Contemporary Business Reports, 5th Edition solutions manual and test bank by Shirley Kuiper | Dorinda Clippinger
TEST BANK
Contemporary Business Reports, 5th edition
Chapter 2 – Planning the Report
A. True/False - For the following items, write T for true statements and F for false ones.
- A brief report does not require a plan. (F)
- The spatial structure uses time as the organizational component of the message. (F)
- Planning is less important for a report addressed to employees than for one addressed to a customer. (F)
- In a report outline, one division may have more topics and subtopics than another. (T)
- Potential secondary readers are of minor importance as you identify the audience for your report. (F)
- The psychological environment of the communication often influences the writer’s choice of report structure. (T)
- The psychological context for a report is less important than the physical context. (F)
- Report content may be influenced by the report environment. (T)
- A guide for selecting report content is to include only the information the receiver needs to act and meet your purpose. (T)
10. Medium selection should be based primarily on the writer’s preferences. (F)
11. Face-to-face communication is a lean medium because it usually involves little written material. (F)
12. Few reports, especially long ones, employ a single organizing structure. (T)
13. A formal report outline is of value to the writer, not to the reader(s). (F)
14. In going from forming stage to performing stage, teams often regress to an earlier stage—norming to storming, for example. (T)
15. The report planning model does not apply to collaborative writing. (F)
16. Groupware aids teams with task-oriented behaviors, such as exchanging information. (T)
- Wiggio is online groupware designed for college students. (T)
B. Multiple Choice – For the following items, select the most appropriate choice (a-d).
- Which group of factors BEST represents effective report planning? (d)
a. Identify purpose, identify audience, modify purpose, identify context, select medium, and choose report structure
b. Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, modify content, and select medium
c. Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, select medium, and get approval for medium
d. Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, select medium, and choose report structure
- Which choice is the BEST example of an interactive medium? (b)
a. An announcement posted on a bulletin board
b. A telephone message left on voice mail
c. A text message
d. A letter
- Which statement accurately describes the relationship between media richness and communication success or failure? (b)
a. A lean medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has sufficient data and no excess cues to distract the reader.
b. A lean medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has too little data, and cues tend to downplay significance of the message.
c. A rich medium is likely to fail in routine situations because data are lacking and excess cues cause confusion and distort meaning.
d. A rich medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has too much data and too many cues.
- Select the BEST description of an effective, logical outline. (d)
a. One or more divisions may have fewer than two parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; and division topics appear in non-parallel grammatical form.
b. Every division and subdivision has two or more parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are lengthy and descriptive; division topics appear in parallel form.
c. One or more division may have fewer than two parts; divisions need not be balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; and division topics appear in parallel grammatical form.
d. Every division and subdivision has at least two parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; division topics appear in parallel grammatical form.
- Which statement best describes an ethical decision reached during a collaborative writing project? (a)
a. I will take public responsibility for my actions related to the project.
b. All information on the Internet is in the public domain, and I may use it without acknowledging the source.
c. I will not concern myself with grammatical accuracy because other group members will correct my errors.
d. If I run out of time to finish my part of the assignment, other group members will take up the slack.
- Select the BEST description of Wiggio collaborative software. (c)
a. Contains tools called Communication, Conferencing, and Coordination.
b. Contains functions called Folder, Messages, Conference, and Calendar.
c. Contains tools called Folder, Messages, Meeting, Calendar, Poll, and Links.
d. Contains functions called Connect, Confer, Coordinate, and Communicate.
C. Essay Topics - Explain each of the following statements, using examples to support your discussion.
1. Reports can be classified according to their general purposes: production, innovation, or maintenance.
2. Use deductive structure when the reader needs little psychological preparation for the main point of the message.
3. Because of the strong focus on tasks during a team’s norming stage, the threat of “groupthink” exists at this stage.
4. Using groupware like Wiggio may speed up a team’s passage through forming and storming stages of team development.
Instructor’s Manual
Chapter 2 Planning the Report
Contemporary Business Reports, 5th edition
Chapters 1 - 9 help students understand the context in which they will plan and write/ present business reports. Reports are essential tools in organizational communication, affecting the decision-making process at all organizational levels. Since reports are so vital to organizational success, they will also influence your students’ career success. Reports originating with other people will convey information your students need to perform their duties effectively; and reports that your students generate, as business employees, will provide information that others need to meet their responsibilities. The success of those reports may also be used to evaluate an employee’s performance.
