1. Proposals and Formal Reports
Chapter 10
Proposals and Formal Reports

2. Understanding Business Proposals
Definition
Proposal: a persuasive offer to solve problems, provide services, or sell equipment
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 2

3. Understanding Business Proposals
Kinds
Internal May take the form of justification/ recommendation reports
External
Solicited: responding to RFP
Unsolicited: prospecting for business
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 3

4. Understanding Business Proposals
Kinds
Formal long, many parts
Informal shorter, six main parts
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 4

5. are usually presented in 2- to 4-page letters or memos and have
Informal Proposals
Informal proposals
are usually presented in 2- to 4-page letters or memos and have
six main parts.
Introduction
Background
Proposal
Staffing
Budget
Authorization request
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 5

6. Informal Proposals: Six Parts
Introduction: explains purpose, introduces author, and captures reader’s interest
Background: identifies problems and goals of project
Proposal: discusses plan and schedule for solving existing problem
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 6

7. Informal Proposals: Six Parts
Staffing: describes credentials and expertise of project leaders
Budget: indicates project costs
Authorization: asks for approval to proceed
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 7

8. Formal Proposals
Formal proposals include all the basic parts of informal proposals but may have additional parts.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 8

9. Formal Proposals Possible additional parts: Copy of RFP
Letter or memo of transmittal
Abstract and/or executive summary
Title page
Table of contents
List of figures
Appendix
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 9

10. Parts of Formal and Informal Proposals
Appendix
Authorization
Budget
Staffing
Schedule
Background, problem, purpose
Introduction
List of figures
Table of contents
Title Page
Abstract or summary
Letter of transmittal
Copy of RFP (optional)
Generally appear in both
formal and informal proposals:
Optional in informal proposals:
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 10

11. Understanding Business Reports
Definition
Business Report
Product of thorough investigation and analysis
Presents vital information to decision makers in business, industry, government, and education
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 11

12. Understanding Business Reports
Report Writing Process
Prepare to write.
Research secondary data.
Generate primary data.
Document data.
Organize, outline, and discuss data.
Illustrate data.
Present final report.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 12

13. Preparing to Write Define the purpose of the project.
Limit the scope of the report.
What constraints influence the range of your project?
How will you achieve your purpose?
How much time and space do you have?
How accessible is your data?
How thorough should your research be?
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 13

14. Preparing to Write
Write a statement of purpose to describe the following:
Goal
Significance
Limitations
Use action verbs.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 14

15. Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this report is to explore possible locations for expansion. The report will consider economic data, general costs, consumer demand, and local competition. This research is significant because for our company to survive, we must grow. This report won’t consider specific start-up costs or traffic patterns, which will require additional research.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 15

16. Primary v. Secondary Data
Primary Data: come from firsthand experience and observation Secondary Data: come from reading what others have experienced or observed and written down Nearly every research project begins with investigating secondary data.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 16

17. Researching Secondary Data
Print Resources
Books
Periodicals
Bibliographic indexes such as Reader’s Guide
Electronic Databases
Collections of information accessible by computer and digital searchable
Examples:
ABI/Inform
Factiva
LexisNexis
EBSCO
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 17

18. Researching Secondary Data
The Web
Product/service information
Public relations materials
Mission statements
Staff directories
Press releases
Company news
Article reprints
Stock and financial data
Employment records
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 18

19. Web Search Tips and Techniques
Use two or three search tools.
Know your search tool.
Understand case sensitivity in keyword searches.
Use nouns as search words and as many as eight words in a query.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 19

20. Web Search Tips and Techniques
Combine keywords into phrases.
Omit articles and prepositions.
Use wildcards.
Proofread your search words.
Save the best.
Keep trying.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 20

21. Blogs and Microblogs
Used by business researchers, students, politicians, and the media to share and gather information
Can provide honest consumer feedback fast and inexpensively
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 21

22. Social Media
Used by businesses to communicate with customers, generate customer feedback, provide information to customers, and market products and services
Inexpensive source of data and research
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 22

23. Generating Primary Data
Observing
Experimenting
Surveying
Interviewing
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 23

24. Generating Primary Data
Surveying
Advantages:
Economical and efficient way to gather data
Ability to reach large audiences
Data collected tends to be accurate
Disadvantages:
Response rate is generally low
Responders may not represent general population
Some responses are not truthful
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 24

25. Generating Primary Data
Interviewing
Locate an expert.
Prepare for the interview.
Maintain a professional attitude.
Ask objective, friendly questions.
Watch the time.
End graciously.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 25

26. Generating Primary Data
Observing
Plan ahead.
Get necessary permissions.
Be objective.
Quantify observations.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 26

27. Generating Primary Data
Experimenting
Develop rigorous research design.
Pay attention to matching experimental and control groups.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 27

28. Documenting Data Why document data? To strengthen your argument
To instruct the reader
To project yourself against charges of plagiarism
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 28

29. Documenting Data What to Document
Another person's ideas, opinions, examples, or theory
Any facts, statistics, and graphics that are not common knowledge
Quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words
Paraphrases of another person's spoken or written words
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 29

30. Documenting Data How to Paraphrase
Read original material until you comprehend its full meaning.
Write your own version without looking at the original.
Avoid using grammatical structure of the original.
Reread to make sure you have covered all main points.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 30

31. Documenting Data Using Citation Formats
Modern Language Association (MLA)
American Psychological Association (APA)
See Appendix A to learn how to use these formats.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 31

32. Organizing Report Data
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 32

33. Organizing Report Data
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 33

34. Outlining Report Data
The main points used to outline a report often become the main headings of the written report.
Major headings centered and typed in bold font
Second-level headings start at the left margin
Third-level headings indented, becoming part of the paragraph
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 34

35. Illustrating Report Data
Why use visual aids?
To clarify data
To create visual interest
To make numerical data meaningful
To make information more understandable and easier to remember
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 35

36. Illustrating Report Data
Most common types of visual aids
Tables
Charts
Graphs
Photographs
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 36

37. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Table
To show exact figures and values
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 37

38. Matching Visuals With Objectives
2009
Bar Chart
To compare one item with others
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 38

39. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Line Chart
To demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 39

40. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Pie Chart
To visualize a whole unit and the proportions of its components
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 40

41. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Flowchart
To display a process or procedure
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 41

42. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Organization Chart
To define a hierarchy of elements or a set of relationships
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 42

43. Matching Visuals With Objectives
Photograph, Map, Illustration
To achieve authenticity, to spotlight a location, or to show an item in use
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 43

44. Incorporating Graphics in Reports
Evaluate the audience.
Use restraint.
Be honest and ethical.
Introduce a graphic meaningfully.
Choose an appropriate caption or title style.
Give credit to source if appropriate.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 44

45. Presenting the Final Formal Report
Prefatory Parts
Title page
Letter or memo of transmittal
Table of contents
List of figures
Executive summary
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 45

46. Presenting the Final Formal Report
Body of Report
Introduction
Background
Problem or purpose
Significance and scope
Sources and methods
Organization
Discussion of findings
Summary, conclusions, recommendations
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 46

47. Presenting the Final Formal Report
Supplementary Parts of a Formal Report
Footnotes or endnotes
Works Cited, References, or Bibliography
Appendix
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 47

48. Parts of Formal Reports
Bibliography
Appendix
Recommendations
Conclusions
Body
Introduction
Executive summary
List of figures
Table of contents
Letter of transmittal
Title page
Cover
Generally appear in both
formal and informal reports:
Optional in informal reports:
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 48

49. “Success seems to be connected with action
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.”
--Conrad Hilton American hotelier
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 10, Slide 49

50. END