how to write a business report (2 Viewers)

[tbrooke18]

Hey there.

In preparation for our business studies exam replacement task, my teacher went through a PowerPoint explaining how to write a business report, but I'm not sure I completely understand -- do we simply just write body paragraphs on each of the points required? He didn't give us any examples to look at, and I've searched on here but could really only find ones without the question, so I couldn't break it down and work it out myself. If I had any more classes before the exam, I certainly would ask but it's fast approaching and I'm sure I'm going to fail this task if I can't figure out how to write a business report (it's 20 out of 50 marks so 40%).

For example -- if the question gives stimulus information and then says "Write a report that addresses each of the following:

• Outline two important skills of management
• Discuss how they can manage change effectively
• Evaluate three critical issues that contribute to success and failure"

Can I have one section for each of those points or are there other things I should include also?

 

[Wizjaro]

Yep right in the dot. Just have one paragraph to answer each aspect of the question. You can also split up your answer if you'd like. Like lets say for the "Outline two important skills of management" You can have one paragraph on one skill and another on the other one.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Hello,

With business reports, you are required to adopt a particular structure. You'll need to start with an executive summary heading (which you could label as "1. Executive summary", under which you provide a brief overview of what the stimulus entails, as well as what your report will cover. Once this is complete, you can move on to the body of your report.

As was mentioned above, you should definitely answer each of those points under separate sections/headings that you will allocate towards each of them. For example, as you start elaborating on your first point, you need to have a second heading, which you can call "2. Management skills". As mentioned above, you may choose to have 2 subheadings under which you elaborate on each management skill separately. You can label each of them as the name of the skill in addition to a number that would indicate that this is a subheading, for example "2.1 Communication" and "2.2. Strategic thinking".

The same applies to your next points - you can label the second point as "3. Managing change". Your final point requires you to evaluate three critical issues that contribute to success and failure. This means that you may also choose to include subheadings in addition to the main heading for this point, which can be "4. Issues associated with success and failure". Depending on which issues you choose to evaluate, you may label each subheading accordingly. Examples of subheadings can be "4.1 Trend analysis", "4.2 Using technology" and "4.3 Economic conditions".

Once all of the above is completed, what remains is the conclusion. This is relatively simple and is similar to the executive summary in the sense that you briefly summarise the scenario in addition to the main points you've established and explained throughout your report and (if applicable) summarise any recommendations that you have made. The heading for the conclusion can be "5. Conclusion".

Overall, and considering the above, your report can be formatted as such:

1. Introduction

2. Management skills

2.1 Communication​

2.2 Strategic thinking​

​

3. Managing change

4. Issues associated with success and failure

4.1 Trend analysis​

4.2 Using technology​

4.3 Economic conditions​

5. Conclusion

On a separate note, this question seems like it's from the 2013 Preliminary Business Studies Independent exam.

I hope this helps!

 

[tbrooke18]

On a separate note, this question seems like it's from the 2013 Preliminary Business Studies Independent exam.

It is, I was doing it for practice.

 

[tbrooke18]

3. Managing change

So in this do I just talk about how the specific skills help them to manage change effectively? So I could have the skills as subheadings once again?

 

[jimmysmith560]

So in this do I just talk about how the specific skills help them to manage change effectively? So I could have the skills as subheadings once again?

You may not always need to include subheadings depending on the actual question. However, in this case, if you wish to use subheadings, you'll need to ensure you are answering the question based on the relevant syllabus dot points.

You are asked to discuss how they can manage change effectively. Therefore, your answer must be based on a combination of the following:

• managing change effectively
  • identifying the need for change
    o business information systems
  • setting achievable goals
  • resistance to change
  • management consultants

Based on this, an example of subheadings you can include are "3.1 Setting achievable goals" and "3.2 Resistance to change", making the overall structure as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Management skills

2.1 Communication​

2.2 Strategic thinking​

3. Managing change

3.1 Setting achievable goals​

3.2 Resistance to change​

4. Issues associated with success and failure

4.1 Trend analysis​

4.2 Using technology​

4.3 Economic conditions​

5. Conclusion

 

[tbrooke18]

You are asked to discuss how they can manage change effectively. Therefore, your answer must be based on a combination of the following:

I don't have to talk about all of them though, correct?

 

[jimmysmith560]

I don't have to talk about all of them though, correct?

Correct, otherwise your report will become too big and you might not have sufficient time for the rest of the sections. It's also important to talk about the aspects that are actually relevant to the stimulus, so that you are able to establish strong links between your points and the stimulus.

Based on the stimulus, you can talk about setting achievable goals, especially after the board of directors made their senior managers redundant. You can also talk about resistance to change, particularly considering what the new managers have decided to implement.

 

[tbrooke18]

Correct, otherwise your report will become too big and you might not have sufficient time for the rest of the sections. It's also important to talk about the aspects that are actually relevant to the stimulus, so that you are able to establish strong links between your points and the stimulus.

Based on the stimulus, you can talk about setting achievable goals, especially after the board of directors made their senior managers redundant. You can also talk about resistance to change, particularly considering what the new managers have decided to implement.

Thanks a lot for your help. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before I could fully complete the report in my exam, but your advice did help me.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Thanks a lot for your help. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before I could fully complete the report in my exam, but your advice did help me.

No worries, bad luck on running out of time! The good thing is that this is your Preliminary exam so it will not count towards your ATAR. The other good thing is that this advice (i.e. report structure) also applies in year 12, with only the content itself being different

 

[toilet]

Correct, otherwise your report will become too big and you might not have sufficient time for the rest of the sections. It's also important to talk about the aspects that are actually relevant to the stimulus, so that you are able to establish strong links between your points and the stimulus.

Based on the stimulus, you can talk about setting achievable goals, especially after the board of directors made their senior managers redundant. You can also talk about resistance to change, particularly considering what the new managers have decided to implement.

how many words do you recommend writing to get a band 6 business report?

 

[jimmysmith560]

how many words do you recommend writing to get a band 6 business report?

Quality should be prioritised over quantity, meaning that the process leading up to writing a band 6 Business Studies report involves thorough knowledge and understanding of the content in addition to the stimulus and the requirements of the questions. Such an understanding will allow you to effectively establish strong connections between the stimulus, the report requirements and the relevant/appropriate syllabus dot points. Once you feel confident in this area, you can then focus on word count. Writing a band 6 Business Studies report will likely require an extensive level of analysis, allowing you to develop an effective response that answers all the questions and has little (if any) flaws. Because of this, you may need to provide a relatively long response. I suggest taking a look at this good quality sample answer to the 2012 Business Studies HSC Question 25 and using it as a guide in terms of length of response:

https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/stds-matl/business-studies/bs-12-band-5-6-q25-s1.pdf

I hope this helps!