Chap 12

12: Planning Reports and Proposals 12-1
Part 4: Preparing Reports and Presentations
Chapters 12-14 guide students through the process of planning, writing, and completing reports,
proposals, and presentations. In addition to adapting the three-step writing process to these message
formats, these chapters also give students an overview of business research methods and the use of visual
elements in business communication. One key point to emphasize during this phase of the course is that
reports and presentations are business tools, not ends in themselves. They should be designed to be useful
to the intended audience, with their length, style, organization, and format geared to audience needs.
Chapter 12: Planning Reports and Proposals
This chapter, the first of two on preparing reports and proposals, investigates the tasks involved in
planning longer documents. In this chapter, we also include coverage of conducting the research that is
often needed for reports and presentations. Because conventional website content often functions like an
informational report, we address the planning stage of website development in this chapter as well.
(Note to users of previous editions: The three chapters that Excellence in Business Communication
previously dedicated to reports and proposals have been streamlined into two chapters in this edition.
Chapter 12 covers the planning step, and Chapter 13 covers the writing and completing steps.)
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals

Analyzing the Situation
Gathering Information
Selecting the Right Combination of Media and Channels
Organizing Your Information
Supporting Your Messages with Reliable Information
Planning Your Research
Locating Data and Information
Evaluating Information Sources
Using Your Research Results
Analyzing Data
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing Information
Drawing Conclusions
Making Recommendations
Conducting Secondary Research
Finding Information at a Library
Finding Information Online
Online Search Tools
Online Monitoring Tools
Search Tips
Documenting Your Sources
Conducting Primary Research
Conducting Surveys
Conducting Interviews
Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

Planning Informational Reports

Organizing Informational Reports
Creating Successful Business Plans
Organizing Website Content
Planning Analytical Reports
Focusing on Conclusions
Focusing on Recommendations
Focusing on Logical Arguments
Planning Proposals
Learning Catalytics is a “bring your own device” student engagement, assessment, and classroom
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information on using Learning Catalytics in your course, contact your Pearson Representative.
LECTURE NOTES
Section 1: Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals
Learning Objective 1: Adapt the three-step writing process to reports and proposals.
Reports fall into three basic categories:
 Informational reports—offering information but no analysis or recommendation

 Analytical reports—offering both information and analysis, and perhaps recommendation
 Proposals—offering structured persuasion for internal or external audiences
The three-step process covered earlier in the text is particularly beneficial for developing reports and
proposals because of the amount of work involved in these longer documents.
View every business report as an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of your audience’s
challenges and your ability to contribute to your organization’s success.
Analyzing the Situation
Your statement of purpose
 Explains why you are preparing your report and what you plan to deliver in your report
 Begins with an infinitive phrase (to plus a verb)
 Is usually more comprehensive for analytical reports than for informational ones
 Must be crystal clear for proposals to help you focus on crafting a persuasive message
For anything beyond the simplest of reports, a carefully thought-out work plan is the best way to
make sure you produce good work on schedule.
A formal work plan might include the following:
 Statement of the problem or opportunity

 Statement of the purpose and scope of your investigation

 Discussion of tasks to be accomplished

 Description of any products that will result from your investigation
 Review of project assignments, schedules, and resource requirements
 Plans for following up after delivering the report
Class discussion question: Have you ever “had the wheels come off” a major academic project, such as
getting near the end and discovering you were off course in a major way or struggling mightily to craft a
required report? Did you analyze why you ran into trouble? Would a more methodical approach to
planning (including outlining the report before trying to write it) have helped?
Gathering Information
Before gathering information, review both your statement of purpose and your audience’s needs so
that you can:
 Stay on schedule
 Collect all the information you need
 Collect only the information you need
Selecting the Best Combination of Media and Channels
When selecting the medium for reports and proposals, consider your audience’s needs:
 Many audiences have specific media requirements and you may not have a choice.
 The audience may prefer a particular way to be able to provide feedback.
 The audience may need to search through the document frequently or update it.
 The audience will be judging the appropriateness of your medium choice.
Organizing Your Information
When your audience will be either receptive or open-minded, use the direct approach:
 It saves time and makes the rest of the report easier to follow.
 It can produce a more forceful report.
If your audience might not accept your main idea without some reasoning and evidence, or if you
haven’t previously established your credibility with these readers, the indirect approach is probably
the better choice.
When outlining content, use informative “talking” headings rather than simple descriptive (“topical”)
headings.
Informative headings
 Force you to really think through the content

 Help facilitate collaborative writing

Section 2: Supporting Your Messages with Reliable Information
Learning Objective 2: Describe an effective process for conducting business research, explain how to
evaluate the credibility of an information source, and identify the five ways to use research results.
Save time and get better results by using a clear process:

 Plan your research.
 Locate the data and information you need.
 Process the data and information you find.
 Apply your findings.
 Manage information efficiently (through knowledge management systems and other means).
Planning Your Research
Conducting research with poor planning
 Limits your effectiveness (you might not find the right information)
 Limits your efficiency (you might spend too much time and money on research)
To plan your research effectively
 Familiarize yourself with the subject (so that you can frame insightful questions)
 Develop a problem statement that will define the purpose of your research
 Identify the most critical gaps in your information
 Prioritize your research needs
Before beginning your research, verify the ethics and etiquette of your approach.
Your research tactics affect several parties:
 The people from whom you gather data and information

 The people who read your results
 The people who are influenced by the way you present those results
To avoid ethical lapses, follow these guidelines:
 Don’t force a specific outcome by skewing your research.

 Respect the privacy of your research participants.
 Document sources and give appropriate credit.
 Respect the intellectual property and digital rights of your sources.
 Don’t distort information from your sources.
 Don’t misrepresent who you are or what you intend to do with your research.
Following research etiquette requires you to
 Respect the time of anyone who agrees to be interviewed or to be a research participant

 Maintain courtesy throughout the interview or research process

Locating Data and Information
To familiarize yourself with the subject of your research, give yourself some unstructured time at the
beginning of the project to explore the general subject area by:
 Reading industry publications

 Visiting competitors’ websites
 Interviewing experts within your organization
 Conducting a quick online search
 Scanning the contents and indexes of books on the subject
Secondary research consists of research previously conducted for another purpose.
Primary research consists of new research done specifically for your current project.
Evaluating Sources
Separate quality sources from suspect ones by asking the following questions:
 Does the source have a reputation for honesty and reliability?

