analytical report writing tarp

Organizing and Writing Analytic Business Proposals

1. Title page Balance the following lines vertically on

the page: Title of report Name of the report receiver’s name, title,

and organization Author’s name, title, and organization Date submitted

Formal Report Components

2. Letter or memo of transmittal Announce the topic and explain who

authorized it. Briefly describe the project and preview

the conclusions – if the reader is supportive.

Close by expressing appreciation for the assignment, suggesting follow-up actions, acknowledging the help of others, and offering to answer questions.


3. Table of contents Show the beginning page

number where each report heading appears in the report.

Connect page numbers and headings with dots.

List of tables and illustrations Include a list of tables,

illustrations, or figures. Place the list on the same

page as the table of contents if possible.


4. Executive summary or abstract Summarize the report purpose,

findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Gauge the length of the summary by the length of the report and by the organization’s practices.


Use AIDA to persuade your audience to take your TARP into consideration. Attention Interest Desire (Reduce

Resistance/Counterarguments) Action

Use “AIDA” to Persuade

5. Introduction (Gain Attention) Explain why the report is being written. For

research studies, include the significance, scope, limitations, and methodology of the investigation.

Preview the report’s organization. For receptive audiences, summarize the

conclusions and recommendations. Convince the reader that a problem exists. Show that you fully understand the problem and its

ramifications. Demonstrate with evidence the ramifications that

have already taken place due to the problem (costs, staff, loss of customers, etc.)


6. Body Findings

Discuss the pros and cons of each alternative. For receptive audiences, consider placing the recommended alternative last.

Establish criteria to evaluate alternatives. In “yardstick” studies create criteria to use in measuring each alternative consistently.

Support the findings with evidence: facts, statistics, expert opinion, survey data, and other proof.

Use headings, enumerations, lists, tables, and graphics to focus attention.



6. Body: Build Interest/Desire (Reduce Resistance) Present your plan for solving the problem. Compute staff costs Itemize all costs carefully. Proposals are

contracts. Establish credibility. Outline a schedule showing dates/deadlines. Describe evaluation process and

recommendations.

7. Conclusions/Recommendations Develop reasonable conclusions that

answer the research question. Justify the conclusions with highlights from the findings. Do NOT present new information.

Suggest feasible actions that would be acceptable to this audience.


Conclusion: “Survey results show that the

biggest student complaint centered on long registration lines.”

Recommendation: “Implement a registration

reservation system in which students sign up for specific registration time slots.”

Difference between Conclusions and Recommendations

7. Authorization (Action) Ask for approval. Make it easy to reply.


8. Appendix/Appendices: Include items of interest to some, but not all, readers, such as: Data-gathering tools like questionnaires

or surveys Interviewing notes


9. References List all references on a page called

“References.” Make sure to cite all referenced work in

the body of the report to avoid plagiarism (and severe loss of points!)


Illustrating Data

Remember you are looking for:

• Meanings

• Relationships

• AnswersNote: Place all graphs/charts in text if they are ½ page or less, otherwise place them in an appendix and refer to them in the text.

Forms and objectives of graphics• Table

To show exact figures and values

Class Agree Disagree Undecided

Seniors 738 123 54

Juniors 345 34 76

Sophomores

123 234 78

Freshmen 45 567 123

Illustrating Report Data

Forms and objectives of graphics• Bar chart

To compare one item with others


42

43

44

45

46

47

48

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Enrollees

Forms and objectives of graphics• Line chart

To demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time


0102030405060708090

100

2001 2002 2003 2004

Net ($M)

Gross ($M)

Forms and objectives of graphics• Pie graph

To visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its components (should add to 100%)


Strongly Agree18%

Agree13%

No Opinion

3%

Strongly Disagree

38%

Disagree28%

Structural Cues for Report Readers – Use APA style

Headings and subheadings:• Use appropriate heading levels: The position and

format of a heading indicate the importance and relationship to other points.

• The example on the next slide shows how APA defines 3 levels of subheadings.

• The executive summary on the following slide illustrates commonly used heading format for business reports from a student sample.

Structural Cues for Report Readers

Levels of Report HeadingsLevels of Report Headings Name of report Page 3 of 15

REPORT, CHAPTER, AND PART TITLES

The title of a report, chapter heading, or major part should be centered in all caps, according to APA style.

