility. Personal statements are appropriate in the transmittal, even though they would not be acceptable in the report itself.

Organize the transmittal in this way:

1. Transmit the report. Tell when and by whom it was authorized and the purpose it was to fulfill.

2. Summarize your conclusions and recommendations. If the recommen- dations will be easy for the reader to accept, put them early in the trans- mittal. If they will be difficult, summarize the findings and conclusions before the recommendations.

3. Mention any points of special interest in the report. Show how you sur- mounted minor problems you encountered in your investigation. Thank people who helped you. These optional items can build goodwill and enhance your credibility.

4. Point out additional research that is necessary, if any. Sometimes your recommendation cannot be implemented until further work is done. If you’d be interested in doing that research, or if you’d like to implement the recommendations, say so.

5. Thank the reader for the opportunity to do the work and offer to answer questions. Even if the report has not been fun to do, expressing satisfaction in doing the project is expected. Saying that you’ll answer questions about the report is a way of saying that you won’t charge the reader your normal hourly fee to answer questions (one more reason to make the report clear!).

The letter of transmittal on page i of Figure 16.7 uses this pattern of organization.

Report Your Way to a Better Job

Joan was hired by a computer company to find ref- erences to the computer indus- try in current publications. To expand her job description, Joan wrote reports summarizing the data instead of just sending files of clippings. The receivers were delighted because she was saving them time.

Her second step was to meet with the people who got her re- ports to ask them what sorts of information they needed. Now she was able to target her re- ports to her readers’ needs. Peo- ple in each unit began to invite her to meetings discussing the projects she was researching.

As a member of the various groups within the company, Joan now had the information she needed to take a third step: drafting the report for decision makers. For example, if the sales department wanted infor- mation for a proposal to a client, she presented her information in a sales proposal. If the presi- dent wanted material for a speech, she arranged her infor- mation in a speech outline.

When the director of business communications resigned, Joan was the obvious choice for the job.

Adapted from Janice LaRouche, “I’m Stuck in a Dead-End Job,” Family Circle, March 24, 1987, 121.

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Table of Contents In the table of contents, list the headings exactly as they appear in the body of the report. If the report is less than 25 pages, you’ll probably list all the levels of headings. In a very long report, pick a level and put all the headings at that level and above in the table of contents.

Page ii of Figure 16.7 shows the table of contents.

List of Illustrations A list of illustrations enables readers to refer to your visuals.

Report visuals comprise both tables and figures. Tables are words or num- bers arranged in rows and columns. Figures are everything else: bar graphs, pie charts, flow charts, maps, drawings, photographs, computer printouts, and so on. Tables and figures may be numbered independently, so you may have both a Table 1 and a Figure 1. In a report with maps and graphs but no other visuals, the visuals are sometimes called Map 1 and Graph 1. Whatever you call the illustrations, list them in the order in which they appear in the report; give the name of each visual as well as its number.

See Chapter 6 for information about how to design and label visuals.

Executive Summary An executive summary or abstract tells the reader what the document is about. It summarizes the recommendation of the report and the reasons for the recommendation or describes the topics the report discusses and indicates the depth of the discussion. It should be clear even to people who will read only the abstract.

A good abstract is easy to read, concise, and clear. Edit your abstract carefully to tighten your writing and eliminate any unnecessary words.

Wordy: The report describes two types of business jargon, businessese and reverse gobbledygook. He gives many examples of each of these and points out how their use can be harmful.

Tight: The report describes and illustrates two harmful types of business jargon, businessese and reverse gobbledygook.

It’s OK to use exactly the same words in the abstract and the report. Abstracts generally use a more formal style than other forms of business

writing. Avoid contractions and colloquialisms. Try to avoid using the second- person you. Because reports may have many different readers, you may become inaccurate.

Summary abstracts present the logical skeleton of the article: the thesis or recommendation and its proof. Use a summary abstract to give the most useful information in the shortest space.

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To market life insurance to mid-40s urban professionals, Interstate Fidelity Insurance should advertise in upscale publications and use direct mail.