 Is the source potentially biased?
 What is the purpose of the material?
 Is the author credible?
 Where did the source get its information?
 Can you verify the material independently?
 Is the material current?
 Is the material complete?
 Are all claims supported with evidence?
 Do the source’s claims stand up to logical scrutiny?
Using Your Research Results
You can use research results in one or more ways:
 Analyzing numeric data

 Quoting textual material
 Paraphrasing textual material
 Summarizing textual material
 Drawing conclusions
 Making recommendations
Analyzing numeric data: You can gain insight into numerical data by using measures that represent a
group of numbers:
 The mean is the sum of all the items in the group divided by the number of items (also known
as the average).

 The median is the midpoint of a series (with an equal number of items above and below).
 The mode is the number that occurs more often than any other in your sample.
Another useful way to gain insight into numerical data is to look for a trend (a steady upward or
downward movement in a pattern of events taking place over time).
Don’t confuse causation (the cause-and-effect linkage between two factors, where one of them
causes the other to happen) and correlation (the simultaneous change in two variables you’re
measuring, such as customer satisfaction dropping when product reliability drops).
You can also explore the relationships between subsets of data using cross-tabulation.
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing information: You can use information from secondary
sources in three ways:
 Quoting: reproducing material exactly as you found it (in quotation marks or extracted
paragraphs)
 Paraphrasing: restating material in your own words and sentence structure
 Summarizing: presenting the gist of the material in fewer words than the original
Use direct quotations when
 The original language will enhance your argument

 Rewording the passage would lessen its impact
Paraphrasing helps you
 Maintain consistent tone

 Present information using vocabulary more familiar to your audience
 Avoid the choppy feel of too many quotations
To paraphrase effectively and ethically
 Read and analyze the source material until you are thoroughly familiar with its main idea
and key points.
 For longer passages or technical material, jot down notes in your own words.
 As you write your version, imagine that you are explaining it to someone else.
 If it helps with expressing the key ideas in your own words, consider changing the
structure of the material.
 For words or phrases that are commonly used in a particular field, you don’t need to
replace them with your own language.
 Revise your draft for clarity and conciseness, and to make sure it is written in your voice.
 Document the source using a footnote or other citation method.
Summarizing identifies the main ideas and major support points from your source material but
leaves out most details, examples, and other less critical information.

All three methods require careful attention to ethics:
 Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words as your own without crediting the source.
 When paraphrasing and summarizing, take care not to distort the original intent as you
express the ideas in your own words and sentences.
Drawing conclusions: a conclusion is a logical interpretation of the facts in your report
For any conclusion in a report to be sound, it must be logical and be based strictly on the
information included in the rest of the report.
Reaching good conclusions based on the evidence at hand is an important business skill.
Making recommendations: Whereas a conclusion interprets the facts, a recommendation suggests

what to do about the facts.
To be credible, recommendations
 Must be based on logical analysis and sound conclusions

 Must be practical and acceptable to your readers
 Must include an adequate description of the steps that come next
Section 3: Conducting Secondary Research
Learning Objective 3: Explain the role of secondary research, and describe the two major categories of
online research tools.
Secondary research may come from either inside or outside the company.
Finding Information at a Library
Reference librarians can be your most important resource. They are trained in research techniques,
can show you how to use the library’s many databases, and can help you find obscure information.
When looking for secondary information in the library, you’ll find books, databases, periodicals, and
other helpful materials:
 Trade journals provide information about specific professions and industries.

 Academic journals provide research-oriented articles from researchers and educators.
 Business books are less timely than journals, but they provide in-depth coverage.
 Directories include information for all kinds of professions, industries, and special-interest
groups.
 Government publications offer information on laws, court decisions, population patterns,
economic data, and business trends.
 Online databases are computer-searchable collections of information.

Finding Information Online
Roughly speaking, online research tools fall into two categories:
 Those you can use to actively search for existing information

 Those you can use to monitor selected sources for new information
Online search tools: Search engines such as Google and Bing scan millions of websites to identify
individual webpages that contain a specific word or phrase, then attempt to rank the results from most
useful to least useful.
Website owners use search engine optimization techniques to help boost their rankings in the
results.
As powerful as they are, search engines have three disadvantages:
 The process used by search engines is automated, with no human editors involved to
evaluate the quality of the content you find.
 Various search engines use different techniques, so you may find certain pages through
one engine but not through another.
 Public search engines can’t reach all the content on some websites (this part of the
internet is sometimes called the hidden internet or the deep internet).
Other tools can help overcome the three disadvantages of search engines:
 Metasearch engines address the variance in search engine results by submitting your
search request to multiple search engines at once.
 Databases can provide access to material not available via regular search engines by
offering access to back issues of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Online monitoring tools: One of the most powerful aspects of online research is the ability to
automatically monitor selected sources for new information. The possibilities include
 Subscribing to newsfeeds from blogs and websites

 Following people on Twitter and other microblogs
 Setting up alerts on search engines and online databases
 Using specialized monitors such as TweetDeck and Hootsuite
Search tips: Search engines and databases work in different ways, so make sure you understand how
to optimize your search and interpret the results.
To make the best use of any search tool:
 Think before you search.

 Read the instructions and pay attention to the details.
 Don’t limit yourself to a regular web search engine—or to the internet, for that matter.
 Review the search and display options carefully.

 Try variations of your terms.

 Adjust the scope of your search if needed.
 Review the features each search tool offers.
 Look beyond the first page of results.
Be sure to take advantage of the latest research tools available to you, including enterprise search
engines and research and content managers such as LiveBinders and Zotero.
You can direct students to Bovée and Thill’s Web Search page at
http://websearch.businesscommunicationnetwork.com. This unique tool, developed by the
authors, gives instant access to several hundred search tools categorized by content and media
type.
Class discussion question: When you conduct online research for academic or personal needs, do you
look beyond the first page or two of search results on Google? Have you ever read the Help advice on
Google or your favorite search engine? Do you try other search engines, metasearch engines, online
databases, Twitter searches, or other tools? Do you phrase your search queries in various ways to make
sure you cast your net as widely as possible?
Documenting Your Sources
Documenting your secondary research
 Properly and ethically credits the person who created the original material
 Shows your audience that you have sufficient support for your message
 Helps your readers explore your topic in more detail if desired
Technology can help you with documentation tools to
 Track and number endnotes for you

 Create a bibliography of all the sources you used
Documentation is not necessary for
 General knowledge
 Specialized knowledge that is generally known among your readers
Section 4: Conducting Primary Research
Learning Objective 4: Explain the role of primary research, and identify the two most common forms of
primary research for business communication purposes.
The two most common methods of primary research are surveys and interviews.
Other primary techniques are observations (including tracking the behavior of website visitors) and
experiments in special situations such as test marketing.

