Cross-Cultural Training for Global Business

Research skills are important in both the academic and the work environment. During your career as a student, you have researched different subjects to gain knowledge. In the workplace, you may conduct research for numerous reasons, such as to determine the cost of new equipment, to gain an understanding of a technical term or concept, to summarize a procedure for your supervisor, or to uncover facts for a technical report.

To keep up with changes in technology, it is imperative that you gain familiarity with all available research methods. In the past, people typically performed research at a library. Today, they turn to the World Wide Web; however, technical writers can conduct research through numerous channels. Personal interviews, e-mail questionnaires, and listservs (programs by which e-mail messages are sent to a mailing list go out to all those on that list) can provide valid research opportunities.

Chances are, if you need to research a particular topic, your first source will be the Internet. There, you can find information from government organizations, academic institutions, commercial groups, and individuals. Remember, though, that not every site on the Web is a reliable source of information. Universities, for example, are more credible than obscure Web sites with a single author who lacks verifiable credentials. To conduct research on the Internet, follow these tips:

· Look for Web sites that end in .gov, .org, and .edu.

· For a .edu or other site, make sure you can find the author of the material.

· Check the author's credentials and see if he or she is referenced in the field.

· Find out whether the author has a bibliography or a works cited section, and check to ensure that his or her references are reputable (i.e., academic books, government journals, etc.).

· See whether the Web page has a publication date, and when the last update occurred.

· If you can't locate the origins of a Web page or its author, be aware that you may not have found a credible source.

Think about why we read reports. We want to stay informed about a particular topic in our field, to make a decision, to make an effective presentation, and/or to justify an action. When writing a report, we adapt the content and style to our audience's needs.

Types of reports include

· meeting minutes, to record discussions, actions, and results of a meeting

· status or progress reports, to update others on how projects are coming along, and to alert others to potential problems

· feasibility or evaluation reports, to assess various solutions, equipment, and personnel

· recommendations, to suggest solutions to a problem or optimal courses of action

· trip summaries, to report on discussions, actions, and results of business trips

· lab reports, to record the results of laboratory work

· incident/hazard/accident reports, to describe events, identify their causes and results, and reveal possible findings and/or solutions

These and other reports all fall under the categories of the two basic types of report: the short report (or memo report), and the long report (or formal or research report). All reports, like all letters, essays, and articles, have three main parts, including

· abstract, or summary

· body, or discussion section

· conclusion/recommendation

Long reports may have many more components; however, they still retain this basic structure.

A short report may address one person or several, and is typically written to an internal audience (within your company). Generally, longer reports are written for a variety of people who have disparate backgrounds and varying reasons for reading the report.

Think of the needs you would have to meet with a long report, such as a study on the benefits of incorporating an employee wellness plan, written to a client. Your client might send the report to his or her Human Resources department, to supervisors, and to a middle management team to gather feedback. How could you address the needs of these readers? You could write a background section for the supervisors explaining why competing companies have incorporated wellness plans. You might include clear definitions for the middle managers. You could add a section letting Human Resources know what its role would be in implementing such a plan. You would need to use headers to direct your readers to the sections of the report that would most interest them.

Many reports also contain graphics to break down information for readers. You can display percentages and facts in a table or graph. Be sure to number and label all graphics and to reference those graphics within the body of your report. Only use graphics that have a clear purpose and that support the content of your report. Graphics should not serve as decorations.

Short Report Organization

Clear organization is key to providing a roadmap for your readers. Four common types of organization are

1. classification

2. chronological organization

3. cause-and-effect

4. compare-and-contrast

Classification, or the grouping of items according to their qualities, is a common organization tool. If you were rearranging your closet, you might put shoes, pants, and shirts in different areas. You might even separate those items into smaller categories, such as running shoes, work shoes, dress shoes, beach shoes, etc. If you were writing a report on Atlanta as a destination for a conference, you might also separate your subjects, as shown in figure 4.1:

Figure 4.1 Classification Report Structure

and so on. You can use this type of structure even if you are discussing different items without any further breakdown in classification.

