Business communicationBusiness communication
Chapter 4
Report writing
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Contents
Basic of report writing
Report structure:The short forms
Long ,Formal reports
Graphics
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
A.Basic of report writing
A Business Report is an orderly andobjective communication of factualinformation that serves a business purpose.
• Orderly —being prepared carefully• Objective —trying to seek truth and to avoid
human biases• Communication —covering all ways of
transmitting meaning• Factual information —basing on events,
records, data, and the like which are the basic ingredients of reports
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Types of Reports?
Annual Reports
Sales Reports
Feasibility(可行性) Reports
Inspection(检查) Reports
Audit Reports
Progress Reports
White Papers
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
5 Steps to Report Writing
1. Define the problem2. Gather the necessary information3. Analyze the information4. Organize the information5. Write the report
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
1.Define the problem
three forms of problem statement: Infinitive phrase(不定式短语 ) To avoid burning another bag of popcorn…. Question What are the reasons of…?
Declarative statement (宣告性叙述 ) The sales income is decreasing,and management
wants to know why
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
2.Gather the necessary information
ways to gather information
Field investigation(调查 )Experiments or surveys
Consultancy(顾问 )Literature research
Internet sourcing
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Survey
A survey is a method of gathering information from a number of individuals, known as a sample, in order to learn something about the larger population from which the sample is drawn.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Steps:
Establish the goals of the project Determine your sampleChoose interviewing methodCreate your questionnaire Pre-test the questionnaire, if practical Conduct interviews and enter data Analyze the data
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
a.Establishing Goals
The first step in any survey is deciding what you want to learn. The goals of the project determine whom you will survey and what you will ask them.
If your goals are unclear, the results will probably be unclear.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Some goals:
The potential market for a new product or service
Ratings of current products or services
Employee attitudes Customer satisfaction levels Reader/viewer/listener opinions Association member opinions Opinions about political candidates or
issues Corporate images
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
b. Selecting Your Sample
First : deciding what kind of people to interview.
Researchers often call this group the target population. If you conduct an employee attitude survey or an association membership survey, the population is obvious. If you are trying to determine the likely success of a product, the target population may be less obvious.
Correctly determining the target population is critical. If you do not interview the right kinds of people, you will not successfully meet your goals.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Second: to decide is how many people you need to interview.
The larger the sample, the more precisely it reflects the target group. However, the rate of improvement in the precision decreases as your sample size increases.
You must make a decision about your sample size based on factors such as: time available, budget and necessary degree of precision.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
c.Interviewing Methods
Once you have decided on your sample you must decide on your method of data collection.
Personal Interviews Telephone Surveys Mail Surveys Computer Direct Interviews Email Surveys Internet/Intranet (Web Page) Surveys
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
The choice of survey method will depend on several factors:
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
d.Create your questionnaire
Naming your survey Memo From the Chief! Your Opinion About
Financial Services! Free T-shirt! Win a Trip to Paris ! Please Respond By Friday!
Cover memo or introduction it should include the purpose of the
survey , Why it is important to hear from the correspondent , What may be done with the results and what possible impacts may occur with the results, Person to contact for questions about the survey.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Write a short questionnaire. When drafting your questionnaire, make a
mental distinction between what is essential to know, what would be useful to know and what would be unnecessary.
Use simple words. "What is the frequency of your automotive
travel to your parents' residents in the last 30 days?"
"About how many times in the last 30 days have you driven to your parent's home?"
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
There are 3 basic types of questions: multiple choice, numeric( 数字的 ) open end and text open end.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Don't make the list of choices too long
Allow a “Don't Know” or “Not Applicable” response to all questions, except to those in which you are certain that all respondents will have a clear answer.
Include “Other” or “None” whenever either of these is a logically possible answer.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Do not put two questions into one. Avoid questions such as "Do you buy frozen
meat and frozen fish?" "Have you ever bought Product X and, if so, did you like it?“
Make sure your questions accept all the possible answers.
A question like "Do you use regular or premium gas in your car?" does not cover all possible answers. The owner may alternate between both types.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Consider the order of the question. Ideally, the early questions in a survey
should be easy and pleasant to answer. These kinds of questions encourage people to continue the survey.