Conducting Surveys
A survey is reliable if it produces identical results when repeated under similar conditions.
A survey is valid if it measures what it’s intended to measure.
To generate results that are both reliable and valid:
 Choose research participants carefully.

 Develop an effective set of questions.
To develop an effective questionnaire
 Provide clear instructions.

 Don’t ask for information that people can’t be expected to remember.
 Keep the questionnaire short and easy to complete.
 Whenever possible, formulate questions to provide answers that are easy to analyze.
 Avoid leading questions that could bias your survey.
 Avoid vague descriptors such as often or frequently.
 Make each question about a single idea.
When selecting people to participate in a survey, the most critical task is getting a representative
sample of the entire population in question.
Many of the surveys you see online, for example, probably suffer from sampling bias because they
capture only the opinions of people who visit the sites and want to participate.
Conducting Interviews
Getting in-depth information straight from an expert, a customer, or other interested party can be a
great method for collecting primary information.
To give subjects a chance to think through responses thoroughly, consider conducting interviews via
email or other digital channels.
Ask open-ended questions to invite opinion, insight, and information.
Ask closed-ended questions to elicit a specific answer, such as yes or no.
Avoid using too many closed-ended questions in an interview; take advantage of the opportunity to
get more in-depth and personal answers with open-ended questions.
Think carefully about the sequence of your questions and the potential answers so you can arrange
them in an order that helps uncover layers of information.
Section 5: Planning Informational Reports
Learning Objective 5: Explain how to plan informational reports and website content.

Informational reports provide the information that employees, managers, and others need in order to make
decisions, take action, and respond to dynamic conditions both inside and outside the organization.
Informational reports can be grouped into four general formats:
 Reports to monitor and control operations (such as plans, operating reports, and personal activity
reports)
 Reports to implement policies and procedures (such as policy reports and position papers)
 Reports to demonstrate compliance
 Reports to document progress
Organizing Informational Reports
Most informational reports use a topical organization:
 Comparison
 Importance
 Sequence
 Chronology
 Spatial orientation
 Geography
 Category
Creating Successful Business Plans
A business plan is a comprehensive document that describes a company’s mission, structure,

objectives, and operations. Business plans can be written or updated during three separate phases of a
company’s life:
 Before the company is launched

 When the company is seeking funding
 After the company is up and running (and may want to expand or change course)
The specific elements to include in a business plan can vary based on the situation. Here are the
sections typically included in a plan written to attract outside investors:
 Summary. Briefly summarize the business concept, particularly the business model, defining
how the company will generate revenue and produce a profit.
 Mission and objectives. Explain the purpose of the business and what you hope to
accomplish.
 Company and industry. Give full background information on the origins and structure of your
venture and the characteristics of the industry in which you plan to compete.
 Products or services. Concisely describe your products or services, focusing on their unique
attributes and their appeal to customers.
 Market and competition. Provide data that will persuade investors that you understand the
target market and can achieve your sales goals. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of
competitors.

 Management. Summarize the background and qualifications of the key management

personnel in the company.
 Marketing strategy. Provide projections of sales volume and market share; outline a strategy
for identifying potential customers, setting prices, customer support, and delivery of
products/services.
 Design and development plans. If your product requires design or development, describe the
nature and extent of what needs to be done, including costs and possible problems.
 Operations plan. Provide information on facilities, equipment, and personnel requirements.
 Overall schedule. Forecast important milestones in the company’s growth and development.
 Critical risks and problems. Identify significant negative factors and discuss them honestly.
 Financial projections and requirements. Include a detailed budget of start-up and operating
costs, as well as projections for income, expenses, and cash flow for the first few years of
business.
 Exit strategy. Explain how investors will be able to profit from their investment.
Not all start-up veterans and investors believe in the value of a conventional business plan, at least in
a company’s early stages.
Particularly when unproven innovations are involved, some experts recommend that entrepreneurs
devote most of their energy to getting a working product or service model in front of potential
customers as quickly as possible and then worry about formal business planning.
Two popular alternatives to conventional business plans are high-level, one-page overviews known as
the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas.
Organizing Website Content
Many websites, particularly company websites, function as informational reports.
The web is a unique and challenging communication medium:
 Web readers are demanding.

 Reading online can be difficult.
 The web is a nonlinear, multidimensional medium.
 Many websites must perform multiple communication functions.
 Search engines often drop visitors deep into the structure of a website, rather than at the
homepage.
Information architecture describes the structure and navigation of a website.
To organize website content
 Make sure the design is mobile friendly.

 Use simple, clear language for page titles and links.
 Follow the conventions used by most business websites, such as having an “About Us” page.

 Help online readers scan and absorb information by breaking it into self-contained, easily
readable chunks that are linked together logically.
Section 6: Planning Analytical Reports
Learning Objective 6: Identify the three most common ways to organize analytical reports.
Analytical reports analyze a problem or an opportunity to see how it affects the company and often
recommend how the company should respond.
Analytical reports can be grouped into three general formats:
 Reports to assess opportunities (such as market analysis reports or due diligence reports)
 Reports to solve problems (such as troubleshooting reports and failure analysis reports)
 Reports to support decisions (such as feasibility reports and justification reports)
Analytical reports present a greater challenge than informational reports, for three reasons:
 The quality of your reasoning

 The quality of your writing
 The responsibility that comes with persuasion
To help define the problem that your analytical report will address, answer these questions:
 What needs to be determined?

