TOPIC: BUSINESS REPORT

Submitted By: 1. Munem Shahriyar 2. Md. Mohasin Sarder 3. Uzzol Sarkar 4. Md. Fahim Hasan Ibn-e Khair 5. A.S.M. Lutful Niaz (ID: 3-11-20-016) (ID: 3-11-20-022) (ID: 3-11-20-063) (ID: 3-11-20-054) (ID: 3-09-15-035)

Submitted To: Prof. Dr. Pradanendu Bikash Chakma Dept. of Management Studies University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: August 7, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Business Report: Definition ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Classification of Business Reports............................................................................................................................... 2 Brief Description of Various Kinds of Reports ..................................................................................................... 3 Steps to prepare Business Report ............................................................................................................................... 4 Features of Good Report ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Three Step Writing Process ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Steps to plan Business Message .................................................................................................................................... 8 Writing ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Composing Message........................................................................................................................................................... 16 Completing the report ...................................................................................................................................................... 19 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

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BUSINESS REPORT: DEFINITION

The purpose of a business report is to communicate information to assist in the business decision making process. Some reports might propose solutions for business problems or might present relevant information to assist in the problem solving process.

CLASSIFICATION OF BUSINESS REPORTS

The following are the two bases of classifying the reports According to function, and According to formality

According to functions the reports may be divided into three parts: Informational reports. Analytical reports Research reports

According to formality the reports may be divided into two parts: Statutory reports Non statutory or voluntary reports

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS KINDS OF REPORTS

Informational reports: These reports present facts about certain given activity in detail without any note or suggestions. Whatever is gathered is reported without giving any thing by way of either explanation or any suggestion. Analytical reports: These reports contain facts along with analytical explanations offered by the reporter himself or may be asked for by the one who is seeking the report. Such reports contain the narration of facts, collected data and information, classified and tabulated data and also explanatory note followed by the conclusions arrived at or interpretations. Research reports: These reports are based on some research work conducted by either an individual or a group of individuals on a given problem Statutory reports: These reports are to be presented according to the requirements of a particular law or a rule or a custom now has become a rule. The auditor reports to company registrar has to be submitted as per the requirements of country legal requirement. Non statutory reports: These reports are not in the nature of legal requirements or rules wants, therefore, the reports are to be prepared and submitted. These reports are required to be prepared and submitted: (i) for the administrative and other conveniences,(ii) for taking decision in a matter (iii) for policy formulations, (iv) for projecting the future

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STEPS TO PREPARE BUSINESS REPORT

In general when writing business reports the following steps have to be followed: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Preparing to write the business report Determining the scope of the report Understanding the target audience Research to collect supporting information Formatting and organizing the report

1. Preparing to write the business report Preparation is the key to write a business report. As part of preparation, doing preparatory research is imperative. The author uses available technology to find valid information using the following steps: 1. Identifying good search tools 2. Doing a topic search to speed up the process 3. Searching using Boolean operators, wild cards, exact phrases Then, the writer must manage the outcome of the research. The best ways to manage sources found online are to: 1. Bookmark the pages 2. Repeating the research frequently to find updated information 3. Establish the credibility of all the sources (Are they current? Who published them? Are they biased?) After having found the best sources during this preliminary research, the author can now begin to think about whom to write it. 2. Determining the scope of the report In this step the author has to determine the scope of the report. This process would involve what topics would be covered in the report and what elements are not necessary. This step would also help to determine how detailed the report would be. 3. Understanding the target audience A target audience, or target group, is the primary group of people that something is aimed at appealing to. A target audience can be people of a certain age group, gender, marital status, etc. (ex: teenagers, females, single people, etc.) Other groups, although not the main focus, may also be interested. Discovering the appropriate target market(s) to market a product or service to is one of the most important stages involved with market research. Without knowing the target audience, a company's advertising and the selling efforts can become difficult and very expensive. In this step the potential requirements of the readers have to be considered and the target audience has to be identified. Questions such as who will use the report, educational level of the audience,

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knowledge level of the reader, what is the reader expecting from this report, personal demographics of the audience, what should be the level of technical complexity? 4. Collecting information for the report In this step all previous reports, surveys and publications about the topic should be studied. A lot of reports would require some form of Data collection. Many times Investigative research might be needed. It is important that the process and methods used for research are explained. Data which is collected during this process should be presented clearly in the report. Recommendations and proposed solutions have to be studied and reviewed in this process. 5. Formatting and organizing the report This is usually the final step before actually writing a business report. In this step the format of the report has to be decided.

