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http://bestentrepreneur.murdoch.edu.au/Guide_To_Report_Writing.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. – Use this link to study the purpose of and functions of a business report.

Business reports are one of the most effective ways to communicate in today’s business world. Although business reports’ objectives are broad in scope, businesses or individuals can use them to help make important decisions. To write an effective business report, you first need to understand what it is and how it can be used.

***This report should be anywhere from 4 to 6 pages in length – this is your final project.  It should be no longer than 9 pages at most.  It must be at least 4 full pages – not including title page.***

Here is a Business Report Template: Business Report Template.doc – Play with it as you see fit or as it fits your needs.

You MUST Present an idea. A business report is used to make suggestions, to investigate problems, to show accountability, or to show if something is possible or not to management or other important decision makers.  A report typically contains an abstract (aka summary), introduction, methods, results, conclusion and recommendation.

You MUST Present the risks involved with a specific opportunity or idea. you must determine the risks involved with a specific course of action and anticipate repercussions.  

You must also Present the feasibility of an idea or proposed project.  A report helps determine whether an idea will work. 

• Can this project be completed within its budget?
• Will the project be profitable?
• Can this project be completed within the allotted time frame?

In ALL Business reports, you must include research found for the study. Research presents an in-depth look at a very specific issue.  It should also cite the study or studies involved.

• For example, a business might conduct a company-wide study on whether to ban smoking in its employee lounge. The person who writes up the study would produce a research why or why not – that research should be from professional sources who have knowledge, experience, and professional understanding of the topic.

To write the report:

Any business report should follow the same fundamental points.  When you write a report, you will want to make it easy to read and understand. Here are some guidelines to apply to any report you write.

General Parts of a Report:

• Executive Summary – two to three paragraphs that show the summary of the facts
• Problem Statement – summarize the background to the situation – show the problem or idea or plan
• Analysis – explain the investigative process – introduce the ideas individually
• Decision Criteria and Alternatives – the data generated is integrated into the text
• Conclusion – proposed solutions based on data, objective (non-personal) statement of what the report has shown

• An Executive Summary: an abstract of the report as a whole, briefly outlining the company’s background, the problem, and the recommendations (in broad terms). The executive summary is prepared after all other parts of the report are completed, but appears at the beginning of a business-style report.
• A Problem Statement: outlines the problem in two or three sentences.
• The Analysis: includes all the data that has been collected.
• The Decision Criteria and Alternatives: data generated is integrated into the report in the form of the words, graphics, charts and tables.
• The Conclusion: is a section outlining what the report has shown with several recommendations that back up the main recommendation given in the executive summary. Remember you are trying to sell the management on your idea.

Here is a guide on how to organize business report writing.hen you write a report, you will want to make it easy to read and understand. Here are some guidelines to apply to any report you write.

• Write an executive summary.

It is a summary of a complete report. It is better to write it after the report is written. The summary includes main points of the report. It contains the main ideas, recommendations and purposes of business report writing.

• Plan the contents.

Business report writing should be well-structured. Plan the order of data presentation with a Table of Contents page. The contents will reflect the titles of sections and the numbers of pages where each section appears.

• Propose the introduction.

The introduction discovers the reason of a business report.  What problem does this report solve?  What are the ways of improving a situation?  How can profits be increased?  Try to introduce and answer these questions in the introduction.  

• Perform your findings.

The body of business report writing shows information and data that you have found. Make an analysis (break it down and make it understandable) of data. Your task will be to come to conclusions and to write recommendations.  Thus, all data should be accurately worked.

• Make conclusions.

Business report writing does not provide conclusions with tables and graphs.  Do not present new information. It is a part of your concise and clear conclusions, leading to recommendations of your business report writing.

• Write your recommendations.

Business report writing always ends with recommendations. They should be logically derived from the conclusions. It is an important part which can answer the question, that James Abela stated, whether the Return on Investment would be.