Network TV and radio are not cost-efficient for reaching this market. This group com- prises a small percentage of the prime-time network TV audience and a minority of most radio station listeners. They tend to discard newspapers and general-interest magazines quickly, but many of them keep upscale periodicals for months or years. Magazines with high percentages of readers in this group include Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Golf Digest, Metropolitan Home, Southern Living, and

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Introduction The Introduction of the report always contains a statement of purpose and scope and may include all the parts in the following list.

• Purpose. The purpose statement ( p. 493) identifies the organizational problem the report addresses, the technical investigations it summarizes, and the rhetorical purpose (to explain, to recommend).

• Scope. The scope statement identifies how broad an area the report surveys. For example, Company XYZ is losing money on its line of com- puters. Does the report investigate the quality of the computers? The ad- vertising campaign? The cost of manufacturing? The demand for computers? A scope statement allows the reader to evaluate the report on appropriate grounds. If the person who approved the proposal accepted a focus on advertising, then one cannot fault a report that considers only that factor.

• Assumptions. Assumptions in a report are like assumptions in geometry: statements whose truth you assume, and which you use to prove your final point. If they are wrong, the conclusion will be wrong too.

For example, to plan cars that will be built five years from now, an auto- mobile manufacturer commissions a report on young adults’ attitudes toward cars. The recommendations would be based on assumptions both about gas prices and about the economy. If gas prices radically rose or fell, the kinds of cars young adults wanted would change. If there were a major recession, people wouldn’t be able to buy new cars.

Almost all reports require assumptions. A good report spells out its as- sumptions so that readers can make decisions more confidently.

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Smithsonian. Most urban professionals in their mid-40s are already used to shopping by mail and respond positively to well-conceived and well-executed direct mail appeals.

Any advertising campaign needs to overcome this group’s feeling that they al- ready have the insurance they need. One way to do this would be to encourage them to check the coverage their employers provide and to calculate the cost of their chil- dren’s expenses through college graduation. Insurance plans that provide savings and tax benefits as well as death benefits might also be appealing.

One way to start composing an abstract is to write a sentence outline. A sentence outline not only uses complete sentences rather than words or phrases but also contains the thesis sentence or recommendation and the evidence that proves that point. Combine the sentences into paragraphs, adding transitions if necessary, and you’ll have your abstract.

Descriptive abstracts indicate what topics the report covers and how deeply it goes into each topic, but they do not summarize what the report says about each topic. Phrases that describe the report (“this report covers,” “it in- cludes,” “it summarizes,” “it concludes”) are marks of a descriptive abstract. An additional mark of a descriptive abstract is that the reader can’t tell what the report says about the topics it covers.

This report recommends ways Interstate Fidelity Insurance could market insurance to mid-40s urban professionals. It examines demographic and psychographic profiles of the target market. Survey results are used to show attitudes toward insurance. The report suggests some appeals that might be successful with this market.

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• Methods. If you conducted surveys, focus groups, or interviews, you need to tell how you chose your subjects, and how, when, and where they were interviewed. If the discussion of your methodology is more than a paragraph or two, you should probably make it a separate sec- tion in the body of the report rather than including it in the introduc- tion. Reports based on scientific experiments usually put the methods section in the body of the report, not in the Introduction.

If your report is based solely on library or online research, provide a brief description of significant sources. See Chapter 15 on how to cite and document sources.

• Limitations. Limitations make your recommendations less valid or valid only under certain conditions. Limitations usually arise because time or money constraints haven’t permitted full research. For example, a campus pizza restaurant considering expanding its menu may ask for a report but not have enough money to take a random sample of students and townspeople. Without a random sample, the writer cannot generalize from the sample to the larger population.

Many recommendations are valid only for a limited time. For in- stance, a campus store wants to know what kinds of clothing will ap- peal to college men. The recommendations will remain in force only for a short time: Three years from now, styles and tastes may have changed, and the clothes that would sell best now may no longer be in demand.

• Criteria. The criteria section outlines the factors or standards that you are considering and the relative importance of each. If a company is choosing a city for a new office, is the cost of office space more or less im- portant than the availability of skilled workers? Check with your audi- ence before you write the draft to make sure that your criteria match those of your readers.

