Short Store/Company Research Report #1
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ppt_short_report_.pptxAssignment Five Short Report/Proposal
We have all applied to different companies, and investigated them critically based on their web presence.
Now it is time to write a short report (with some type of proposal) on a specific company!!
As short reports differ in formats depending on what you are writing--You may write your short report in a basic memo format!
Basically, the memo consists of two parts: the header, or the identifying information at the top, and the messageitself. This identifying information includes four easily recognized parts: To, From, Date, and Subject lines.
| TO: | [Enter name] |
| FROM: | Linda Cowan |
| DATE: | [Enter date] |
| RE: | [Enter subject here.] |
| TO: | Aileen Kelly, Chief Computer Analyst |
| FROM: | Stacy Kaufman, Operator, Level II |
| DATE: | January 30, 2014 |
| SUBJECT: | Progress report on the fall schedule |
After the introduction, each memo should have these four sections…
1. Purpose
2. Findings
3. Conclusion
4. Recommendations (keep this section short). What is not great about the company currently? What are some things that it could do better? This should be a start to your long report! (The Proposal Section of Your Document).
In terms of creating these sections, look back at chapter 6 and visuals.
How to Write Heads and Subheads
It takes time to write appropriate heads and subheads and determine where to place them in your document. Following the writing process described in Chapter 2, first map out what you want to say.
By carefully outlining your work and then revising it, you can determine how many sections you will need and what kinds of information each should contain.
In your final copy, every major section will require a head; and each subdivision will use a subhead. Look at the table of contents (Table of Contents) to see how the writer logically divided her work.
How to Format Heads and Subheads
To design a document with logical heads and subheads, follow these guidelines.
Insert white space between the sections to make room for the head. Leave at least two additional spaces above and below a head to set it off from a previous section.
Be consistent in the way you print each type of head—that is, center each head or align it flush with the left margin.
Use larger type size for heads and subheads than for text; major heads should be larger than subheads. If your text is in 10-point type, your heads may be in 16-point type and your subheads in 12- or 14-point type.
To further differentiate heads from subheads, use all capital letters, initial capital letters (capitalize the first letter of each important word), boldface, or italics.
If you are using a color printer, consider using a second color for major heads.
Note how the long report in Chapter 9 illustrates these principles.
Lists
Placing items in a list helps readers by dividing, organizing, and ranking information. Lists emphasize important points and contribute to page design that is easy to read. Lists can be numbered (as in Figure 6.2), lettered, or bulleted. Take a look at Figures 4.19, 8.9, and 9.2 that effectively use lists.
Guidelines for Using Color Effectively
Here are some guidelines for using color:
Estimate how the color will look on the page.
Make sure text colors contrast sharply with background colors.
Use no more than two or three colors on a page.
Too many bright colors overwhelm the eye.
Select “cool” colors.
Use colors that respect an international reader’s cultural heritage.
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Successful Document Design: A Wrap-Up
By following these three simple guidelines, you can design effective documents for your readers:
1. Keep it simple. Don’t try to impress your reader with visual effects.
2. Make it clear. Include heads, bulleted lists, numbered steps, etc. to make your message easy to understand.
3. Have it flow. Help your readers get through and understand your document easily.
Your first heading is Purpose!
The purpose of your memo is to investigate the history, and current state of your company.
Keep your purpose section very quick and to the point. Just saying my purpose is to investigate the history and current state of “Nike” would be just fine.
Heading Two is Findings. Findings are your most important section, and longest in a short report. Before you start your findings lets jump back to the 7 requirements of short reports
7- Guidelines for Writing Short Reports 1. Anticipate how the audience will use your report. Consider how much your audience knows about your project and what types of information they most need.
Knowing who will read your report and why is crucial to your success as a writer. Consider how much your audience knows about your project and what types of information they need most.
A co-worker or someone else in your field may be familiar with technical information. But managers, who will constitute the largest audience for your report, may not always understand or be interested in such technical information. Instead, they will want bottom-line details about costs, personnel, and schedules, for example. Similarly, audiences outside of your company (clients, media, community agencies, etc.) will likely not be interested in technical information.
Rather, they want information that helps them understand your company, how it works or serves customers, and how to interact with it.
All audiences, however, want clear and concise information.
I am reading your report. Expect that I don’t know much about your company at all. Me as a reader could also serve as you just getting hired to a job at the theater and wanting to do proper research about it to help succeed, or you as hired to a rival company and wanting to know what you can do better that this company is not doing!!
2. Do the necessary research. Take careful notes, record all necessary background information, collect relevant factual data, and interview key individuals.