 Why is this issue important?
 Who is involved in the situation?
 Where is the trouble located?
 How did the situation originate?
 When did it start?
Problem factoring is breaking down the perceived problem into a series of logical, connected questions
that try to identify cause and effect.
A hypothesis is a potential explanation that needs to be tested.
The three most common structures for analytical reports are
 Focusing on conclusions (direct)

 Focusing on recommendations (direct)
 Focusing on logical arguments (indirect)
Focusing on Conclusions
Consider structuring around the conclusion when
 You’ve been asked to perform an analysis

 Your credibility with target readers is high

This approach can be risky, though:
 The audience might not accept your conclusion without seeing the analysis first.
 It can create the impression that you’ve oversimplified the situation.
Focusing on Recommendations
When structuring a report around recommendations, unfold your recommendations in five steps:
1. Establish the need for action in the introduction, generally by briefly describing the problem
or opportunity.
2. Introduce the benefit that can be achieved, without providing any details.
3. List the actions needed to achieve the benefit, using action verbs for emphasis.
4. Explain each step more fully, giving details on procedures, costs, and benefits.
5. Summarize your recommendations.
Focusing on Logical Arguments
When structuring a report around logical arguments, you can choose from two basic approaches:
 The 2 + 2 = 4 approach
 The yardstick approach
The 2 + 2 = 4 approach convinces readers by demonstrating that everything adds up:
 Your main points are the reasons behind your conclusions and recommendations.
 You support each reason with the evidence you collected during your analysis.
 This approach is generally the most persuasive and most efficient.
The yardstick approach sets criteria for evaluating multiple alternatives:
 The opening discusses the problem and establishes the criteria that define a good solution.
 The body evaluates each alternative in relation to the criteria.
 The close summarizes the findings, indicates which solution(s) would be best, and makes
recommendations about alternatives that meet all criteria.
Section 7: Planning Proposals
Learning Objective 7: Explain how to plan proposals.
Proposals can be grouped into two general categories:
 Internal proposals (such as funding proposals and general project proposals)

 External proposals (such as investment proposals, grant proposals, sales proposals)
Solicited proposals may be prepared at the request of external parties that require a product or service or
internal sources such as management or the board of directors.

A request for proposals (RFP) includes instructions that specify the exact type of work to be performed or
products to be delivered, along with budgets, deadlines, and other requirements.
Other companies then respond by preparing proposals that show how they would meet those needs.
In most cases, organizations that issue RFPs also provide strict guidelines on what the proposals should
include, and you need to follow these guidelines carefully in order to be considered.
You have more flexibility with unsolicited proposals but you often must first convince readers that a
problem or opportunity exists.
HIGHLIGHT BOX: DEVELOPING AS A PROFESSIONAL

Being Dependable and Accountable
1. To estimate project requirements when one hasn’t completed an identical or similar project in the
past, a smart first step is to seek advice from colleagues or superiors. Chances are that someone else
in the organization has done something similar. A second method is to break the project down into its
smallest logical components and then estimate time and cost for each component; estimating
piecemeal can be much easier and more accurate than trying to guess an entire project’s duration. A
third technique that works in some cases is to execute a small part of the project to measure the
accrued time and costs, then extrapolate those totals to the entire project. Fourth, one can sometimes
adapt cost and time figures from analogous projects. Fifth, project planners often project worst-case,
best-case, and likely totals for time and costs. In addition to providing these numbers to clients and
superiors in order to set expectations, it can be useful to use the best- and worst-case totals as “reality
checks” to see if estimates make sense. Finally, when making an uncertain commitment, it’s always a
good idea to explain that your schedule and budget estimates are based on the best available
information.
2. No, being accountable doesn’t mean you never make mistakes. It means that you (a) make every
effort to avoid mistakes, (b) take responsibility if you do make mistakes, and (c) if possible, take
corrective action to compensate people affected by your mistakes.
HIGHLIGHT BOX: INTELLIGENT COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Finding Meaning with Text Mining
1. Student answers will vary, but any opinions should be backed by logical reasoning.
2. Students will likely express a range of sentiment on this question, from those who are aghast that
anyone outside their intended readers might access their social media posts to those who aren’t
bothered at all by the prospect. (Of course, this question relates only to material that is publicly
accessible, including Twitter updates on accounts that aren’t set to private and Facebook posts that
are set to public access.) This might spur an interesting class discussion about digital privacy in
general, including such questions as whether governments and employers should be able to read
private messages.

ON THE JOB: SOLVING COMMUNICATION DILEMMAS AT STRATEGYZER

1. You’ve heard from a number of product managers and other mid-level business planners in big
companies that they would like to use the Business Model Canvas, but they can’t convince company
executives (their superiors, in other words) to give up the familiar approach of detailed business
plans. You hit on the idea of a free mini-course for corporate executives to help them understand the
value of the canvas approach for early-stage business planning. Before you can convince
Strategyzer’s content development team to create the course, you need to provide some evidence that
Fortune 500 executives would be interested in devoting half a day to such a course. You decide to
conduct some research to gauge executive interest in the mini-course and to identify the most
important topics it should cover. Which of these would be the best problem statement for guiding
your research?
a. No. This problem statement is too general; the specific business issue you need to address is how
to overcome resistance from corporate executives.
b. Yes, but consider (d) as well. This problem statement would focus the research on the question of
whether the mini-course would be effective. However, it doesn’t address the assumption you’ve
already made that the mini-course would be the best persuasive tool. A broader investigation such
as that suggested by (d) might uncover an ever better approach.
c. No. This statement is insufficient; convincing executives to let go of traditional planning methods
solves only half the challenge that Strategyzer faces.
d. Yes. The mini-course might not be the most effective way to persuade executives, and this
problem statement would help uncover other persuasive approaches.
2. Which of these would be the best approach to conducting the research into customer demand for the
mini-course?
a. No. If you could get through to the executives on the phone and get them to commit to interviews,
this approach could yield useful information. However, this is a big if. Option (d) is likely to be
more effective since it targets a group of users who are motivated to get their companies to adopt
Business Model Canvas methods. Ideally, you would be able to combine the two approaches.
Option (a) could give you a different spin on the resistance than option (d), since the executives
might give different reasons to an outsider interviewer than they would give to their own
subordinates. For example, if some executives were simply uncomfortable with changing the
methods they grew up or if they were afraid of losing control of the process, they might hint at
these reasons to an interviewer but might not admit them to their subordinates.
b. No. You’re not likely to get many responses with this approach. These target customers aren’t
using Business Model Canvas methods in their organizations, so there’s little chance they are
using the associated app.
c. No. Like (b), this option isn’t likely to get many responses: the target executives apparently aren’t
interested in Business Model Canvas, so there’s not much chance they would be visiting the
Strategyzer website.
d. Yes. Either on its own or combined with (a), this is likely to be the most effective approach. The
target subjects are motivated to respond, they probably visit the website from time to time, and
they can forward the feedback regarding resistance they’ve been hearing inside their
organizations.

