How to write a business report

00:05:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8uF1EoIneE

Sintesi

TLDRThe video outlines the essential components of business reports, emphasizing their role in decision-making. It breaks down each section, including the executive summary, the main body that involves a systematic exploration of problems and information analysis, and concludes with actionable recommendations. The importance of a formal tone and logical structuring is highlighted, aiming to equip viewers with the ability to effectively communicate critical information to decision-makers.

Punti di forza

  • 📊 Business reports provide actionable information for decision-making.
  • 👔 Audience includes top managers and stakeholders.
  • 📝 Key sections: executive summary, introduction, body, conclusion, recommendations.
  • ⚖️ Recommendations should be practical and clear.
  • 📖 The body should analyze and evaluate gathered information.
  • 🚀 Use a formal tone, avoiding colloquial language.
  • 📚 The process includes stating the problem and background context.
  • ✅ Structure is crucial for logical documentation of findings.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:53

    Business reports are essential tools in business decision-making, meant to provide information on specific topics, facilitating informed actions by decision-makers. They serve various audiences, including top management and stakeholders, by answering relevant questions and addressing business issues. A well-structured business report includes an executive summary, introduction, body, conclusion, and recommendations, with each part serving a distinct purpose. The executive summary concisely outlines the report's findings for busy managers. Recommendations represent actionable steps and should be clearly separated from personal opinions or conclusions. A formal and logical tone is critical throughout the report, which follows a decision-making process involving problem identification, context explanation, information review, analysis, and evaluation, leading to justified recommendations, particularly when significant financial decisions are involved. Each section is essential to ensure clarity and effectiveness.

Mappa mentale

Video Domande e Risposte

  • What is the purpose of a business report?

    To provide information that can be acted upon in decision-making.

  • Who is the audience for business reports?

    Top managers, supervisors, and stakeholders.

  • What are the key sections of a business report?

    Executive summary, introduction, body, conclusion, and recommendations.

  • What should the tone of a business report be?

    Formal, logical, factual, and free from emotion or opinion.

  • What is the difference between the executive summary and the introduction?

    The executive summary is a condensed version of the entire report for quick understanding.

  • What are recommendations in a business report?

    Clear, actionable items that suggest what should be done next.

  • What is included in the body of a business report?

    Problem statement, background, information review, analysis, evaluation, and a discussion of findings.

  • Why is a structured approach important in a business report?

    It helps document the process leading to actionable recommendations clearly.

