Modern Business Writing

1.3 Purpose and Scope

1.3.1 Purpose

There is always (or should always be) a reason for asking someone to spend time and effort in compiling a document, and this needs to be clear. The purpose is the criterion against which the agreement, report, proposal; etc. will be judged and must be stated specifically. If this is not done, when the naming, shaming and blaming begin, who is wrong? Take a report as an example

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  the manager/client who requested the report without defining the purpose properly and/or communicating it clearly, and
  
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  the staff member/service/provider who agreed to write it without a clear idea of what s/he was supposed to achieve, and did not ask!
  

Often a report is requested because there is a "bit of a problem" showing. The report aims to find out how big the problem is - like an iceberg there may be a huge amount of hidden material or very little.

Under these circumstances, the report would need to begin with a reference to the "tip of the iceberg" - the reason that a problem has been noticed, or an investigation requested.

1.3.2 Scope

It is also necessary, when requesting or undertaking a report, to be clear about how wide an area needs to be covered. If the brief is "What are the implications for medical aid fund administrators of the government’s intention to introduce a national health insurance scheme", the brief is wide, and the report is a huge undertaking. If the brief is "Jane, find out why Mary Lekabe is again absent from work", Jane simply needs to find out what the story is with Mary and get it onto a single sheet of paper. She does not have to investigate the organisation’s sick leave policy and recent Labour Court judgements on that topic.

The scope of a report to be written in terms of an act or regulation is usually well defined and needs to be strictly complied with. It is essential that the author of such a report makes a careful study of the topics specified and the nature of the texts to be produced.

1.4 Planning the document

Before you start to write, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve and what you want to say. This will involve proper planning. If you plan a letter, agreement, proposal, report; etc well, it will save time - and will save much drafting and redrafting.

1.4.1 When following the planning process, you need to:

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  Understand why the document is required (the purpose, objective), and the terms of the brief
  

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  Know the due date and undertake that you will have the document complete and ready on that date
  

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  Plan how you will proceed to gather information
  

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  Plan how you will meet the deadline - estimating how long each part of the process will take. Allocate a time to each section, and get on with it without procrastination
  

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  Proceed with your information gathering
  

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  Record the results of your information gathering
  

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  Consider the information. This requires time for you to "mull it over", chat to someone about it (make sure that you do not chat about confidential information to an unsuitable partner), let it simmer in your head etc. You need to plan some time to evaluate your conclusions
  

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  Consider what can be done about the problem or to meet the objective - this usually involves going into "creative mode" where you generate as many alternative solutions as you can think of
  

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  Draft the document - and let it sit a while (you must make provision for this time interval!). If it is a complex or very important report, for instance, you might ask someone to read it and discuss it with you. Check that you have findings in Findings, conclusions in Conclusions etc.
  

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  Redraft the document (professional documents are not written - they are re-written.)
  

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  Proof-read it and check the presentation.
  

1.4.2 State the purpose

Get the purpose clear to make sure that you communicate most effectively and efficiently with the reader. Always get the IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE WHAT? … quite clear in your mind. This forces you to focus on the result rather than being content with the reason.

Ask the “objectives” questions given in paragraph 1.2 above.
What are the objectives for your document?

1.4.3 Consider the audience

Even before starting to gather information it is imperative that you consider your readers. Unlike letters and memos, reports and proposals usually have a far wider distribution. Many people may be involved in a decision-making process and need to read the information in the document.

Your job is to make it easy for the reader. In order to make reading your document easier, think in terms of the reader.

Each audience has unique needs.  Some audience considerations include:

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  Need (for the information)
  
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  Education level
  
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  Position in the organisation
  
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  Knowledge of your topic or area
  
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  Responsibility to act
  
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  Age
  
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  Biases
  
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  Preferences
  
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  Attitudes
  

Some false assumptions commonly made regarding audiences are:

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   That the person who will first read or edit the document is the audience
   
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   That the audience is a group of specialists in their field
   
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   That the audience is familiar with the subject of the document
   
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   That the audience has time to read the entire document
   
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   That the audience has a strong interest in the subject of the document
   
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   That the author will always be available to discuss the document
   

To avoid making these false assumptions, writers should identify everyone who might read the document; characterise those readers according to their professional training, position in the organisation, and personal traits; and determine how and when the reader might use the document. 