A chronological organization may work best for such documents as meeting minutes, timelines, or project schedules. Chronological organization requires you to segment information in increments of time or in order of occurrence. If you worked for a theater company, you might use a structure similar to that in figure 4.2 to record minutes at a meeting:

Figure 4.2 Chronological Report Structure

and so on.

A cause-and-effect structure shows how various events occurred or will occur. This type of organization can be used when reporting a problem. For example, if a poorly trained customer representative is causing numerous complaints, your boss might ask you to prepare a report on the situation. You might describe a skill the representative lacked, and then list examples of the type of complaint it caused, with examples. You would repeat this pattern until you exhausted the list of skills, or until you made your point. You might use the approach shown in figure 4.3:

Figure 4.3 Cause-and-Effect Report Structure

and so on.

A compare-and-contrast structure analyzes different items or ideas, showing which features are superior. This type of organization can be useful in reports that evaluate equipment or give recommendations. Generally, you would group items either by criteria or by alternative. If you were evaluating two types of laptops for your field agents, the criteria would be the relevant features of the laptops, and the alternatives would be the laptops themselves. Before starting your report, you would need to determine which features of the laptops were important enough to analyze. Your agents might identify monitor size, battery life, and weight as the most important aspects of a laptop. Your supervisor might cite cost as the decision-making factor. Your organization structure would look like either figure 4.4 (by alternative) or figure 4.5 (by criteria):

Figure 4.4 Compare-and-Contrast Report Structure, by Alternative

Figure 4.5 Compare-and-Contrast Report Structure, by Criteria

You can use tables in this type of report to make information easy to understand at a glance. Tables 4.2 and 4.3 show how you can accomplish this:

Table 4.2 Compare-and-Contrast Table, by Alternative

Table 4.3 Compare-and-Contrast Table, by Criteria

Figure 4.6 shows a short report with poor organization. Scroll your mouse over the numbers to see the ways in which it could be improved.

Figure 4.6 Poorly Organized Short Report

Click on the pop-up below to discuss how you would organize this report differently.

For contrast, look at figure 4.7, which shows an improved version of the same report. Scroll your mouse over the numbers to find out why it is superior to the report in figure 4.6.

Figure 4.7 Organized Short Report

Long Reports

Before you begin writing a long report, you need to do your homework. Regardless of whether your subject has been determined for you, or whether you have decided what you need to write about, be sure to analyze your audience. Long reports are often read by numerous readers; think about each person's needs, education, level of expertise, reasons for reading the report, etc.

Think of your primary audience first. Your primary audience is made up of the folks who will make decisions based on your report. Your secondary audience is made up of those people who will be affected by the actions of the primary readers. If you were writing a long report evaluating laptops for field agents, your primary audience would be the supervisor who controls the budget and who has the final say over the decision. You would need to make sure that the supervisor knew the bottom line of each purchase. The secondary audience would include those field agents who would use the new laptops on a daily basis. The agents would be much more concerned about the functionality of the laptops than about the cost.

When writing a long report, perform research as necessary. First, find out whether your organization has already compiled research on the subject. This type of information-gathering is known as secondary research. Review existing documents, determine whether you still need information, and conduct additional research as needed. New research you perform is called primary research.

Brainstorm your report by asking the journalistic questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. Then, think of how to structure your report. If you are comparing the two laptops, make lists of the pros and cons of each system; if you are proposing changes to a process, explain why first, and then list possible changes.

A formal report is comprised of front matter, a body/discussion, and back matter. These sections contain several components:

I. Front matter

· transmittal letter or memo

· cover page

· abstract

· table of contents

· list of figures (optional)

II. Body/discussion

· introduction

· scope

· presentation and discussion of facts

· conclusion

· recommendations (optional)

III. Back matter

· works cited

· glossary of terms

· appendices

We elaborate on these components below.

Front Matter

Front matter introduces the main topics of the report and leads the reader to the body or discussion. Below, we discuss each of the components of front matter.

Transmittal Letter or Memo

Always send out long reports with a transmittal letter or memo. If the report is going outside the company, format the transmittal as a letter; if it is staying within the company, format the transmittal as a memo. In either case, the transmittal basically states, "Here is the report I promised to write." The letter or memo is generally one page; it briefly discusses the purpose of the report, and includes contact information. Conclude the transmittal by politely stating what you would like your readers to do after reviewing the report, i.e., "Please call my assistant to set up a meeting to discuss our findings."