3. You are conducting research interviews with Strategyzer customers, hoping to find out what
enhancements you might make to make the Business Model Canvas web app appealing to an even
wider range of customers. Which of the following questions would elicit the most helpful information
from customers?
a. No. This closed-end question won’t tell you what changes you should make to the app.
b. No. As with (a), this closed-end question could yield an interesting data point, but it won’t tell
you what changes you should make to the app.
c. No. Again, this could yield interesting information, but it won’t answer the question at hand.
d. Yes. This question directly addresses the question of how to expand market appeal for the app,
and because it is open-ended, it will solicit the widest possible range of responses.
4. You have an idea to form a strategic partnership with a leading business magazine to offer business
training courses. Which of these is the best way to organize a proposal to send to the managing editor
if you have had no prior contact?
a. Yes. This proposal is unsolicited, so the indirect approach gives you the opportunity to build your
case for co-branded seminars by highlighting how popular and influential both organizations are
among the target audience of business professionals.
b. No. This message would be too general and wouldn’t offer anything compelling about
Strategyzer courses specifically.
c. No. Given that you have had no prior contact with the editor, the direct approach is likely to meet
resistance, even if he or she has heard of Strategyzer.
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE

12-1. “Look into employee morale problems” would not be an effective problem statement for a report
because it doesn’t provide enough focus for the investigating and reporting effort. What does
“look into” mean? Is the writer supposed to verify that morale problems exist, identify specific
problems, or look into the causes of morale problems? A more effective problem statement for an
informational report would be something along the lines of “Measure the extent and impact of
employee morale problems.” For an analytical report, an effective problem statement might be
“Identify the reasons behind our employee morale problems.” [LO-1] AACSB: Analytical
thinking
12-2. Student responses can range from doing nothing to alerting the owner of the information to
posting the information on another website so that it receives an even wider audience. Their
answers will vary, depending on their views regarding privacy (do people or companies deserve
the right of privacy and, if so, to what degree?), accountability (if the company made a mistake
that made its information available to the public, do they still deserve any right to privacy?), and
the nature and value of the information. You can stimulate interesting discussion on this point by
asking students to compare this scenario with finding a wallet that has a $100 bill in it. Since only
one person can possess the $100 bill, the finder can’t both keep it and return it. However, with
information, the finder can “keep” the information (either literally by making a digital copy or by
simply remembering it) and still “return” it by alerting its owner. Moreover, some types of
information can have significant legal, financial, or other consequences in the hands of an

unintended audience (for instance, if you see someone else’s house on fire, do you have an
obligation to call for help?), which puts a greater ethical burden on the shoulders of anyone
finding information that was supposed to be kept private. [LO-3] AACSB: Analytical thinking
12-3. In many respects, you can use the same approach for planning website content as you would use
for planning printed reports. However, you also need to consider the unique challenges that the
web presents: online readers are demanding, reading online can be difficult, and that the web is a
nonlinear, multidimensional medium. [LO-5] AACSB: Information technology
12-4. The indirect approach is usually advisable when an audience doesn’t know you, because you can
use the indirect structure to build your credibility as you build logical support for your idea.
[LO-6] AACSB: Analytical thinking
PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS
Message for Analysis
12-5. Evaluating a Report [LO-1], [LO-5] AACSB: Application of knowledge Students should
surmise that the Letter to Shareholders (or a similarly titled section) has a broader audience,
encompassing all those readers looking for a narrative summary of the company’s performance
over the past year. The average shareholder, the general media, and the general public would be
typical readers of this document. In addition to the SEC, others interested in the 10-K would be
more financially astute investors (presumably including all institutional investors) willing and
able to digest the in-depth financial reporting provided by this document. Competitors, lenders,
and other professional audiences might use the 10-K to identify the company’s strengths and
weaknesses. A key reason professionals scour the 10-K is that the stark, numerical format of
standardized financial reporting forms makes it much easier to assess the company’s performance
and financial health, whereas the narrative in the Year in Review gives the company an
opportunity to put a particular “spin” on the story.
Students will probably agree that the Letter to Shareholders is easier and more interesting for
them to read, and they may attribute this to its narrative content, visuals, organization, and the
level of the presentation. They’ll probably also agree that the Annual Report 10-K supplies more
detail and requires some financial skills to interpret.
Exercises
12-6. Preparing the work plan will give students a chance to consider all the factors that go into report
planning and research. Their draft plan should reflect thoughtful analysis of the difference
between the problem statement and the statement of purpose and scope. Their plan should also
suggest realistic results (conclusions about whether the company should participate in SXSW)
and should propose achievable methods for data collection (such as observation, attendee surveys
about the festival, review of other companies’ participation). Students can choose whatever
outline format they deem most effective, but it should be clear, logically organized, and complete.