First-Level Subheading

Headings indicating the first level of division are centered and bolded. A double-spaced report will only have one blank double spaced line between paragraphs and paragraphs are indented to cue reader. Double-space (leaving one blank line) after a first-level heading.

Second-Level Subheading

Headings that divide topics introduced by first-level subheadings are bolded and begin at the left margin.

Third-level subheading. Because it is part of the paragraph that follows, a third-level subheading is also called a paragraph subheading. It should appear in boldface print like the recommendations in your strategic memos.

Name of report Page 3 of 15

REPORT, CHAPTER, AND PART TITLES

The title of a report, chapter heading, or major part should be centered in all caps, according to APA style.

First-Level Subheading

Headings indicating the first level of division are centered and bolded. A double-spaced report will only have one blank double spaced line between paragraphs and paragraphs are indented to cue reader. Double-space (leaving one blank line) after a first-level heading.

Second-Level Subheading

Headings that divide topics introduced by first-level subheadings are bolded and begin at the left margin.

Third-level subheading. Because it is part of the paragraph that follows, a third-level subheading is also called a paragraph subheading. It should appear in boldface print like the recommendations in your strategic memos.

Levels of Report HeadingsLevels of Report Headings EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Statement of Purpose

This report is designed to help Chrysler sell excess inventory and start producing vehicles that consumers will be enticed to buy. The primary issues affecting this transition include corporate culture, addressing past decisions, and continuous quality improvement.

Findings

Corporate Culture

Chrysler’s corporate culture is working against its mission statement of producing vehicles that consumers want to drive. A hierarchical system of management has lead to infighting which the new chief executive officer, Dieter Zetsche, has vowed to do away with. However, Chrysler’s financial statements do not reflect the type of change that should be occurring.

Addressing Past Decisions

Losses of $1.5 billion for the third quarter of 2006 show that Chrysler is not producing vehicles that consumers want to drive. They have not paid attention consumers’ shift in demand from big SUVs to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. In the mean time, Japanese automakers, such as Toyota, are gaining more of Chrysler’s market share because they are paying attention to quality and what the consumer really wants.

Continuous Quality Improvement

Project: Refocus is designed to help Chrysler focus in on three critical issues – pensions, high production costs, and slowing sales.

Recommendations

1. Sell excess inventory of vehicles. Inventories should be reduced within six weeks. Offer discounts of up to $2,500 if necessary.

2. Flatten corporate hierarchy. Create cross-functional teams to increase synergy. They should offer monthly recommendations. Implement teams within one month.

3. Monitor performance of CEO. If Dieter Zetsche’s performance has not improved by 15% within the year, a new CEO from outside the company should be sought.

4. Reduce pension liabilities. Negotiate with the United Auto Workers for a defined-contribution plan. Lower liabilities should be realized by December of 2007.

5. Cut production costs. Negotiate with United Auto Workers for less overtime. Explore possibility of production in China.

6. Increase sales of new vehicles. Consumers should be surveyed to discover their desires. Consumers should also test and rate prototypes. New cars should be on the market within six months of the testing.

Structural Cues for Report Readers

• Write short but clear headings.

• Experiment with wording that tells who, what, when, where, and why.

• Include at least one heading per report page.

• Integrate headings gracefully. Try to avoid repeating the exact wording of a heading in the following sentence.

• All subheadings should be listed on your table of contents with the page numbers.

Structural cues – Page numbering

Page numbers are crucial for formal reports to keep the reader oriented.

Put your page numbers in a header on the top right hand corner of each page (APA style) as seen in previous sample slide demonstrating headings.

Researching Report Data

Researching primary data• Surveys• Interviews• Observation• Experimentation


Locating secondary print data• Books – card catalog, online catalog• Periodicals – print indexes, CD-ROM indexes


Locating secondary electronic data• Electronic databases (CSU Library)

• The Internet

• World Wide Web search tools Google MSN search Ask Jeeves Yahoo!

• Evaluating Web sources How current is the information? How credible is the author or source? What is the purpose of the site? Do the facts seem reliable?


Two Documentation Formats Generally Accepted:

Modern Language Association (MLA) Author’s name and page (Smith 100) placed in text; complete references in “Works Cited.”

