Chapter 10 Homework Assignment

This section describes events leading up to the problem.

Background

Which division of a final report contains the introduction, discussion of findings, summary, conclusions, and recommendations?

Body

How would you make the following phrase possessive if only one boss makes a decision?

Boss's decision

How would you make the following phrase possessive if there is more than one month?

Months' pay

Kevin is writing a report on the company's IT staff and its response time for trouble tickets. He makes an appointment to observe the IT staff and collect data for his report. He decides to observe the group over a period of 90 minutes to collect his data. What would make his observation time more effective?

He could conduct 60-minute observations at different times.

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

"If you do well on this job," said the manager, "I will assign these projects to you in the future."

Your coworker, Dina, has asked you to proofread her use of quotations in her formal report. Select the correct quotation mark placement.

"The HP Officejet 6310 acts as a copier, photo management system, and scanner," Henry Willard, head marketing director for HP, said.

If the previous chart measures CaliMart's revenues in millions of dollars, how much money did CaliMart make in 2005?

$14 million

What types of research can blogs, wikis, and online sources be used for?

Secondary and primary research

Which of the following phrases might be useful in writing the purpose statement for your formal report? Check all that apply.

This report justifies We analyze We establish

This section identifies the person(s) or organization(s) who commissioned the report.

Authorization

If your online search does not provide the information you need, what can you do? Check all that apply.

Check the syntax of your queries. Try synonyms and variations on words. Use the Advanced search feature of your search engine.

Choose the correct punctuation for this sentence.

I need to know if the finance department will be working on the merger (see attached description) next week.

What is enhanced by skillful organization of the information presented in a report?

Readability and effectiveness

Are most proposals solicited or unsolicited?

Solicited

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

Would you please tell the administrative assistant that the meeting has started.

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

You work for the new branch, don't you?

Most proposals are _______ and are a critical means of generating income.

external

Whether you are collecting data from secondary or primary sources, the data must be documented. To avoid plagiarism, always cite your sources even when you are paraphrasing. You should include good data from reputable sources in order to document data properly.

include good data from reputable sources

When writing an executive summary in a formal report, make sure you _________

control the length

In the body of a formal report, the discussion of findings section _________________

discusses, analyzes, interprets, and evaluates research findings

Use a table ___________

to show exact figures and values

What would you use to show the increase in demand for solar panels over the last five years?

A bar or line chart

What is a bibliographic index?

A comprehensive index of titles and bibliographic information

Which of the following parts is not included in a formal proposal?

A formal contact sheet with the names and addresses of the writers

Your coworker is writing her first formal report. As you are proofreading the report for her, you notice she doesn't have a letter or memo of transmittal. When you tell her it is missing, she asks you about the purpose of each. What can you tell her?

A letter or memo of transmittal acts as an introduction to a formal report.

Why is it important to include an accurate, well-researched budget with your proposal?

A proposal is a legal contract

How would you make a singular agent possessive?

Agent's desk

What should an effective letter of transmittal include?

An announcement of the topic and affirmation of the proposal authorization

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

Carlos worked for Dynasty, Inc.

Which organizational arrangements might be most effective? Check all that apply.

Compare/Contrast Best case/Worst case

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

Daniel Ortega and Olga Alverez—both hired at the same time—won the top sales representative prizes.

You are preparing a formal report on the effectiveness of corporate recruiting and training in Second Life that will be read by the HR executive team. All of your readers are knowledgeable about Second Life; however, they are interested in how effective the results of recruiting and training in Second Life might be. Which organizational strategy should you use?

Direct

What should you remind your cousins about as they prepare the proposal bid? Check all that apply.

Emphasize the benefits to the recipient. Detail your expertise and accomplishments. Avoid mere mechanical descriptions. Proposals are sales presentations.

Which of the following components contains a list of each figure or table title and its page number?

List of figures

You are asked to write a report on a topic for which little or no information is available. You decide to conduct interviews with several experts or veterans in the field. What should you do to elicit the most useful data in your interviews?

Make your questions objective and friendly.

Crystal is writing a report on office lighting and work productivity. She uses a bar chart to depict the increase in work productivity after softer lighting was installed. However, she places the chart two pages after the point where it is mentioned. What advice should you give her?

Place the graphic close to the point where it is mentioned.

What section of a proposal discusses how you will solve the problem?

Proposal, plan, and schedule

After gathering data on the effectiveness of company meetings, you decide to conduct a survey to obtain measurable qualitative and quantitative feedback. You will mail a survey to several companies. What are some disadvantages to using this type of data collection? Check all that apply.

Respondents may exaggerate or distort facts. Response rates may be low. Respondents may not represent an accurate population sample.

Compare the line chart's data with the heading. Identify the error.

The heading says the line chart depicts revenue in 2010, but no data are recorded for that year.

What is the next step to take after defining the issue and describing the scope of your investigation and analysis?

Write a purpose statement.

A database is _____________ that is digitally searchable.

a collection of information stored electronically

You should _________ in order to document data properly.

include good data from reputable sources

Formal reports are seen in business ___________ but serve an important function.

infrequently

You need to display the placement of three new function keys on a cell phone prototype. What should you use to illustrate the data?

An illustration

You design HR management and payroll software. At a recent networking event, you met the HR manger at a small local accounting firm. You briefly discussed your business with her and would like to follow up with a proposal to help streamline her firm's HR system. Which type of proposal is most appropriate in this situation?

Informal

Identify one of the errors in the bar chart.

It is missing one site's revenue.

What documentation data do you need for a newspaper, magazine, or journal article on your Works Cited page? Check all that apply.

The date The issue/volume number The author(s) The pages cited

What is the error in the Year column of the table?

The years are not in chronological order.

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

We all resented Emily's talking in the meeting.

When a report requires a recommended course of action, where should you include your recommendations? Check all that apply.

You can present them in a separate section from your conclusions. You can incorporate them in the same section as your conclusions.

Your hook can ___________ in order to make your introduction more persuasive.

promise low costs or speedy results

Whenever you use __________, you must give credit.

quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words