12-7. Whichever documentation style students choose or you assign, they should take care to gather all
the details required by the specific format. [LO-2] AACSB: Application of knowledge
12-8. Answers will vary depending upon the topic selected. You may want to have students discuss any
problems they encountered while trying to configure their chosen monitoring tools. [LO-3]
AACSB: Information technology
Here are some typical sources that students will uncover for questions 12-9 through 12-15: [LO-3]
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12-9. AMA website (www.amanet.org)
12-10. “Earnings by demographics” tables, Bureau of Labor Statistics website

(https://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#demographics)
12-11. Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/252421/market-share-of-leading-bottled-sparkling-

water-brands-in-the-us/)
12-12. Dun & Bradstreet Key Business Ratios (often available through institutional libraries)
12-13. Google Finance or Yahoo! Finance
12-14. Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/190313/estimated-number-of-us-franchise-

establishments-since-2007/)
12-15. U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey”
(https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm)
12-16. The company’s website will yield answers for the first two and possibly some insights for the
third and fourth questions, but trade journals and social media accounts of industry insiders are
likely to be more objective for those latter questions. [LO-3] AACSB: Application of
knowledge
12-17. Before developing specific questions, students should consider the questionnaire’s purpose, its
length, and whether it will be completed on the spot or completed and mailed in later. Because
one of the chief issues is the length of the movie, the questionnaire should ask whether the movie
is too long, and if so, which parts are least interesting to the audience. Students should also elicit
information on the audience so that their responses can be correlated with their personal
characteristics, such as age, gender, income/occupation, and movie-going habits. Remind students
to use a variety of question types and to check their questions for clarity and objectivity. Also
remind them that they are likely to get a better participation rate if the questionnaire is brief and
can be completed right after the screening. [LO-4] AACSB: Application of knowledge
12-18. Students should realize that ignoring signs of impatience sends a message that someone lacks
conversational skills or is inconsiderate. Most managers juggle many tasks during a typical day,
and many of them were propelled up the corporate ladder by their energy and desire to get things

done quickly. Students should realize that even though this interview might be the most important
thing the employee wants to accomplish that day, it is only one of many tasks the manager faces
that day. The best response could depend on how much of the desired information the interviewer
has managed to gather and how much of the agreed-upon time for the interview has elapsed. If
most of the information has been collected or the time is about up, the interviewer could say
something like, “I know you’re busy today, so we can wrap this up quickly,” and then do so.
However, if the planned interview is a long way from finishing, the interview might explain that
they’re conscious of the demands on the executive’s schedule, and ask if there might be a better
time to finish the interview. To avert such problems in the future, the interviewer could review his
or her question set to make sure it is as brief and as efficient as possible and ask interviewees to
suggest times that are most accommodating to their schedules. For example, inviting the manager
to lunch or coffee could create some time and space away from the usual demands of the day.
12-19. Answers will vary depending on the annual report that is analyzed. [LO-5] AACSB:
Information technology
12-20. Before students begin analyzing their own choices, you might want to walk them through a
practice session. Locate a brief, but substantive, article and have students read it ahead of class.
Construct the outline together so that students will clearly see the differences between the two
approaches. Alternatively, you could divide the class in half and have one half outline the article
using the direct approach, and the other half of the class use the indirect approach. Once the class
finishes outlining the article, come back together to compare the two versions. [LO-1] AACSB:
Written and oral communication
12-21. The emergency procedures report might be tailored this way:
Who: The audience is all restaurant personnel

What: Emergency procedures
When: Special (periodic update if necessary)
Where: Internal, downward
Why: Informational
How: Receptive readers
The draft should be organized around a brief introduction, followed by descriptive headings or a
series of procedural steps. It should feature clear instructions, with only as much detail as necessary
to explain the procedures. The format should be simple, possibly with each step marked by a
number or bullet, or a short paragraph under each heading. [LO-5] AACSB: Written and oral
communication
12-22. A topical organization for the informational report might be outlined as follows:
I. Availability of parking places

A. Inadequate student spaces at critical hours
B. Motorcycles taking up full spaces
C. Spaces (usually empty) reserved for college officials

D. Inadequate total space

II. Security problems
A. Inadequate attempts to keep resident neighbors from occupying spaces
B. Discourteous security officers
C. Vandalism to cars and a sense of personal danger
D. Residents harassing students who park on the street in front of neighboring houses
III. Parking fees
A. Full fees charged to night students who use the lots during low-demand periods
B. Relatively high parking fees
IV. Maintenance of lots
A. Poor night lighting near computer center
B. Dim marking lines
[LO-5] AACSB: Written and oral communication
Here are effective organizational choices for the analytical reports listed in questions 12-23 through
12-27. Other answers might be considered correct as well, as long as students can support their choices.
12-23. The yardstick approach would be a good choice for this report (establishing criteria for an
attractive market and then judging both markets against these criteria).
12-24. Focusing on logical arguments using the 2+2 approach would be wise here, because the
recommendation might not be well received and the writer should build up his or her reasoning
before presenting it.
12-25. Focusing on recommendations is a good choice; the objective is clearly positive, so the reader
will be receptive.
12-26. Focusing on logical arguments using the 2+2 approach would be helpful here, because the
recommendation to reduce labor may not be well-received, and you need the opportunity to
illustrate the reasoning for your recommendation.
12-27. Focusing on conclusions would be a good choice here, because readers want to know the answer.
12-28. When reviewing students’ work, look for their ability to define the problem and break it into
smaller components for analysis (if appropriate). To keep the exercise manageable, they’ll need
to avoid any extensive research, which they should be able to accomplish either through team
brainstorming (using questions described in the chapter for use with analytical reports) or through
problem factoring (looking for cause-and-effect relationships). From there, students should be
able to develop a solution to the problem and a list of facts to be used when describing the
problem and proposing a workable solution. For the sake of this exercise, they can list facts that
they imagine to be true (but which would need to be verified for a real-world proposal). [LO-7]
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork

CASE SOLUTION GUIDELINES
Here are solution guidelines for this chapter’s cases, along with sample completed reports for Cases 12-44
and 12-52.
12-39. Message Strategies: Informational Reports
Responses will vary, but they should be sure to follow the conventions of a good informational report:
offering facts about the current rate of telecommuting, the expected growth of this market, the industries
and locations in which it is most popular, any economic or technological trends that could have an impact
on it, data on its implementation and success, and feedback from users. As an informational report, it
should present this information without analysis or recommendations.
Students should be aware that this report will meet with resistance from some potential readers—namely,
those who support or benefit from the widely used strategy of having young athletes specialize in one
sport at an early age and throwing them into an all-consuming practice and competition regime. Anyone
involved in youth athletics has probably seen the toxic personalities that can turn a fun activity into a
miserable grind, including hyper-competitive coaches and parents who live through their children, parents
who see sports as a way for their children to get college scholarships, and those who believe their children
have multimillion-dollar potential as pro athletes. On the other hand, parents and coaches who are
devoted to the wellbeing of young athletes will no doubt welcome a healthier approach to youth sports.
This project will test students’ ability to distinguish causation, correlation, and coincidence. Look for
cogent, logical explanations of the likely stock market impact of the four events they choose to cover. The
linkage may not be completely provable, but the logic needs to be compelling.
The audience for this information report will be interested, so the direct approach is appropriate. The
memo should include information on progress the student has made thus far and on his or her plan for
completing the remaining requirements.
The purpose of the report should be clearly identified in the first paragraph. Information in the report
should be presented in a straightforward manner.
The reader will be interested in points such as the number of semesters (or other calendar division, as
relevant) the student has been in school, the number of courses typically taken each semester, and the
number of courses remaining. As students assess the number of courses remaining, they will need to

