“Report Writing and Presentation”

Unit IV
 Learning Outcomes: Report Writing and
Presentation

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• Understand the meaning of business report

• Know about the planning for report writing

• Aware the method of writing business report

 Introduction

• Report writing is an art.

• This skill is to be developed by constant efforts.
• As a neatly structured piece of work, the report, for
greater ease in comprehension, is segregated into
various sections. Understanding the import of these
sections, coupled with logical conjoining of the
various parts, results in a well written and presented
report
 Examples for Reports

Executives submit reports to superiors in scheduled time intervals.

Investigations report is submitted to take remedial actions.

Market researchers conduct various field surveys and prepare report.

Reports provide feedback to the manager on various aspects of organisation.

The information is needed for reviewing and evaluating progress, planning for
future course of action and taking decisions.
 Report
• A report is a presentation and summation of facts, figures and
information either collected or derived.
• It is a logical and coherent structuring of information, ideas and
concepts.
• Newspaper correspondents use reports to make news about an
incident or a programme
• Teachers and lecturers make reports regarding their school/
institutions or event in the institution.
"A business report is an orderly, unbiased communication of factual
information that serves some business purpose."
 Report
• The report is the ultimate output of investigation efforts.
• Report Format varies depending upon its purpose and target
audience.
• The presentation of research reports to ultimate users is the
art of communication.
• Suggestions given in the reports form the basis for the action
plan to be taken.
• New areas for investigation may also be identified through
reports.
 Planning for Report Writing
• Planning is the first stage of any organized activity.
• Even for drafting a formal report, planning is a must.
• Spend as much time as possible in collecting material,
synchronizing details, and ensuring that nothing has been left
out.
• If the planning is done in a detailed manner, there are few
chances of missing out errors at the final stage.
• In fact, planning for a report is an important as the process of
writing itself.
 Report Planning

Define the
Outline the issues Prepare a work
problem and the
for investigation plan
purpose

Conduct
research, analyze Draw conclusion
and interpret
Report Planning:
Define the problem and the purpose
• The problem and purpose had already been identified at the stage when
the answer to the question what and why were attempted.
• Understand the nature of the report – whether it is informational or
analytical.
Informational report: Writer stresses factors contributing to comparison of
information at the time of stating the purpose.
Analytical report: Writer would need to prepare a problem statement, the
analysis of which becomes the thrust area of the report.
With a variance in the type of the report, a difference is bound to arise in the
definition of the problem and purpose.
Report Planning:
Outline the issues for investigation

• A problem solving or analytical report has issues, pertaining to the

problem which need to be highlighted in the initial stage.
• None of the alternatives or variables should be ignored or sidetracked.
• Once the issues have been clarified, delineation of the points becomes
easier.
• For informational report, all issues to be exemplified have to be
understood.
• There should be a basic pattern that has to be observed and it should
clearly emerge in the reading of the report.
Report Planning:
Prepare a work plan
What is the best procedure to
collect the data?

How should the writer proceed?

What are the strategies that need

to be observed?
• These are a few of the questions that need to be well
answered before taking the final plunge into
conducting research on the topic.
Report Planning:
Conduct research, analyse and interpret

• Modus operandi for conducting research should be well

examined.
• The manner for research is contingent upon the
problem defined in the initial phase of report writing.
• Once the research has been conducted, begins the
process of analysis and subsequent interpretation.
• Bring about accuracy in the analysis and make the
interpretation objective and unbiased, as far as
possible.
Report Planning:
Draw conclusions

• Certain conclusions need to be drawn and

recommendations or suggestions made.
• Tone of conclusions, is determined by the position held
by the report writer.
• For instance, if it is a report, being written by a
subordinate, he can only make suggestions.
• However, if it is one being written by superiors, it would
definitely have in Notes the terminal section, a rather
well developed part, comprising recommendations.
 Types of Reports

Long and Short Formal and

Reports Informal Reports

Business/Technical Academic/Research
Reports Reports
 1. Long and Short Reports

Long Reports Short Reports

• Detailed analysis of a project or • One to three page presentation

a problem at hand. of a topic or an event.