Audiences are basically of three kinds:

Primary	People who have to act or make decisions on the basis of the document
Secondary	People who will be affected by actions the primary audiences are going to take in response to the document
Intermediate	People responsible for evaluating the document and passing it on the right people

For the document you intend to write, who are your audiences?
Primary
Secondary
Intermediate

1.4.4 Gather required information

Once you have a clear understanding of the purpose and scope of your document and

who you are writing for, you are ready to gather information.
It is necessary to identify the information sources and to determine the organisational procedures for obtaining and distributing information.

What type of information do you need for your document?


Who/what are your information sources?

The information you gather can be of two types: Secondary and Primary. Secondary refers to information gathered and recorded by others. Primary refers to information you gather and record yourself.

Type Sources Caution Secondary Books, internet, reports, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and journals Information may be inaccurate, out of date, or biased Primary Meetings, interviews, questionnaires, surveys, observation, experiments, historical information, and raw data Information must be gathered carefully to ensure it is accurate and bias free.

At this point you should be doing your research. Think where you are going to find your information. If the purpose of your report requires market research, you will have to consult professional researchers. For certain types of information you can consult your own professional institutes. Magazines, journals or newspapers and institutions such as the BER of the University of Stellenbosch, Statistics SA and the BMR of UNISA may offer just the information you are looking for. A vital resource is the Internet. Conduct a search using keywords to find information that will be useful to you in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Subscribe to RSS feeds such as those offered by Google Alerts.

Notes on drafting a questionnaire

Ask yourself:

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  How am I going to get people to answer my questions?
  
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  How many questions will my target group be prepared to answer?
  
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  How am I going to record their answers or get back their questionnaires?
  
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  Do my questions relate directly to what I want to know?
  
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  Do I want closed questions? Open-ended questions? Opinions? Facts? Ideas?
  
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  Are my questions appropriate - courteous, not personally offensive or invasive?
  
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  Are they clear, unambiguous and easily understandable?
  
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  Are my questions in the correct sequence to get people thinking?
  

It is always best to test a questionnaire on a small pilot group before using it to investigate. You may think it is clear, polite etc, but two or more heads are better than one in this respect.

1.4.5 Analyse your information

Now that you have information, you need to analyse it.

The purpose of the analysis is to make sense, objectively, out of the information you have gathered. You will not want personal bias of any kind to enter into the analysis.

Information is compared and contrasted in an effort to find new ideas or select the best ideas. Separate facts and figures need to be interpreted by explaining what they mean --what significance they have.

At what conclusions have you arrived?

It is essential, before you start an investigation, to have the willingness to learn from what you discover,

and the courage to act on the new information.

1.4.6 Determine the solution

Based on your analysis, you will be ready to offer a solution (or solutions) to the problem you have been studying.

Your conclusions have to reflect your findings. Personal integrity demands that you put aside your favourite opinions and leave behind your pride and your prejudices. Let your conclusions reflect exactly what you found - even if you don't like them.
Therefore the gathered information should be the basis for making this decision. There is also a tendency in business report writing to "slant" information to lead the reader to the decision the writer wants. Make sure you report all pertinent information--good and bad. The credibility of the document (and your credibility) is at stake.

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  Generate as many possible solutions or courses of action as you can think of to deal with any problems you have uncovered
  

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  Go back and work out which of the solutions you thought of are possible.
  

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  Of the possible courses of action, which do you think would be best? This could be a single action or a number of actions. These are your recommendations.
  

What are the solutions you hope to offer your management/client?

1.4.7 Organise your document

You've got your topic, your information, and your proposal/recommendation. Now you're ready to determine how to present your information.

Before actually writing, organise your information into an outline form.  You can formulate an outline for your document by choosing the major and supporting ideas, developing the details, and eliminating the unnecessary ideas you've gathered.  This outline becomes the basic "structure" of your document.