• Definitions. Many reports define key terms in the introduction. For instance, a report on unauthorized Internet use by employees might de- fine what is meant by “unauthorized uses.” A report on the corporate dress code might define such codes broadly to include general appear- ance, so it could include items such as tattoos, facial piercings, and general cleanliness. Also, if you know that some members of your primary, sec- ondary, or intermediate audience will not understand technical terms, define them. If you have only a few definitions, you can put them in the In- troduction. If you have many terms to define, put a glossary in an appen- dix. Refer to it in the Introduction so that readers know that you’ve provided it.

Background or History Formal reports usually have a section that gives the background of the situa- tion or the history of the problem. Even though the current audience for the report probably knows the situation, reports are filed and consulted years later. These later audiences will probably not know the background, although it may be crucial for understanding the options that are possible.

In some cases, the history section may cover many years. For example, a report recommending that a US hotel chain open hotels in Romania may give the history of that country for at least several decades. In other cases, the history section is much briefer, covering only a few years or even just the immediate situation.

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Analyzing Numbers,

West Concord, MA, has . . . one of the highest

[per capita incomes] in the nation. . . . It also has one of the highest number of single men in Massa- chusetts. Why? On the outskirts of West Concord is a medium-to- maximum security prison!

So, when one naively juxta- poses these data points, one can be led to assume that there are plenty of single, wealthy men there—when that isn’t the case. . . . Think before arriving to conclusions indicated by data crunching.

Quoted from Thomas M. Bodenberg, Letter to the Editor, American Demo- graphics, August 2001, 8.

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The purpose of most reports is rarely to provide a history of the problem. Do not let the background section achieve undue length.

Body The body of the report is usually its longest section. Here you analyze causes of the problem and offer possible solutions. Here you present your argument with all its evidence and data. Data that are necessary to follow the argument are included with appropriate visuals and explanatory text. Extended data sets, such as large tables and long questionnaires, are generally placed in ap- pendices. It is particularly important in the body that you use headings, fore- casting statements, and topic sentences to help lead your readers through the body. Readers will also appreciate clear, concise, and engaging prose. Re- member to cite your sources (see Chapter 15) and to refer in the text to all vi- suals and appendices.

Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions summarize points you have made in the body of the report; Recommendations are action items that would solve or ameliorate the problem. These sections are often combined if they are short: Conclu- sions and Recommendations. No new information should be included in this section.

Many readers turn to the recommendations section first; some organiza- tions ask that recommendations be presented early in the report. Number the recommendations to make it easy for people to discuss them. If the recom- mendations will seem difficult or controversial, give a brief paragraph of rationale after each recommendation. If they’ll be easy for the audience to accept, you can simply list them without comments or reasons. The recom- mendations will also be in the executive summary and perhaps in the title and the transmittal.

Summary of Key Points • Good reports begin with good data. Make sure your data come from reli-

able sources.

• Analyze report numbers and text for accuracy and logic.

• Choose an appropriate organizational pattern for your information and purposes.The most common patterns are comparison/contrast, problem- solving, elimination, general to particular, particular to general, geo- graphic or spatial, and functional.

• Reports use the same style as other business documents, with three exceptions:

1. Reports use a more formal style than do many letters and memos.

2. Reports rarely use the word you.

3. Reports should include all the definitions and documents needed to understand the recommendations.

• To create good report style,

1. Use clear, engaging writing.

2. Keep repetition to a minimum.

3. Introduce all sources and visuals.

4. Use forecasting, transitions, topic sentences, and headings.

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• Headings are single words, short phrases, or complete sentences that cover all of the material under it until the next heading. Talking heads tell the reader what to expect in each section.

• Headings must use the same grammatical structure. Subheads under a heading must be parallel to each other but do not necessarily have to be parallel to subheads under other headings.

• The title page of a report usually contains four items: the title of the re- port, whom the report is prepared for, whom it is prepared by, and the date.

