Business Communication

1. Report Structure:
Shorter Forms &
Long Formal Reports
Chapter Eleven & Twelve

2. Writing short reports
 The goal of a short report is to communicate all key points
of the study to busy managers who do not have time to scan
details to figure out what you did
 The main Report should be restricted to two or three single
spaced pages, supplemented by as many pages of appendix
material as are necessary.

3. Characteristics of short reports
1. Shorter reports have little need for introductory
information
 Short reports concern day-to-day problems and the
readers most likely would know the problems, e.g. weekly
sales reports, progress reports, etc.
2. Predominance of the Direct Order
 The direct order gives the main message first – usually the
conclusion and/or the recommendation.
 It may also consist of a summary of facts
 Then comes the report findings organised in logical order

4. Characteristics of short reports
3. More personal writing style
 Because short reports are mostly routine, personal writing
is common, using I, we, and you
 However, when the situation is formal you should use
impersonal writing
4. Less need for a structured plan
 Unlike long reports, short reports have less need for
introductory materials. They begin with a quick summary
of the report, followed by conclusion or they start with the
recommendation if required, followed by details.

5. Sample - Short Report
TO: Head of Finance
FROM: Production Manager
SUBJECT: CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS OF NEW OFFICE BUILDING
Construction of the company’s new office building has entered phase 3.
Although we are one week behind the contractor’s original schedule, the
building should be ready for use by March 15 next year.
Past Progress
 Phase 1 involved development of the architecture’s plans; this process was
completed on January 5, 2009.
 Phase 2 involved submission of the plans to the Executive Committee for
approval. The plans were then given to three contractors for estimates.
The lowest bidder was Aryan Contractors. The firm began construction on
March 30, 2009.

6. Sample - Short Report (Cont’d)
Present Status
 Phase 3 included initial construction procedures. The following steps have
been completed as of June15, 2009.
 Demolition of existing building.
 Excavation of foundation footings for the building
 Installation of steel reinforcing rods
 Pouring of concrete foundation
 The contractor indicated that he was one week behind schedule as the
building inspectors required additional steel reinforcement not shown on
the architecture’s blueprint.
Future Schedule
 Despite some time lost in Phase 3, we are on target for the completion of
the office building by March 31 next year. Phase 4 is scheduled to be
completed by September 30 and Phase 5 and 6 by March 31, 2010.

7. Contents of the short report
The short report should include:
 A very brief statement of the problem (if not starting with
recommendation or conclusion). The purpose of this
statement is merely to establish the scope of the study.
 A summary of what was done---data collected, interviews
conducted, scenarios considered, etc.
 Specific recommendations, which may be conditional (e.g., if
raw materials can be purchased at 5% less cost then we can
ensure profitability without changing price of products).
 Do not make recommendations beyond the available data.

8. References in short report
 This section is not always necessary, but should be
included if you make use of results from books or journals.
 There are different styles for giving citations, one fairly
standard approach is to give the name of the author and the
year of the publication, e.g.
 ….problems are described in Ross (1983). OR …
problems are described in (Ross 1983) in detail

9. Appendices in short report
 Use these to provide any more detailed information
which your readers may need for reference - but do not
include key data which your readers really need in the
main body of the report.
 Appendices must be relevant and should be numbered
so they can be referred to in the main body.

10. Communicating through short reports
To communicate efficiently, the following
can be useful tips:
 Be flexible on format. Organization of a report that
is perfect for one study may be awkward for another.
 Use bullets to highlight key points.
 Use graphs or tables to summarize numerical data.
 Avoid using terms and acronyms that might cause
confusion.

11. Long Formal Reports
Chapter Twelve

12. Content of long reports
 The needs determine the structure of long,
formal reports
 Need for prefatory parts decreases as reports
become shorter and less formal

13. The Prefatory Parts
 In a formal report there may be many variations in the
prefatory part. However, the following are generally
included in long reports:
 Title Fly – contains report title
 Title Page – displays title, authorizer, identification of
writer and date
 Acknowledgements – thanks to people who have helped
 Transmittal Message – A personal message from writer
to reader, briefly identifying the report goal
 Table of contents – provides a guide to contents

14. Sample – Title Page
Environmental Impact of Factory Emission
On the Residents of Tejgaon
Prepared for
Dept. of Environment, Dhaka
Prepared by R&M Consultants
March 15, 2007

15. Sample – Transmittal Message
Dear Sir,
The attached report, requested by the Dept. of Environment in a letter to R&M Consultants dated
February 2, describes the environmental impact of the emission from the factories on the residents of
Tejgaon. We believe you will find the results of this study useful in evaluating future development of
industries within the area of Tejgaon.
The study was designed to study environmental impact in 3 areas:
(a) Impact of waste disposal
(b) Air Quality
(c) Odour emission
Primary research consisted of interviews with 50 Tejgaon residents. Relevant equipments were also
used to analyse the air quality and impact of waste disposal. Results of the research, discussed more
fully in the report, indicate that waste disposal is a cause of health hazard to the residents of Tejgaon.
Odour emission however, is a cause of annoyance.
We would be pleased to discuss the report and its conclusions with you at your request. My firm and I
thank you for your confidence in selecting our company to prepare this comprehensive report.

16. Table of contents

17. The Report Proper
 Executive Summary - a very brief outline of the report to give
the potential reader a general idea of what it’s about .
 Introduction – objective is to prepare the readers for the body
of the report. Include a little background/context and indicate
the reasons for writing the report. Your introduction may
include the following:
 Origin of the report – may include a review of the facts of authorization
 Problem and purpose – statement of the problem and report objective
 Scope – defines the boundaries of the problem and the boundaries of the
report analysis
 Limitations – anything that impairs the quality of the report
 Sources and methods of collecting information (include if necessary)

18. Main body/ Findings
 Detailed findings and analysis is provided in the body of the
report where you develop your ideas
 It should contain sufficient information to justify the
conclusions and recommendations which will follow
 Detailed information is provided in the body of the report
under different broad sections and sub-sections

19. Ending of the report
 You can end your report with a summary, a conclusion
and a recommendation or a combination of the three
 Ending summary – when report purpose is to present
information, the ending is a logical summary of the major
findings
 Conclusion – Conclusions should cover what you have
deducted about the situation
 Recommendations – When you are required to present a
course of action to solve the problem, a recommendation is
needed. This depends on the expectations of your readers

20. Ending of the report
 Appended Parts
 Appendices – this is used for supplementary information
that supports the body of the report
 Bibliography – when your investigation makes heavy use
of public source you normally include a list of the
publications used
 Glossary of terms and abbreviations – provides definitions
for specific words or acronyms used in the body of the
report

21. And Finally
Ask yourself,
Does the report fulfill its purpose? Does it do what
you’re being asked to do and what you say you’re
going to do in your introduction? Are you pleased
with it? If you can’t confidently answer “yes” to
these questions, then you may need to do some more
editing and rewriting.