Deck 13: Planning Reports and Proposals

Question 1

Which of the following is the least clear statement of purpose?

A) "To answer the question, 'Which of four investments will provide the highest return?' "
B) "To evaluate and make recommendations based on data."
C) "To determine which of four alternative investments will have the highest return."
D) "To analyze four potential investments."

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is not a useful strategy in preparing business reports?

A) Keep your report as short as possible.
B) Understand and meet audience expectations.
C) Use the same format for reports, regardless of topic.
D) All of the above are useful strategies.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

With an internal audience for your report, you

A) are more free to discuss sensitive information.
B) must include analysis.
C) must avoid analysis.
D) must avoid discussing sensitive information.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A contractor submitting a weekly report on work done to date would be providing the client with

A) a justification report.
B) a progress report.
C) a periodic operating report.
D) a compliance report.

Question 5

The best way to phrase the purpose statement of a report is with

A) a controversial statement.
B) jargon.
C) complex language.
D) an infinitive phrase.

Question 6

Which of the following is not an infinitive phrase?

A) to determine
B) to our loyal customers
C) to think clearly
D) to prioritize and organize

Question 7

Making generous use of descriptive labels, subheads, and other similar devices on a website

A) is fine for amateurs, but professional web designers avoid it.
B) confuses and frustrates online readers.
C) helps online readers get oriented to your website.
D) none of the above.

Question 8

The CEO of a pharmaceutical company asks you assess the company's adherence to laws governing television ads for prescription drugs. The CEO has requested a

A) policy report.
B) personal activity report.
C) work plan.
D) compliance report.

Question 9

A public corporation filing a quarterly tax report would be providing

A) a periodic operating report.
B) a compliance report.
C) a justification report.
D) a progress report.

Question 10

A formal work plan includes all of the following except

A) a statement of the problem or opportunity addressed in your report.
B) a statement of the purpose and scope of your investigation.
C) plans for following up after delivering the report.
D) plans for what will happen if funds for the project are cancelled.

Question 11

A business plan

A) should not identify risks and problems, since these might discourage potential investors.
B) is useful only before a company is launched.
C) always contains the same elements.
D) is sometimes prepared after a company is up and running.

Question 12

Which of the following is not a typical element in a formal work plan?

A) Statement of the scope of the investigation
B) Discussion of tasks to be accomplished
C) Statement of purpose
D) Conclusions and recommendations

Question 13

When outlining the content of your report

A) keep in mind that you will have to use this same outline for your final report.
B) you should use complex language for all headings.
C) it is preferable to use informative headings as opposed to descriptive ones.
D) do all of the above.

Question 14

An employee who describes the data she collected from six different plant managers without drawing any conclusions is preparing

A) an informational report.
B) an analytical report.
C) a proposal.
D) a work plan.

Question 15

The basic purpose of informational reports is

A) to convince the reader of the soundness of your thinking.
B) to persuade the audience to act.
C) to present recommendations and conclusions to a superior for how to solve a particular problem.
D) to present data, facts, feedback, and other types of information, without analysis or recommendations.

Question 16

For most audiences, reading online is ________ than reading from a printed page.

A) more difficult
B) neither easier nor more difficult
C) easier
D) much faster

Question 17

Delivering a business report as a word processing file

A) is rarely, if ever, necessary.
B) wastes time and confuses your audience.
C) is usually not preferable to a printed document.
D) is useful if the audience will need to search the report frequently.

Question 18

Compliance reports are generally required by

A) accounting departments.
B) marketing departments.
C) government agencies.
D) parent companies.

Question 19

When selecting media for a report

A) you should choose the ones that are most economical.
B) you should choose the ones that are most convenient.
C) your decisions should reflect your audience's expectations.
D) you should always present your report in writing.

Question 20

Topical organization strategies for informational reports include all of the following except

A) importance.
B) complexity.
C) sequence.
D) comparison.

Question 21

The 2 + 2 = 4 approach

A) is far more complicated than any other organizational strategy.
B) is the only approach that is appropriate for any business report.
C) is the first logical argument strategy to try.
D) generally works only with lengthy, nonroutine reports.

Question 22

Problem factoring is the process of

A) creating problems instead of solving them.
B) considering how to divide responsibility for a problem.
C) looking at a problem from many different angles.
D) breaking a problem down into a series of logical, connected questions.

Question 23

The statement of purpose for a report is always presented as a question.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a common organizational format for analytical reports?

A) Focusing on conclusions
B) Focusing on logical argument
C) Focusing on recommendations
D) Focusing on information

Question 25

In an unsolicited proposal, the people applying for the job often must

A) convince readers that a problem exists that must be addressed.
B) enumerate the client's options regarding such business decisions as product-line expansion.
C) use a style approved by the American Association of Business Writers.
D) analyze the client's business in light of the competition.

Question 26

Because of its natural feel and versatility, the ________ approach is generally the most persuasive way to develop an analytical report for skeptical readers.

A) 2 + 2 = 4
B) hypothetical
C) direct
D) yardstick

Question 27

Which of the following is not a strategy for structuring reports focused on logical arguments?

A) Yardstick method
B) 2 + 2 = 4 approach
C) Direct approach
D) An approach that compares a solution to a set of predetermined standards

Question 28

Analytical reports for skeptical audiences should generally follow the ________ approach.

A) indirect
B) hypothetical
C) aggressive
D) direct

Question 29

The statement of purpose for analytical reports will usually need to be more comprehensive than one for informational reports.