• Lengthy and consume a lot of • Brief and precise in nature and

time in making as well as contain only the relevant facts.
presentation. • Examples: Report on Annual
• Examples: Feasibility Report of Exhibition of School
a Product.
2. Formal and Informal Reports

Formal Reports Informal reports

• Submitted to a higher authority for analysis • Prepared by the person, either for his own
or for approval. use or for keeping as a record, not for the

• prepared by keeping in mind all the use of an organization for any formal

technicalities of report writing. purposes.

• Mostly, the reports prepared in the • Informal reports may be based on guess

organizations are formal reports. work or approximation of facts.

• proper facts and figures, which can be • Example: Report submitted by sales

substantiated, are used. assistant to sales manager regarding

• Examples: Report Submitted by Sales approximate number of customers entering

Manager to General Manager regarding the showroom.

annual sale.
 3. Business Reports
• Prepared in the organizations for formal purposes.

• Research reports or Academic Reports are the ones

prepared in the course of study.

• They may be reports prepared after Summer Training

or after completion of a project of study or research.

• These are based on a research topic, which may be

formulated in the form of a research problem.
Business Reports: Routine Reports

• Prepared on a routine basis in an organization.

• Prepared in the normal course of business,

whether or not something extra ordinary takes
place.

(i) Progress Report: Report about the growth of an

organization/ department/ progress of an individual
in an organization.
 Business Reports: Routine Reports
(ii) Inspection Report: Regular inspections (e.g. Manufacturing organisations) by
superiors are held to check the compliance of the products and services with the
specified norms. The report prepared by inspection teams is called inspection report

(iii) Performance Appraisal Report: Performance Appraisal is done to assess and

evaluate the employees as per their performance. For this purpose, Performance
Appraisal report of each employee is made and sent to the management for
evaluation.

(iv) Periodical Report: A report prepared at regular time intervals (monthly report,
annual report, bi annual report, etc.)
 Business Reports: Special Reports
The reports which are not prepared on a routine basis,
but only in the event of special circumstances or
exceptional happenings.
Made once in a while.
(i) Investigation Report: In case of an unusual happening,
like sudden downfall of sales or fall in production or any
other event, investigation may have to be carried out to
find the reasons behind the event. Reports prepared after
such an investigation are called investigation reports.
 Business Reports: Special Reports
(ii) Survey Report/Feasibility Report: A survey is sometimes carried
out regarding the present working or an organization, its sales, etc or
the feasibility of any new project to be undertaken by the
organization.
Survey/ Feasibility Reports are prepared to record the findings.
(iii) First Information Report (FIR). FIRs are lodged in Police Station in
case of any mishappening, theft or loss.
FIR may also be prepared for record of an organization.
Prepared by the first witness to the event, to report to his Superiors.
 Business Reports: Informational Report

• Informational report provides all details and facts pertaining

to the topic selected for study.
• It may be a problem arising in an organization or any other
subject of study as selected by the management.
• For instance, it could be a report that attempts to trace the
growth of Company X in the automobile industry.
• In the report, the presentation of all details that led to the
growth of Company X should be listed in a chronological
order.
 Business Reports: Informational Report

• The sequential arrangement of issues or topics in an informational

report could observe any one of the following ways of presentation.