• If the report is 25 pages or less, list all the headings in the table of contents. In a long report, pick a level and put all the headings at that level and above in the contents.

• Organize the transmittal in this way:

1. Release the report.

2. Summarize your conclusions and recommendations.

3. Mention any points of special interest in the report. Show how you sur- mounted minor problems you encountered in your investigation. Thank people who helped you.

4. Point out additional research that is necessary, if any.

5. Thank the reader for the opportunity to do the work and offer to an- swer questions.

• Summary abstracts present the logical skeleton of the article: the thesis or rec- ommendation and its proof. Descriptive abstracts indicate what topics the article covers and how deeply it goes into each topic, but do not summarize what the article says about each topic.

• A good abstract or executive summary is easy to read, concise, and clear. A good abstract can be understood by itself, without the report or references.

• The Introduction of the report always contains a statement of purpose and scope. The Purpose statement identifies the organizational prob- lem the report addresses, the technical investigations it summarizes, and the rhetorical purpose (to explain, to recommend). The Scope statement identifies how broad an area the report surveys. The intro- duction may also include Limitations, problems or factors that limit the validity of your recommendations; Assumptions, statements whose truth you assume, and which you use to prove your final point; Methods, an explanation of how you gathered your data; Criteria used to weigh the factors in the decision; and Definitions of terms readers may not know.

• A Background or History section is usually included because reports are filed and may be consulted years later by people who no longer remember the original circumstances.

• The body of the report, usually the longest section, analyzes causes of the problem and offers possible solutions. It presents your argument with all evidence and data.

• Conclusions summarize points made in the body of the report; Recom- mendations are action items that would solve or ameliorate the problem. These sections are often combined if they are short.

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C H A P T E R 16 Exercises and Problems

16.1 Reviewing the Chapter

1. What are some criteria to check to ensure you have quality data? (LO 1)

2. What kinds of patterns should you look for in your data and text? (LO 1)

3. What are some guidelines for choosing information for reports? (LO 2)

4. Name seven basic patterns for organizing reports. For four of them, explain when they would be particularly effective or ineffective. (LO 3)

5. What are three ways that style in reports differs from conventional business communication style? (LO 4)

6. Name four good writing principles that are particularly important in reports. (LO 4)

7. How do you introduce sources in the text of the report? (LO 4)

8. Why should reports try to have a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph? (LO 4)

9. What are the characteristics of an effective report title? (LO 5)

10. What goes in the letter of transmittal? (LO 5)

11. What is the difference between summary and descriptive abstracts? (LO 5)

12. What goes in the introduction of a report? (LO5)

13. What is the difference between conclusions and recommendations? (LO 5)

16.2 Identifying Assumptions and Limitations

Indicate whether each of the following would be an assumption or a limitation in a formal report.

a. Report on Ways to Encourage More Students to Join XYZ Organization

1. I surveyed a judgment sample rather than a random sample.

2. These recommendations are based on the attitudes of current students. Presumably, students in the next several years will have the same attitudes and interests.

b. Report on the Feasibility of Building Hilton Hotels in Vietnam

1. This report is based on the expectation that the country will be politically stable.

2. All of my information is based on library research. The most recent articles were published

two months ago; much of the information was published a year ago or more. Therefore some of my information may be out of date.

c. Report on Car-Buying Preferences of Young Adults

1. These recommendations may change if the cost of gasoline increases dramatically or if there is another deep recession.

2. This report is based on a survey of adults ages 20 to 24 in California, Texas, Illinois, Ontario, and Massachusetts.

3. These preferences are based on the cars now available. If a major technical or styling innovation occurs, preferences may change.

16.3 Revising an Executive Summary

The following Executive Summary is poorly organized and too long. Rearrange information to make it more

effective. Cut information that does not belong in the summary. You may use different words as you revise.

In this report I will discuss the communication problems which exist at Rolling Meadows Golf Club. The problems discussed will deal with channels of communication. The areas which are causing problems are internal. Radios would solve these internal problems.

