Exam 8: Informal Reports

Feasibility reports attempt to evaluate a proposed plan of action to determine how workable or practical it is.

TrailPro Sports You work in the marketing division of TrailPro Sports, a local manufacturer of cross-country ski equipment. Part of your job as a marketing specialist involves preparing reports of various kinds. The following are some of the reports that you need to prepare in the next few weeks: I. You must compose a routine monthly report providing management with the latest production and sales figures for all the products the company manufactures. II. Your division manager asked you yesterday to prepare a report presenting the company's current inventory for each ski model TrailPro produces, which should include anticipated production by Dec. 1 as well as sales figures for each model for the last five years. The report should include your analysis of these figures and your recommendations for production schedules and quotas to ensure that there will be sufficient quantities in stock to meet anticipated orders. He has scheduled an appointment with you for next week to discuss the report in more detail, but you want to start thinking about it, collecting information, and making a tentative plan immediately. III. You have been asked to conduct a survey of the company's customers to help determine whether a new-model ski pole would likely sell well at the projected wholesale price. You have been given some samples of the ski pole to distribute to interested customers. The report will include your conclusions about whether or not the company should proceed with production of the ski pole. IV. Your spouse has just been transferred and you are moving to another city. You would like to continue to work for TrailPro Sports, since you believe you can continue to perform all of your required job functions capably by telecommuting. You will need to write a report for senior management proposing this arrangement and asking for approval. V. You come up with an idea for improvements to the design of a ski binding manufactured by TrailPro. You believe that your suggestions are practical and cost-effective and you want to present your design changes to your boss. However, your boss feels that the company should be spending more time and money marketing existing products and less on designing and improving existing ones. -What does the text recommend you should do in the beginning of a progress report?

TrailPro Sports You work in the marketing division of TrailPro Sports, a local manufacturer of cross-country ski equipment. Part of your job as a marketing specialist involves preparing reports of various kinds. The following are some of the reports that you need to prepare in the next few weeks: I. You must compose a routine monthly report providing management with the latest production and sales figures for all the products the company manufactures. II. Your division manager asked you yesterday to prepare a report presenting the company's current inventory for each ski model TrailPro produces, which should include anticipated production by Dec. 1 as well as sales figures for each model for the last five years. The report should include your analysis of these figures and your recommendations for production schedules and quotas to ensure that there will be sufficient quantities in stock to meet anticipated orders. He has scheduled an appointment with you for next week to discuss the report in more detail, but you want to start thinking about it, collecting information, and making a tentative plan immediately. III. You have been asked to conduct a survey of the company's customers to help determine whether a new-model ski pole would likely sell well at the projected wholesale price. You have been given some samples of the ski pole to distribute to interested customers. The report will include your conclusions about whether or not the company should proceed with production of the ski pole. IV. Your spouse has just been transferred and you are moving to another city. You would like to continue to work for TrailPro Sports, since you believe you can continue to perform all of your required job functions capably by telecommuting. You will need to write a report for senior management proposing this arrangement and asking for approval. V. You come up with an idea for improvements to the design of a ski binding manufactured by TrailPro. You believe that your suggestions are practical and cost-effective and you want to present your design changes to your boss. However, your boss feels that the company should be spending more time and money marketing existing products and less on designing and improving existing ones. -You come up with an idea for a new ski binding that you want to submit to your boss, who feels that the company should be concentrating on marketing existing products, not developing new ones. How should you organize your report proposing modifications to the design of the ski binding?

TrailPro Sports You work in the marketing division of TrailPro Sports, a local manufacturer of cross-country ski equipment. Part of your job as a marketing specialist involves preparing reports of various kinds. The following are some of the reports that you need to prepare in the next few weeks: I. You must compose a routine monthly report providing management with the latest production and sales figures for all the products the company manufactures. II. Your division manager asked you yesterday to prepare a report presenting the company's current inventory for each ski model TrailPro produces, which should include anticipated production by Dec. 1 as well as sales figures for each model for the last five years. The report should include your analysis of these figures and your recommendations for production schedules and quotas to ensure that there will be sufficient quantities in stock to meet anticipated orders. He has scheduled an appointment with you for next week to discuss the report in more detail, but you want to start thinking about it, collecting information, and making a tentative plan immediately. III. You have been asked to conduct a survey of the company's customers to help determine whether a new-model ski pole would likely sell well at the projected wholesale price. You have been given some samples of the ski pole to distribute to interested customers. The report will include your conclusions about whether or not the company should proceed with production of the ski pole. IV. Your spouse has just been transferred and you are moving to another city. You would like to continue to work for TrailPro Sports, since you believe you can continue to perform all of your required job functions capably by telecommuting. You will need to write a report for senior management proposing this arrangement and asking for approval. V. You come up with an idea for improvements to the design of a ski binding manufactured by TrailPro. You believe that your suggestions are practical and cost-effective and you want to present your design changes to your boss. However, your boss feels that the company should be spending more time and money marketing existing products and less on designing and improving existing ones. -What should you do first when you begin to write the report?