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FEATURES OF GOOD REPORT

These are certain essential features good report writing:1. Issue in perspective The first essential for any good report is to bring out the issue in its proper perspective emphasizing the pros and cons. Be it a progress report; a survey report, an analytical report or an enquiry report; the subject should be presented in an unbiased and objective manner. Both the positive and negative aspects of the issues studied should be covered in the report. 2. Authoritative facts and figures The report writer should ensure that the facts and figures quoted in the report are authentic and reliable. The data quoted in the report is likely to be made use of by several other individuals and agencies. When the data quoted is taken from secondary sources, care should be taken to see that the sources are reliable and cross-verified. 3. Maintain a judicial approach The report writer should keep to measurable facts and verifiable details. Impressionistic statements and inaccuracies will have to be avoided. A good report calls for an effective assessment based on authentic facts and figures. Human errors, biases and any kind of selective reporting have no place in report writing. Good reports are those where the report writer maintains non-partisan attitude. 4. In-depth analysis Any report that does not go into the details of the subject studied may turn out to be peripheral requiring additional information. The reporting authority or the report writer, as the case may be, should make it a point to meticulously go about collecting all related information for inclusion in the report. 5. Alternative viewpoints The purpose of a report is to get the facts in proper perspective. There should be an intention to get the inputs or views from different persons who are in a position to throw light on the subject or incident under study. Although the final recommendations may be based on a consensus or majority view, the fact that some other views were also expressed during the course of deliberations or enquiries should also be mentioned. 6. Appropriate annexure Most reports contain relevant annexure, which cover additional information which is pertinent to the matter dealt within the-body of the report. Such annexure normally include charts, graphs, relevant statistics, and questionnaires and so on. Care should be taken to ensure that any such charts, maps and tables are relevant to the matter under study and enhance understanding.

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THREE STEP WRITING PROCESS

We can reduce the time and energy it takes to achieve Effective Communication by following a clear and proven three-step process:

FIGURE: THE THREE STEP WRITING PROCESS

Planning business messages To plan any message, we have to first analyze the situation by defining our purpose and developing a profile of our audience. With that in mind, we can gather information that will meet our audiences needs. Next, we have to select the right medium (oral, written, or electronic) to deliver our message. Writing business messages Once weve planned our message, we have to adapt to our audience with sensitivity, relationship skills, and style. Then we are ready to compose our message by choosing strong words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs. Completing business messages After writing our first draft, we will have to revise our message to make sure it is clear, concise, and correct. Next produce our message, giving it an attractive, professional appearance. Proofread the final product for typos, spelling errors, and other mechanical problems. Finally, distribute your message using the best combination of personal and technological tools.

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STEPS TO PLAN BUSINESS MESSAGE

Analyzing Situation A successful message starts with a clear purpose that connects the senders needs with the audiences needs. Identifying your purpose and your audience is usually a straightforward task for simple, routine messages; however, this task can be more demanding in more complex situations. If we launch directly into writing without clarifying both our purpose and our audience, well waste time and energy, and well probably generate a less effective message. Defining Purpose All business messages have a general purpose: to inform, to persuade, or to collaborate with our audience. This purpose helps define the overall approach youll need to take, from gathering information to organizing our message. We should state our specific purpose as precisely as possible, even identifying which audience members should respond, how they should respond, and when. We should ask these four questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Will anything change as a result of our message? Is your purpose realistic? Is the time right? Is your purpose acceptable to your organization?

