Chapter 9 Writing Short Reports

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Discuss the effects of formality and problem length on report makeup as described in the chapter. (LO1) 2. Which of the prefatory pages of reports appear to be related primarily to the length of the report? Which to the need for formality? (LO1) 3. Describe the role and content of a transmittal message. (LO1) 4. Why is a personal style typically used in the transmittal message? (LO1) 5. Explain how to write the executive summary of a report. (LO1) 6. Why does the executive summary include key facts and figures in addition to the analyses and conclusions drawn from them? (LO1) 7. Explain why some routine report problems require little or no introduction. (LO2) 8. Why is the direct order generally used in the shorter reports? When is the indirect order desirable for such reports? (LO2) 9. Describe the organization of the conventional short report. (LO3) 10. What types of problems are written up as letter reports? As email reports? Explain the differences. (LO3) 11. What kinds of information might go into routine operational reports for different kinds of organizations? Why would these organizations need this information regularly? (LO4) 12. Given what you’ve learned about progress reports, suggest an appropriate structure for these reports. What might go into the beginning? What might the middle parts be? What would the conclusion do? (LO4) 13. How might an internal problem-solving report that has been assigned differ from one on the same subject that an employee generated on his or her own? (LO4) 14. Study the audit reports in several companies’ annual reports. What seem to be the common features of such audit reports? (LO4) 15. Discuss the pros and cons of including a list of absentees in meeting minutes. (LO4)

Critical Thinking Exercises

1. Review the following report situations and determine for each the makeup of the report you would recommend for it: (LO1) a. A professional research organization has completed a survey of consumer attitudes toward BankOne. The survey results will be presented to the bank president in a 28-page report, including seven charts and three tables. b. Joan Marion was asked by her department head to inspect the work area and report on safety conditions. Her report is two pages long and written in personal style. c. Bill Wingler has an idea for improving a work procedure in his department at McLaughlin Body Company. His department head suggested that Bill present his idea in a report to the production superintendent. The report is almost five pages long, including a full-page diagram. It is written in the personal style. d. Karen Canady, a worker in the corporate library of Accenture, was asked by Doug Edmunds, its president, for current inventory information on a number of subscriptions. Her report is less than a full page and consists mostly of a list of items and numbers. e. Bryan Toups, a sales manager for Johnson and Johnson, was asked by the vice president of marketing to prepare an analysis of the results of a promotional campaign conducted in Toups’s district. The report is six pages long (including one chart) and is written in the personal style. 2. Making any assumptions needed, construct complete yet concise titles for the reports described below. (LO1) a. A report writer reviewed records of exit interviews of employees at Marvel-Floyd Manufacturing Company who left their jobs voluntarily. The objective of the investigation was to determine the reasons for their leaving. b. A researcher studied data from employee personnel records at Magna-Tech, Inc., to determine whether permanent (long-term) employees differ from short-term employees. Some of the differences found would be used in hiring employees in the future. The data studied included age, education, experience, and scores on pre-employment tests. c. A report writer compared historical financial records (1995 to the present) of Super Saver Foods to determine whether this grocery chain should own or rent store buildings. In the past it did both. 3. Criticize the following beginning sentences of transmittal messages. (LO1) a. “In your hands is the report you requested January 7 concerning . . . . b. “As you will recall, last January 7 you requested a report on . . . . c. “That we should open a new outlet in Bragg City is the conclusion of this report, which you authorized January 7.” 4. Following is a report that was written for the manager of a large furniture retail store by the manager’s assistant. The manager was concerned about customer complaints of late deliveries of furniture purchased and wanted to know the cause of the delays. Critique this report. (LO2, LO4)

11-17-10

TO: Martina Kalavoda

FROM: Anthony Dudrow

SUBJECT: Investigation requested 11-17-10

This morning at the staff meeting it was requested that an investigation be made of the status of home deliveries and of the causes of the delays that have occurred. The investigation has been made with findings as follows:

Now that a new driver’s helper, Morris Tunney, has been hired, there should be no more delays. This was the cause of the problem.

Over the past two weeks (10 working days), a total of 143 deliveries were made; and of these, 107 were made on or before the date promised. But some of the deliveries were late because of the departure two weeks ago of the driver’s helper, Sean Toulouse, who had to be fired because of dishonesty and could not be replaced quickly with a permanent, qualified helper. Now that a permanent, qualified helper has been hired, there should be no more delays in delivery as this was the cause of the problem.

The driver was able to find a temporary helper, a man by the name of Rusty Sellers, for some help in the unloading work, but he got behind and couldn’t seem to catch up. He could have caught up by working overtime, in the opinion of the writer, but he refused to do so. Of the 36 deliveries that were late, all were completed within two days. The problem is over now that the driver has a helper, so there should be no additional delays.