Business Communications
Fall 2024
Assignment: Individual Formal Business Report – An Organization I Would Like to Work For (20%)
- This is an individual assignment that you must work on by yourself
Learning Objectives:
- To gain experience creating (writing, design, editing, proofreading) a formal business report, including using proper APA format.
- To use effective research methodologies and analysis.
- To understand the structure and elements of formal business reports.
- Analyzing organizations in your chosen field (Communicating in the Job Search)
Submission:
- Due Date: Thursday, November 7, 11pm
- All Submissions are due as an electronic copy, saved in a .pdf format and submitted in Blackboard (under Assignments). Late assignments will be deducted marks.
- Your report must be 12pt Times New Roman font, 5 line spacing, standard margins.
Instructions:
You will prepare a research report on a large organization that has a presence in Canada that you think you would like to work for when you graduate. It is important that you select an organization that you can find a lot of quality research information about. Organizations that you cannot do your report on include: Apple; Deloitte; indigo; lululemon; and Nike.
Include (i.e. Report Body):
Introduction & Background: (approx. 1.5 pages with visual)
- A brief history of the organization its mission/purpose products/services,
- Basic information such as its industry target customer market share competitive position,
- Organizational structure and leadership,
- include at least one “visual”
Analysis: (2-3 pages)
- One key opportunity it is pursuing and how they plan to achieve it.,
- One key challenge it faces and how they plan to meet those challenges.,
- Why did you choose this organization initially?,
- Based on your research what is your sense of its organizational culture? What are your impressions of the organization?, It is important that you think critically – go beyond what the organization says about itself and provide your own personal impressions in your own words. Business Communications
- Identify two key questions that you would wish to know further about the organization to prepare you for an interview there.
Page 1 of 2
Conclusion (half page):
- Having done this research, do you still think it is an organization that you would like to work for when you graduate? Explain your reasons.
In developing your research and report, consider “The Writing Process” in Ch. 4 (Designing the Right Type of Message). Business Communications
Your paper must contain all parts of a formal business report (see Chapter 11 – Creating the Right
Type of Report; example on pg. 466): Title Page, Letter of Transmittal, Table of Contents,
Executive Summary; Introduction/Background, Analysis, Conclusion, References). Expect the total report of all elements to be approximately 10-12 pages. If you go over a couple pages, that is fine.
The References page must have at least six sources cited, using proper APA format. You also MUST include in-text citations using APA format in the body of the report.
Academic integrity: All reports will be checked for academic integrity and originality. You must ensure that your report is your own original work and sources of information properly cited. Business Communications
Tips & Hints:
Start early so that you have time to gather your information and prepare at least two drafts, and do proper revisions, including editing and proofreading. Make sure you document all sources researched, including websites, articles etc., as you do your research.
Resources:
Chapters 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14 of the textbook are the most relevant. For a terrific resource on APA citations, go to Humber Library website http://library.humber.ca/ (See “APA-MLA”).