Developing an Audience Profile Before an audience takes the time to read or hear our message, they need to be interested in what were saying. They need to see whats in it for themwhich of their needs will be met or problems will be solved by listening to our advice or doing what you ask. The more you know about your audience, their needs, and their expectations, the more effectively well be able to communicate with them. Conduct an audience analysis: Identify our primary audience Determine audience size and geographic distribution Determine audience composition Gauge audience members level of understanding Understand audience expectations and preferences

Gathering Information With a clear picture of our audience, our next step is to assemble the information that we will include in our message. Consider other viewpoints. Read reports and other company documents. Talk with supervisors, colleagues, or customers. Ask your audience for input.

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Uncovering Audience Needs In many situations, your audiences information needs are readily apparent, such as whena consumer sends an e-mail asking a specific question. In other cases, your audience might be unable to articulate exactly what is needed. Providing Required Information Once weve defined our audiences information needs, our next step is to satisfy those needs completely. Use the journalistic approach to make sure our information answers who, what, when, where, why, and how. In addition to delivering the right quantity of required information, we are responsible for verifying the quality of that information. We should ask our self these three questions: 1. Is the information accurate? 2. Is the information ethical? 3. Is the information pertinent?

Selecting the Right Medium Selecting the best medium for your message can make the difference between effective and ineffective communication. For the sake of discussion, we can think of media as traditionally being either oral or written, and electronic media extend the reach of both. Each type of medium has advantages and disadvantages. Oral Media Primary oral media include face-to-face conversations, interviews, speeches, in-person presentations, and meetings. Being able to see, hear, and react to each other can benefit communicators, giving oral media several advantages: They provide immediate feedback. They allow a certain ease of interaction. They involve rich nonverbal cues (both physical gestures and vocal inflections). They help you express the emotion behind your message.

Oral media can have several disadvantages: They restrict participation to those physically present. Unless recorded, they provide no permanent, verifiable record of the communication. They can reduce the communicators control over the message, if people interrupt or ask unanticipated questions. They often rule out the chance to revise or edit your spoken words.

Written Media Written messages take many forms, from traditional memos to glossy reports that rival magazines in production quality.

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Written media have a number of advantages over oral media: They allow you to plan and control your message. They offer a permanent, verifiable record. They help you reach an audience that is geographically dispersed. They minimize the distortion that can accompany oral messages. They can be used to avoid immediate interactions, including emotional confrontations when communicating controversial messages.

Disadvantages of written media include the following: Many are not conducive to speedy feedback. They lack the rich nonverbal cues provided by oral media. They often take more time and more resources to create and distribute. Elaborate printed documents can require special skills in preparation and production.

Electronic Media Electronic media span a diverse and expanding range of technologies, from e-mail and IM to blogs and podcasts. The growth of electronic communication options is both a blessing and a curse. You have more tools than ever to choose from, but you need to choose the right tools for each message. Telephone calls are still the lifeblood of many organizations, for both internal and external communication Voice mail can replace short memos and phone calls when an immediate response isnt crucial. Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and online meetings are best for informational meetings DVDs (and to a declining extent, videotapes) are effective for sending audiovisual messages to a large number of people Electronic documents include both word processor files and Adobes widely popular Portable Document Format (PDF). Faxes have been replaced by e-mail and PDF files in many cases, but they still play an important role in many. E-mail offers speed, low cost, portability, and convenience. Its best for brief, noncomplex information that is time sensitive. Instant messaging (IM) allows real-time, one-on-one and small-group text conversations via personal computer Websites and blogs have become vital communication platforms for many businesses. Podcasts are one of the newest and most exciting media choices for business communicators.

Advantages of Electronic Messages are: They deliver messages with great speed. They reach audiences physically separated from you. They reach a dispersed audience personally. They offer the persuasive power of multimedia formats. They can increase accessibility and openness in an organization.

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Disadvantages of Electronic Messages are: They can inadvertently create tension and conflict. They are easy to overuse. They expose companies to data security threats and malicious software. They often lack privacy. They can seriously drain employee productivity.

