Communication Reports

8/8/2019 Communication Reports

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Information reports

Recommendations reports

Justification reports

Progress reports

Minutes of meetings

Summaries

To-file reports


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Information reports

Reports that collect and organize

information are infor-mative or investigative.

They may record routine activities such as

daily, weekly, and monthly reports of sales or

profits. They may investigate, options,

performance, or equipment. Although they

provide information, they do not analyze that

information.


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Recommendation reports

Recommendation reports are similar

to information reports in that they present

information. However, they offer analysis

in addition to data. They attempt to solve

problems by evaluating options and

offering recommendations. These reportsare solicited; that is, the writer has been

asked to investigate and report.


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Justification reports

Like recommendation reports, justification

reports attempt to solve problems. However, they

are unsolicited, that is, the writer generates the

report on his or her own. He or she observes a

problem, analyzes alternatives, and describes a

potential solution.


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Progress Report

Progress reports monitor the headway of unusual or non-

routine activities. For example, progress reports would

keep management informed about a committees

preparations for a trade show 14 months from now. Such

reports usually answer three questions:

(1) Is the project on schedule?

(2) Are corrective measures needed?

(3) What activities are next?


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Minutes of meetings

A record of the proceedings of a meeting is

called the minutes. This record is generally kept by a

secretary. Minutes may be kept for groups that convene

regularly, such as the monthly meeting of a dub, or for

groups that meet irregularly, such as committees.


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SUMMARIES

A summary condenses the primary ideas,

conc1usions, and recommendations of a

longer report or publication. Employees may

be asked to write summaries of technical

reports. Students may be asked to write

sum-maries of periodical articles or books to

sharpen their writing skills.


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TO-FILE REPORTS

Reports prepared to document an idea or

actions are called "to-file" reports. These

useful reports provide a written record of

conversations, directives, and decisions. In

today's often litigious business world, such

reports are becoming increasinglyimportant.


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Analyze your audience. Avoid overly flashy type.

Choose an appropriate type size.

Use a consistent type font.

Generally, dont justify right margins.

Separate paragraphs and sentences appropriately.

Design readable headlines.

Strive for an attractive page layout.

Use graphics and clip art with restraint.

Avoid amateurish results.

Develop expertise.


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Guidelines for WritingInformal Reports


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ProblemInadequate student parking on campus duringprime class times.

Facts

10,000 permits sold for 3,000 parking spaces;some parking lots unusable in bad weather,

large numbers of visitors without permits fillparking spaces; no land for new lots.

Discounts

Carpool? Try shuttles from distant parkinglots? Enforce current regulations more strictly?Charge premium for parking in prime locationsor during prime times? Build double-deck

parking structures? Restrict visitors.

RecommendationsShort term: begin shuttle program, Long term:solicit funds for improving current lots andbuilding new multistory structure.

Inductive (Indirect) Method

COMPARING INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE ORGANISATION METHODS


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ProblemInadequate student parking on campus duringprime class times.

RecommendationsShort term: begin shuttle program, Long term:solicit funds for improving current lots andbuilding new multistory structure.

Facts

10,000 permits sold for 3,000 parking spaces;some parking lots unusable in bad weather,large numbers of visitors without permits fillparking spaces; no land for new lots.

Discounts

Carpool? Try shuttles from distant parkinglots? Enforce current regulations more strictly?Charge premium for parking in prime locationsor during prime times? Build double-deckparking structures? Restrict visitors.

Directive (Direct) Method

COMPARING INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE ORGANISATION METHODS


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Using Effective HeadingsUsing Effective Headings

UseUse appropriateappropriate headingheading levelslevels.. TheThe positionposition

andand formatformat ofof aa headingheading indicateindicate itsits levellevel ofofimportanceimportance andand relationshiprelationship toto otherother pointspoints..

StriveStrive forfor parallelparallel constructionconstruction.. UseUse balancedbalanced

expressionsexpressions suchsuch asas VisibleVisible CostsCosts andand InvisibleInvisible CostsCostsratherrather thanthan VisibleVisible CostsCostsandand thatthat dontdont ShowShow..

ForFor shortshort reportsreports useuse firstfirst--andand secondsecond--levellevelheadingsheadings.. ManyMany businessbusiness reportsreports containcontain onlyonly

oneone oror twotwo levelslevels ofof headingsheadings.. ForFor suchsuch reportsreportsuseuse firstfirst--levellevel headingsheadings (centered,(centered, bolded)bolded)and/orand/or secondsecond--levellevel headingsheadings (flush(flush left,left,boldedbolded..))

Contd.