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• Topics:

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Elizabeth Businelle – Because you feel you could be more productive working at home than in the office of your company, you prepare a proposal that would allow you to telecommute. Because no one in your company has yet been allowed to telecommute, you decide to suggest a telecommuting pilot program. Naturally, guidelines, rules, and expectations will have to be established. Volunteer to help to develop them. Be sure to cite all the benefits to the employer. Numerous online articles are available to provide ammunition. Prepare a schedule explaining exactly what days you would work at home. Instead of discussing staffing, discuss your work space, explaining what you have done to make telecommuting succeed. Instead of discussing budget, you might include a section on costs. If you need the company to provide you with equipment, spell it out. Be aware, though, that your proposal is likely to be more successful if you can do your at-home work without costing the company much.

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Micah Gowan – Trends in customer service are changing. Many corporations are making personalized customer service an important part of their image – build off of that. As a marketing intern for a well-known national food chain (your choice), you have been asked to evaluate these trends. What do customers today expect? How important is it?  How are other national chains capitalizing on these trends? In addition to evaluating the trends, offer recommendations to the company.

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Gregneisha Johnson – Many students majoring in management information systems (MIS) wonder whether basic writing skills will be an important aspect of their jobs. You’re curious, too, so you decide to write a report that investigates what MIS jobs involve. In addition, you wonder whether the course requirements in your business school serve to prepare MIS majors for the kinds of on-the-job writing they will do. After you’ve researched and analyzed these issues, offer recommendations to fellow students.

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Tabitha Little – A US. News & World Report article described disabled workers as “[t]he overlooked labor force.” Given the need for skilled knowledge workers in your company (your choice), examine the advantages and disadvantages of hiring disabled employees into your company. How would it work?  What are the advantages?  Who would be hired, and so on.  Offer recommendations to management.

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Gina Lombardo – You are a small business owner and want to open a house remodeling and flipping business, but you need a business loan.  What companies offer the best loans to flip houses?  Are there different types of loans?  Is there a best choice?  What companies/banks would you recommend?    What are the steps you should follow?  How much money should you borrow compared to the cost of the house purchase?  Write a business report showing other small business owners how to get started in the flipping houses business.  Show costs, expectations, money lenders, how to get loans, list of steps, how to pick a house, and so on.  Be creative.  

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Brooke Milazzo – A frequent topic in business is the issue of CEO compensation. Critics complain that CEO salaries have become exorbitant and should be capped. Is it unethical for executive salaries to exceed, let’s say, 24 times the average wage of employees? Should executive pay be tied to an organization’s profits? Select a large public company for which salary data are available. As a member of a stockholder watchdog group, you have been asked to examine its executive salaries and report to the group, which thinks salaries are excessive. What conclusions would you draw, and what recommendations would you make to stockholders?

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Heather Naquin – Your job is to oversee the portfolio of stocks and bonds your company maintains for investment purposes. After much consideration, you believe it is time for your company, which is currently private, to “go public.” Offering shares of stock to the public would provide an excellent way to raise capital, which could then be invested in research and development. Conduct research to learn what it takes for a company to make an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. What steps must be followed? How would your company start the process? What legal matters must be considered? How is initial stock price determined? How long will it take? Present your findings and recommendation to company owners.

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Rigo Ramirez – Your company’s managers have been thinking about purchasing software that will help it track revenue transactions involving payouts to several parties. Find out what kind of software is available, develop criteria for evaluating the options you find, and offer your managers recommendations. In other words, is it worth it to purchase this type of software at all? If so, which is the best choice?

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Samantha Stegall – While it’s not a topic many employees feel comfortable discussing, the issue of drug and alcohol abuse needs to be addressed, according to the manager of your human resources department (choose your company). She has chosen you to assess what other companies are doing about employees suffering from drug or alcohol abuse.  She wants to know what approaches these companies are taking and what programs they offer.  How do they work?  Are they effective?  Can they be blended together?  She also wants you to recommend a reasonable policy. 

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Katie Verrett – In a recent meeting, managers and supervisors for the company (your choice) where you work (your choice) expressed concerns about employees’ customer-service skills. Moreover, they wondered whether a specific set of procedures should be established — especially for new employees. They have asked you to investigate the customer service practices at other companies like yours to determine what skills should be emphasized and what procedures — if any — should be adopted.