Taking a 15-minute drive on a golf cart in order to find the superintendent is a com- mon occurrence. Starters and rangers need to keep in touch with the clubhouse to maintain a smooth flow of players around the course. The rangers have expressed an interest in being able to call the clubhouse for advice and support.

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16.4 Analyzing Data and Information

Every year, Business Ethics magazine releases its annual survey of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” The survey measures a company’s social responsibility to the envi- ronment and to their community and employees.

Go to the Web site http://www.business-ethics.com/ what_new/100best.html and analyze the data and infor- mation used to create their list. Consider the following questions:

• Do the data come from a reliable source? Does the source have a vested interest in the results?

• What do the data actually measure?

• Are there any assumptions or limitations that need to be considered when analyzing these numbers?

As your instructor directs,

• Write a memo to your instructor summarizing your analysis.

• Share your analysis orally with a small group of students.

• Present your analysis to the class.

16.5 Recommending Action

Write a report recommending an action that your unit or organization should take. Possibilities include

• Buying more equipment for your department.

• Hiring an additional worker for your department.

• Making your organization more family-friendly.

• Making a change that will make the organization more efficient.

• Making changes to improve accessibility for customers or employees with disabilities.

Address your report to the person who would have the power to approve your recommendation.

As your instructor directs,

a. Create a document or presentation to achieve the goal.

b. Write a memo to your instructor describing the situ- ation at your workplace and explaining your rhetor- ical choices (medium, strategy, tone, wording, graphics or document design, and so forth).

Purchasing two-channel FM radios with private channels would provide three advan- tages. First, radios would make the golf course safer by providing a means of notify- ing someone in the event of an emergency. Second, radios would make the staff more efficient by providing a faster channel of communication. Third, radios would enable clubhouse personnel to keep in touch with the superintendent, the rangers, and the starters.

During the week, radios can be carried by the superintendent, the golf pro, and an- other course worker. On weekends and during tournaments, one radio will be used by the golf professional. The other two will be used by one starter and one ranger. Three radios is the minimum needed to meet basic communication needs. A fourth radio would provide more flexibility for busy weekends and during tournaments.

Tekk T-20 radios can be purchased from Page-Com for $129 each. These radios have the range and options needed for use on the golf course. Radios are durable and easy to service. It is possible that another brand might be even less expensive.

Rolling Meadows Golf Club should purchase four radios. They will cost under $600 and can be paid for from the current equipment budget.

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16.6 Evaluating a Report from Your Workplace

Consider the following aspects of a report from your workplace:

• Content. How much information is included? How is it presented?

• Emphasis. What points are emphasized? What points are deemphasized? What verbal and visual techniques are used to highlight or minimize information?

• Visuals and layout. Are visuals used effectively? Are they accurate and free from chartjunk? What image do

the pictures and visuals create? Are color and white space used effectively? (See Chapter 6 on visuals.)

As your instructor directs,

a. Write a memo to your instructor analyzing the report.

b. Join with a small group of students to compare and contrast several reports. Present your evaluation in an informal group report.

c. Present your evaluation orally to the class.

16.7 Analyzing and Writing Reports

Reread the sidebar about the Pew Internet and American Life Project at http://www.pewinternet.org/. Go to the Web site and browse through the reports. Select a report and answer the following questions:

• Who is the report’s audience?

• What is its purpose?

• How were the data collected?

• What did the data collection measure?

• Why was the data collection important?

Given your analysis of the report’s audience, purpose, and data collection, consider the strategies used in the re- port to convey the information. Answer these questions:

• What tone did the writer adopt?

• How was the report organized and designed to meet the needs of the audience?

• What language choices did the writer make?

Finally, examine the press releases that are written about the report (the press releases for each report are included as links) for the ways the information in the re- port is adapted for a different audience and purpose. How do the content, organization, tone, and language choices differ from those of the original report? Do you see any ethical issues involved in condensing the report into a press release?

As your instructor directs,

• Write a report of your findings to your instructor.

• Present your findings to the class using presentation software.

