Importance of Report Writing Skills - Essay Example

Title: Report Writing Name Institution Date of submission Introduction It is important to start by defining what a report is. Brown (2012) defines a report as an informal work that can be written, spoken or presented developed with a particular objective of communicating the activities or events that occurred. Written reports are specifically meant to inform particular audience about events or activities that occurred. Reports are normally used to relay results of a research or investigation, and the audience on the other side can be either public or private. Reports can be developed routinely, with specific subject or a technical that describes complex issues depending on the context of research. Having understood the meaning of report, report writing therefore is a process gathering the required data, organizing and presenting them as information in a logical manner (Kolb, 2005; 195). Business reports are meant to investigate business activities like market research, financial performance, employee performance and business strategy among others. Data in this context is collected, organized and presented in a business report. This implies that the title of the report often is derived from the context of investigation. As stated, writing report is a process and thus it has constituents arranged in a sequential order (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2008; 140). Developers of reports are expected to follow the following common order; Title, table of contents, abstract, introduction, body (the body contains methodology, findings and results and discussion), conclusion, recommendations and references. All this sections may not apply to all reports. However, they remain to be essential in report writing. It is also important to consider using simple and easy language when writing a report such that the audience will be in a position to understand whatever is contained in the report. Importance of report writing skills The truth is that there is no one format of writing a report. However, having appropriate report writing skills is important in logical presentation of the results and findings from investigation. Report writing skills is needed by students, managers, business research teams and anyone who needs to present an investigation. These skills are important in the following ways; 1) Promotes analytical approach to the investigation: A researcher having analytical approach to investigation is able to display new ideas and link them to the audience. Analytical planning skills help in organizing ideas and placing focus on them without going off topic. Report developer with good analytical skills presents the subject and purpose of the report with a lot of clear succinctness. This will captivate the reader and thus creating interest in going through the whole report (Carl, 2005; 23). 2) Reader profiling: Good report skills build a specific profile for a typical audience. For instance in business, information can be available to audience but the breakdown may not be seen when it comes to such variables as gender, income, education level and age. Creation of the report profile depends on the target audience so that any documentation that leads to development of report should be in congruence to the expectations of audience. Information in this case will be presented with limited barriers whatsoever (Carl, 2005). 3) Enhances effective communication: Good skills in report writing promote effective communication in an organization. For example, marketing report in business should be informative and comprehensive such that employees can comprehend. Good report often provides excellent communication that will positively drive the performance of an organization. 4) Effective functionality of human resource operations: Good writing skills often help in the process of selection and hiring of the right individuals. These skills are supplementary skills to report writing skills in HRM too. For instance, during performance appraisal, reports needs to be developed out of the evaluation of each employee. Having these skills therefore will help in presuming the correct abilities of the employees (Adler et al, 2007; 146). Positives and negatives of report writing Positives 1) Provides an overview of activities in an organization: Most of the business reports for instance are financial statements-cash flow, balance sheet and trial balance. Another document presented as a report is the business plan which defines organizational objectives and goals. In this case, writing report in these contexts gives a direction for an organization as well as benchmarks to the management (Chen, 2011). 2) Performance assessment and evaluation: The most significant of writing report particularly in business provide management and stakeholders with information that is essential to decision-making process. It identifies main areas of strength and weakness as well as guiding the method of defining strategic priorities (Chen, 2011). When it comes to evaluation, financial statements give the organization to relate its performance with those of the competitors. 3) It present consolidated and rationalized information: Any information presented as a report is updated and it is normally used to plan the future. The information contained is synchronised and therefore it is accurate in matters of decision making (Cantor, 2006; 32). 4) Enables framing of policies: Reporting on activities relating to individuals in organization is important since it facilitates the modification of inappropriate policies. For example, training policy can be formulated when the report points out low performance of employees in an organization (Chen, 2011). 