FIGURE: CHOOSING THE MOST APPROPRIATE MEDIUM

Organizing Message Misinterpreted messages waste time, lead to poor decision making, and shatter business relationships. So we can see how valuable clear writing and good organization can be. Successful communicators rely on good organization to make their messages meaningful. What does good organization do for us? First and foremost, it saves you time. In addition, we can use our organizational plan to get some advance input from our audience, making sure were on the right track before spending hours working on our draft. In addition to helping us, good organization helps our audience: Good organization helps your audience understand your message Good organization helps your audience accept your message Good organization saves your audience time

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Defining Main Idea The broad subject, or topic, of every business message is condensed to one idea, whether its soliciting the executive committee for a larger budget or apologizing to a client for an incident of poor customer service. Your entire message supports, explains, or demonstrates your main ideaa specific statement about the topic of your message. Consider a variety of techniques to generate creative ideas: Brainstorming Journalistic approach Question-and-answer chain Storytellers tour

The scope of our message is the range of information we present, the overall length, and the level of detailall of which need to correspond to our main idea After youve defined our ideas, were ready to decide on the sequence you will use to present your points. We have two basic options: Direct approach (deductive): When we know our audience will be receptive to our message, start with the main idea (such as a recommendation, a conclusion, or a request), and follow that with our supporting evidence. Indirect approach (inductive): When our audience will be skeptical about or even resistant to our message, start with the evidence first and build our case before presenting the main idea.

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WRITING
Adapting to Audience We must adapt our message to our audience, try to be sensitive to our audiences needs, build a strong relationship with our audience, and control our style to maintain a professional tone. Being Sensitive to Audiences Needs In any business message, we can use all the right words and still not be sensitive to our audience and their needs. To demonstrate true audience sensitivity, adopt the you attitude, maintain good standards of etiquette, emphasize the positive, and use bias-free language. Using the You Attitude On the simplest level, we can adopt the you attitude by replacing terms that refer to our self and our company with terms that refer to your audience. In other words, use you and yours instead of me, mine, us, us, and ours: Maintaining Standards of Etiquette Good etiquette is not only a way to show respect for your audience, it also helps foster a more successful environment for communication by minimizing negative emotional reaction: Of course, some situations require more diplomacy than others. If we know our audience well, a less formal approach might be more appropriate. However, when we are communicating with people who outrank us or with people outside our organization, an added measure of courtesy is usually needed. Emphasizing the Positive Sensitive communicators understand the difference between delivering negative news and being negative. We must Never try to hide the negative news, but look for positive points that will foster a good relationship with our audience. Using Bias-Free Language Bias-free language avoids words and phrases that unfairly and even unethically categorize or stigmatize people in ways related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability. Bias can come in a variety of forms: Gender bias Racial and ethnic bias Age bias Disability bias

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Establishing Credibility Our audiences response to every message we send depends heavily on their perception of our credibility, a measure of your believability based on how reliable we are and how much trust we evoke in others. Whether were working to build credibility with a new audience, to maintain credibility with an existing audienceor to restore credibility after a mistakeemphasize the following: Honesty Objectivity Awareness of audience needs. Credentials, knowledge, and expertise Endorsements Performance Confidence Communication style Sincerity

Projecting the Companys Image When we communicate with outsiders, on even the most routine matter, we serve as the spokesperson for your organization. The impression you make can enhance or damage the reputation of the entire company. Thus, our own views and personality must be subordinated, at least to some extent, to the interests and style of our company. Controlling Style and Tone Style is the way we use words to achieve a certain tone, or overall impression. We can vary our style our sentence structure and vocabularyto sound forceful or objective, personal or formal, colorful or dry. The right choice depends on the nature of your message and our relationship with the reader. Using a Conversational Tone The tone of our business messages can range from informal to conversational to formal. If were in a large organization and were communicating with your superiors or with customers, our tone would tend to be more formal and respectful. However, that formal tone might sound distant and cold if used with close colleagues. We can achieve a conversational tone in our messages by following these guidelines: Avoid obsolete and pompous language Avoid preaching and bragging Be careful with intimacy Be careful with humor

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Using Plain English Plain English is a way of presenting information in a simple, unadorned style so that our audience can easily grasp our meaninglanguage that the intended audience can read, understand and act upon the first time they read it.