Whenever possible leave difficult or sensitive questions until near the end of your survey.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Be aware of cultural factors.
Leave your demographic questions (age, income, education, etc.) until the end of the questionnaire. By then the interviewer should have built a rapport( 友善) with the interviewee that will allow honest responses to such personal questions.
Do not ask a respondent's gender.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
d.Pre-test the Questionnaire
The next step is to test a questionnaire with a small number of interviews before conducting your main interviews. Ideally, you should test the survey on the same kinds of people you will include in the main study.
If you change any questions after a pre-test, you should not combine the results from the pre-test with the results of post-test interviews.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
3.Analyze the information
Advice for avoiding human errorAppropriate(适当的 )attitudes and
practicesStatistical tools in interpretation
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
4. Organize the information
Present the information in the order that communicates best to your readers.
The construction of outline 2 ways to show different levels of headings: conventional( 传统的 ) system & decimal( 小数
的 ) decimal symbol system
Whatever system we use, we should show differences in the levels of headings by placement and form.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
The nature and extent of outlining Introductory and concluding parts Organization by division Division by conventional relationships Combination and multiple division
possibilities Wording of the outline
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
B.Long ,Formal reports
Organization and Content of LongerReports:The reader’s needs determine thestructure of long, formal reports
• Formal reports are normally organized by three parts
- Prefatory (前言) Parts- Report Proper- Appended Parts
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
a. Title Fly contains only the report title
Title:- should tell at a glance what the
report covers.- should be carefully worded.- should be built around five “Ws”: who, what, where, when, why, ( how )- can be helped by subtitle.
1. The Prefatory Parts
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b.Title Page: It displays essential identification
information: report title, identification of the writer and reader, and the date
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
c. Authorization( 授权 ) Message: These are normally only required for aVery formal report being presented to
orWritten within a public body
It might include: a clear description of the problem, time and money limitations, special instructions, and the due date.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
d. Transmittal Message
- It is a personal message from the writer to the reader ( usually in personal style ) and its main goal is to transmit the report.
- can include anything that helps the reader understand and value the report.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
e.Table of Contents It lists the headings from the body of
the report and the page numbers on which they occur.
It is not required to list all headings. This TOC could have excluded excluded all third-level headings.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
f. Executive Summary (abstract)- serves as a preview to the report and is
written primarily for busy executives.- should include all the major items,
analyses, and conclusions and recommendations.
- is less than 1/8 of the report in general.- is written in direct order more than indirect
order in recent years.
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
2. The Report Proper
• Introduction
• The report body- presents and analyzes the information
gathered- uses good presentation form, with
figures, tables, and caption display
Sources used must be appropriately noted and documented
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
The Ending of the Report
The Ending of the Report
Ending summary
Ending summary
ConclusionConclusion Recommen-dations
Recommen-dations
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
3. Appended Parts
- It is for supplementary information that supports the body of the report but has no logical place within the body
- Should includes: questionnaires, working papers, summary tables, additional references, and other reports)
- Should not include: charts, graphs, and tables that directly support the report.
Bibliography is a list of publications used
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Title FlyTitle PageAuthorization MessageTransmittal Message +Executive
SummaryTable of Contents
C.Report structure:The short forms
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Characteristics of Shorter Reports:
• Little need for introductory information
• Writen in the direct order• More personal writing style• Less need for a structured coherence
(一致) plan
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Forms Of Shorter Reports:
• The short report• Letter reports• Email reports
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Special Report Forms:
• Staff report • Meeting minutes • Progress report • Audit report • Proposal
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
D.Graphics
the primary purpose of using graphics is to communicate
Functions of graphicsˉ to clarify complex or difficult informationˉ to emphasize factsˉ to add coherence ˉ to summarize dataˉ to provide interestˉ to help filter the vast amount of dataˉ to enhance the appearance of a report
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
8.4 Graphics
Placing The Graphics In The Report
- Place the graphics near the first place in the text in which you refer to them
- Graphics not discussed in the report belong in the appendix
- At the right place, incidentally invite the readers to look at the graphics
Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao
Reference
商务英语应用文模板大全 程斌 山东科学技术出版社
实用商务英语写作教程 徐仁凤 东南大学出版社
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