American Psychological Association (APA)

Author’s name, date of publication, and page number placed near text reference (Jones, 2000, p. 99). Complete references listed at end of report. For most BUSINESS courses (BUAD 201/301) you will use APA format

Reasons for crediting sources• Strengthens your argument

• Gives you protection (plagiarism!)

• Instructs readers where to go for more information

Documenting Data

Learning what to document (cite)• Another person's ideas, opinions, examples, or

theory• Any facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings that

are not common knowledge• Quotations of another person's actual spoken

or written words• Paraphrases of another person's spoken or

written words

Documenting Data

Learn to paraphrase• Read the original material carefully so that you

can comprehend its full meaning.• Write your own version without looking at the

original.• Do not repeat the grammatical structure of the

original, and do not merely replace words of the original with synonyms.

• Reread the original to be sure you covered the main points but did not borrow specific language.

Documenting Data

In-text citations and referencing – APA format

Sample: paraphrased in-text citations

Microsoft Corp. has 15% employee turnover. The employees who leave employment typically turn out to be the ones who create innovations for the company. According to Nocera (2005), the primary reason is poor management


The cost to replace an hourly worker in an industry such as this can reach up to six months of the employee’s salary (Kinsman, 2004).


In addition, the percentage of engaged employees skyrocketed to 61%. Vice President of Human Resources, Jerry McMurrough, estimated that the decrease in turnover saves the hospital at least $1 million annually (Robinson, 2005).

Samples of in-text citations

99% of your report should be paraphrased!

• Your report should be in your own words, meaning it should ALL be paraphrased, making sure to give credit to the source (cite).

• You MAY use a maximum of TWO short direct quotes. No more than 2 sentences, use direct quotation marks as shown in the next slide.

Sample of in-text citation using a direct quote….

“This is a made up quote by me to demonstrate the use of a SHORT direct quotation in the body of a report. Your short direct quotes should not exceed two sentences and should only be used to establish credibility (Hedges, 2006).”

References Page

You must have ten references to match the “in-text citations.” Only one book within the last two years and one interview may be used as part of the ten references.

Use APA style. Consult APA manual or see Blackboard for

examples. See student sample on next slide.

Alphabetical by author and/or title.

Levels of Report HeadingsLevels of Report HeadingsEmployee Shirking Page 15 of 15

REFERENCES

Accountability International [online]. (2005). Available: http://www.minitrax.com/bw/cp-080105.html. (December 2, 2005).

Accountability international patented Minitrax ™ solution enhances Frozen Food Express employee productivity. (2005, August). Business wire. Retrieved November 29, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database. Barnes, R. (2005, January 1). WORKPLACE Pardon the interruption Workplace consultants think office distractions are costing companies millions of dollars: [Metro Edition]. San Antonio express-news, 5H. Retrieved November 12, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 778037321).

Fishman-Lapin, J. (2005, July 8). Driven to distraction? Companies debate what constitutes acceptable cell phone use at work. Advocate, Stanford, Conn., B.7. Retrieved November 30, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 865753541).

Kowalski, M. (2005, July 7). Human resources survey finds that poor management equals low productivity. St. Charles County business record. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Employee Shirking Page 15 of 15

REFERENCES

Accountability International [online]. (2005). Available: http://www.minitrax.com/bw/cp-080105.html. (December 2, 2005).

Accountability international patented Minitrax ™ solution enhances Frozen Food Express employee productivity. (2005, August). Business wire. Retrieved November 29, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database. Barnes, R. (2005, January 1). WORKPLACE Pardon the interruption Workplace consultants think office distractions are costing companies millions of dollars: [Metro Edition]. San Antonio express-news, 5H. Retrieved November 12, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 778037321).

Fishman-Lapin, J. (2005, July 8). Driven to distraction? Companies debate what constitutes acceptable cell phone use at work. Advocate, Stanford, Conn., B.7. Retrieved November 30, 2005, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 865753541).

Kowalski, M. (2005, July 7). Human resources survey finds that poor management equals low productivity. St. Charles County business record. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Guffey, M.E. (2006). Business Communication: process and product. 5th Ed. Thompson: Southwestern.

References:

Questions?Questions?

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