Selecting Active or Passive Voice Our choice of active or passive voice also affects the tone of our message. We are using active voice when the subject performs the action, and the object receives the action: John rented the office. Were using passive voice when the subject receives the action: The office was rented by John. As you can see, the passive voice combines the helping verb to be with a form of the verb that is usually similar to the past tense. Using the passive voice can help you demonstrate the you attitude in some situations: When you want to be diplomatic about pointing out a problem or error of some kind When you want to point out whats being done without taking or attributing either the credit or the blame When you want to avoid personal pronouns (I and we) in order to create an objective tone

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COMPOSING MESSAGE
With these insights into how you can adapt to our audience, were ready to begin com-posing your message. As you compose your first draft, try to let your creativity flow. Dont try to draft and edit at the same time or worry about getting everything perfect. Make upwards if you cant think of the right word, draw pictures, talk out louddo whatever it takes to get the ideas out of your head and onto your computer screen or a piece of paper. Youll have time to revise and refine the material later. The most successful messages have three important elements: strong words, effective sentences, and coherent paragraphs. Choosing Strong Words Effective messages depend on carefully chosen words, whether we select them during our first draft or edit them in later. First, we have to pay close attention to correctness. If we make grammatical or usage errors, we lose credibility with our audienceeven if your message is otherwise correct. Poor grammar implies that youre uninformed, and audiences put less faith in an uninformed source. Worse still, poor grammar can imply that you dont respect your audience enough to get things right. If you have doubts about what is correct, look up the answer, and use the proper form of expression. Balancing Abstract and Concrete Words Words vary dramatically in the degree of abstraction or concreteness they convey. An abstract word expresses a concept, quality, or characteristic. Abstractions are usually broad, encompassing a category of ideas, and they are often intellectual, academic, or philosophical. Love, honor, progress, tradition, and beauty are abstractions, as are such important business concepts as productivity, profits, quality, and motivation. In contrast, a concrete word stands for something you can touch, see, or visualize. Most concrete terms are anchored in the tangible, material world. Chair, table, horse, rose, kick, kiss, red, green, and two are concrete words; they are direct, clear, and exact. Incidentally, technology continues to generate new words and new meanings that describe things that dont have a physical presence but are nonetheless concrete: software, database, signal, and code are all concrete terms as well. Finding Words That Communicate When you compose your business messages, think carefully to find the words that communicate exactly what you want to say Choose powerful words Choose familiar words Avoid clichs and buzzwords Use jargon carefully

Creating Effective Sentences Making every sentence count is a key step in creating effective messages. Start by selecting the optimum type of sentence, and then arrange words to emphasize the most important point in each sentence.

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Choosing from the Four Types of Sentences Sentences come in four basic varieties: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. A simple sentence has one main clause (a single subject and a single predicate), although it may be expanded by nouns and pronouns serving as objects of the action and by modifying phrases. A compound sentence has two main clauses that express two or more independent but related thoughts of equal importance, usually joined by and, but, or .In effect, a compound sentence is a merger of two or more simple sentences (independent clauses) A complex sentence expresses one main thought (the independent clause) and oneor more subordinate thoughts (dependent clauses) related to it, often separated by a comma. The subordinate thought, which comes first in the following sentence, could not stand alone. A compound-complex sentence has two main clauses, at least one of which contains a subordinate clause: Profits have increased in the past year, and although you may question. Using Sentence Style to Emphasize Key Thoughts In every message, some ideas are more important than others. You can emphasize these key ideas through your sentence style. One obvious technique is to give important points the most space. Crafting Coherent Paragraphs Paragraphs organize sentences related to the same general topic. Readers expect each paragraph to focus on a single unit of thought and to be a logical link in an organized sequence of the thoughts that make up a complete message. Understanding the Elements of the Paragraph Paragraphs vary widely in length and form, but most contain three basic elements: a topic sentence, support sentences that develop the topic, and transitional words and phrases. Topic Sentence Every properly constructed paragraph is unified; it deals with a single topic. The sentence that introduces that topic is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence gives readers a summary of the general idea that will be covered in the rest of the paragraph. In business writing, the topic sentence is usually explicit and is often the first sentence in the paragraph. Transitional Elements In addition to being unified and well supported, effective paragraphs are coherent; that is, they are arranged in a logical order so that the audience can understand the train of thought. You achieve coherence by using transitions that show the relationship between paragraphs and among sentences within paragraphs. Transitions are words or phrases that tie ideas together by showing how one thought is related to another. You can establish transitions in a variety of ways: Use connecting words: and, but, or, nevertheless, however, in addition, and so on. Echo a word or phrase from a previous paragraph or sentence: A system should be established for monitoring inventory levels. This system will provide ... Use a pronoun that refers to a noun used previously: Ms. Arthur is the leading candidate for the presidents position. She has excellent qualifications.

