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Any advice and tips when it comes to doing business reports? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dane Red
- Start date
There are a number of tips to consider with respect to Business Studies reports that can be explained under two main sections, as follows.
Structure:
Reports need to be structured well because a good structure can assist you in presenting your points more clearly and contributes to the overall quality of a report. A report typically includes three main parts, being:
1. Executive summary
2. Heading
Of course, depending on the specific report question, you may need to incorporate multiple headings/subheadings into your response.
Process of completing a report:
Developing your response constitutes a fairly straightforward process, involving these steps:
Structure:
Reports need to be structured well because a good structure can assist you in presenting your points more clearly and contributes to the overall quality of a report. A report typically includes three main parts, being:
- An executive summary - This should clearly state the purpose of your report while making reference to the particular scenario and the question.
- A body - This is comprised of multiple paragraphs that thoroughly explain your main points based on the syllabus and the connection that they have with the scenario and the question. A body paragraph usually features:
- A sentence introducing a particular concept that will be covered.
- A definition of this concept.
- An explanation as to its significance/relevance to the scenario and question.
- A linking sentence that sums the paragraphs and establishes a link to the question.
- A summary/conclusion - This should briefly summarise the scenario as well as the main points/recommendations covered throughout the report.
1. Executive summary
2. Heading
2.1 Subheading
2.2 Subheading
2.3 Recommendation (where appropriate)
3. ConclusionOf course, depending on the specific report question, you may need to incorporate multiple headings/subheadings into your response.
Process of completing a report:
Developing your response constitutes a fairly straightforward process, involving these steps:
- Reading the scenario while underlining/highlighting important information. This will assist you in adjusting your focus as you get to the question(s).
- Carefully read and understand the requirements of the question(s). Not only does this mean that you should identify the appropriate syllabus dot point(s) to be covered in response to a question, but you should also be aware of the differences between NESA key words. For example, a "Describe" question involves providing characteristics/features of a particular concept, whereas a "Discuss" question involves highlighting points for and/or against a particular concept. Once you have understood the questions, you can then start planning your main points.
- Once you know the concepts that you will cover in your report, you can start writing your report, while ensuring that you adhere to a clear structure.
A decent introduction. You could probably add a sentence at the very start such as this: "JRW Pty Ltd is a successful children drinks manufacturer that has recently faced decreasing sales and profits due to customer demands for healthier products and a proposed sugar tax on children drinks by the government."
Avoid "&" and instead, write "and".
It would be good to mention the type of influence in order to be as consistent with the syllabus as possible. You mentioned government, in which case a sugar tax is a legal influence, and changing customer preferences, being a social influence.
Decent argument as to the external influences. A suggestion would be to cover each influence under its own subheading in order to enhance the structure of your report.
"Declination" is not a word, the word that you are looking for is "decline".
Good argument regarding change management. Perhaps 2 subheadings would also be appropriate here since you discussed 2 ways through which JRW Pty Ltd can manage change effectively.
The same notion of 2 subheadings also applies to part (c).
Overall, this is a decent attempt. Some of the writing was illegible so there were a few lines I skipped. Overall, structure is something that you could focus on going forward. An example of how this applies to your report is headings/subheadings. Based on my suggestions, you could use the following headings and subheadings:
1.0 Executive summary
2.0 Managing change effectively
2.1 Point
2.2 Point
3.0 Beneficial elements3.1 Quality management strategies
3.2 Training and development of employees
Implementing a structure for this report should be fairly straightforward for this particular report question (which, for reference, happens to be Question 25 from the 2014 Business Studies HSC exam). You will first need an executive summary, under which you can provide a brief summary of information regarding Emu Uniform Manufacturers Pty Ltd and also state the purpose of the business report.
Once the executive summary is complete, you will need a section under which you recommend what you believe would be an appropriate source of finance for this business. Keep in mind that the term "Recommend" implies the need to not only explain the nature of your choice, but also provide advantages that would justify the use of the particular source of finance by the business.
Similar to the above, a section will be needed so that you can discuss the option of outsourcing overseas and that of expanding the business's existing factory. Keep in mind that with "Discuss" questions, you may need to provide reasons supporting the use of each option as well as reasons against the use of each option.
The last point is a bit more interesting. Here, you have the option of developing your response under either one section, or creating subsections for each global factor that you choose to explain. If you choose to create subsections, then it would be a good idea to briefly outline the purpose of this section before proceeding to the first subsection. Of course, the quality of your explanation is the more important element and is more likely to make a positive contribution to your mark. With that being said, having a good structure in addition to a good-quality response does not hurt. In this particular instance, you should probably go with the option that you feel you would be more comfortable with.
Overall, your business report could adopt the following structure:
1. Executive summary
2. Outsourcing overseas versus factory expansion
3. Global Factors
OR
3. Global Factors
3.1 Economies of scale
3.2 Scanning and learning
3.3 Research and development
4. Conclusion
I hope this helps!
Here is a Section III question:
Sapling Pty Ltd is a business that produces a wide range of goods and sells them to consumers. This business has typically enjoyed a large market share and a high level of profitability.
This business, which is known to use up-to-date facilities and equipment that comply with government regulations, has recently sought information about the nature and relevance of corporate social responsibility to its operations.
Given the rising operating costs faced by Sapling Pty Ltd as well as competing businesses within the industry in which it operates, this business has considered outsourcing its customer service function to an offshore business.
In the event that Sapling Pty Ltd does outsource its customer service function to the overseas business, it anticipates that it will need to adjust its daily activities accordingly. In their current state, a number of the business's daily activities often overlap. In some cases, the completion of a particular activity may be dependent on the prior completion of another activity.
You have been asked to write a business report in which you:
- Explain the difference between legal compliance and ethical responsibility and its relevance to Sapling Pty Ltd.
- Discuss the use of outsourcing by this business.
- Recommend a sequencing and scheduling method(s) that Sapling Pty Ltd should adopt.
I feel like i end up writing too much for a certain section (mainly the second section) of the business report which leaves me pushed for time. How much is too much for the 2nd question of a business report (usually explain), and how can i write concisely while fleshing out exactly what I need to?
I would recommend having a general paragraph/section structure to refer to, which would allow you to ensure that your response to the question only covers the necessary information and does not include additional information that would cost you more time and would not improve the quality of your response.
For example, the Section III question that I wrote for Sapling (see above post) contains an "explain" question. You can structure your response to this question as follows:
- Definition of both concepts
- Explaining the relevance of both concepts to the business
- Definition of the first concept
- Relevance of the first concept to the business
- Definition of the second concept
- Relevance of the second concept to the business
- Definition of relevant concept(s)
- Introducing main point(s)
- Explanation (expanding on the concept through content)
- Example(s) and link(s) to stimulus, after which the paragraph/section would end.