Bài giảng Business Communication - Chapter Thirteen: Completing Business Reports

Chapter ThirteenCompletingBusiness ReportsMcGraw-Hill/IrwinCopyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Learning ObjectivesLO13.1 Explain how completed reports affect your credibility.LO13.2 Demonstrate excellent thinking by applying a precision-oriented style to reports.LO13.3 Design your reports to aid in decision making.LO13.4 Project objectivity in reports.LO13.5 Review reports for effectiveness and fairness.Excellence in Thinking for ReportsFigure 13.1Use Fact-Based LanguageYou can raise the credibility of your report by: supplying the facts with precisionproviding supporting details for your conclusionscarefully dealing with predictions and cause-effect statements responsibly citing your research sourcesDocument Secondary Research and Avoid PlagiarismPlagiarism“steal and pass off (the ideas of another) as one’s own”“to commit literary theft.”13-*References in APA and MLA Documentation StylesTable 13.3Basing Recommendations on Facts and ConclusionsMaking Recommendations Specific and ActionableDesigning Your Reports to Help Decision MakersAssume that decision makers may not read your report from start to end, and design it so they can navigate the information rapidlyOne way to make your report easy to navigate is to provide a structure that decision makers are familiar withTell the Story of Your Report with an Executive SummaryExecutive Summarypurpose is to summarize the most important contents, including key findings, conclusions, and recommendations, so that busy executives and other decision makers can quickly understand and act on the reportProviding Clear Headings that Support a Story LineCreating Headings to Help Decision Makers Navigate the DocumentProviding Clear Preview StatementsUsing Charts to Support the Story Line of the ReportCreate a Cover Page, a Table of Contents, and AppendixesA table of contents is expected for nearly any report over ten pages longReports also frequently include appendixes to provide reference materials