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Use words that are frequently paired: The machine has a minimum output of . . . Its maximum output is . . .

Developing Paragraphs A paragraphs coherence strongly depends on how you develop it, and the best way to do that is to use a structure that is familiar to your readers, appropriate to the idea youre trying to portray, and suited to your purpose. Five of the most common development techniques are illustration, comparison or contrast, cause and effect, classification, and problem and solution. Using Technology to Compose and Shape Your Messages As with every phase of business communication, careful use of technology can help you compose and shape better messages in less time. Technology provides a wide range of tools to help writers compose documents: Style sheets and templates Auto completion Auto correction File merge and mail merge Endnotes, footnotes, indexes, and tables of contents Wizards

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COMPLETING THE REPORT

Moving Beyond First Draft The third step of the three-step writing process: completing our messages. Once weve completed the first draft of your message, we may be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, send the message on its way, and move on to the next project. Successful communicators recognize that the first draft is rarely as tight, clear, and compelling as it needs to be. Careful revision can mean the difference between a rambling, unfocused message and a lively, direct message that gets results. the third step of the three-step writing process: revising your message to achieve optimum quality, then producing, proofreading, and distributing it. Revising Message The nature of the revision task varies somewhat according to the medium youre using and the nature of your message. For informal messages to internal audiences, particularly when using instant messaging, text messaging, e-mail, or blogging, the revision process is often as simple as quickly looking over your message to correct any mistakes before sending or posting the message. With more complex messages, try to put your draft aside for a day or two before you begin the revision process so that you can approach the material with a fresh eye. Then start with the big picture, making sure that the document accomplishes your overall goals before moving to finer points such as readability, clarity, and conciseness. Once youre satisfied with the content, organization, styles, and tone of your message, make a second pass to look at its readability. Most professionals are inundated with more reading material than they can ever hope to consume, and theyll appreciate your efforts to make your documents easier to read. Youll benefit from this effort, too: If you earn a reputation for well-crafted documents that respect the audiences time, people will pay more attention to your work. Beyond shortening words and sentences, you can improve the readability of a message by making the document interesting and easy to skim. Most business audiencesparticularly influential senior managersskim most documents looking for key ideas, conclusions, and recommendations. Skimming also helps readers assess the worthiness of the document. If they determine that the document contains valuable information or requires a response, they will read it more carefully when time permits. Varying Sentence Length Variety is a creative way to make your messages interesting and readable. By choosing words and sentence structure with care, you can create a rhythm that emphasizes important points, enlivens your writing style, and makes your information appealing to your reader. Each sentence length has its advantages. Short sentences can be processed quickly and are easier for nonnative speakers and translators to interpret. Medium-length sentences are useful for showing the relationships among ideas. Long sentences are often the best way to convey complex ideas, list multiple related points, or summarize or preview information. Of course, each sentence length also has disadvantages. Too many short sentences in a row can make your writing choppy. Medium sentences lack the punch of short sentences and the Page 19

