BUSINESS REPORTS:A Model Report, Definition, Purpose of report

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Lesson 29

BUSINESS REPORTS

Model Business Reports

A Model Report

October 10, 2003

The General Manager,

Fit Garment Industries,

Multan Road Lahore.

Dear Sir,

Subject: Report on the strike of the workers in the factory.

Following your instructions, I have probed into the matter regarding the strike of all the workers in

the factory. Here are my findings.

On Monday morning, in the production unit 2, two workers started a fight on a money matter.

Ahmad had lent some money to Kareem, who made several promises but did not return a single penny.

On Monday morning Ahmad demanded an immediate return of his amount but instead of an apologetic

behaviour Kareem abused Ahmad. Hot remarks were exchanged. Kareem picked up a hammer and hit it

hard on Ahmad's head. It started bleeding.

He was rushed to the hospital by the workers. Members of the labour union reached and all the

workers took out a procession. The President of the union gave a call for strike. They raised slogans against

the culprit. While addressing the mob, union leaders demanded a prompt termination of the culprit. They

wanted to continue the strike till the acceptance of their demand.

However, on the assurance of the Production Manager, they agreed to call off their strike.

Everything was done amicably.

On Monday morning Ahmad demanded an immediate return of his amount but instead of an apologetic

behaviour Kareem abused Ahmad. Hot remarks were exchanged. Kareem picked up a hammer and hit it

hard on Ahmad's head. It started bleeding.

He was rushed to the hospital by the workers. Members of the labour union reached and all the

workers took out a procession. The President of the union gave a call for strike. They raised slogans against

the culprit. While addressing the mob, union leaders demanded a prompt termination of the culprit. They

wanted to continue the strike till the acceptance of their demand.

However, on the assurance of the Production Manager, they agreed to call off their strike. Everything was

done amicably.

Sir,

You have asked for my suggestions, so I recommend Mr. Kareem's termination. I do feel that a

case of fraud and assault should be registered in the police station. Mr. Ahmad should be treated at the

expenses of the company and should be granted paid leave for one month.

Yours truly,

A. Sheikh

Regional Manager

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Definition

A Business Report is an impartial, objective, planned presentation of facts to one or more persons for a

specific business purpose. An orderly, objective message used to convey information from one

organizational area to another or from one institution to another to assist in decision making or problem

solving."

Reports have been classified in numerous ways by management and by report-preparation

authorities. We classify reports on the bases of their forms, uses, contents, etc.

Purpose of report

Purpose of Report

Common Examples

Reparation & Distribution

To monitor and control

Plans, operating reports,

Internal reports move upward on

operations

personal activity reports

recurring basis; external reports go

to selected audiences.

To implement policies

Lasting guideline, position Internal reports move downward or

and procedures

papers

on a non-recurring basis

To comply with

Reports IRS, SEC,

External reports are sent on a

regulatory requirements

EEOC, Human Rights

recurring basis

Commission

Definition

Purpose of Report

Common Examples

Reparation & Distribution

To obtain new business or Sales proposals

External reports are sent on non-

findings

recurring basis

To document client work

Interim progress reports, External reports are sent on a non-

final reports

recurring basis

To guide decisions

Research reports,

Internal reports move upward on a

justification reports,

non-recurring basis

trouble shooting reports

(Classifications)

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Classification of Report

Formal or Informal

Formal reports are carefully structured; they stress objectivity and organization, contain, much

detail, and are written in a style that tends to eliminate such elements as personal pronouns.

Informal reports are usually short messages with natural, casual use of language. The internal

memorandum generally can be described as an informal report.

Short or Long Reports?

"Short-or-long" can be a confusing classification for reports. A one-page memorandum is

obviously short, and a term paper of twenty pages is obviously long. What about in-between lengths?

One important distinction generally holds true: as a report becomes longer, it takes on more characteristics

of formal reports. Thus, the formal-informal and short-long classifications are closely related.

What Makes A Good Business Report

Business reports are like bridges spanning time and space. Organizations use them to provide a formal,

verifiable link among people, places, and times. Some reports are needed for internal communication: others

are vehicles for corresponding with outsiders. Some are required as a permanent record; others are needed

to solve an immediate problem or to answer a passing question. Many move upward through the chain of

command to help managers monitor the various units in the organization; some move downward to explain

management decisions to lower-level employees responsible for day-to-day operations.

The purpose of a business report is to convey essential information in an organized, useful format. And

despite technological advances, the ability to accumulate data, organize facts, and compose a readable text

remains a highly marketable skill.