An effective short report needs the same careful research that goes into other on-the-job writing. Your research may be as simple as instant messaging, emailing, or leaving a voicemail for a colleague or checking a piece of equipment. Or you may have to test or inspect a product or service or assess the relative merits of one plan over another. Some frequent types of research you can expect to do on the job include:
verifying data in reference manuals or code books
searching online archives and databases for recent discussions of a problem or procedure
comparing and contrasting competitor's products or services
reading background information in professional and trade journals
reviewing and updating a client's file
testing equipment
performing an experiment or procedure
conferring with or interviewing colleagues, managers, vendors, or clients
visiting and describing a site
attending a conference or workshop
Remember…
Never trust your memory to keep track of all the details that go into making a successful short report. Take notes, either by hand or on your notebook or tablet.
Collect all the relevant data you will need—names, model numbers, costs, places, technology, etc. —and organize this information carefully into an outline, which will help you interpret these facts for your readers.
Do the research you need for this assignment. Check the history of the company that they provide themselves. History of companies will also be provided by Wikipedia. Yet, look for source material websites. If you are looking at companies financial records, find a database.
You are not required a work cited for this assignment, nor will you need to cite your figures or tables. You must still label them!! Remember for each visual you must!!!
Inserting and Writing About Visuals: Some Guidelines
Using a visual requires more of you as a writer than simply inserting it into your written work. You need to use visuals in conjunction with what you write. The following guidelines will help you to
(1)identify,
(2)cite,
(3)insert,
(4)introduce, and
(5)interpret visuals for your readers.
Identify Your Visuals
Give each visual a number and caption (title) that indicates the subject or explains what the visual illustrates. An unidentified visual is meaningless. A caption helps your audience interpret your visual—to see it with your purpose in mind. Tell your readers what you want them to look for by doing the following:
Use a different typeface (bold) and size in your caption than what you use in the visual itself.
Include key words about the function and the subject of your visual in a caption.
Make sure any terms you cite in a caption are consistent with the units of measurement and the scope (years, months, seasons) of your visual.
Tables and figures should be numbered separately throughout the text—Table 1 or Figure 3.5, for example. (In the latter case, Figure 3.5 is the fifth figure to appear in Chapter 3.)
Ignore for our short report-- Cite the Source for Your Visuals
If you use a visual that is not your own work, give credit to your source (newspaper, magazine, textbook, company, federal agency, individual, or website).
If your paper or report is intended for publication, you must first obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted visuals from the copyright holder.
Insert Your Visuals Appropriately
Because many of the images you use will come from other sources, especially the Web, you have to incorporate them clearly and in appropriate places in your written work.
Here are some guidelines to help you incorporate the visuals in the most appropriate places for your readers.
Never introduce a visual before a discussion of it; readers will wonder why it is there. Include a sentence or two to introduce your visuals.
Always mention in the text of your paper or report that you are including a visual. Tell readers where it is found—”on the following page,” “to the right,” “at the bottom of page 17.”
Place visuals as close as possible to the first mention of them in the text. Try not to put a visual more than one page after the discussion of it. Never wait two or three pages to present it. By inserting a visual near the beginning of your discussion, you help readers better understand your explanation.
Center your visual and, if necessary, box it. But leave at least 1 inch of white space around it. Squeezing visuals toward the left or right margins looks unprofessional.
Never collect all your visuals and put them in an appendix. Readers need to see them at those points in your discussion where they are most pertinent.
Introduce Your Visuals
Refer to each visual by its number, and if necessary, mention the title as well. In introducing the visual, though, do not just insert a reference to it, such as “See Figure 3.4” or “Look at Table 1.” Relate the visual to the text it illustrates or helps explain.
Interpret Your Visuals
Help readers understand your visual by telling them what to look for and why. Let them know what is most significant about the visual.
Mention any distinctive features, major parts, or crucial relationships. Do not expect the visual to explain itself.
Inform readers what the numbers or images in your visual mean, how they make or prove a key point. What conclusions do you want readers to reach after seeing your visual?
3. Be objective and ethical. Avoid guesswork, do not substitute impressions or unsupported personal opinions for careful research, avoid biased/skewed/incomplete data, and double check all facts/figures/specifications.
Your readers will expect you to report the facts objectively and impartially—locations, costs, sales, weather conditions, eyewitness accounts, observations, statistics, test measurements, and descriptions. Your reports should be truthful, accurate, and complete. Here are some guidelines to follow:
Avoid guesswork. If you don't know or have not yet found out, say so and indicate how, where, and when you'll try to find out.
Do not substitute impressions or unsupported personal opinions for careful research.
Be ethical. Don't use biased, skewed, or incomplete data. Provide a balanced, straightforward, and honest account; don't exaggerate or minimize. Don't omit key facts. If a project is over budget or late, state so but indicate why and what might be done to correct the problem.
Make sure your report is relevant, accurate, and reliable. Double-check your details against other sources, and make sure you have sufficient information to reach your conclusions or provide recommendations.
For our Short Reports- and in the findings section- please try and be objective. Record the information as you see fit.
4. Organize carefully. Include a purpose statement, findings, a conclusion, and recommendations.
Organizing a short report effectively means including the right amount of information in the most appropriate places for your audience. Make your report easy to read and to follow. Many times a simple chronological or sequential organization is best.
