2.5.3 Reports
A report is often read by more than one person, particularly if the report has been written by an outside consultancy. Reports are written to inform, to analyse and to recommend and are often the basis for further discussion, for decision making and for problem solving. Reports can be long or short but similar principles apply to both.
Activity 2i
Overview the various components of the short report on pages 505-512 of the textbook. Skim through Chapter 18 on long reports as the information will be useful for assignments.
Ober (1992, p.304) provides a concise overview of the steps in preparing a business report:
1. Planning
- determine the problem
- define the purpose of the report
- define the audience for the report
- develop hypotheses regarding causes or solutions for the report
2. Data gathering
- determine what data will be required
- decide which methods you will use to collect the needed data
- collect the data
3. Report writing
- analyse the data
Obviously, the last thing you will do is write the report. However, one of the important things to observe from Ober's list is that the actual writing phase is only identified after eight other items are identified.
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