Effective Business Management Report Writing

Effective Business Management Report Writing 11 – 14 December 2011 - Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai, UAE

3 LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Ensure that your audience is clearly receiving and understanding the messages that you are sending by planning, researching and writing concise, targeted reports 2. Understand the different requirements of some of the principal management reports used in organisations, and know how to clearly identify the purpose and audience for your report 3. Use plain English to minimise misinterpretation of your reports, to ease understanding and to ensure readability

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Course Overview All businesses rely on well-structured reports to ensure such things as accurate communication about goals and objectives, requirements, designs, measuring and recording progress. Sadly, many of the reports that are written are not as clear as they should be. This course has been especially designed to help you overcome this issue when you are writing important business management reports.

Effective Business Management Report Writing is structured in three parts: Part one: The technique of good writing Part two: Research and formatting your report Part three: Management reports After attending this practical course you will be able to: • Write technical reports and proposals that are informative, persuasive, clear and professional • Develop an Audience Planner to target your readers’ needs • Identify your needs and your readers’ needs • Know where and how to access knowledge sources • Identify how much technical detail your readers need and will understand • Use language and writing style confidently and effectively to communicate in your reports • Use punctuation, abbreviations, bold letters and acronyms correctly and effectively • Create consistency by creating corporate guidelines • Use the Clarity Index to ensure that your reports will be understood and acted on • Access software to make writing easier • Edit and proof-read your work systematically

Who Should Attend?

This course is designed for business and technical managers who have to write, or contribute to, the full range of business management reports. People who will benefit from the course include Business Development Managers, Project Managers, Supervisors, Financial Managers, Planning Advisors and Researchers.

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Meet Your Expert Course Director Anne McDougall is an international training and change consultant with over 20 years’ executive training experience in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Anne empowers people and organisations to become creative positive thinkers committed to achieving their companies’ business plans.

Anne has a proven track record in creating organisational change and improvement through her design and delivery of training programmes. She is frequently commissioned to assist executive teams to resolve conflict and to coach senior executives to optimise their leadership and management capabilities.

Anne holds a Masters Degree in Training and Development from the University of Sheffield. She is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and is a published author.

Anne is a skilled, imaginative trainer who, as well as being able to transfer skills, offers new insight into management issues. Anne has developed writing skills training programmes for large multinational organisations throughout Europe and for organisations in the Middle East.

As a member of the IABC, Anne has exposure to all the latest techniques and best practice in communication, both written and verbal. She uses a very practical approach to help people improve their writing and, as a writer herself, knows how to avoid the pitfalls and stay motivated.

Anne writes all her own training material and her courses have been accredited by the IABC for ease of understanding and clarity.

All of the guidelines Anne uses in the writing skills courses have been developed and tested for the past 20 years by the Plain English Society.

Some comments from delegates at Anne’s most recent Business Management Reporting Skills course “ The course was very interesting, I found the required information in terms of language and the way to write professional reports” Saima Said Al Nadabi, CEO Executive Secretary, Information Technology Authority

“Excellent training course which enhanced my writing skills. The course provides writing approaches that simplify reports writing” Ahmad Yasin Al Umran, Assistant Manager Internal Audit, Riyad Bank

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Effective Business Management Report Writing 11 – 14 December 2011 • Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai, UAE Course Timings Registration will be at 07.30 on the first day of the course. Course sessions will start promptly at 08.00 and end at 14.30. There will be two short breaks for refreshments and lunch will be served at the end of each day’s sessions.

Course Outline

Day Two

Day One

Research And Format

The Technique Of Good Writing English And Its Uses • Using simple words rather than complex • Where to use jargon, acronyms, abbreviations effectively • Being culturally aware in your choice of words Practical Exercise Structuring Sentences For Ease Of Understanding • Sticking to 10 – 16 words • Putting the most important point first - subject, verb and object • Using active verbs and voice rather than passive • Use of the present tense

Introduction Yesterday Once More Researching Information And Gathering Material For Reports • Accessing instant research resources • Setting your time goals and deadlines • Identifying your knowledge sources, including databases and RSS feeds Practical Exercise Logical Sequencing Of Information • Using your Audience Planner to ask “what does my audience need from this report?”