(iii)
(i) Chronology: time
(ii) Importance: Sequence/procedure:
of happening of
Priority of the issues sequence of events in
events
a process

(vi) Familiarity:
(iv) Category: Any
(v) Alphabetization: Arrangement from
basis of
Alphabets (A to Z) known to unknown
categorisation
issues.
Business Reports: Analytical Report

• Analysis means study of a problem or event, right from its

Notes identification to discovery of its causes.
• It makes use of the facts and figures.
• The analytical report comprises stages in which there is a
proper identification of the problem, analysis and
subsequent interpretation.
• Recommendations or suggestions are then incorporated in
the report, depending upon what is required by the report
writer.
Business Reports: Analytical Report
Thus, in a problem solving method, the steps
observed are as follows:

• (i) Draft Problem Statement

• (ii) Evolve criteria

• (iii) Suggest alternatives and evaluation

• (iv) Draw conclusion(s) and make recommendations

 Business Reports: Analytical Report Structure

• Deductive or Inductive Structure

• An inductive ordering follows a simple, logical arrangement in which you
proceed from the known to the unknown.
• There are two premises or syllogisms that conjoin to yield a final conclusion, e.g
• Syllogism 1 Ram is a man and he is mortal.
• Syllogism 2 Shyam is a man and he is mortal.
• Syllogism 3 ---------------------------------------
• Syllogism n ---------------------------------------
• Conclusion
• Therefore, all men are mortal
 Business Reports: Analytical Report – Inductive Structure

• One could formulate umpteen numbers of syllogisms to reach a final

conclusion which is always based on the number of experiments conducted
or factors observed.
• Here the progression is always in the nature of working on the known
elements to arrive at an unknown conclusion.
• Inductive patterning is followed for organisation based studies and
experiments
Drawback: As it is not based on any universal truth, it holds valid only up to
the point there is discovery of an issue that prove contrary to the findings in
the report.
It is by nature only relevant in the present and no universal claims to the same
can be made.
 Business Reports: Analytical Report – Deductive
ordering

• It observes a reverse ordering where it proceeds from the unknown to the

known.
• Universal truths are taken as the formulation point for the problem.
• The various alternatives are suggested, evaluated and conclusions drawn,
keeping in mind the original problem stated.
• Approach in deductive methodology:
• Conclusion All men are mortal.
• Syllogism 1 Ram is a man and he is mortal.
• Syllogism 2 Shyam is a man and he is mortal.
• Syllogism 3 ---------------------------------------
• Syllogism n ---------------------------------------
 4. Research or Academic Report
The word "Academic" means "that which is related to studies or education",

These reports are generally Research Reports, as they are prepared, keeping in view
a research problem.

• Academic Reports are prepared by students in the course of their study, in partial
fulfillment of a degree/ diploma from a University or College.

• The academic report should be a substantive contribution to knowledge through

integration of the review of literature and methodology developed for the
understanding and resolution of management problem, and the empirical work
done therein.

• The topic for the Project should be manageable in size, scope, keeping in view the
time and organizational resources required for preparing a report.
 4. Research or Academic Report
• The roles of the project guide include Supervising and guiding the student
and providing periodic feedback based on his/her progress and giving
written feedback on the draft of the report submitted by the student.
• The nature of research depends upon the problem and purpose of the
report.
• The research has to be conducted for making a successful business report.
• Research can be exploratory or descriptive also it may be primary or
secondary research.
• Primary research involves the collection of data that does not already
exist. This can be through numerous forms, including questionnaires and
telephone interviews amongst others.
• The project proposal or synopsis should contain a brief
background of the company, its business and environment,
and then a survey of literature and context description of the
subject.
• The final Project Report includes Acknowledgement,
Certificate of Approval from the Institute and Guides,
Introduction, Research Design, Questionnaire, Results,
Conclusions, Recommendations, Appendices, Tables and
References. Business report writing need extensive research.
 (a) Primary Research
• Information comes directly from the source.
• Information is compiled, analyzed and interpreted for getting the desired
information.
• Basic data may be generated via surveys, focus groups and other methods.
• Types of information: exploratory or specific.
• Exploratory research is open-ended, and helps in defining a specific problem, and
usually involves detailed, unstructured interviews in which lengthy answers are
solicited from a small group of respondents.
• Specific research, is precise in scope and is used to solve a problem that
exploratory research has identified.
• Interviews are structured and formal in approach. Of the two, specific research is
the more expensive.
 Conducting Primary Research
• Step 1: Formulating purpose and objectives

• Step 2: Preparing questions for the interview and

identification of the target group.