Cover Page

Your cover page should look professional. It may contain your company's logo or a graphic relevant to the report. Do not place annoying clipart on the cover page to "dress it up." If you are going to use a graphic, it should lend meaning to the report. If it does not, omit it. At a minimum, your cover page should contain the title of the report, the main readers' names, and your name, along with those of anyone else who helped prepare the document. It should also include a date, and may list a version number.

Abstract

There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract is similar to a summary, in which you condense the discussion section of your report. An informative abstract differs from a descriptive abstract in that it states the results of the report. An informative abstract provides data as well as information, and includes your concluding ideas and recommendations.

Your abstract will help your readers determine whether they want or need to read your entire report, or whether they should route your report to someone else. For this reason, the abstract should be able to stand on its own. Keep in mind that your report is not a mystery novel; it should not build up to a surprising conclusion. You should "give away" all the important facts up front. Provide significant details in your abstract, such as how long it will take to complete a contract, how much new equipment will cost, how many work hours are needed to win a proposal, etc. If you are not sure which type of abstract to write, create an informative one.

You cannot begin your abstract until you complete the report, for the sheer reason that it is impossible to summarize what you have not yet written. Click on the pop-up below to see if you can distinguish a descriptive from an informative abstract.

Table of Contents and List of Figures

The front matter should also contain a table of contents and a list of figures, if necessary. These guide your readers through the report and let them know what to expect. They also give your audience an easy way to locate specific information.

Body/Discussion

The body makes up the bulk of the report and contains all the information relevant to the readers. It should be as long as it needs to be to get the main points across, but should not be padded with fanciful language or unnecessary anecdotes. Below, we discuss each of the components of the body/discussion.

Introduction

Your introduction is the first section of the body of your report. It differs from the abstract in that it acquaints your readers with the main themes of your report without providing a summary. The introduction should identify the main problem or topic, the purpose of the report, and the key factors involved. For example, an introduction to the laptop evaluation report would need to mention the items evaluated (the two types of laptops), why the equipment is being evaluated (because supervisor Fran Kennedy wants to upgrade 800 field examiners' systems), and how the equipment is being evaluated (through a comparison of monitor size, battery life, weight, and cost).

Scope

In the scope section of a report, you state what factors are included in the report and what issues are not discussed. Break your information down into categories such as project goals, deadlines, money, equipment, work hours, etc. Also include any limitations to your work: "This comparison of the IBM ThinkPAD X40 and the Dell Latitude D620 presents an analysis of four major features of each laptop; however, this report does not contain information about any other laptop." You may want to provide a description of the people who helped create or contribute to the report, naming the organizations they represent. You might also include a "roadmap" of the report, in which you explain to your readers how many sections the report contains as well as the information that can be found in each section.

Presentation and Discussion of Facts

When organizing your report, be sure to provide background information for readers who may need additional information. You might, for example, include a review of previous research in a background section. Is there a timeline of events that your readers will want to see? Does your audience need to know your rationale for writing the report?

To construct the main body of your report, employ one of the modes of organization, such as classification, chronological organization, cause-and-effect, and compare-and-contrast, or perhaps a combination of two or more. Reporters use a journalistic, or inverted pyramid, style. They provide the most important facts first, with the least important at the end of the article. Whatever organizational structure you choose, make good use of headings and subheadings. Instead of titling parts of your report with their generic names (Introduction, Scope, Body, etc.), use meaningful headings such as shown in the sample report outline in figure 4.8:

Figure 4.8 Specific Headings

Conclusion and Recommendations

Most reports conclude with either a summary to highlight the important information in the report, and/or a recommendation to suggest how to solve a problem or make an improvement. Many reports employ a mix of these.

Regardless of how you conclude your report, it needs to provide some meaning to the report, and it should be brief. Figure 4.9 shows the conclusion of a report evaluating laptops. Scroll your mouse over the numbers to see what the author has done to make it an effective end to the main body of the report.