research the course offerings carefully and consider their own financial situations. They should research
answers to such questions as the following: What prerequisites must be completed for each of the
remaining courses? How will such prerequisites affect the number of semesters I will need to complete
the work? How will my progress be affected by courses offered only once a year or only in certain terms?
They must also address how working part- or full-time may affect their progress.
Although the report will be relatively short, the reader will benefit from headings such as “Progress as of
[date],” “Remaining Coursework,” and “Related Completion Activities.” To provide additional clarity for
the reader, students may want to include a table detailing which courses and activities remain and when
they plan to complete each one.
12-43. Message Strategies: Informational Reports; Media Skills: Wiki Writing
When considering the use of social media in the workplace, students should identify the major advantages
and disadvantages of these communication tools. They can review the coverage of social media in
Chapter 8 and do additional research as well. Table 8.1 lists more than a dozen business uses of social
media, for example, and students can derive a list of benefits from these applications. Student reports
should identify potential disadvantages as well, including the following:
 Reduced productivity
 Sharing of inappropriate material
 Data and network security risks
 Inconsistent presentation of company brands
 The possibility of employees interacting with customers in ways that are inconsistent with
company policy
[LO-1], [LO-2] AACSB: Information Technology
Students should bear in mind that while their individual experiences may be unique, they are all attending
the same college so even their pooled wisdom is limited in that respect. Consequently, the advice they
offer future college students will need to be generalized so that it has value to anyone attending any
college. Here are some examples of points that students might wish to make:
Oh, I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now: Advice for Incoming Freshmen
You can’t coast through college. Some of us, we admit, didn’t apply ourselves to the utmost in high
school and still managed good grades. This approach simply won’t work in college—the workload is too
great, and the expectations are too high.
You can’t party your way through college. Many of us experienced unbounded freedom for the first
time, and more than a few of us didn’t handle it very well. Have some fun, but stay focused on why you
are here. Goofing off too much can set you back for a long time, long after the memories of all those
parties are faded.

You can—and should—ask for help. No matter how smart or prepared or with-it hip you are, you will
stumble, make mistakes, get confused, and get overwhelmed. However, you don’t have to struggle
through on your own! From classmates and roommates to academic advisors and counseling services,
there is somebody on campus willing to listen and ready to help.
Be smart about managing your time. Time is your most valuable asset, and you need to use it wisely to
succeed in college and to keep from losing your mind. Lists are your friend! Keep a to-do list with due
dates and use it to block out time for assignments and activities. If you put things off to the last minute,
you will be miserable and you won’t perform at your best.
Your college is full of amazing, interesting, wonderful people—get to know them! Don’t hang out
with the same crew every day, every night, and every weekend. Find people from different states,
different countries, and different backgrounds. Join a club you would never join in a million years.
Wander by art studios, labs, anywhere they won’t kick you out and see what people are up to. Chances are
you will never again find yourself in a situation with such a high concentration of brainy, creative, world-
changing individuals, so don’t miss the opportunity to meet them—and let them meet you.
[LO-5] AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
12-45. Message Strategies: Online Content
Students will select varying topics to highlight based on their personal experience in selecting a college.
This exercise should provide interesting insight into what different students find of value to them
personally. Therefore, this is an opportunity to reinforce the concept of determining audience needs
before writing a message.
To make their sheets as user-friendly as possible, students should consider adding important application
dates and other data relevant to the application process.
Students should be able to identify a variety of methods employers are using to contain rising health care
costs. They should look at both direct financial savings (such as switching to higher-deductible insurance
plans) and indirect methods (such as workplace safety and wellness programs that improve employee
health and thereby reduce the need for medical care).
12-47. Message Strategies: Analytical Reports
You might encourage students to “step outside themselves” for this assignment as a way to view their
mistakes and failures more objectively. In other words, have them assume the perspective of someone
who was able to observe the choices leading up to the mistake or failure and the consequences afterward.
This helps moderate the emotions (for example, “I hate myself for what I did”) and ego-protection efforts
(for example, “It was my parents’ fault for not believing in me”) that often surround poor choices and
unfortunate outcomes.

[LO-6] AACSB: Reflective thinking
Students are preparing this report for a counselor or academic adviser, so they can assume they have an
interested reader. An important planning step for this report is identifying and prioritizing the criteria that
will be used as the “yardstick.” Criteria could include times and days of the week that courses are
scheduled, prerequisites, interest in the subject matter, lab fees and other costs, relevance to career plans,
and fit with degree requirements.
Students can conduct the necessary secondary research by reviewing course descriptions in the school
catalog. They may also want to conduct some informal primary research to discuss some of the above
issues with students who have taken the courses under consideration.
The report should present the information in a clear, straightforward manner, using unbiased language and
eliminating any negative references to individuals teaching the various courses. The report should close
by drawing conclusions from the information provided. Finally, based on the conclusions, the report
should make a recommendation about which course the student should enroll in next term.
From Case Tables 12.1 through 12.3, students should be able to identify a possible “sweet spot” in the
data: kitchens, bathrooms, and home offices are the most frequently tackled rooms; $10–$20k is the most
common budget range; and the tasks that are (1) of most interest to “heavy-hitter” DIYers and (2)
probably covered less extensively by publications that focus on more superficial tasks would include
conceptual design, demolition, framing, plumbing, and possibly finish carpentry and tile work (although
these last two might be considered “lighter” tasks and therefore might be covered adequately by other
publications).
The follow-on research task, then, is to see whether a magazine market really exists for homeowners who
want to extensively remodel kitchens, bathrooms, and home offices (as well as other rooms, but these
would be the big three) with sizable budgets in projects where they would tackle conceptual design,
demolition, framing, and plumbing. Moreover, since consumer publications rely heavily on advertising,
the research also needs to identify how many advertisers want to reach such a market. Lastly, the report
should indicate how well or poorly this market is currently being served by other publications (students
will need to make up this information).
The funding request portion of the report needs to make a strong case for pursuing the additional research,
based on preliminary indications of the size of the market, the number of advertisers involved, and the
competition.