16.8 Writing a Feasibility Study

Write a report evaluating the feasibility of two or more alternatives. Possible topics include the following:

1. Is it feasible to start a monthly newsletter for students in your major?

2. Is it feasible for your student organization to write an annual report? Would doing so help the next year’s officers?

3. Is it feasible for your student organization to create a wiki, blog, or newsletter to facilitate communication with a constituency?

4. Is it feasible for your workplace to create a newsletter to communicate internally?

5. Is it feasible for a local restaurant to open another branch? Where should it be?

6. Is it feasible to open another student parking lot on or near campus? Where should it be?

In designing your study, identify the alternatives, define your criteria for selecting one option over others, care- fully evaluate each alternative, and recommend the best course of action.

16.9 Writing an Informative or Closure Report

Write an informative report on one of the following topics.

1. What should a US or Canadian manager know about dealing with workers from _____ [you fill in the country or culture]? What factors do and do not motivate people in this group? How do they show

respect and deference? Are they used to a strong hierarchy or to an egalitarian setting? Do they normally do one thing at once or many things? How important is clock time and being on time? What factors lead them to respect someone? Age?

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Experience? Education? Technical knowledge? Wealth? Or what? What conflicts or miscommunications may arise between workers from this culture and other workers due to cultural differences? Are people from this culture similar in these beliefs and behaviors, or is there lots of variation?

2. What benefits do companies offer? To get information, check the Web pages of three companies in the same industry. Information about benefits is usually on the page about working for the company.

3. Describe an ethical dilemma encountered by workers in a specific organization. What is the background of the situation? What competing loyalties exist? In the past, how have workers responded? How has the organization responded? Have “whistle-blowers” been rewarded or

16.10 Writing a Consultant’s Report—Restaurant Tipping

Your consulting company has been asked to conduct a report for Diamond Enterprises, which runs three national chains: FishStix, The Bar-B-Q Pit, and Morrie’s. All are medium-priced, family-friendly restaurants. The CEO is thinking of replacing optional tips with a 15% service fee automatically added to bills.

You read articles in trade journals, surveyed a ran- dom sample of 200 workers in each of the chains, and conducted an e-mail survey of the 136 restaurant managers. Here are your findings:

1. Trade journals point out that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits restaurants if it thinks that servers underreport tips. Dealing with an audit is time-consuming and often results in the restaurant’s having to pay penalties and interest.

2. Only one Morrie’s restaurant has actually been audited by the IRS. Management was able to convince the IRS that servers were reporting tips accurately. No penalty was assessed. Management spent $1,000 on CPA and legal fees and spent over 80 hours of management time gathering data and participating in the audit.

3. Restaurants in Europe already add a service fee (usually 15%) to the bill. Patrons can add more if they choose. Local custom determines whether tips are expected and how much they should be. In Germany, for example, it is more usual to round up the bill (from 27 € to 30 €, for example) than to figure a percentage.

4. If the restaurant collected a service fee, it could use the income to raise wages for cooks and hosts and pay for other benefits, such as health insurance, rather than giving all the money to servers and bussers.

5. Morrie’s servers tend to be under 25 years of age. FishStix employs more servers over 25, who are doing this for a living. The Bar-B-Q Pit servers are students in college towns.

6. In all three chains, servers oppose the idea. Employees other than servers generally support it.

Change to service

Retain fee added Don’t tips to bill care

FishStix servers (n � 115) 90% 7% 3%

Bar-B-Q servers (n � 73) 95% 0% 5%

Morrie’s servers (n � 93) 85% 15% 0%

Morrie’s nonservers (n � 65) 25% 70% 5%

FishStix nonservers (n � 46) 32% 32% 37%

Bar-B-Q nonservers (n � 43) 56% 20% 25%

(Numbers do not add up to 100% due to rounding.)

7. Servers said that it was important to go home with money in their pockets (92%), that their expertise increased food sales and should be rewarded (67%), and that if a service fee replaced tips they would be likely to look for another job (45%). Some (17%) thought that if the manager distributed service-fee income, favoritism rather than the quality of work would govern how much tip income they got. Most (72%) thought that customers would not add anything beyond the 15% service fee, and many (66%) thought that total tip income would decrease and their own portion of that income would decrease (90%).