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Using Effective HeadingsUsing Effective Headings

CapitalizeCapitalize andand underlineunderline carefullycarefully.. MostMost writerswriters useuse allall capitalcapital

lettersletters (without(without underlines)underlines) forfor firstfirst--andand secondsecond--levellevel headings,headings,theythey capitalizecapitalize onlyonly thethe firstfirst letterletter ofof main,main, wordswords.. ForFor additionaladditionalemphasis,emphasis, theythey useuse aa boldbold fontfont..

KeepKeep headingsheadings shortshort butbut clearclear.. Try Try toto makemake youryour headingsheadingsbriefbrief (no(no moremore thanthan eighteight words) words) butbut understandableunderstandable..

ExperimentExperiment with with headingsheadings thatthat conciselyconcisely telltell who,who, what,what, when,when,where,where, andand whywhy..

DontDont encloseenclose headingsheadings inin quotationquotation marksmarks.. QuotationQuotationmarksmarks areare appropriateappropriate onlyonly forfor makingmaking quotedquoted words words oror wordswordsusedused inin aa specialspecial sensesense.. SuchSuch asas slangslang.. TheyThey areare unnecessaryunnecessary inin

headingsheadings.. DontDont useuse headingsheadings asas antecedentsantecedents forfor pronounspronouns suchsuch asas this,this,

that,that, thesethese andand thosethose.. ForFor example,example, when when thethe headingheading readsreadsLaserLaser Printers,Printers, dontdont beingbeing thethe nextnext sentencesentence withwith TheseThese areare oftenoftenusedused withwith desktopdesktop publishingpublishing softwaresoftware..


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Being Objective

Present both sides of an issue. Even if

you favor one possibility, discuss both

sides and show through logical reasoning

why your position is superior. Remain

impartial, letting the facts prove your point.


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Separate fact from opinion. Suppose supervisor

wrote, Our department works harder and gets less credit

than any other department in the company. This opinion

is difficult to prove, and it damages the credibility of the

writer. A more convincing statement might be, Our

productivity has increased 6 pre cent over the past year,

and Im proud of the extra effort my employees are

making. After youve made a claim or presented animportant statement in a report, ask yourself, Is this a

verifiable fact? If the answer is no, rephrase your

statement to make it sound more reasonable.

Being Objective


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Be sensitive and moderate in your choice of

language. Dont exaggerate. Instead of saying most

people think , it might be more accurate to say some

people think Obviously, avoid using labels and

slanted expressions. Calling someone a turke, an

egghead, or an elitist demonstrates bias. If readerssuspect that a writer is prejudiced, they may discount the

entire argument.

Being Objective


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Cite sources. Tell your readers where the

information come from. For example, In a

telephone interview with Blake Spence, director of

transportation, October 15, he said OR: TheWall Street Journal (August 10, p.40) reports that

. By referring to respected sources, you lend

authority and credibility to your statements. Yourwords become more believable and your

argument, more convincing.

Being Objective


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FORMAL PROPOSALSFORMAL PROPOSALS

Formal proposals respond

to big projects may contain

200 or more pages.


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The primary differences

between formal and

informal reports are tone,

structure, and length


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The planning of every report

begins with a statement of

purpose explaining the goal,significance, and limitations

of the report.


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PREPARING TO WRITE FORMAL

REPORTS

Researching Secondary Data

Generating Primary Data

Documenting Data

Organising and Outlining Data

Illustrate Data

Presenting the Final Report


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Researching Secondary Data

Print Resources

Electronic Database

The Internet


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Print Resources

Books

Periodicals

Print, CR-ROM, and Web-based

Bibliographic Indexes


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Electronic Database

A database is a collection of information stored

electronically so that it is accessible by

computer and digitally searchable.


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The Internet

WebO

pportunities andC

hallenges Web Browsers and URLs

Search Tools

Dumb as Rocks? Internet Search Tips and Techniques

Use two or three search tools

Understand the AND/OR default and quotation marks

Prefer uncommon words

Omit articles and prepositions Use wild cards

Know your search tool


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Generating Primary Data

Surveys

Interviews

Observation and Experimentation


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Surveys

Surveys yield efficient and economical primary

data for reports. Although, mailed surveys may

suffer low response rates, they are still useful in

generating primary data.


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Interviews

Locate an expert

Prepare for the interview

Make your questions objective and friendly

Watch the time

End graciously


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Observation and Experimentation

Observation produces rich data, but that

information is especially prone to charges

of subjectivity.

One can interpret a observation in many

ways.

Some of the best report data come from

firsthand observation and investigation.

Experimentation produces data suggesting


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Documenting Data

Strengthens your argument

Protects you

Instructs the readers


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Strengthens your argument

Good data from reputable

sources will convince readers of

your credibility and the logic ofyour reasoning.