12-50. Message Strategies: Proposals
Students may need to use their imaginations to put themselves in the shoes of traveling sales reps in order
to craft realistic answers to the three questions. They should also be sure to do some research on current
tablet options, including models that have detachable physical keyboards and those with flips screens
designed for “table top” presentations. For the third question on software, perusing business app
selections on the iTunes or Google Play app stores will provide the information they need.
Students will need to make up some of the data for this case, but they should be able to leverage a lot of
insights from the publicly available information on the product they’ve chosen—its key features and
benefits, typical selling price, competitors, ancillary services offered by the manufacturer, and so on.
Below is a completed solution to this case. This email proposal will go to the landlord, who is surely as
frustrated as the tenant, so students can assume the reader is interested. The purpose of the message is to
inform the reader of areas that need improvement or change, and the benefits of making these changes.
Naturally, the value of the suggestions made would be best highlighted by what benefits they offer the
landlord. These remarks should be stated as positively as possible, emphasizing what needs changing and
how these changes will benefit everyone, rather than focusing on fellow tenants’ poor behavior or the
landlord’s current inability to provide a more pleasant living space.
To: roger.greenberg@gmail.com
From: h.lockie@uchicago.edu
Subject: Reducing Repair Costs and Improving the Quality of Life at Cedarwood
Dear Mr. Greenberg:
The living conditions at Cedarwood Apartments have undergone a noticeable decline in recent months.
Residents often litter the common areas and spill food and beverages there; at times they damage common
property and even their own apartments. For instance, the tenants who recently vacated apartment B-15
damaged the passage walls while moving their furniture.
This obviously adds to your maintenance costs, as well as makes the property unattractive to potential
tenants.
One long-term solution to these problems is to foster a sense of shared ownership and community among
residents in the building. I believe this can be done by converting the little-used storage area in the
basement into a small community center.

With some modest investment—repainting the storage room, constructing a kitchen with basic utilities,
and providing a large-screen television, informal seating arrangements, and indoor games—this space can
be turned into an attractive community room for residents. After the initial investment, the maintenance
cost can be kept fairly low.
A community room can be used in various ways. For instance, you could:
 Build a sense of ownership by encouraging residents to give their feedback on what they would
like most in the common room.
 Encourage residents to use the common room by making it available to them for free.
 Motivate artistic residents to showcase their talents in this space.
 Host common events such as Super Bowl parties, potluck dinners, and other group events where
residents can socialize with each other.
 Help residents to organize birthdays, anniversaries, New Year’s Day, Christmas, and other
common celebrations in the community room.
Not only will the residents enjoy having a common space to relax in, but also get to know each other well.
This, in turn, would change their impersonal attitude toward Cedarwood Apartments, leading to greater
shared concern toward the building.
While I cannot offer researched evidence of the benefits of creating a community center, I have a strong
conviction that this initial investment will give you long-term returns. You would benefit by having:
 Fewer instances of vandalism

 Lower maintenance costs
 Happier residents
 An added feature to entice future tenants
 Positive reviews and opinions about your housing facilities
Given the increasing availability of rented apartments in this neighborhood, having a community room
will give your property an edge over other apartments. If you have any questions regarding this proposal,
please call me at (773) 555-7712.
Sincerely,
Heather Lockie
D-21, Cedarwood Apartments
Students will have two key challenges here, understanding what services local businesses would be
willing to pay for and how to adapt their skills and interests to those needs. In particular, look for how
specific each team’s proposal is. For example, “Helping your customers install the wireless security
products you sell” is more compelling than “Performing customer service tasks.”

ASSISTED GRADING QUESTIONS (accessed in MyLab Business Communication)
12-54. Visit MyLab Business Communication for suggested answers. [LO-2] AACSB: Information
technology
12-55. Visit MyLab Business Communication for suggested answers. [LO-7] AACSB: Analytical
thinking

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12: Planning Reports and Proposals 12-1

Part 4: Preparing Reports and Presentations

Chapter 12: Planning Reports and Proposals

Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

Planning Informational Reports

Section 1: Applying the Three-Step Writing Process to Reports and Proposals

Reports fall into three basic categories:

 Informational reports—offering information but no analysis or recommendation

Analyzing the Situation

Your statement of purpose

A formal work plan might include the following:

 Statement of the problem or opportunity

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Discussion of tasks to be accomplished

Selecting the Best Combination of Media and Channels

Organizing Your Information

 Force you to really think through the content

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

Section 2: Supporting Your Messages with Reliable Information

Save time and get better results by using a clear process:

Planning Your Research

Conducting research with poor planning

To plan your research effectively

Your research tactics affect several parties:

 The people from whom you gather data and information

To avoid ethical lapses, follow these guidelines:

 Don’t force a specific outcome by skewing your research.

Following research etiquette requires you to

 Respect the time of anyone who agrees to be interviewed or to be a research participant

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

Locating Data and Information

 Reading industry publications

Secondary research consists of research previously conducted for another purpose.

 Does the source have a reputation for honesty and reliability?

Using Your Research Results

You can use research results in one or more ways:

 Analyzing numeric data

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Use direct quotations when

 The original language will enhance your argument

Paraphrasing helps you

 Maintain consistent tone

To paraphrase effectively and ethically

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

All three methods require careful attention to ethics:

Drawing conclusions: a conclusion is a logical interpretation of the facts in your report

Making recommendations: Whereas a conclusion interprets the facts, a recommendation suggests

 Must be based on logical analysis and sound conclusions

Section 3: Conducting Secondary Research

Finding Information at a Library

 Trade journals provide information about specific professions and industries.

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

Finding Information Online

Roughly speaking, online research tools fall into two categories:

 Those you can use to actively search for existing information

As powerful as they are, search engines have three disadvantages:

 Subscribing to newsfeeds from blogs and websites

To make the best use of any search tool:

 Think before you search.

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Try variations of your terms.

Documenting Your Sources

Documenting your secondary research