Chapters 1-4 deal with report basics (characteristics, planning, writing styles, common lapses); Chapters 5 and 6, with ways to illustrate and format a report. Chapters 7 and 8 give guides for and examples of simple (minimum-research) business reports used in straightforward situations. Chapter 9 gives strategies for preparing oral reports, including slides.
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Links – Objectives – Teaching Suggestions: Planning – Outlining – Collaboration – Wiggio – Ethics – End-of-Chapter: Discussion – Applications _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2 emphasizes the importance of process in planning a report. The chapter emphasizes that planning both simple and complex reports requires decisions about the report's purpose, audience, context, content, medium, and structure. Students are reminded that the steps in the process are dependent upon the complexity of the situation and the message. The chapter includes examples of different message structures and strategies for outlining a report. The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical issues that may arise as a writer plans and outlines the report.
The concept of careful planning must be combined with the techniques for outlining. You may find the material more manageable by splitting the material into two reading-discussion-and-application assignments. For example, you might assign the planning section (pages 27–40) for one reading assignment, followed by a class discussion focused on the planning aspects of the scenarios in Application 1. Tip: Include “Ethical Considerations”—pages 51 and 52 in this first assignment.
This assignment could be followed by the outlining section (pages 40-48), after which students could work in groups to develop and present an outline for assigned scenarios from Application 1. Tip: Include “Collaborative Writing” (pages 48-50) in this second assignment. The section about Wiggio software relates closely to collaborative writing; so if you want to include the special technology topics, make it part of this second assignment.
Again, direct students’ attention to the learning objectives; and remind them that each section of the chapter moves them toward meeting those objectives.
Upon completion of Chapter 2, students should be able to do the following.
1. Identify the purpose, audience, and context for a report.
2. Select appropriate report content.
3. Choose an appropriate medium.
4. Choose a report structure that complements its purpose, audience, context, and content.
5. Apply outlining strategies and electronic technology to develop report structure.
6. Collaborate effectively to plan a report.
7. Optional: Use groupware to enhance collaboration.
8. Consider ethical implications that arise during the planning process.
Chapter Outline & Teaching Suggestions
To discuss the planning process, use a PPT slide, transparency, or other form of Illustration 2.1 (the planning process).
1. Identify purpose. Discuss the difference between general purpose (production, innovation, maintenance) and specific purpose (desired reader action) of a message.
2. Identify audience. Define primary and secondary audience and explain the relationship of audience identification to other factors such as message content, structure, style, and medium. Solicit examples from students.
3. Identify context. Review the importance of the physical and psychological environments in the communication process. Discuss how context analysis will influence other factors such as report content, structure, and medium.
4. Identify content. Emphasize the importance of completeness—including all that must be said. Remind students of the importance of conciseness—excluding anything that is not essential for the report user.
5. Select medium. Discuss Illustration 2.2 (Lengel and Daft's Media Richness Hierarchy) and Illustration 2.3 (interaction of media richness and problem complexity) in predicting relative effectiveness of various media. Ask students to suggest kinds of messages that would be appropriate for the different media examples.
6. Choose report structure. Discuss the structures (direct, indirect, chronological, problem-solution, cause-effect, spatial, topical, and comparison or contrast). Remind students that those structures may apply to paragraphs or parts of a report as well as to an entire report. Emphasize that many writers employ combinations of those structures in a report.
Throughout the discussion, emphasize the recursive and interdependent nature of the process. For example, a writer may modify choices about content, medium, or report structure as he or she changes the view of the audience.
Discuss informal outlines as tools to help identify essential content and to organize it appropriately. Emphasize that complexity of report content often determines the degree of outline formality. Use Illustration 2.4 (Formal Outline) to show how an outline should reflect earlier decisions made about report structure.