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Scorrimento automatico:
  • 00:00:00
    business reports you'll write a lot of
  • 00:00:03
    them throughout your career in business
  • 00:00:04
    so it's probably worth you knowing what
  • 00:00:06
    they're for who they're for and how to
  • 00:00:08
    structure
  • 00:00:09
    one okay so what are business reports
  • 00:00:12
    for to give your boss some information
  • 00:00:15
    about a particular topic that you've
  • 00:00:16
    been asked to research uh it's a Public
  • 00:00:20
    Relation um instrument for people that
  • 00:00:22
    want to invest maybe in companies a
  • 00:00:24
    collective analysis of where the
  • 00:00:26
    business is at and where it's going or
  • 00:00:28
    what it could be fundamentally business
  • 00:00:31
    reports are about communicating
  • 00:00:33
    information but perhaps more
  • 00:00:35
    specifically they provide information
  • 00:00:37
    that can be acted upon so you could say
  • 00:00:39
    that business reports are a key part in
  • 00:00:41
    the decision making process of a
  • 00:00:43
    business so who are they for for the top
  • 00:00:47
    managers it could be for supervisors so
  • 00:00:49
    first the top manager of course I
  • 00:00:51
    learned in school for all the
  • 00:00:52
    stakeholders for management so they can
  • 00:00:55
    make decisions on certain things if
  • 00:00:57
    reports are part of the decision-making
  • 00:00:59
    process
  • 00:01:00
    then it's the decision makers of a
  • 00:01:02
    business who are the audience of a
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    business report a business report aims
  • 00:01:06
    to answer a question solve a problem or
  • 00:01:09
    address an issue within the business so
  • 00:01:12
    the report will look at all the
  • 00:01:13
    information analyze and evaluate it and
  • 00:01:16
    then make recommendations for action for
  • 00:01:18
    this reason the structure of a business
  • 00:01:20
    report is really important so a business
  • 00:01:24
    report will have the following overall
  • 00:01:26
    structure an executive summary followed
  • 00:01:28
    by the introduction body and conclusion
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    and finally
  • 00:01:33
    recommendations let's take a look at the
  • 00:01:35
    structure in more detail okay so first
  • 00:01:37
    up the executive summary so it's like
  • 00:01:40
    the cover letter really for the whole
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    thing it's just going to give you a
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    really dot point exactly what the um
  • 00:01:47
    what it's about what the hopes are what
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    the findings are where they've come from
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    and the general um advice a specific but
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    uh but brief outline of what's in the
  • 00:01:58
    business report to make it really quick
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    and easy for your bosses because they
  • 00:02:02
    don't have much time a common
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    misconception is that the executive
  • 00:02:06
    summary is an expanded version of the
  • 00:02:09
    intro actually the executive summary is
  • 00:02:12
    wait for it a summary for the executive
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    or a manager or more specifically for a
  • 00:02:17
    decision maker in the business so it
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    could be a peer it's for the busy
  • 00:02:22
    manager who may be rushing to catch a
  • 00:02:24
    plane and needs to do a quick first pass
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    over the report so if you imagine the
  • 00:02:28
    entire report the executive summary is
  • 00:02:31
    the entire report in condensed form
  • 00:02:33
    another aspect of business reports that
  • 00:02:35
    confuses people is the
  • 00:02:37
    recommendations recommendations are
  • 00:02:40
    sometimes treated like a rehashing of
  • 00:02:41
    the conclusion or as the opportunity for
  • 00:02:44
    a personal opinion on the report far
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    from being some final afterthought or
  • 00:02:48
    last minute concluding words the
  • 00:02:50
    recommendations are the very practical
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    actionable items for the entire report
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    really the most important part they
  • 00:02:58
    present a decision maker with what
  • 00:03:00
    should be done next this is a good time
  • 00:03:02
    to mention that the tone of a business
  • 00:03:04
    report should be formal it shouldn't be
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    colloquial or written in the first
  • 00:03:08
    person it's a logical factual free from
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    emotion or opinion reporting of the
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    facts so this leaves the bit in the
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    middle the actual report the body of the
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    report follows a standard
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    decision-making process it states the
  • 00:03:23
    problem identifies the background or
  • 00:03:25
    context to the issue presents a review
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    of information and anal is and
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    evaluation of that information and
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    finally a discussion around the findings
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    to illustrate this approach let's take
  • 00:03:36
    the example of buying your first car the
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    report introduction starts with a clear
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    stating of the purpose I need a car the
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    background this is where you flesh out
  • 00:03:47
    the problem and explain the context so I
  • 00:03:50
    now have a job and need a car to get
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    there it's a long trip I only have 5K
  • 00:03:54
    but I care a lot about safety too it's
  • 00:03:57
    during the background that you will
  • 00:03:59
    identify some of the criteria that will
  • 00:04:01
    influence your analysis and evaluation
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    next comes the search for information
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    also formly known as a literature review
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    reading car magazines reviews online and
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    looking at car ads you might Source some
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    information yourself too like test
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    driving a few cars next comes the most
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    important step the analysis and
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    evaluation of the information that has
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    been gathered often a theoretical
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    framework is used as a tool to compare
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    the different alternatives
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    following the analysis and evaluation
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    the results are often formulated into a
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    table like this one it's comparing the
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    different Alternatives based on key
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    criteria finally a discussion is had on
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    the findings unpacking why one option
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    would be better than another with
  • 00:04:45
    justification for any suggestions car a
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    and car B offer the best safety and
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    reliability but aren't within the price
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    range however car c is not too bad on
  • 00:04:55
    both and within the price range the
  • 00:04:57
    report is then concluded and the
  • 00:04:59
    recommendations are presented the final
  • 00:05:02
    clear and actionable items for the
  • 00:05:04
    report so you can see why this process
  • 00:05:06
    is so important when the recommendations
  • 00:05:09
    may involve spending a few million
  • 00:05:11
    dollars the process of arriving at the
  • 00:05:13
    recommendations needs to be clearly and
  • 00:05:15
    logically documented so that's the
  • 00:05:18
    business report it's a logical and
  • 00:05:20
    essential tool in the decision-making
  • 00:05:22
    process for a business each section from
  • 00:05:25
    the executive summary through to the
  • 00:05:27
    recommendations has a specific purpose
  • 00:05:30
    and the structure reflects the specific
  • 00:05:32
    approach that needs to be taken in
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    arriving at the actionable
  • 00:05:35
    recommendations of the report
  • 00:05:37
    information in analysis evaluation and
  • 00:05:41
    actionable items well all the best with
  • 00:05:44
    writing your next Business Report
Tag
  • business reports
  • executive summary
  • recommendations
  • decision-making
  • formal tone
  • analysis
  • evaluation
  • audience
  • structure
  • purpose