5) Report writing also sets actions to be initiated through critical evaluation of gaps that exists. This ensures that the future actions to be taken is ought to be compatible with the gap identified (Dickson, 2012; 56). Negatives 1) It needs a lot of time to prepare: A research that needs accurate information takes time to be conducted. This implies that the writing report on the other end will need a lot of time to transcribe quality information. There is high cost incurring as well during the processes since a lot stakeholders are involved. 2) Reports normally neglect qualitative information: Most of the report emphasize on quantitative information putting less consideration on qualitative measures. For example, during performance management in business, hiring of highly qualified and motivated individuals is not reflected in the final report especially when there is improved performance. Quantitative information often outweigh qualitative information in report writing (Dickson, 2012; 56). Stakeholders According to Brown (2012) stakeholders are those who are linked to the report writing. There are three types of stakeholders in a report; a) Primary stakeholders: These are groups or persons that are there directly to be affected by development of report by the efforts of institution for example policy makers and business entities (Brown, 2012). For example, rent control policy affects both a tenant as well as the landlord but in different ways. b) Secondary stakeholders: These are group of individuals or groups affected indirectly by actions of institutions created from report (Brown, 2012, 121). For example, report on domestic violence may require training of police in order to handle issues associated with it. Police in this case are secondary stakeholders. c) Key stakeholders: These are people or groups who are essential in an organization (Brown, 2012, 124). A manager in an organization is key to any activity happening within so as a line staff. For effective communication to the audience/stakeholders in report writing, it is important to engage them considering clear presentation of ideas for easy understanding. Effective engagement needs the consideration of the following factors; Demographic characteristics of the audience The audience roles The feeling on the subject by the reader The feeling of the reader on the sender Demographic consideration is classification of audience in terms of age, gender and ethnicity. According to Carl (2005, 25), in any report writing audience (in this case stakeholders) has a role. Roles are normally connected to needs particular stakeholders. For example, a product may be selling low in a business for some reasons. The different effects of need apply to the operators of the process and the managers of the departments. Operators would consider good understanding on operations’ intended actions while on the other side managers would consider the usefulness of the processes in order to invest on it. This implies that stakeholders change the impression of a situation with the information presented through a report. Reflection In terms of report writing, this is the subject I have ever enjoyed especially when presenting my information to the audience. I always give myself a chance to explore a comprehensive literature and research related to the topic of report. I also make sure that I understand my audience’s needs before I write my marketing report. In terms of adding my capability in report writing, I enrolled to online communication skills models to improve the way I communicate to the stakeholders. This has given me a chance to cover all the subject matters connected to report writing in my field. However, I do need to learn more about different types of reports. I will seek help from my supervisor in order to define a thin line between these different reports. Also, I need to improve my oral presentation skills so that I will be effective in communicating results for a report that may needs me to stand on stage. Linguistic issues are normally the communication barriers in the report and this is a challenge to me as I continue to build up on skills of writing report. I need to focus on the capabilities need for all business reports (financial statements and marketing research reports) in order to boost my competency in the field of business. Reference (2008). Academy of Management. Academy of Management Perspectives,22(4), 88-88. (2008). Teaching and Learning In Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7(1), 139-142. Adler, P. S., Forbes, L. C., & Willmott, H. (2007). 3 Critical Management Studies. The Academy of Management Annals,1(1), 119-179. Brown, P. P. (2012). Book Review: Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences and Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Teaching Sociology, 41(1), 121-125. Cantor, J. A. (2006). Lifelong learning and the academy, the changing nature of continuing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Carl, W. J. (2005). The Communicational Basis of the Organizational Text as Macroactor: A Case Study of Multilevel Marketing Discourse This paper was based on the author's dissertation research at the University of Iowa and Loughborough University. A version of this manuscript was presented at the Organizational Communication Division's Pre-Conference at the National Communication Association annual convention in New Orleans, LA (2002).Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 6(1), 21-29. Chen, H. (2011). Analysis of Consumer Reports’ recommended mutual funds compared to actual performance. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 16(1), 42-49. Dickson, K. W. (2012). Writing a Case Report. Journal of Clinical Case Reports, 02(03), 56. Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212. Vega, G. (2005). Conversational Learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 249-250. Read More