Figure 4.9 Report Conclusion

Back Matter

The back matter of a report starts on the page after the conclusion. Below, we discuss each of the components of back matter.

Works Cited

In the works cited or references page, you list all the sources you used for research or for quotations as you composed the report. Using the APA, CSE, AMA, Chicago, or MLA style, be sure to reference all books, journals, newspapers, Web sites, and other source of information. Alphabetize your references, and include a double space between each listing.

Glossary of Terms

Include a glossary of terms for those readers who may need a refresher or further explanation of technical terms. Alphabetize this list, and include a double space between each listing. Keep in mind that some workplaces prefer the glossary at the beginning of the report rather than at the end.

Appendices

Use appendices to provide supplemental information for your readers. For instance, if you interviewed the field examiners to determine their work needs for a laptop, you might want to list your interview questions along with the results you gathered in an appendix. Materials for appendices include brochures, questionnaires, previous reports, maps, illustrations, etc. This material is generally not discussed in the report itself, though you should refer your readers to appendices whenever appropriate: "For completed field examiners' questionnaires, see Appendix A." Label each appendix with a letter (i.e., Appendix B, Appendix C), and number the pages accordingly (i.e., B-1, C-1, etc.).

In figure 4.10, you can see the various components of a long report. Put the components in the correct category in the table, in the order in which they should appear. Correct answers will stick.

Module 5: Presentations

Commentary

Topics

Visual aids are powerful tools that can improve understanding of your ideas and add credibility to your work. These aids help your audience focus on your message, and enhance retention of the topic. Whether you use a whiteboard, a PowerPoint presentation, or transparencies, be sure to smoothly integrate your visual aids into your speech. Keep in mind that, while visual aids may add to your presentation, they should not become the presentation.

Visual aids can include

· posters

· flip charts

· chalkboards

· whiteboards

· transparencies

· handouts

· films, videotapes, DVDs, laser disks, audio tapes, or CD-ROMs

· physical objects, such as props or models

· computer presentations, such as PowerPoint slides or Excel spreadsheets

As you can see, visual aids range from simple posters to expensive multimedia displays. Select your media according to your audience, your budget, and your capabilities. Keep in mind that the more technology you employ, the more time you will need to ensure that the equipment is functioning properly. It may help to have an assistant on hand to run computer presentations or pass out handouts.

Visual aids can illustrate a multitude of concepts. If you are presenting data to your audience, choose a table, graph, or chart. If you are showing steps or features of a product, use slides with numbered or bulleted lists. You can also show an outline of your presentation, broken down into key topics. You may want to use visual aids to define important and relevant terms. If you are explaining how a particular item or object functions, you can bring in a model, photograph, or drawing of the item.

If you include visual aids in your presentation, describe and reference each aid. Use graphics and items that are relevant to your purpose statement. Do not just display images for the sake of having something to show your audience. Only use clip art if it adds substance to your presentation.

When creating visual aids, keep in mind the elements of document design. Simplicity is key. A visual aid should look balanced and pleasing to the eye. Use consistent design elements to unify the appearance of your visual aids. Do not confuse your audience with a blizzard of fonts, styles, and colors. When working in PowerPoint, use the master template to ensure consistent font treatment.

PowerPoint Slides

PowerPoint is one of the most powerful presentation design programs. It appears frequently in the workplace because it is easy-to-use, portable, and economical. If you are creating PowerPoint slides to enhance your presentation, keep the following tips in mind:

· Title each slide, and list key points.

· Use a consistent style.

· Balance text and graphics.

· Use the spell-checker.

· Cite your references correctly.

· Use visual effects sparingly. They should enhance your presentation; not distract from it.

· Do not use more than three font styles.

· Do not use more than seven lines of text per slide.

· Use a simple and clean typeface.

· Use slides to show information best presented visually. Do not use them to display the words you are speaking, but to illustrate key points, data, statistics, figures, etc.

The PowerPoint slides below show widely different styles. Review the slides, then determine which are successful and which are not. Click on the pop-ups to explain your answers.

Figure 5.2 Presentation Tips

Figure 5.3 Readability Tips

Figure 5.4 Presentation Paragraph