Point out how a decimal outline differs from a traditional one by comparing Illustrations 2.4 and 2.5. Highlight the outline guides, which specify how to divide report content and title report topics.
Stress the five outline guides (pages 45-47) and their importance to a well-organized, effective report. Point out that many complex reports include a table of contents, which is a detailed outline. (See an example in Chapter 16.) Draw attention to the “Computer-Assisted Outlining” section, which refers to Microsoft Word 2010. Doing so implies that you value proper formatting and will expect it in graded assignments. Remind students to search the Help system in whatever word processing software they use.
C. Collaborative Writing
To help students understand the dynamics of teamwork, point up the stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing—plus adjourning. Help students understand that effective collaborative writing requires purposeful integration of individual and collective activities. Refer to Illustration 2.6 (Group Participation Rating Form) as you discuss the skillful coordination of individual and collective work required for successful collaborative writing. In addition, you may reproduce the Group Participation Rating Form and request students to complete it during one or more of your collaborative assignments.
D. Collaborative Software: Wiggio
Ask students to identify any groupware they have used for in-school or on-the-job projects and to describe key features, advantages, and disadvantages of such software. Emphasize that Wiggio was designed for college students, who often collaborate on multiple projects at a time, but it’s also popular among business people, especially those in small businesses and nonprofits. Becoming familiar with Wiggio in your class will make collaboration easier now and later and develop valuable software skills that can be transferred to the business world.
If you will assign Application 1, consider asking students in advance to become familiar with Wiggio (http://wiggio.com). You might select a few students to give two-minute impromptu presentations about the six software functions (Calendar, Folder, Links, Meeting, Messages, and Poll).
E. Ethical Considerations
Review Illustration 1.3 (Moral Obligation Relationships, page 17) and Illustration 1.4 (Questions to Direct Moral Decision-Making, page 18). Use an application such as Application 1-b or 1-e to illustrate how these decision-making guides can result in different decisions about message content, medium, and structure.
Use Topics for Discussion to review the concepts presented in this chapter. Naturally, answers will vary. To promote collaboration and to begin building confidence for business presentations, a good technique is to divide the class into teams three or four students; then assign an item from “Topics for Discussion” to each team. Ask them to discuss the item and have a designated spokesperson share the results of their discussion in a brief oral presentation. Encourage audience members to ask questions, thereby helping the speakers “think on their feet.”
Choose from four applications—the first one offers eight report-planning options—to develop relevant skills. Answers will vary. Select applications that best complement your students’ current knowledge and skill levels.
Application solution guides follow:
1. The introduction to this chapter suggests ways to use scenarios in Application 1 to reinforce the concepts presented in the text. Notice that directions ask students only to plan the report collaboratively, develop an outline, and present planning decisions to the class.
2. Since Chapter 3 deals with essential report-writing topics (drafting, revising, editing, and producing the document), you may prefer to cover it before assigning this application. If students write the reports at this point, emphasize applying the criteria for effective reports presented in Chapter 1 (pages 7-16) and guide them toward an appropriate format for each message. You can do that by previewing the letter, manuscript, and memo formats shown in Chapter 6.
3. In this application, students create an outline for Chapter 1’s Application 11. Of course, students using Microsoft Word 2010 can be encouraged to use its Multilevel List feature to create the outline.
4. Here students are directed to outline a report using their word processor’s outline feature. Each of the seven topics will require some research and a formal outline. You may want to narrow the topics to keep the focus on outlining. For example, you may recommend doing a keyword search on the Web or reading Web sites and printed publications that you pre-selected.
To include topics involving an informal outline, choose from the following list:
| · Someone I Admire | · Three Tips for Staying Organized |
| · Best Advice I’ve Ever Received | · Coping with Stress |
| · How to Be Happy | · Four Time Management Strategies |
| · Where I See Myself in 2.5 Years | · Where in the World Is the Camino de Santiago? Fill in a favorite site. |
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