Regardless of how you organized your report, readers will expect your report to contain information on such topics as purpose, findings, conclusions, and, in many reports, recommendations, as described in the following sections.
5. Write Clearly and Concisely
Writing clearly and concisely is essential in all business reports. Ask your boss or experienced co-workers about the appropriate style your company prefers. Also look at previous, similar reports to get a sense of your company's style and tone.
Here are a few guidelines to help you write clearly and concisely.
Use an informative title or subject line that gets to the point right away. “Software Options” is not as clear as “Most Economical Options for Spreadsheet Software.”
Write in plain English. Make every word count, avoid jargon, and keep your writing simple and straightforward. Prune business clichés such as “at the end of the day” or “to put a fine point on it.”
For global readers, make sure you use international English. Keep your sentences short, and write in the active voice. Do not use U.S. idioms, slang, or abbreviations. (See Using International English)
Adopt a professional yet personal tone. Avoid being overly formal or too casual—strike a balance between these two extremes. Don't sound arrogant by adopting a tone that suggests you alone have the final authority.
Keep your report as concise as possible to give readers essential information. Don't burden them with lengthy project histories when all they ask for is a quick update on a project, and don't pad the report with unnecessary details to sound important. A short report is usually no longer than two to three pages.
6. Create a Reader-Centered Design
The appearance of your report will influence how your readers will respond to it and to you. Here are some useful guidelines. (You may also want to review Chapter 7 on visuals and document design.)
Help readers locate and digest information quickly. Use headings, subheadings, bullets, and numbered lists to guide readers through your report. Doing this, you break large portions of text into easy-to-read parts. Your headings and subheadings give readers the big picture at a glance. Many reports in this chapter demonstrate how headings and bulleted or numbered lists assist readers. For instance, see Figures 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4.
Make your report look professional, readable, and easy to follow. Don't flood your report with color. Avoid using flashy color or fancy fonts that are hard to read. Also, don't try to squeeze too much text onto the page. Always leave comfortable margins.
Be consistent in your design and format. Use the same font throughout the text of your report and a consistent typeface for headings and subheadings.
Include only the most essential visuals. Use visuals only if they make the reader's job easier, reinforcing or summarizing key data quickly, as the table in Figure 8.2 and the map in Figure 8.5 do. Keep visuals simple and relevant, e.g., a picture or drawing to illustrate a major point.
7. Choose the Most Appropriate Format
Depending on your audience, you can send your short report as an email, a memo, or a letter. For routine reports to your boss or others inside your company, you will likely use a memo format, as in Figures 8.2, 8.3, and 8.6. Note that with a memo format your readers will not expect you to include an inside address or formal salutation and complimentary close.
Phew- Now we are back to our findings section
Include a Findings Heading,
And then you can include a subheading. Probably the best subheading to start would be history. Find the history, probably from their company website. Record the information. Then include other subheadings, such as current events, corporate figures, key products, etc. if you include figures and headings make sure to label them and address them in your writing!
3. conclusion
You conclusion should be a quick summary of what you found. Readdress the subheadings you found.
You should still be objective.
4. recommendations
While this was our short report, and semi-objective your short report recommendations should relook at the findings section and see if anything is wrong. Does a company have a tainted past? Does it seem like it has a tainted future? Is it a booming industry? Is it a failing industry?
Take these ideas for potential long reports
This recommendations basically is a proposal, helping to guide you as proposing future research ideas…
The recommendation is relative to an internal proposal (how can the company help itself, relative to the industry).
Internal Proposals
The primary purpose of an internal proposal is to offer a realistic and constructive plan to help your company run its business more efficiently and economically. Common topics of internal proposals include:
Purchasing new or more advanced technology.
Obtaining document security software and offering training on it.
Recruiting new employees or retraining current ones.
Eliminating a dangerous condition or reducing an environmental risk.
Cutting costs.
Improving communication within and between departments.
Expanding work space or making it more efficient.
For your recommendations section, simply see if there is something wrong
Such as
Google is a booming company, but has a continuing task with user privacy
Nike is continuing to flourish, but still has a stigma about its production history
The Wilma theater, as all contemporary theaters, must continue to look where it can adapt to stay relevant.
Urban outfitters is doing well, but they have a lot of social networking mistakes.
This will help you focus on a long report topic… For most long reports I would like you to take a problem or finding from your business
Google and Online Privacy.
Nike and Sweat Shops?
What has Miramax done in terms of artistic integrity?
HSBC and Nepotism.
Uber, LYFT and Branding
Urban outfitters and business twitter accounts
Please provide me a short report in blackboard by 11.9 Requirements include
Heading (in memo format)
Purpose, findings, conclusion, recommendations.
Please Divide Findings Section with Its Own Headings and Subheadings.
Written in clean, international English
2-3 Pages with 2 Figures or Tables.
