Use a consistent style and font size for headings and numbering system. The report must be:
This is a report for a potential employer, it needs to be professional and “business ready”. Check to see that professionalism is evidenced by how the final report looks in hard copy and on the screen.
Try to use simple plain English. All section of the report should be written in the 3rd person.
o over-long, complex sentences
o jargon
o informal phrases or words
o over-repetition of same word or phrase
o overall appearance of report
o cover, structure, layout, and supplementary pages
o use of tables and figures. You should make sure that these are labelled correctly with heading/titles and source of information in the correct positions.
o use of colour and graphics
Make sure your premises are robust and support your conclusions. Use the rules of an argument to make your report evidence based.
This does not mean just checking the final version for spelling mistakes and it is often difficult to do completely on your own. At regular intervals in the development of the report, consider:
What content should I consider including in my report?
Formulating ideas for your report
During this module, you have learnt to describe, analyse and evaluate literature to make business decisions. You are required in the report to show that you have learnt these skills. The following questions are designed to aid critical evaluation of the literature and data you have collected. However, as your report will be specific to the industry sector and organisation you have chosen, you will need to use your business knowledge to decide what to include, describe, analyse, and evaluate.
In the industry sector you need to use a dashboard to present your data and you need to include the following:
The ‘Corporate/Organisation review’ should provide an insight into the nature of the organisation and the current business environment in which it is operating. It should demonstrate your ability to carry-out analysis and evaluation. It should not be descriptive. In the corporate review section, you can use the business canvas to collect your data and provide evidence of sources which you can use in other sections of your report.
Brief overview
Financial sustainability of the organisation Pre-Covid
No matter what business activity your organisation is involved in, ‘profit-driven’ or ‘not for profit’, it will need to be financially sustainable. This part of the report should demonstrate your awareness of the commercial constraints that most, if not all, organisations operate within. As part of your analysis and evaluation of the business activities you should consider the following questions:
Critical evaluation of key decisions made by the company during 2020. Critic your organisation’s strategy and decisions during 2020. Consider the following:
Financial sustainability of the company post-Covid
I would suggest that your analysis is derived from using frameworks, tools, and supplement with current robust evidence to illustrate and support your recommendations. The frameworks should be placed in the appendix and referred to in the main body of the report but not repeated in the main body. Your appendix is the evidence that you can apply the frameworks and use the resulting analysis to formulate the key decisions that need to be made based on evidence. The following questions may help you formulate your argument for the financial sustainability of your company post-Covid:
As this part of the report is the conclusion you will need to evaluate what you have described and analysed. This is not an ending to this part of the report or a summary of what you have written, as is often the case with essays; it is a chance for you to demonstrate your understanding of the dynamic business situation and proffer considered opinions about the effectiveness and sustainability of the business activities you have discussed. Is this business going to survive the pandemic?