Essentials of Report Writing: Application in Business
Introduction
Organizations are becoming complex day by day. To survive in this modern age of globalization there is no alternative of an effective communication skill. Communication skill is one of the key managerial skills. As the business environment grows in its complexity, the importance of skillful communication becomes essential in the pursuit of organizational goals. Reports are one of the important forms of written communication frequently used in decision-making and in other organizational activities. In writing, a report is a document characterized by information or other content, consisted of inquiry or investigation, modified to the context of a given situation and audience. Reports are a highly structured form of writing often following conventions that have been laid down to produce a common format. The purpose of reports is usually to inform. However, reports may include persuasive elements, such as recommendations, suggestions, or other motivating conclusions that indicate possible future actions the report reader might take. Reports can be public or private, and often address questions posed by individuals in government, business, education, and science. Reports often take the structure of scientific investigation: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRD). They may also follow a problem-solution structure based on the audience's questions or concerns. As for format, reports range from a simpler format with headings to indicate topics, to more complex formats including charts, tables, figures, pictures, tables of contents, abstracts, summaries, appendices, footnotes, hyperlinks, and references. An effective report can lead an organization to the tip of success. On the other hand, an ineffective report can lead an organization to the darkness of failure. In every organization, whatever it is a business firm or a non profit making charitable trust, a government agency or a hospital, a university or a crime investigating organization, all of them constantly needs and uses different types of reports everyday. In general, in an organization, the superiors ask the subordinates to write reports for different purposes. The task of report writing is often assigned on the executives. Therefore, to know the essential qualities of a good report, the process, the methodology and the purpose of report writing is very important for executives as well as the students of Business Administration because the students of this discipline are considered as the future executives.
The Challenges of Presentations