Question 30

One potential drawback of focusing immediately on conclusions in a report is that you may

A) make everything you say seem too simple.
B) offend your audience.
C) reveal information you know about that has not been included in the report.
D) do all of the above.

Question 31

One drawback of using the yardstick approach to structure business reports is that

A) you must discuss all the alternatives, even if many of them turn out to be irrelevant and/or unproductive.
B) it forces you to ignore the fact that the problem may have multiple causes.
C) it is impractical in most business settings.
D) this approach is generally considered old-fashioned.

Question 32

Internal reports are more likely to be misinterpreted than external reports.

Question 33

Unlike proposals, justification reports

A) are always in memo format.
B) do not require a great deal of supporting data.
C) are designed to affirm decisions after they have been made.
D) are internal as opposed to external reports.

Question 34

A contractor receives a request from the owner of a company to bid on a large-scale construction project. The contractor will prepare a(n)

A) blind proposal.
B) solicited proposal.
C) unsolicited proposal.
D) request for proposal.

Question 35

For a business document to be considered a report, it must be at least six pages long.

Question 36

An analytical report often ends by presenting a recommendation.

Question 37

Any risks involved with your recommendations should

A) be addressed clearly in your report.
B) be outlined before you reveal the benefits that can be achieved.
C) be discussed in your report, but only in vague, general terms.
D) not be addressed, since they may discourage your audience.

Question 38

You're writing an analytical report outlining the benefits of starting a recycling program. You need to explain how the program meets numerous criteria including reasonable cost, ease of implementation, and long-term impact. The ________ approach will probably be the best way to organize your report.

A) 2 + 2 = 4
B) yardstick
C) direct
D) scientific

Question 39

A report focused on recommendations should

A) outline costs, but not in detail.
B) first establish or verify the need for action.
C) avoid mentioning any potential risks.
D) not include conclusions.

Question 40

Unlike reports focused on conclusions or recommendations, reports focusing on logical arguments

A) use an indirect approach.
B) emphasize the positive.
C) do not include outside evidence.
D) are not very convincing.

Question 41

Compliance reports, progress reports, and monitor/control reports are all types of informational reports.

Question 42

Position papers spell out lasting guidelines on company policies and procedures.

Question 43

A primary goal in preparing monitor/control reports is to emphasize the good news and hide the bad news.

Question 44

For long, complex reports, the indirect approach tends to be less effective than the direct approach.

Question 45

Operating reports establish expectations and guidelines to direct future action.

Question 46

Sales call reports are a type of compliance report.

Question 47

Some work plans include a preliminary or "working" outline.

Question 48

When writing a work plan, it's important to begin by developing a problem statement.

Question 49

Very few reports require a work plan.

Question 50

Online reports are always preferable to paper reports in today's business environments.

Question 51

In an informational report describing the chain of events that led to a plant closing, chronology would be the best topical organization strategy to use.

Question 52

The direct approach is the most popular strategy for business reports.

Question 53

An email summarizing an employee's trip to a trade show would be an example of a personal activity report.

Question 54

For most audiences, reading material on a computer monitor is far easier than reading from the printed page.

Question 55

Depending on your status in the organization, using the direct approach in reports can be misconstrued as arrogance.

Question 56

Progress reports are never more than updates in memo or email form.

Question 57

Reports that examine the financial aspects of a proposed decision, such as acquiring another company, are called due diligence reports.

Question 58

In business reports, it is never appropriate to combine the direct and indirect approaches by revealing conclusions and recommendations as you go along.

Question 59

Information architecture refers to the structure and navigational flow of all parts of a website.

Question 60

An executive dashboard is a customized online presentation of highly summarized business information.

Question 61

A(n) ________ report is written to validate a decision that has already been made.

Question 62

Proposals are classified in two ways: internal versus external, and solicited versus unsolicited.

Question 63

The primary purpose of an internal proposal is either to request funds and management support for new projects or to obtain permission to take action on specific projects.

Question 64

A landscaper bidding on a job at the request of a general contractor would submit an external, unsolicited proposal.

Question 65

"RFP" stands for "ratified final proposal."

Question 66

Managers use feasibility reports to examine the ramifications of a decision they are about to make.

Question 67

All ________ reports are written in response to regulations of one sort or another.

Question 68

When a business plan is written after a company is operating, it tends to serve as a ________ .

Question 69

Focusing on conclusions in an analytical report involves using the direct approach to report organization.

Question 70

The statement of ________ defines why you are preparing a report.

Question 71

Whereas troubleshooting reports deal with problems as they occur, failure analysis reports seek to prevent problems before they happen.

Question 72

When you speculate about the cause of a problem, you are forming a(n) ________-a potential explanation that needs to be tested.

Question 73

The ________ approach is often the most persuasive and efficient way to develop an analytical report for skeptical readers-it's the approach to try first.

Question 74

Whereas ________ reports focus on facts, ________ reports offer interpretation and can also include recommendations.

Question 75

In reports focused on recommendations, it is best to avoid the direct approach.

Question 76

The yardstick approach is best for organizing reports when you and your audience do not agree on the criteria you're using in your analysis.

Question 77

________ ________ reports study events that happened in the past, with the hope of learning how to avoid similar failures in the future.

Question 78

Breaking down a problem into a series of specific questions is called problem ________.

Question 79

Report writers often combine the ________ and ________ approaches-revealing their conclusions and recommendations as they go along instead of putting them first or last.

Question 80

A justification report is an internal report designed to persuade top management to approve a proposed investment or project.