• Organising and grouping your material • Using mind maps for speed and logic Practical Exercise

Practical Exercise Powerful Paragraphing • Using 4 to 5 sentences on the same theme • How to ensure that they link logically and make sense to the reader • Using signpost sentences first to grab the reader’s attention Practical Exercise

Practical Exercise

Punctuation And Its Uses • Why we use it • Overview of key marks • Common errors to be aware of Practical Exercise The Clarity Index • How to use the Clarity Index to demonstrate how using sentences, paragraphs and punctuation appropriately keeps your messages short and simple Practical Excersice Summary Of Day One

Document Layout • Developing standard templates • Understanding the importance of white space when agreeing margin sizes • Agree on font style and size • Guidelines on when to use bold • Headers and sub-headers • Use of lists and bullet points • Justifications

Document Design • Use of pictures and diagrams • Placing warning notices • Headers and footers • Document numbering • Revision number plans Practical Exercise Software Tools • MS Word • Robohelp HTML • Smart Draw Practical Exercise

Questions

Summary Of Day Two Questions

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Day Four Your Expert Course Leader Meet

Day Three Management Reports

Management Reports (Continued)

Introduction

Yesterday Once More

Yesterday Once More

Negotiation Preparation Notes • Know what you want • Know where you can afford to compromise • Plan alternatives to your ultimate goal • What is your counterpart’s position?

• What is important to the other side? Why are they willing to negotiate?

• What does the other side bring to the situation?

• What resources do they have?

• Preparation for the future

Writing Business Plans Describing Your Business • Marketing • The competition • Operating procedures • Personnel • Business Insurance Financial Data • Loan Applications • Capital equipment supply list • Balance sheet analysis • Breakeven analysis • Three year summary

Practical Exercise

Writing A Trade-Off Study Report

Supporting Documents • Financial statements and tax returns of principles for last three years • Resumes of all principles • Lease of building documents • Licenses and other legal documents • Copies of letter of intent from suppliers Practical Exercise

Trade-Off Method Six Steps • Clearly defining the decision • Identifying the stakeholders • The criteria used to make the assessment • Clearly defining the option being assessed • Quantitative and qualitative assessment of options • Assessing the trade-offs acceptable to the decision makers Practical Exercise

How To Develop And Write Mission Statements • How to ensure that you statement is timeless • Write up several possible statements and then combine them by using elements from each of them to allow different people and groups to feel involved • Including an introductory clause and clear expressions of the services, different products or aspects of the company or organisation • Creating something that is possible to achieve but not too easy or too idealist • How to avoid a generic mission statement that any business could have

Writing A Business Re-Engineering Report • Project timeline • Getting from current to future state • Design priorities • Redesigning the work • Assessment mapping • Assessment tools/forms reviewed • Defining accountabilities • Defining measures • Work transition programmes Practical Exercise

Practical Exercise Writing A Market Research Report • What to put in the introductory paragraph • Setting the stage for your findings • Ordering your findings logically • Methodology to compose your market research report • Making your recommendations • Proof reading your report

Summary Of Course Questions Actions Plans

Practical Exercise

Course Assessment Your progress in this course will be assessed by your participation in class discussion and exercises.

Writing A SWOT Analysis Report • How to use SWOT analysis for decision-making • The SWOT analysis template and how to use it • What a SWOT analysis can be used to assess

During the course you will receive individual coaching to ensure that you have understood all the points covered during the course and know how to progress to the next stage of your development.

Practical Exercise

An on-line resource, where you can send reports for review and comment, will also be available for one month after the course.

Summary Of Day Three Questions

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Effective Business Management Report Writing 11 – 14 December 2011

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Course fees include documentation, luncheon and refreshments. Delegates who attend all sessions will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

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