informative power of longer sentences. Meanwhile, long sentences are usually harder to understand than short sentences because they are packed with information and ideas. Because readers can absorb only a few words per glance, longer sentences are also more difficult to skim. Thus, the longer your sentence, the greater the possibility that the reader who skims it will not read enough words to process its full meaning. By choosing the best sentence length for each communication need and remembering to mix sentence lengths for variety, youll get your points across while keeping your messages lively and interesting. Keeping Paragraphs Short Large blocks of text can be visually daunting, so the optimum paragraph length is short to medium in most cases. Unless you break up your thoughts somehow, youll end up with lengthy paragraphs that are guaranteed to intimidate even the most dedicated reader. Using Lists and Bullets to Clarify and Emphasize An effective alternative to using conventional sentences is to set off important ideas in a lista series of words, names, or other items. Lists can show the sequence of your ideas, heighten their impact visually, and increase the likelihood that a reader will find your key points. Adding Headings and Subheadings A heading is a brief title that tells readers about the content of the section that follows. Subheadings are subordinate to headings, indicating subsections with a major section. Headings and subheadings serve these important functions: Organization Attention Connection

Headings fall into two categories. Descriptive headings Informative headings

Editing for Clarity and Conciseness Once youve reviewed and revised your message for readability, your next step is to make sure your message is as clear and as concise as possible. To ensure clarity, look closely at your paragraph organization, sentence structure, and word choices Using Technology to Revise Your Message When its time to revise and polish your message, your word processor can help you add, delete, and move text with functions such as cut and paste (taking a block of text out of one section of a document and pasting it in somewhere else) and search and replace (tracking down words or phrases and changing them if you need to).

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PRODUCING MESSAGE Now its time to put your hard work on display. The production quality of your messagethe total effect of page or screen design, graphical elements, typography, and so onplays an important role in the effectiveness of your message. A polished, inviting design not only makes your material easier to read but also conveys a sense of professionalism and importance. Naturally, the production task varies widely, depending on both the medium youve chosen and the degree of formality you need to achieve. In the simplest media, such as text messaging, you have virtually nothing to do. Moving up to instant messaging and e-mail, you can control a variety of aspects, such as type size and color Adding Graphics, Sound, Video, and Hypertext Todays word processors and other software tools make it easy to produce impressive documents and online materials that enliven your messages with full-color pictures, sound and video recordings, and hypertext links. The software for creating business visuals falls into two basic groups: presentation software, which helps you create electronic slide shows for in person or online meetings and graphics software, which ranges from basic tools that help you create simple business diagrams to the comprehensive tools preferred by artists and graphic designers. Designing for Readability Design affects readability in two important ways. First, if done carefully, design elements can improve the effectiveness of your message. If done poorly, design elements can act as barriers, blocking your communication Second, the visual design itself sends a nonverbal message to the audience, influencing their perceptions of the communication before they read a single word. Effective design helps you establish the tone of your document and helps guide your readers through your message. To achieve an effective design, pay careful attention to the following design elements: Consistency Balance Restraint Detail White Space

Margins and Justification Margins define the space around your text and between text columns. Theyre influenced by the way you place lines of type, which can be set (1) justified (flush on the left and flush on the right), (2) flush left with a ragged right margin, (3) flush right with a ragged left margin, or (4) centered. Typefaces Typeface or font refers to the physical design of letters, numbers, and other text characters. Typeface style influences the tone of your message, making it look authoritative or friendly, businesslike or casual, classic or modern, and so on. Be sure to choose fonts that are appropriate for Page 21