Although reports may differ in many ways, they share a common purpose: to solve business problems.

TrailPro Sports You work in the marketing division of TrailPro Sports, a local manufacturer of cross-country ski equipment. Part of your job as a marketing specialist involves preparing reports of various kinds. The following are some of the reports that you need to prepare in the next few weeks: I. You must compose a routine monthly report providing management with the latest production and sales figures for all the products the company manufactures. II. Your division manager asked you yesterday to prepare a report presenting the company's current inventory for each ski model TrailPro produces, which should include anticipated production by Dec. 1 as well as sales figures for each model for the last five years. The report should include your analysis of these figures and your recommendations for production schedules and quotas to ensure that there will be sufficient quantities in stock to meet anticipated orders. He has scheduled an appointment with you for next week to discuss the report in more detail, but you want to start thinking about it, collecting information, and making a tentative plan immediately. III. You have been asked to conduct a survey of the company's customers to help determine whether a new-model ski pole would likely sell well at the projected wholesale price. You have been given some samples of the ski pole to distribute to interested customers. The report will include your conclusions about whether or not the company should proceed with production of the ski pole. IV. Your spouse has just been transferred and you are moving to another city. You would like to continue to work for TrailPro Sports, since you believe you can continue to perform all of your required job functions capably by telecommuting. You will need to write a report for senior management proposing this arrangement and asking for approval. V. You come up with an idea for improvements to the design of a ski binding manufactured by TrailPro. You believe that your suggestions are practical and cost-effective and you want to present your design changes to your boss. However, your boss feels that the company should be spending more time and money marketing existing products and less on designing and improving existing ones. -You need to prepare several different kinds of reports in your position with TrailPro Sports. For which report would you use an informal report-writing style?

Progress reports help a company decide whether it should proceed with a plan of action.

The headings of a report should be constructed using balanced words or phrases.

TrailPro Sports You work in the marketing division of TrailPro Sports, a local manufacturer of cross-country ski equipment. Part of your job as a marketing specialist involves preparing reports of various kinds. The following are some of the reports that you need to prepare in the next few weeks: I. You must compose a routine monthly report providing management with the latest production and sales figures for all the products the company manufactures. II. Your division manager asked you yesterday to prepare a report presenting the company's current inventory for each ski model TrailPro produces, which should include anticipated production by Dec. 1 as well as sales figures for each model for the last five years. The report should include your analysis of these figures and your recommendations for production schedules and quotas to ensure that there will be sufficient quantities in stock to meet anticipated orders. He has scheduled an appointment with you for next week to discuss the report in more detail, but you want to start thinking about it, collecting information, and making a tentative plan immediately. III. You have been asked to conduct a survey of the company's customers to help determine whether a new-model ski pole would likely sell well at the projected wholesale price. You have been given some samples of the ski pole to distribute to interested customers. The report will include your conclusions about whether or not the company should proceed with production of the ski pole. IV. Your spouse has just been transferred and you are moving to another city. You would like to continue to work for TrailPro Sports, since you believe you can continue to perform all of your required job functions capably by telecommuting. You will need to write a report for senior management proposing this arrangement and asking for approval. V. You come up with an idea for improvements to the design of a ski binding manufactured by TrailPro. You believe that your suggestions are practical and cost-effective and you want to present your design changes to your boss. However, your boss feels that the company should be spending more time and money marketing existing products and less on designing and improving existing ones. -How will your report for your boss about the trade show you attended differ from your proposal asking to be allowed to work from a different city?

The text recommends using a manuscript format for reports because digital formats are too informal for the workplace.