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Protects you

Acknowledging your sources keeps

you honest. Its unethical and illegal

to use others ideas without properdocumentation.


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Instructs the reader

Citing references enables readers

to pursue a topic further and make

sue of the information themselves.


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Organising and Outlining Data

Organisational Strategies

Outlines and Headings


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Organisational Strategies

Deductive Strategy

Inductive Strategy

Chronological Sequence

Geographical or spatial arrangement

Topical or functional arrangement


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Outlines and Headings Outline is not part of the final report, it is a

valuable tool of the writer.

The main points used to outline a report oftenbecome the main headings of the written report.Formatting headings depends on what levelthey represent. Major headings centered andtyped in bold font.

Second level headings started at the left margin,and third-level headings are indented andbecome part of a paragraph.


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Illustrate Data

Tables

BarCharts

Line Charts

Pie Charts

Flow Charts

Organisation Charts


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Table format

Table 1: Top Ten Share Holders of the Bank (as on 31-03-2007)

Name of the holder Equity held (%)

Reserve Bank of India 59.73

The Bank of New York (GDRs) 7.88

Life Insurance Corporation of India 4.08

CLSA Merchant Bankers Ltd A/c Calyon (FII) 2.49BMF-BANK BEESInvestment A/c 1.42

Fidelity Management and Research Company a/c CFI 0.88

FID Funds (Mauritius) Ltd. 0.74

CITI Group Global Markets Mauritius Pvt. Ltd., 0.72

Goldman Sachs Investment (Mauritius) I Ltd., 0.63

Government of Singapore 0.60Source: Annual report of SBI, 2006-07.


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Equ he d (%)

59 73

7 884 08 2 49 1 42 0 88 0 74 0 72 0 63 0 6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Re

er

e Ban

o

nd

a

he Ban

o

Ne

or

( DR

)

L

e n

uran e

orpora

on o

nd a

L

Merhan

Ban

er

L d

/ a on

(

)

BM -B

NK

BEES

In

e

en A/

de

Manage

en

andRe

ear h

o pan a/

I

FID Fund

(Maur

u

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ITI Group

Global Mar

e

Maur

u

Pvt.

Ltd.,

Gold an

Sah

Inve

tment

(Maur tiu

) I

Ltd.,

Government of

Singapore

Sha e holde s

Figure 1: Top Ten Share Holders of the Bank (as on 31-03-2007)

BAR CHART


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Equity held (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Reserve Bank of

India

The Bank of

New York

(GDRs)

Life Insurance

Corporation of

India

CLSA Merchant

Bankers Ltd A /c

Calyon (FII)

BMF-BANK

BEES

Investment A/c

Fidelity

Management

and Research

Company a/c CFI

FID Funds

(Mauritius) Ltd.

CITI Group

Global Markets

Mauritius Pvt.

Ltd.,

Goldman Sachs

Investment

(Mauritius) I Ltd.,

Government of

Singapore

Figure 1: Top Ten Share Holders of the Bank (as on 31-03-2007)

LINE CHART


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Pie chartFigure 1: Top Ten Share Holders of the Bank (as on 31-03-2007)

0.6

0.74

0.88

1.42

4.08 2.49

59.73

0.63

0.72

7.88

Government of Singapore The Bank of New York (GDRs)Lif e Insurance Corporation of India CLSA Merchant Bankers Ltd A/c Calyon (FII)BMF-BA NK BEES Inv es tment A/c Fidelity Management and Res ear ch Company a/c CFIFID Funds (Mauritius) Ltd. CITI Group Global Markets Mauritius Pvt. Ltd.,Goldman Sachs Investment (Maur it ius) I Ltd., Reserve Bank of India


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Corporate

Centre

Business

Groups

DeputyManaging

Director & Chief

Credit Officer

DeputyManaging Director &

Chief Finance Officer

DeputyManaging

Director & Corporate

DevelopmentOfficer

DeputyManaging Director

(Information & Management Audit)

DeputyManaging

Director (Information

Technology)

Civil Vigilance Officer

Managing Director &

Group Executive

(Corporate Banking)

Managing Director

& Group Executive

(National Banking)

DeputyManaging

Director

(International Banks)

DeputyManaging

Director & Group

Executive

(Associates &

Subsidiaries)

CHAIRMAN

ORGANIZATION CHARTOF STATE BANK OF INDIA (NATIONAL LEVEL)


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Presenting the Final Report

Prefatory Parts (Preceding the Body of

Report)

Body of Report

Supplementary Parts of Report

Documents

Communication Reports