Business Communication 10e, Newman

Business Communication 10e,

Newman

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted

in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

Finding SourcesEvaluate the

Quality of Data

Develop Questions and Cover Letters

Display Quantitative Information

Interpret Data

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a

certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.


Quality of Data



Interpret Data



Useful

The reader uses the report to make decisions and solve problems.

Well Supported

The reader can trust the information (facts and data).

Organized

The reader can locate information quickly.



Define the report purpose

Analyze the intended audience

Determine what data is needed to solve the problem

or make a decision

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for

use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website

for classroom use.

Secondary Data

Data collected by someone else for

some other purpose

Primary Data

Data collected by the researcher to solve a specific

problem



for classroom use.

Published (widely disseminated)

• Internet resources

• Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles

• Books

• Brochures and pamphlets

• Technical reports

Unpublished (not widely disseminated)

• Company records (e.g., reports and emails)

• Legal documents (e.g., court records)

• Personal files (e.g., expense records)

• Medical records

MIC

RO

STO

CK M

AN

/CU

TCASTER

© A

LEXARAN

DA/SH

UTTERSTO

CK



for classroom use.


Quality of Data



Interpret Data



Authority

Accuracy and Reliability

Purpose/Objectivity

Coverage

Currency

NATTHAPOL VANASRIVILAI/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM



What was the purpose of the

study?

How was the data collected?

How was the data analyzed?

How consistent is the data with that

from other studies?

How old is the data?




Quality of Data



Interpret Data



The information can be provided easily and quickly

The target audience is homogeneous

Sufficient time is available



for classroom use.

Content Organization

Format



Ask for information that is not available

elsewhere

Have a purpose for each question

Use precise wording

Use neutrally worded questions

Ensure that the response choices are

exhaustive and mutually exclusive

Be careful about sensitive questions

Pilot-test your questionnaire



for classroom use.

1. What is your age? ___

2. Which of the following is most important to you when you select housing? ___ Location

___ Proximity to school

___ Price

___ Size

___ Number of rooms

3. Do you think that companies should block employee access to inappropriate websites that cause wasted time at work?

Yes or No



4. What percentage of new start-up companies

failed in Michigan last year?

5. Do you think it takes a long time for the

average start-up firm to secure financing?

6. Banks should set aside more funds for start-up

companies because they are so important to

the economy.

__ agree __ no opinion __ disagree



Arrange the questions in some logical

order

Arrange the alternatives for each

question in some logical order

Give the questionnaire a descriptive

title



for classroom use.

Use an easy-to-answer format

Ensure that your questionnaire

has a professional appearance



for classroom use.


Quality of Data



Interpret Data



Why Tables Are Useful What Tables Cannot Do

Show numerical data in a more

efficient and interesting way

than with narrative text

Be presented on a screen (with

dense data)

Provide more information than

a chart does

Show trends as obviously as a

chart does

Allow easy comparison of

figures

Capture attention as well as a

chart does



Table 3

HASCO EMPLOYMENT LEVELS

As of December 10, 2013

Employee Type Total

By Department Annual

Admin Prod Sales Change

Full-time nonexempt 389 27 345 17 -3.0%

Full-time exempt 143 19 15 109 13.5%

Temporary 31 4 22 5 5.3%

Othera 21 13 0 8 -1.6%

Total 584 63 382 139 5.9%

Source: Madison County Facts—2011, Metropolitan State University Press, St. Louis, MO, 2011, p. 183.

a Includes all special-project and work-for-hire employees.

Table Number

Title

Subtitle

Footnote

(optional)

Source

(optional)

Column

Headings

Cross-tabulations



for classroom use.

97

396

96 96 97 99

202

106

773

86112 109 107

338

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Food Housing Utilities Transportation Health Miscellaneous Overall

Co

st o

f Li

vin

g In

dex

McLean, VA Beverly Hills, CA

Cost of Living Comparison: McLean, VA, and Beverly Hills, CA



for classroom use.

Business Insider writers seem to be enamored with

unclear charts. With the headline, "These Are The

Charts You're Going To Be Seeing In PowerPoints And

Mobile For The Next Year," the article shows 13

charts, none of which follow business writing

principles.

Link to the

full story and

examples on

the blog.



http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-charts-youre-going-to-be-seeing-in-powerpoints-and-mobile-for-the-next-year-2013-6

http://www.bizcominthenews.com/bizcom_in_the_news/2013/06/sloppy-charts.html

Line charts show

trends over time

Bar charts compare

items

Pie charts show parts of a whole



Storyboard the content

Choose graphics and styles

Explain the data



for classroom use.


Quality of Data



Interpret Data



Finally, an infographic that incorporates cats. A study

by Onlinecollege.org found that the more students

text, the more their grammar may be affected. But

some of the results are dubious.

Link to the

full story and

examples on

the blog.



http://www.onlinecollege.org/2013/02/12/does-texting-hurt-your-grammar/

http://www.bizcominthenews.com/bizcom_in_the_news/2013/05/texting-hurts-grammar-infographic.html

Determine the meaning of each finding by itself, in conjunction with each

other finding, and in conjunction with all other findings.

Isolation

Context

Synthesis

SERGEJ KHAKIMULLIN/SHUTTERSTOCK



Trends

Unexpected findings

Data that reinforces or contradicts other data

Extreme values

Data that raises questions



for classroom use.

What is the value of presenting data for

business audiences in more creative ways?

In your opinion, which example in the video

has the most impact?

Click here to

view the

video.



http://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization.html

What makes this description of soft drink sizes

have more impact than a bar chart might

have?

What other ways could the film maker have

made this point?

Link to video

via the blog.



http://www.bizcominthenews.com/bizcom_in_the_news/videos-for-chapter-9-planning-the-report-and-managing-data.html

Business Communication 10e, Newman

Documents