Report Cover Page
Table of Contents Page
Executive Summary (1-2 pages write AFTER the rest of the report)
Consultant Report with overview of the company, their areas for improvement, and your recommendations
suggested major sections (which can be re-titled or added to as suits your needs): company background or history; company strengths & weaknesses; recommendations and suggestions; conclusion
Include visuals in the form of images, charts/tables, decorative elements, or other to highlight your points
Cite, using footnotes + citation page, at least 12 credible sources, including 3 academic sources (such as your textbook, any articles published in academic journals, or books published by academic publishers.) (APA or Chicago reference formatting accepted)
Things to plan on citing: anything that can be further supported by experts, especially why the weaknesses you identified matter and why the recommendations or action steps you’re suggesting are good ones; all information about the company itself (from the website, articles, industry reports, employee reviews)
Especially look to resources we’ve used in this class, or your other Communication or Business classes.
Tables, charts, graphs, need to be labeled and cited.
References page (alphabetical order)
1-2 page executive summary, which can stand alone, separate from the rest of the report
NOTE: Write this executive summary after the rest of your report
Explains your purpose in writing the report (i.e., the story you’re wanting to tell with this report, not that you’re doing it because it’s an assignment!)
Succinctly notes a few highlights you want to draw the reader’s attention to
Concisely describes any key take-aways or learnings that will be explored more fully in the report
This is written as a stand-alone 1-2 pages that, if read by an executive, would tell them what they need to know to make a decision, with the rest of the report being important clarification and explanation of the conclusions and recommendations you reached.
single-spaced writing preferred – it will simplify formatting & visuals.
You should still cite where information comes from (use Word’s automated footnotes toolLinks to an external site.). Organized into sections:
Describes the current state of the organization and its culture
What’s happening? What’s influencing it? What’s changing it? What’s going well? What’s not going so well? What’s going on with people in the field? With external bodies connected to the field? etc.
This is likely a good place to include visuals (see below), to highlight how things are currently going.
Summarizes overall findings of your investigation, including a SWOT analysis about the company.
If you don’t find much “wrong” with a company’s culture or communication practices, you can still make suggestions about how they can pursue the opportunities or minimize the threats you’ve identified in the SWOT analysis
Offers big-picture recommendations for the organization related to its culture and communication practices
Within the overall recommendations, offers specific objectives (actions) for addressing the recommendations you have made. These must be supported by expert sources.
As you make recommendations and offer specific objectives, connect back to how your recommendations address the issues you mentioned earlier.
Offer specific actions you recommend they take, in order for the company to pursue your overall suggestions.
These are specific steps a company can take to enact the big picture recommendations you are making
Concludes the report with a discussion & reiteration of why this is important for the company & anything else to take into account
How might following your suggestions (or not?) affect their bottom line?
Did you make recommendations for how to prioritize your recommendations? Where will their efforts be best spent?
If needed, note anything missing from the report. For example, perhaps there’s something important that you’re aware of but was a large topic beyond the scope of the report. Perhaps something came up unexpectedly while you were preparing the report (a big company change, for example). Perhaps there were some types of information you wanted but simply could not find. Not everyone will have this, but you’re encouraged to include it if applicable. If it is not applicable, please include a comment along these lines: “In the course of doing this research, there were no significant changes to the field that would impact this narrative or its conclusions.
Use Chicago footnote styleLinks to an external site. in order to highlight your recommendations but still give credit to the sources from which you learned it. Including citations highlighting the legitimacy of your information and expertise of your sources demonstrates your credibility to your client.
It’s likely that your org background section will include numerous citations from industry sources, including the organization itself. Academic citations are more likely to happen in recommendations sections
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organizational-culture-and-leadership
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/why-organizational-culture-is-important#:~:text=People%20who%20feel%20valued%20and,money%20in%20the%20hiring%20process.
https://www.springworks.in/blog/avoid-favoritism-in-the-workplace/
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/effective-communication-workplace/
https://luganodiamonds.com/our-story
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Lugano-Diamonds-Reviews-E1409439.htm
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Lugano-Diamonds/reviews?from=profOnboardingACME