• Step 3: Decide upon the method or medium which may

be direct mail, telephone, or personal interviews. If you
have to use direct-mail questionnaire, the following
guidelines will increase response rate:
 Direct Mail Survey
• (i) Questions that are short and to the point
• (ii) A questionnaire that is addressed to specific individuals and is of
interest to the respondent
• (iii) A questionnaire of no more than two pages
• (iv) A professionally-prepared cover letter that adequately explains why
you're doing this questionnaire
• (v) A postage-paid, self-addressed envelope to return the questionnaire
in.
• (vi) An incentive, such as "10 percent off your next purchase," to
complete the Notes questionnaire
 Phone surveys guidelines
The most cost-effective & FAST.

Confirm the name of

Have a script and
the respondent at the
memorize it-don't
beginning of the
read it.
conversation.

Avoid pauses because Ask if a follow-up call

a respondent's is possible in case you
interest can quickly require additional
drop. information.
Personal Interview

• Used mostly by big business,

group interviews or focus
A group survey . groups are useful
brainstorming tools for getting
information on certain issues.

• One-on-one interviews are

either focused or nondirective.
• Focused interviews are based
The in-depth on questions selected ahead of
time
interview. • Nondirective interviews
encourage respondents to
address certain topics with
minimal questioning.
 Secondary Research
• Researcher gathers information from the secondary (already published
data)
• Cheapest form of research because the data already exists for the use.
• Secondary research is used for a summary or collection of existing data.
Internal research
• Internally an organisation has access to a wealth of information for writing
business report related to its functioning.
• It may assist the organisation in discovering the many truth
• for example, a sales report is likely to include, why sales are decreasing,
why customers are not satisfied, customer usage rates and so on.
 Secondary Data Sources

Internal Secondary Sources External Secondary Sources

• National product sales. • Periodicals.

• Regional product sales. • Specialist reports.

• Customer usage rates. • Industry magazines.

• Guarantee cards. • Chamber of commerce.

• Customer comments or complaints. • Government statistics.

• Sales people, research and development • Internet.

staff. • Professional bodies.
• Past research conducted. • Trade associations.
• Only cost implication will be of staff time
obtaining the data.
 Secondary data limitations
• Problems that could arise if these limitations are
ignored.

•Secondary data can Accuracy ? The

be general and source of the data Data maybe old /
vague and may not must always be out of date.
really help. checked.

Sample used to Company

generate the publishing the data
secondary data may not be
maybe small. reputable.
REPORT WRITING PROCESS
 Important Queries
• Prior to commencing work on a report, a few queries (5 Ws + 1 H)
should be raised by the report-writer and satisfactorily answered.
Why, What, Who, When, Where and How.
• What is the problem?
• What is it that needs to be ascertained?
• Clarity along these lines helps in eliminating any redundancies that
might crop up.
• Identification of the genesis of the problem helps in streamlining
the approach.
Sample Questions to be answered before writing the report

Why is it important to study the problem?

Why (purpose) should the problem be analyzed?

What is its relevance and significance to the department in specific, and organisation in general?

What are the benefits that will be obtained as a result of this particular report – to the department, the organisation,
and the self?

Who is involved in the situation? (reader(s) , writer/ a third party)

Who is going to be the reader of this report? With a change in the reader, a change is visible in the manner of
approach in the report.
When did the trouble start? In case it is an analytical report, one would also need to Notes address oneself to the
source and time of the problem before reaching any conclusion.
When am I going to write the report? The time factor is very important.

Where would the reader be at the time when he receives the report? Would the reader read the report in a meeting or
read it within the confines of his room? There would definitely be a difference in the manner of approach.
Finally, how would the report be written? What information is to be included and what is to be excluded/which graphs
and chart would be used/avoided?
Thank You