Business Report- Case Study: How Do You Compete with a Goliath?

Writing an Effective Business Report

What is a Business Report?

Writing an effective business report is a necessary skill for communicating ideas in the

business environment. Reports usually address a specific issue or problem, and are

often commissioned when a decision needs to be made. They present the author’s

findings in relation to the issue or problem and then recommend a course of action for

the organisation to take. The key to a good report is in-depth analysis. Good writers will

show their reader how they have interpreted their findings. The reader will understand

the basis on which the conclusions are drawn as well as the rationale for the

recommendations.

Structuring Your Business Report

The elements of a business report are:

● Introduction

● Conclusions

● Recommendations

● Findings and discussion

● References

● Appendices

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for the reader. It gives the context for the report and

generates the reader’s interest. It orients the reader to the purpose of the report and

gives them a clear indication of what they can expect.

The introduction should:

● briefly describe the context

● identify the general subject matter

● describe the issue or problem to be reported on

● state the specific questions the report answers

● outline the scope of the report (extent of investigation)

● preview the report structure

● comment on the limitations of the report and any assumptions made.

Conclusions/recommendations

A business report usually needs both conclusions and recommendations. The

difference between conclusions and recommendations in a report lies in the orientation

to time. Conclusions typically relate to the present or past situation.

When writing conclusions:

● interpret and summarise the findings; say what they mean

● relate the conclusions to the report issue/problem

● limit the conclusions to the data presented; do not introduce new material

● number the conclusions and present them in parallel form

● be objective: avoid exaggerating or manipulating the data.

Recommendations are oriented to the future: what changes are recommended, or what

actions are recommended for the future? They are specific, action-oriented suggestions

to solve the report problem.

When writing recommendations:

● make specific suggestions for actions to solve the report problem

● avoid conditional words such as maybe and perhaps

● present each suggestion separately and begin with a verb

● number the recommendations

● describe how the recommendations may be implemented (if you were requested

to do this)

● arrange the recommendations in an announced order, such as most important to

least important.

Although the conclusions and recommendations are presented before the discussion,

they need to logically flow from the discussion. Taking a deductive approach allows the

reader insight into your conclusions/recommendations early on. When your reader

reads the discussion afterwards, they will follow it more easily. Here are some examples

of conclusions and recommendations:

Findings and discussion

The discussion is the main part of your report and should present and discuss your

findings. It should give enough information, analysis, and evidence to support your

conclusions, and it should provide justification for your recommendations. Its

organisation will depend on your purpose, scope, and requirements, but it should follow

a logical and systematic organisation. The discussion should be subdivided into logical

sections, each with informative, descriptive headings and a number.

Where your report’s purpose is to recommend the best solution to a problem, you

should show clear analysis of all options. You should explain any analytical framework

you used. This analysis of options can often be presented effectively in tables.

References

Whenever you use information from other sources, references must be provided in-text

and in a list of references. See the HBS Citation Guide 20/21 pinned to our Edsby page.

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Appendices

If material is important to your discussion and is directly referred to, then it should be

included in your discussion proper. However, you might want to use appendices to

include supplementary material that enhances understanding for the reader. You might

use appendices to provide details on the process or analysis you underwent. When you

choose to include information in appendices, you should refer to it clearly in your text

(refer Appendix A). A single appendix should be titled APPENDIX. Multiple appendices

are titled APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, etc. Appendices appear in the order that they are

mentioned in the text of the report.

Appendices should:

● provide detailed explanation serving the needs of specific readers

● be clearly and neatly set out

● be numbered/lettered

● be given a descriptive title

● be arranged in the order they are mentioned in the text

● be related to the report’s purpose—not just ‘tacked on’.

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Structure your paragraphs well

Your headings will help create logical flow for your reader, but under each heading, you

should create a series of paragraphs that are also logically ordered and structured.

Paragraphs should be ordered in a logical sequence beginning with the most important

material first. Within your paragraphs you should also use a structure that helps your

reader. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea or

topic of the paragraph. Typically a paragraph will have between 100 and 200 words and

will have the following structure.

● Topic sentence (states main idea of paragraph)

● Explanation sentence (explains or expands on the topic sentence)

● Support sentences (give evidence for the idea in the topic sentence and include

statistics, examples, and citations)

● Concluding sentence (optional final sentence that answers the question ‘so

what?’; this is your opportunity to show your critical thinking ability)

Remember to link your paragraphs well. The first sentence (usually the topic

sentence) is a good place to make a link between paragraphs. One of the

most common ways to link paragraphs is to use the principle, ‘something old,

something new’. This means you will include a word or phrase that contrasts the topic of

the previous paragraph with the topic of your new paragraph.

A Checklist for a Business Report

❏ The report fulfils its purpose

❏ The report is oriented to the intended reader/s

❏ The report contains all appropriate elements

❏ The discussion has descriptive and appropriately formatted headings and

subheadings

❏ The discussion contains thorough analysis of findings as well as logical flow

❏ The report has been edited for section cohesiveness and good paragraph

structure

❏ The report has been proofread for sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and

consistency

❏ Tables and figures are formatted correctly and labelled

❏ Tables, figures, and appendices are referred to within the text / discussion

❏ Quotations from other sources are referenced

❏ Thoughts and ideas paraphrased from other sources are referenced

❏ The reference list is formatted properly

❏ Appendices are used to support the discussion, but tables / figures which are

essential to the discussion are included within the text