your message. Most computers offer dozens of font choices, but most of these are inappropriate for general business usage. Type Styles Type style refers to any modification that lends contrast or emphasis to type, including bold face, italic, underlining, and other highlighting and decorative styles. Using boldface type for subheads breaks up long expanses of text. You can also boldface isolated words in the middle of a text block to draw more attention to them. Using Technology to Produce Message The production tools youll have at your disposal vary widely, depending on the software and systems youre using. Some IM and e-mail systems offer limited formatting and production capabilities, whereas most word processors now offer some capabilities that rival professional publishing software for many day-to-day business needs. Desktop publishing software such as Quark XPress and Adobe InDesign goes beyond word processing with more advanced layout capabilities that are designed to accommodate photos, technical drawings, and other elements. (These programs are used mainly by design professionals.) For online content, web publishing systems make it easy to produce great-looking webpages quickly. Similarly, most blogging systems now simplify the production of blog content; making it easy to rapidly post new material. Multimedia production tools such as Microsoft Producer let you combine slides, audio commentary, video clips, and other features into computer-based presentations that once cost thousands of dollars to create. Paragraph formatting: Take advantage of the various paragraph formatting controls to enhance the look of your documents. For instance, you can offset quotations by increasing margin width around a single paragraph, subtly compress line spacing to fit a document on a single page, or use hanging indents to offset the first line of a paragraph. Numbered and bulleted lists: Let your word processor or online publishing system do the busywork of formatting numbered and bulleted lists, too. It can also automatically renumber lists when you add or remove items, saving you the embarrassment of miss-numbered lists. Tables: Tables are a great way to display any information that lends itself to rows and columns: calendars, numerical data, comparisons, and so on. PROOFREADING MESSAGE Think of proofreading as the quality inspection stage for your documents, as your last chance to make sure that your document is ready to carry your messageand your reputationto the intended audience. (Strictly speaking, proofreading is the process of inspecting a printed piece to make sure that all necessary corrections have been made, but you can benefit by approaching proofreading as an overall quality-assurance review.) Look for two types of problems: (1) undetected mistakes from the writing, design, and layout stages; and (2) mistakes that crept in during production

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Be particularly vigilant with complex documents and complex production processes that involve teams of people and multiple computers. Strange things can happen as files move from computer to computer, especially when lots of graphics and different fonts are involved. Use these techniques from professional proofreaders to help ensure high-quality output: Make multiple passes: Go through the document several times, focusing on a different aspect each time. The first pass may be to look for omissions and errors in content; the second pass may be to check for typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors; and a final pass could be for layout, spacing, alignment, colors, page numbers, margins, and other design features. Use perceptual tricks: Youve probably experienced the frustration of reading over something a dozen times and still missing an obvious error that was staring you right in the face. This happens because your brain has developed a wonderful skill of subconsciously supplying missing pieces and correcting mistakes when it knows what is supposed to be on the page. To keep your brain from tricking you, you need to trick it by changing the way you process the visual information. Try (1) reading each page backward, from the bottom to the top; (2) placing your finger under each word and reading it silently; (3) making a slit in a sheet of paper that reveals only one line of type at a time; and (4) reading the document aloud and pronouncing each word carefully. Double-check high-priority items: Double-check the spelling of names and the accuracy of dates, addresses, and any number that could cause grief if incorrect (such as telling a potential employer that youd be happy to work for $5,000 a year when you meant to say $50,000). Give yourself some distance: If possible, dont proofread immediately after finishing the document; let your brain wanders off to new topics, then come back fresh later on. Be vigilant: Avoid reading large amounts of material in one sitting, and try not to proofread when youre tired. Stay focused: Concentrate on what youre doing. Try to block out distractions, and focus as completely as possible on your proofreading task.

DISTRIBUTING MESSAGE With the production finished, youre ready to distribute the message. As with every other aspect of business communication, your options for distribution multiply with every advance in technology. In some cases, the choice is obvious: just hit the Send button in your e-mail program, and your message is on its way. In other cases, such as when you have a 100-page report with full-color graphics or a multimedia presentation that is too big to e-mail, youll need to plan the distribution carefully so that your message is received by everyone who needs it and only those who need it. When planning your distribution, consider the following: Cost Convenience Time Security and privacy

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CONCLUSION
As the business environment grows in its complexity, the importance of skillful communication becomes essential in the pursuit of institutional goals. In addition to the need to develop adequate business skills, everybody will find it necessary to effectively communicate to others the results of various studies. It is of little use to formulate solutions to business problems without transmitting this information to others involved in the problem-solving process. The importance of effectively communicating the results of a study cannot be overemphasized. So, systematic and well written business reports can help boost up an organization beyond the limits.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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