8. Managers generally support the change.

Change to service

Retain fee added Don’t tips to bill care

FishStix managers (n � 44) 20% 80% 0%

Bar-B-Q managers (n � 13) 33% 67% 0%

Morrie’s managers (n � 58) 55% 45% 0%

punished? What could the organization do to foster ethical behavior?

4. Describe a problem or challenge encountered by an organization where you’ve worked. Describe the problem, show why it needed to be solved, tell who did what to try to solve it, and tell how successful the efforts were. Possibilities include

• How the organization is implementing work teams, downsizing, or changing organizational culture.

• How the organization uses e-mail or voice mail.

• How the organization uses telecommuting.

• How managers deal with stress, make ethical choices, or evaluate subordinates.

• How the organization is responding to changing US demographics, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or international competition and opportunities.

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9. Comments from managers include: “It isn’t fair for a cook with eight years of experience to make only $12 an hour while a server can make $25 an hour in just a couple of months,” and “I could have my pick of employees if I offered health insurance.”

10. Morale at Bar-B-Q seems low. This is seen in part in the low response rate to the survey.

11. In a tight employment market, some restaurants might lose good servers if they made the change. However, hiring cooks and other nonservers would be easier.

12. The current computer systems in place can handle figuring and recording the service fee. Since bills are printed by computer, an additional line could be added. Allocating the service-fee income could take extra managerial time, especially at first.

16.11 Writing a Library Research Report

Write a library research report.

As your instructor directs,

Turn in the following documents:

a. The approved proposal.

b. Two copies of the report, including

Cover.

Title Page.

Letter or Memo of Transmittal.

Table of Contents.

List of Illustrations.

Executive Summary or Abstract.

Body (Introduction, all information, recommenda- tions). Your instructor may specify a minimum length, a minimum number or kind of sources, and a minimum number of visuals.

References or Works Cited.

c. Your notes and rough drafts.

Choose one of the following topics.

1. Selling to College Students. Your car dealership is located in a university town, but the manager doubts that selling cars to college students will be profitable. You agree that college incomes are low to nonexistent, but you see some students driving late- model cars. Recommend to the dealership’s manager whether to begin marketing to college students, suggesting some tactics that would be effective.

2. Advertising on the Internet. You work on a team developing a marketing plan to sell high-end sunglasses. Your boss is reluctant to spend money for online advertising because she has heard that the money is mostly wasted. Also, she associates the ads with spam, which she detests. Recommend whether the company should devote some of its advertising budget to online ads. Include samples of online advertising that supports your recommendation.

3. Improving Job Interview Questions. Turnover among the sales force has been high, and your boss

believes the problem is that your company has been hiring the wrong people. You are part of a team investigating the problem, and your assignment is to evaluate the questions used in job interviews. Human resource personnel use tried-and-true questions like “What is your greatest strength?” and “What is your greatest weakness?” The sales manager has some creative alternatives, such as asking candidates to solve logic puzzles and seeing how they perform under stress by taking frequent phone calls during the interview. You are to evaluate the current interviewing approaches and propose changes where they would improve hiring decisions.

4. Selling to Wal-Mart. Your company has a reputation for making high-quality lamps and ceiling fans sold in specialty stores. Although the company has been profitable, it could grow much faster if it sold through Wal-Mart. Your boss is excited about her recent discussions with that retailer, but she has heard from associates that Wal- Mart can be a demanding customer. She asked you to find out if there is a downside to selling through Wal-Mart and, if so, whether manufacturers can afford to say no to a business deal with the retail giant.

5. Making College Affordable. The senator you work for is concerned about fast-rising costs of a college education. Students say they cannot afford their tuition bills. Colleges say they are making all the cuts they can without compromising the quality of education. In order to propose a bill that would help make college affordable for those who are qualified to attend, the senator has asked you to research alternatives for easing the problem. Recommend one or two measures the senator could include in a bill for the Senate to vote on.

6. With your instructor’s permission, investigate a topic of your choice.

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Write an individual or a group report.