A well-prepared business report will provide COMPLETE, ACCURATE information about an

aspect of a company's operations. The subject of a report may vary from expenses to profits, production to

sales, marketing trends to customer relations. The information provided by a report is often meant to

influence decisions, to determine changes, improvements, or solutions to problems. Therefore, the report

must also be CLEAR, CONCISE, and READABLE.

The format of a business report may vary, from a brief informal report intended for in-house use to a

voluminous formal report intended for a national public distribution. Some reports consist entirely of prose

while others consist of statistics; and still other reports may employ a combination of prose, tables, charts,

and graphs.

The style of a report depends upon the audience. An informal report to be read only by close

associates may be worded personally; in such a report "I" or "we" is acceptable. A formal report, on the

other hand, must be impersonal and expressed entirely in the third person. Note the difference

Style

Informal:

I recommend that the spring campaign concentrate on newspaper and television advertising.

Formal:

It is recommended that the spring campaign concentrate on newspaper and television advertising.

Informal:

After discussing the matter with our department managers, we came up with the following

information.

Formal:

The following report is based upon information provided by the managers of the Accounting,

Marketing, Personnel, and Advertising Departments.

Deciding on Format and Length

Preprinted form. Basically for "fill in the blank" reports. Most are relatively short (five or fewer pages) and

deal with routine information, often mainly numerical. Use this format when it's requested by the person

authorizing the report.

Letter. Common for reports of five or fewer pages that are directed to outsiders. These reports

include all the normal parts of a letter, but they may also have headings, footnotes, tables, and figures.

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Memo. Common for short (fewer than ten pages) informal reports distributed within an

organization. Memos have headings at the top: To, From, Date, and Subject. In addition, like longer reports,

they often have internal headings and sometimes have visual.(organizational plan)

Deciding on Approach

Audience attitude is the basis for decisions about organization. When the audience is considered either

receptive or open minded, use the direct approach.

Lead off with a summary of your key findings, conclusions, and recommendations. This "up-front"

approach is by far the most popular and convenient order for business reports because it saves time and

makes the best of the report easy to follow. For those who have questions or want more information,

later parts of the report provide complete findings and supporting details. In addition to being more

convenient for readers, the direct approach also produces a more forceful report. You are sure of yourself

when you state your conclusions confidently at the outset.

Types of Reports

A memo report is a cross between interoffice memo and a formal report

Memo reports can be used to:

· Answer a request for information

· Report progress

· Make recommendations

· State facts

· Communicates ideas

· Send statistical data

· Explain trend within an organization

Two types of Memo Reports

1. Informational Memorandum Reports

2. Analytical memo Reports

Informational Memorandum Reports

The central purpose of informational reports is to inform and to summarize information, similar to

the speech to inform. Obviously, these reports vary widely in content, depending on type of business,

purpose, topics discussed, and readers' needs. The following reports are often used in organizations:

Information Memo reports will

· Inform

· To summarize some information requested

· Organize information objectively

· Make recommendation

Conference Reports

Topics for conference reports range from summaries of personal sales called conferences to write-

ups of meetings attended by hundreds of persons. For example, A credit or collection manager or account

executive may make similar reports after conferences with clients. The text of such reports is usually organized by

topics discussed or presented simply in a chronological order. Some firms have standardized headings for the often-

written reports to ensure that the same information or main topics are recorded in all of them.

Progress Reports

Progress reports show, "progress," accomplishments, or activity over time or at a given stage of a

major assignment. The organizational plan is usually inductive, including topics similar to these.

1. Introduction (purpose, nature of project)

2. Description of accomplishments during the reporting period.

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3. Unanticipated problems (if any)

4. Plans for the next reporting period.

5. Summary (overall appraisal of progress to date)

6. (Periodic report)

Periodic Reports

They are routine reports prepared at regular time interval-daily, weekly, monthly quarterly or

annually.

Examples of such reports are:

Sales Reports

Financial Reports

They reports are prepared on pre-printed form.

Analytical Memorandum Reports

This analytical memorandum report, seeks to analyze a situation or problem; it may end with or without a

specific recommendation.

Such reports:

· On the causes of decline in Sales Volume

· On the evaluation of a person before recruitment

· On individual being considered for promotion

· On the analysis of a particular book

Recommendation-Justification Reports

Many analytical reports will have a special purpose: to recommend a change or remain with the

status quo (policy), support the idea that something is desirable or undesirable (value), or defend the

accuracy of information (fact). Your report may be in response to a specific request, or it may be voluntary.