As your instructor directs,

Turn in the following documents:

1. The approved proposal.

2. Two copies of the report, including

Cover.

Title Page.

Letter or Memo of Transmittal.

Table of Contents.

List of Illustrations.

Executive Summary or Abstract.

Body (Introduction, all information, recommendations). Your instructor may specify a minimum length, a minimum number or kind of sources, and a minimum number of visuals.

Appendixes if useful or relevant.

3. Your notes and rough drafts.

Pick one of the following topics.

1. Improving Customer Service. Many customers find that service is getting poorer and workers are getting ruder. Evaluate the service in a local store, restaurant, or other organization. Are customers made to feel comfortable? Is workers’ communication helpful, friendly, and respectful? Are workers knowledgeable about products and services? Do they sell them effectively? Write a report analyzing the quality of service and recommending what the organization should do to improve.

2. Recommending Courses for the Local Community College. Businesses want to be able to send workers to local community colleges to upgrade their skills; community colleges want to prepare

students to enter the local workforce. What skills are in demand in your community? What courses at what levels should the local community college offer?

3. Improving Sales and Profits. Recommend ways a small business in your community can increase sales and profits. Focus on one or more of the following: the products or services it offers, its advertising, its decor, its location, its accounting methods, its cash management, or any other aspect that may be keeping the company from achieving its potential. Address your report to the owner of the business.

4. Increasing Student Involvement. How could an organization on campus persuade more of the students who are eligible to join or to become active in its programs? Do students know that it exists? Is it offering programs that interest students? Is it retaining current members? What changes should the organization make? Address your report to the officers of the organization.

5. Evaluating a Potential Employer. What training is available to new employees? How soon is the average entry-level person promoted? How much travel and weekend work are expected? Is there a “busy season,” or is the workload consistent year-round? What fringe benefits are offered? What is the corporate culture? Is the climate nonracist and nonsexist? How strong is the company economically? How is it likely to be affected by current economic, demographic, and political trends? Address your report to the Placement Office on campus; recommend whether it should encourage students to work at this company.

6. With your instructor’s permission, choose your own topic.

16.13 Mosaic Case

The Communications Department at Mosaic is getting ready to produce the organization’s annual report that will be distributed to all investors and shareholders. Yvonne, who normally oversees the production and printing of this high-end report, is doing some recon- naissance work abroad. As a result, she passed the torch to complete this project to Sarah and Demetri, since they are responsible for Mosaic’s physical stores and online communications.

For the past week, Sarah and Demetri have been fran- tic and on everyone’s case. They know not only how im- portant the annual report is to the image of the organization, but also the detrimental effect it could have on their jobs if they do a poor job.

16.12 Writing a Recommendation Report

Today while taking a coffee break, Sarah said to Demetri, “I’m not sure about the content of an annual re- port. I’ve seen them before, but Yvonne usually handles organizing it all. I’m not exactly sure what even needs to be included.”

“I have a general idea about content,” said Demetri but I’m not positive about how to arrange the visuals and layout the report in a way that will really mean something to shareholders.”

Trey, who was also in the break room and overhead their conversation, suggested to them, “Why don’t you just research Mosaic’s past annual reports, as well as re- ports from similar competitors to become more comfort- able with the look and conventions of the document?”

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“That’s a great idea, Trey,” said Sarah and Demetri almost simultaneously. “I’ll have Martina get right on that!” said Sarah.

Martina the intern, who coincidentally walked into the break room just then eating a banana and minding her own business, suddenly found herself as a key player in the production of Mosaic’s annual report.

Take on the communication task of Martina. Research the annual reports of five major corporations (competitors) as Sarah and Demetri have asked her to do. When you are finished, write a memo to Sarah and Demetri that explains

what sections are typically included in these organiza- tions’ annual reports and possible reasons for including them. If variation occurs in the typical content of corre- sponding sections, give Sarah and Demetri some idea of the range of variations and why you think the differences occur. In addition, figure out how the annual reports have incorporated visual displays and other pictures and how the visuals help convey information to the audience of the report (www.annualreports.com is a great place to start if you cannot locate hard copies of reports.)